Voice Consistency

I would just write. If the narrator loses some of their identity, then you can add extra sass when you're revising.

Re-read earlier parts before you begin for the day so you can get your mindset into it again.

That is what the edit phase is for. You can polish and make consistent any parts that slip in the next 60k. Have faith and all will be well in the end.

The other trick I have seen (and used) is to focus on a phrase or image that helps to crystalise the voice for you. Tolkien started with ...

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort

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And I imagine him thinking back to those words as he worked his way through the book. I do something similar with my writing. I hold a phrase in my mind to carry the voice. For my James Bond spoof it was the immortal cliche of "Ah, there you are, Mr Bond. I have been expecting you."

Pick a particular notable piece of sassery from your writing so far and turn it into a corporate mission statement. The rest will be easy-peasy.

Write your story. If it has legs, it will have voice. This is about the most meaningless thing you can worry about.

caw

blacbird said:

Write your story. If it has legs, it will have voice. This is about the most meaningless thing you can worry about.

caw

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This is quite an unnecessary response. It's not meaningless, actually. The OP didn't ask about voice, but voice CONSISTENCY. I have lots of stories that are heavy on the voice, but they're not the same voice. Voices can vary.

One thing I'd suggest, as it helps me, is listening to specific songs that you associate with your character and her outlook on life. Either before or while writing, if either works for you.

I have a selection of songs bookmarked from YouTube that get me feeling as energised and I-can-take-on-the-WORLD! as my main character feels a lot of the time. Plus melancholy songs for when she's taken on the world and it hasn't worked out for her, and so on...

chompers said:

This is quite an unnecessary response. It's not meaningless, actually. The OP didn't ask about voice, but voice CONSISTENCY. I have lots of stories that are heavy on the voice, but they're not the same voice. Voices can vary.

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I took the OP as talking about narrative voice, not "voices". Perhaps we are thinking about different things.

In any case, ya gotta write the dam story before getting concerned about this. If you're worrying about whether or not you can sustain narrative "voice" for sixty thousand words, when you've written maybe five thousand words, you're getting the taillights ahead of the engine block.

caw

caw

Leema said:

So I've just started a new piece and I love my narrator's mega-sassy voice.

I'm just worried about keeping it up for 60k more words...

Any tips?

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Hmm, well even a mega sassy person may have times when the sassy is up to 11 and times where she's feeling a bit more muted. If you find the voice flagging in places, it might be good to come back and reread later, see if there's a reason for this that makes sense from your character's pov in that scene (if she's talking about something she sincerely feels unsure of or cares about, for instance, as opposed to being annoyed or punchy), versus it simply being that you were tired and uninspired when you wrote it.

I saw an agent commenting that "uneven writing" is one of the biggest issues she sees with new authors, so I don't think it's unreasonable to be concerned about it. If it's something you're really worried about, consider asking some readers to weigh in on how it's going.

One technique I've heard for getting a character's voice in place is to conduct a mock interview with them. Maybe if you feel your motivation or voice sagging as the writing grinds on, it's something to try.

blacbird said:

I took the OP as talking about narrative voice, not "voices". Perhaps we are thinking about different things.

In any case, ya gotta write the dam story before getting concerned about this. If you're worrying about whether or not you can sustain narrative "voice" for sixty thousand words, when you've written maybe five thousand words, you're getting the taillights ahead of the engine block.

caw

caw

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I was talking about narrative voice. But it can also apply to a character's voice. Regardless, it is not unreasonable to worry about it when you've only got 5,000 words. Everyone writes differently. Some people edit as they go. Or try to avoid writing where they know it's not going right, to avoid extensive editing later. Maybe you need to get the story down first, but that may not be the case for the OP. You don't know.

Roxxsmom said:

One technique I've heard for getting a character's voice in place is to conduct a mock interview with them. Maybe if you feel your motivation or voice sagging as the writing grinds on, it's something to try.

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This is something I do all the time, especially when I'm in the thick of a novel and want to strengthen character and narrative voice, which is often the same for me, since I write predominantly in first person. One thing to keep in mind is that your MC's voice will probably evolve as you move through the story, both in response to plot (as others have suggested) and how well you know her. Chances are, you'll have an even better grasp of who she is and how she speaks by the time you finish the first draft, which you can then incorporate during the editing process.

