Thursday, July 19. 2007
Voice
I am preparing to write a feature review of Jenny Downham's debut novel Before I Die (for Viewpoint: On Books for Young Adults), and I'd like to pick your brains.
The defining quality of the novel, for me, is the narrator's voice. Yes, it's classic first person YA, but it's not a same-same, generic YA first person voice, the likes of which we've all read many a time. I know which aspects of the narration interest me, in terms of how it both constructs and reflects the novel's thematic concerns (or "significance" in thesis-speak 
)
But I've always found "voice" difficult to define and explain, both for myself and for my students. It's like that old saw about p*rn*gr*phy—it's hard to define but I know it when I (read) it.
My question for the good readers of Misrule is this—how do you define "voice" in narrative fiction? For writers—how do you define it, and how do you find it? How do you make a voice distinct from character to character—especially when it comes to first person? (So far in my own dabbles in fiction, my writing seems to have a similar sounding voice—which might mean I basically haven't found one yet, or else I have one voice and one story to get out there before I find other voices. Or else I'm just not much of a fiction writer!)
For teachers of creative writing—how do you explain it to your students, and how do you help them find it in their writing?
Fellow readers and critics—any comments?
And my fellow editors (am I still an editor? Well, I've got four manuscripts to read this weekend, so I guess so!). Accepted wisdom—you hear it all the time—is that editors/publishers are looking for a "fresh voice". What do you mean by that? What exactly do you look for and what rings your bells?
Big questions—maybe too big for the comments function, but let's give it a go. And please, try and be as specific as you can, even technical. Feel free to use jargon—I can cope!
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Thanks for kicking off the comments, Barbara. Good thoughts--should be helpful for my novice writer students.
Cheers,
Judith
Cheers,
Judith
I think there are two components to creating a "voice" for a character and/or narrator.
One is that character's personality. This wouldn't change, whether or not that character narrates a story, or plays a major role in it. There are as many varieties of personality as of people. Each character has a voice that reflects his or her personality, upbringing, mood, etc. That may or may not be the voice of the whole story.
The other component involves the technical parameters of a storytelling voice, which include point of view (which character, if any, do we see the action through), perspective (how recent events are), presence, etc. The more presence a narrator has, the more that voice becomes another personality in the storytelling.
One is that character's personality. This wouldn't change, whether or not that character narrates a story, or plays a major role in it. There are as many varieties of personality as of people. Each character has a voice that reflects his or her personality, upbringing, mood, etc. That may or may not be the voice of the whole story.
The other component involves the technical parameters of a storytelling voice, which include point of view (which character, if any, do we see the action through), perspective (how recent events are), presence, etc. The more presence a narrator has, the more that voice becomes another personality in the storytelling.
Hi J.L.,
I'm interested in your comment that "personalities don't change". I suppose they can, say with an acquired brain injury, but I'm going to have to consider whether or not I agree with you outside of that scenario! I suppose I am thinking what Bal calls "believable/acceptable inconsistencies" (that may not be her exact phrase--it might be Reimer and Nodelman's paraphrase). I suppose acceptable inconsistencies are part of what reflects personality, and it's how the writer expresses that that is key.
I am looking for some really concrete language about "voice" for my students, many of whom are completely new to writing fiction and are unfamiliar with "persons", point of view etc. Those are pretty straightforward to teach, ut voice is that much more nebulous a concept.
Thanks for your thoughts.
Judith
I'm interested in your comment that "personalities don't change". I suppose they can, say with an acquired brain injury, but I'm going to have to consider whether or not I agree with you outside of that scenario! I suppose I am thinking what Bal calls "believable/acceptable inconsistencies" (that may not be her exact phrase--it might be Reimer and Nodelman's paraphrase). I suppose acceptable inconsistencies are part of what reflects personality, and it's how the writer expresses that that is key.
I am looking for some really concrete language about "voice" for my students, many of whom are completely new to writing fiction and are unfamiliar with "persons", point of view etc. Those are pretty straightforward to teach, ut voice is that much more nebulous a concept.
Thanks for your thoughts.
Judith
Dear Judith,
Hi! Fascinating topic, of course. I think it can sometimes boil down to knowing when an F# is too sharp or too flat. You just know it. When the F# is perfectly tuned there's a satisfaction that comes & goes almost so fast that most of us don't stop to notice it. We don't sigh to ourselves, "My, what a lovely F# that is!" We go right on. When the pitch is wrong, just by a hair, we cringe ("What a terrible F# that is! In fact, it's so bad that...."), and we can lose our concentration for the next few measures or--for some of us extremely grouchy persons--for the rest of the piece. And so, in fiction, it really is a case of "...we know it when we hear it...." Those of us whose work depends on getting the voice right probably have a variety of approaches. Mine is basically a matter of writing out loud, listening and listening and listening to myself reading the words, coming back after a few months to check the flawed pitches, and eventually releasing the piece with the knowledge that the most glaring vocal error might have been under my nose for years but my nose and ear were not finely tuned enough to spot it. And so it goes. It's really just close reading, but I never know how close I'm getting. I'm always interested in hearing what other authors and/or musicians have to say that can illumine my narrow candlelight view of this oceanic topic.
