Whose Voice is it Anyway?

By Nancy Faulkner Sackheim

Let's say you've taken my advice and decided to let your characters pick up some of the slack in determining where your/their story goes. Every day you sit at your desk surrounded by your collaborators and new best friends.  Writing is almost fun...almost. Now that your story is headed in the right direction, it's time to work on the dialogue. 

Once again, your characters are there to help you if you let them. Listen with your writer's ear and you will hear them talking. Listen not only to what they're saying, but how they say it. No two people talk in exactly the same way, nor do any two characters. At the same time you're listening, you should be writing it all down. Your characters' conversations will not be exactly the same as when people talk to one another in the real world (after all, you do have a story you're trying to move forward), but the reader should have the impression that it is exactly like real-life.  And it is...without all the dull parts. 

So it's that simple? Of course not. It's incredibly difficult for most of us. There are techniques and methods one can employ, and resources abound. A good place to start might be Harvey Chapman's Novel Writing Help website.