You've rcvd. some good advice relative to sustaining voice. Something else you can do as you continue to write is post excerpts on SYW, ask folks if voice is still ringing true and retaining consistency. I did that with one of my novels and found it very helpful.

blacbird said:

In any case, ya gotta write the dam story before getting concerned about this. If you're worrying about whether or not you can sustain narrative "voice" for sixty thousand words, when you've written maybe five thousand words, you're getting the taillights ahead of the engine block.

caw

caw

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I shall respectfully disagree, blacbird. Esp. if one's novel is written in first person (not sure that's the O.P.'s case, though), an authentic and consistent voice is paramount. From the word go. In my experience, it's not easy, but it's really important. Because a character's voice reflects who she is.

It takes a conscious effort on the writer's part to keep that going throughout the novel. Readers will be very aware of f**k-ups.

The main thing, I think, is that the writer knows her mc. Knows that mega-sassy person really well. Has the tone, inflection, vocabulary, all of that, down pat. And that she takes care to keep the voice real, so the mc doesn't come across as caricature.

This si really a pretty simple problem. Read what you write. When you write a page, check the voice. If it isn't right, fix it. You're going to make mistakes, and these mistakes will have to be edited/rewritten/or revised, depending on the particular mistake.

I prefer fixing them as I make them because losing a character's voice for ten or twenty thousand words can affect the who story, and be a true pain to fix. So read what you're writing, and listen to how it sounds. Pay attention not just to what's in your head, but to what goes down on the page.

Jamesaritchie said:

This si really a pretty simple problem. Read what you write. When you write a page, check the voice. If it isn't right, fix it. You're going to make mistakes, and these mistakes will have to be edited/rewritten/or revised, depending on the particular mistake.

I prefer fixing them as I make them because losing a character's voice for ten or twenty thousand words can affect the who story, and be a true pain to fix. So read what you're writing, and listen to how it sounds. Pay attention not just to what's in your head, but to what goes down on the page.

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That's good advice, reading your stuff aloud. But sometimes, you're so close to your stuff that you don't see what may need fixing. That's why posting on SYW might be helpful, esp. in this instance.

I try to give my guys a saying they use, or a belief they hold dear, even certain swear words. It's a reminder to myself of just who the person is. Then I have to remember how fast they talk, how many words they use to say something. One character might say, "Right!" where his friend would say, "You know, you may just be right for once."

Also, I like JAR's advice. I try to get it right the first time.

Leema said:

So I've just started a new piece and I love my narrator's mega-sassy voice.

I'm just worried about keeping it up for 60k more words...

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I wonder if the readers can stand it for 60k words either.

The subject of music came up. The best songs are not the ones where they belt their lungs out from the first note. The best songs build to a crescendo. Maybe it will be a good thing if your character's voice is varied.

morngnstar said:

I wonder if the readers can stand it for 60k words either.

The subject of music came up. The best songs are not the ones where they belt their lungs out from the first note. The best songs build to a crescendo. Maybe it will be a good thing if your character's voice is varied.

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IMO that's uncalled-for. She's given us no reason, absolutely none, to believe she's overdoing it, so why immediately assume readers won't like it?

That said, I recommend not so much varying the voice as making sure you remember to let it to grow up during the course of the story. We all grow and change, especially during important events.

Quinn_Inuit said:

IMO that's uncalled-for. She's given us no reason, absolutely none, to believe she's overdoing it, so why immediately assume readers won't like it?

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Hey, I was just being mega-sassy.

morngnstar said:

I wonder if the readers can stand it for 60k words either.

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Quinn_Inuit said:

IMO that's uncalled-for. She's given us no reason, absolutely none, to believe she's overdoing it, so why immediately assume readers won't like it?

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morngnstar said:

Hey, I was just being mega-sassy.

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Seriously? Maybe you're not the OP's target audience, and that's fine, but there's no need to insult her methods. Also, gift-wrapping snark alongside a helpful suggestion doesn't cancel out or soften the snark.

Perhaps a tad too sassy/ snarky? It is a fair point that a very strong and distinctive narrative voice might become wearing after a while if it is overdone. Something to watch out for, I think, but not necessarily a reason to avoid a strong and distinctive narrative voice.

Well, I'm in Blacbird's camp this time: I'd finish the book first. Maybe by the 20K or 30K mark the real voice of the book will appear, and the voice part of the editing job will be not to make the rest of the book conform to the voice from the beginning, but make the beginning change it's voice to the one that spontaneously generated itself once the ball really started rolling.

JAR does not outline--he trusts his unconscious mind to weave the story a scene at a time, but we now learned that a definite voice is something he maintains from the start (perhaps this voice forms a sort of narrative exoskeleton which pushes the plot in certain directions). I'm the opposite--I plan the plot beforehand, but let my unconscious mind choose the voice. Sometimes it takes a number of chapters, before I realize what the voice of the book is.

So there you have it. Two mirror images of The Correct Method--depends on temperament, I guess.