On Discovering One’s Voice

In recent weeks I’ve been working more in my own fiction that ever before—a refreshing break to indulge in creative word count. Like slipping into a hot bath.

Most of that time has been critiquing submissions accepted by my publisher for the upcoming Underground Anthology, a collection of short stories set in my near-future high-tech bionic dystopian Underground setting. The writers with whom I work have a huge variety of style, and of course a unique voice for each, but even when focused into the same setting, and in some cases characters the voices are still wildly distinct. Styles range from the literary to the action-packed, and remind me of an event on the sojourn that every writer walks.

There’s an old adage about a writer not being distinct from other writers until they discover their voice. One first must realize what authors to whom their own style is similar, then understand what it is that’s unique about their personal voice, and strive to showcase those distinctions.

Don’t think this is work, or even a conscious task. Voice is a series of literary discoveries in which each artist revels. One can pursue it, but it just happens.

The Purpose of Dialog in Literature

I was once asked What purposes does dialogue serve in a novel?

The answer has to do with characterization. To show readers who each character really is, one only has what characters do and what characters say. After description of action, dialog is the second most powerful tool in a writer’s box for characterization.

If one wants to satisfy fans of character driven fiction with strong characterization in your novel, dialog’s main purpose must be to stay as true to the character saying it as possible. It’s a vehicle to show your reader who this person is by the way he talks, bears himself, thinks, interacts, lives the Golden-Rule, holds promises, etc.

When one begins thinking of dialog as a tool for an author to communicate directly to an audience for specific reasons, our attention is in the wrong place. Dialog stops sparkling. Dialog is a force with which to sculpt characters. It's too valuable to look at any other way.


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A Summary of Fiction Plot

This is the sixth and last week devoted to plot's seven parts. No matter the form of fiction, the same seven part model is used. Plot is primary to any manuscript; it describes story structure.

Readers must find a sequence of events realistic, consistent, well-ordered, and well-paced. Within the context of genre, an artist must watch for plot holes—the inaccurate, impossible, and illogical. Check that a story begins at the right time, builds steadily before and after climax, and resolves satisfactorily.

The most common problems in plot that I have encountered are:

• A slow beginning
• Any inclusion that does not advance the plot (secondary character, dialogue, subplots, narrative, etc.)
• Pacing of events that moves too fast
• Pacing of events that moves too slow
• Subplots that aren’t tied into the main plot at some point
• Protagonist not involved in all events, either directly or indirectly
• Weak conclusion

If these flaws are cleared up in a manuscript, further rewrites to improve plot will merely move information around, not improve quality. It is said an artist is never done with a story; there just comes a time when one must stop working on it.