tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866870.post6326818080612914324..comments2023-12-20T02:09:03.416-06:00Comments on Redemption Road: The Voices In My HeadMerry Monteleonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09435956005780500310noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866870.post-58361951355605116022009-09-23T10:14:07.626-05:002009-09-23T10:14:07.626-05:00So yeah, I have a voice, I think. I would describe...<i>So yeah, I have a voice, I think. I would describe it as hyperbolic vernacular of the educated redneck variety. I'm a walking oxymoron.</i><br /><br />Okay, that's awesome - and definitely unique.Merry Monteleonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09435956005780500310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866870.post-60937805071775349252009-09-22T09:40:34.587-05:002009-09-22T09:40:34.587-05:00Hi!
It's funny to read this post right now be...Hi!<br /><br />It's funny to read this post right now because this is something I'm working on. I read Erica's post and totally get what she is saying about the "Afghan voice." <br /><br />Mine is very regional and weirdly punctuated with SAT words. That's how my family talks. My dad says things like:<br /><br />"Fine as frog hair split three ways" or "Don't amount to a fart in a whirlwind" and turns around in the next sentence and uses a word like "quixotic."<br /><br />So yeah, I have a voice, I think. I would describe it as hyperbolic vernacular of the educated redneck variety. I'm a walking oxymoron.Laurelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06120847492230531939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866870.post-23862448550164521552009-09-21T19:33:08.390-05:002009-09-21T19:33:08.390-05:00Hi Mary,
I don't think channeling them sounds...Hi Mary,<br /><br />I don't think channeling them sounds silly at all! Not at all! I think that means you've got a firm grasp of character.<br /><br />As for low class, pish tosh Mary, your class is measured in character. People who think otherwise are often the most poor among us, only they think the money and possessions they have make a difference in that.<br /><br />You, by the way, are definitely high class in my book.Merry Monteleonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09435956005780500310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866870.post-31932344711109144722009-09-20T15:18:11.771-05:002009-09-20T15:18:11.771-05:00My voice changes from WiP to WiP. It's one of ...My voice changes from WiP to WiP. It's one of those things I don't even think about; I like to think I'm channeling it, however silly that sounds.<br /><br />(Personally, I'd rather be low class than an idiot. In my family we drank out of jelly jars and thought going to a smorgasbord was fine dining, but there were few idiots among us and we were quietly proud of that.)Mary Witzlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06458299046574564155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866870.post-3230775703751813532009-09-11T11:25:39.835-05:002009-09-11T11:25:39.835-05:00Hi Gary,
I often re-read dialogue outloud, myself...Hi Gary,<br /><br />I often re-read dialogue outloud, myself... though the quiet room thing is hard to find. I write through the noise and read it back when the kids are at school :-)<br /><br />Was it difficult for you to find the characters' voices, because you're dealing with an ancient world? Or did you add a little dialect or phrases here and there to give the flavor and then use modern English for most of the dialect... I'm guessing it's mostly modern English from what I've read so far, but I just find it fascinating how you would add the time and place to something like that. By the way, if you can't tell, I'm really looking forward to the book's release, I can't wait to read it.<br /><br />Hi Chris,<br /><br />Voice, you definitely have! I haven't read any of your fulls though so I can't say anything about structure... but you've got marketing savvy in spades so I think between the voice and the savvy and the temerity, we'll be seeing your books on the shelves sometime soon.<br /><br />Hi Demon Hunter!<br /><br />Thanks, good to be back. I do think voice changes a bit as we go... I haven't read Herman's earlier work, but I've definitely seen changes in other writers from book to book. Off the top of my head, I loved The Outsiders, but Rumblefish and That was then This is Now were much better written - than again, SE Hinton was sixteen when she wrote The Outsiders, so maybe that doesn't count :-)Merry Monteleonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09435956005780500310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866870.post-11516731238982266092009-09-11T11:10:02.361-05:002009-09-11T11:10:02.361-05:00Oh, and I want a signed copy of your book WHEN it ...Oh, and I want a signed copy of your book WHEN it sells. ;-)Tyhitia Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14070000168178880911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866870.post-85890724953682282992009-09-11T11:09:28.098-05:002009-09-11T11:09:28.098-05:00Thanks for sharing this Merry! And I'm glad yo...Thanks for sharing this Merry! And I'm glad you're back! I'm trying to find my voice as we speak. <br /><br />But I read somewhere that Herman Melville's voice changed from his first novel until the time he wrote MOBY DICK. So, voice can and does change. :-DTyhitia Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14070000168178880911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866870.post-34463826576838939422009-09-11T11:05:16.442-05:002009-09-11T11:05:16.442-05:00Hey there!
Nice to see ya! Thanks for popping ov...Hey there!<br /><br />Nice to see ya! Thanks for popping over!<br />:-)<br />Voice. I got voice, but not much in the area of structure.<br />hehehChris Eldinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16732006129353079344noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866870.post-76992578378367127652009-09-09T21:00:45.502-05:002009-09-09T21:00:45.502-05:00That's a great topic Merry.
I certainly agree...That's a great topic Merry.<br /><br />I certainly agree that if you write for long enough, your voice will eventually come to you in a way that you can consistently reproduce. <br /><br />I pretty much write the way I speak, and then I go back and clean it up. <br /><br />Of course characters must have their own voice, or else you'd have a one-character book. Personally, I find I have to write a character in a silent room for a little while before I can "hear" them. Rhythm matters a lot to me; everyone speaks in their own rhythm. That and word choice. Everyone tends to have their own favored words and they will even form their sentences around favored expressions. For me at least rhythm and favored expressions together go a long way towards unique character voice.<br /><br />I'd be interested to know how other people handle it.Gary Corbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14759372069119740227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866870.post-17396528207169392009-09-09T18:54:57.851-05:002009-09-09T18:54:57.851-05:00SS@S,
Hi!!! Nice to 'see' you! And I ha...SS@S,<br /><br />Hi!!! Nice to 'see' you! And I have to say, Stephen's right. You have a definite voice. Your fiction is very clean, but there's still a rhythm and movement that's distinctly you.<br /><br />Hi JJ,<br /><br />I love playing with dialect or even just the dialogue itself to show what's going on and give better insights to the characters. <br /><br />Sometimes side characters can be difficult to differentiate, even in published fiction. For me, when I'm not sure there's enough of a difference in the way they talk or move, it's a pretty good bet that I haven't fleshed them out enough.Merry Monteleonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09435956005780500310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866870.post-78748172526674677212009-09-09T16:01:06.818-05:002009-09-09T16:01:06.818-05:00Great post, Merry, and I hadn't read your Cice...Great post, Merry, and I hadn't read your Cicero post before, but I did now, and I agree with the consensus: It's really good.<br /><br />I had a bit fun with voice in my last novel. My main characters were mostly upper crust, but they did interact with a few working class people. I gave those secondary characters a distinct way of speaking that had its own rhythm and poetry, and I'm quite proud of how it all worked together. It was a way to "show" rather than "tell" what my characters' backgrounds were.<br /><br />In my current WIP, I'm worried I have several characters with interchangeable voices. I'm trying not to be paranoid about it. :/jjdebenedictishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16950592240599703771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866870.post-10120364821215865282009-09-09T15:33:13.983-05:002009-09-09T15:33:13.983-05:00I don't have much to say on Voice. I sometime...I don't have much to say on Voice. I sometimes wonder if I even have one. Stephen says I do, but I'm not sure it translates to fiction very well.<br /><br /> Hi!! ((waves))ssashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15527483283426518167noreply@blogger.com