Hi! Fascinating topic, of course. I think it can sometimes boil down to knowing when an F# is too sharp or too flat. You just know it. When the F# is perfectly tuned there's a satisfaction that comes & goes almost so fast that most of us don't stop to notice it. We don't sigh to ourselves, "My, what a lovely F# that is!" We go right on. When the pitch is wrong, just by a hair, we cringe ("What a terrible F# that is! In fact, it's so bad that...."), and we can lose our concentration for the next few measures or--for some of us extremely grouchy persons--for the rest of the piece. And so, in fiction, it really is a case of "...we know it when we hear it...." Those of us whose work depends on getting the voice right probably have a variety of approaches. Mine is basically a matter of writing out loud, listening and listening and listening to myself reading the words, coming back after a few months to check the flawed pitches, and eventually releasing the piece with the knowledge that the most glaring vocal error might have been under my nose for years but my nose and ear were not finely tuned enough to spot it. And so it goes. It's really just close reading, but I never know how close I'm getting. I'm always interested in hearing what other authors and/or musicians have to say that can illumine my narrow candlelight view of this oceanic topic.
Thanks so much, Jinny--what a perfect analogy! Again, some of my students are not "close" readers, as well as being novice writers, so an analogy from another field can be really helpful.
(Any Misrule reader who has not read Ms Wolff's "The Mozart Season"--get thee to a library!)
Hugs,
Judith
(Any Misrule reader who has not read Ms Wolff's "The Mozart Season"--get thee to a library!)
Hugs,
Judith
There are so many sub-topics one could discuss about voice: there is the narrative voice, and then there are the voices that the character employ and express themselves with, and of course, there is the inner-voice that each reader might have as one goes along with the printed text. I want to only talk about the narrative voice here. As I read Gini's comment and thought back what Philip Pullman once wrote about his writing process when we discussed voice on child_lit, I am reminded that these authors with the most distinctive and effective narrative voices all seem to "listen" to their words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs. There is an objectiveness to this process that, in my view, eliminates what I consider the very selfish and self-indulgent (read: extremely annoying) voice that we too often find in children's books.
For example, an early chapter book I read yesterday is filled with alliterated adverbs and adjectives. The first 3 times, it was cute and fun... but they keep popping up, throughout the narrative. These forced word choices do not serve to advance the story, nor do they serve to build the characters, or to maintain the reader's interest. In short, this particular "voice" only serves the narrator's (author's) self-image of being someone, oh so clever with words. They do not serve the story, nor the reader's interest. Great narrative voice possesses, then, a self-less and giving quality – all to further the story and wrapping all the other elements together to make the tale whole. This does not mean that the authors will lose their individual voices. Each writer has his/her own taste and internal rhythm and each story, in a capable hand, should also have its own unique voice. It only means that the most capable writers are those who do not hesitate to change and alter their original choices so that the tale will be just right, not to please themselves, but to please “the story” and ultimately, hopefully, those who read these stories.
For example, an early chapter book I read yesterday is filled with alliterated adverbs and adjectives. The first 3 times, it was cute and fun... but they keep popping up, throughout the narrative. These forced word choices do not serve to advance the story, nor do they serve to build the characters, or to maintain the reader's interest. In short, this particular "voice" only serves the narrator's (author's) self-image of being someone, oh so clever with words. They do not serve the story, nor the reader's interest. Great narrative voice possesses, then, a self-less and giving quality – all to further the story and wrapping all the other elements together to make the tale whole. This does not mean that the authors will lose their individual voices. Each writer has his/her own taste and internal rhythm and each story, in a capable hand, should also have its own unique voice. It only means that the most capable writers are those who do not hesitate to change and alter their original choices so that the tale will be just right, not to please themselves, but to please “the story” and ultimately, hopefully, those who read these stories.
Thanks, fairrosa.
I hesitate to subscribe "intention" to writers (as was recently a topic on chid_lit). Perhaps the weakness you identify is less a desire to show off than a lack of experience and confidence on the writer's part? That's not to say that the effect on the reader isn't exactly as you describe--irritation!
Best to you and your two and four-legged family members!
Judith
I hesitate to subscribe "intention" to writers (as was recently a topic on chid_lit). Perhaps the weakness you identify is less a desire to show off than a lack of experience and confidence on the writer's part? That's not to say that the effect on the reader isn't exactly as you describe--irritation!
Best to you and your two and four-legged family members!
Judith
I find my voice in a couple of ways.
My narrative voice about comes in a rather non-scientific way. As I write, I basically visualise the audience I'm writing for. If, for example, I'm writing for ten-year-olds, I'll see a group of ten year olds sitting on a classroom floor listening to me read that story to them. Are they laughing, listening and otherwise engaged? Yes? Then the voice is working. If they're lounging, yawning and otherwise apparently unimpressed, it's not landing. I do accept that I can only do this because I spend half my life in front of kids in classroom talking about my work, and reading it to them. This is how I'm able to see their reaction, and this might not work for everyone. But it works for me.
There are variations on this theme. For example, when I wrote "A Boat For Bridget", I basically assumed the role of a aging uncle, telling an old-fashioned fireside story, and the voice came out of that.
The way I find character voice is quite simply through knowing them. Researching my character, drawing them out of my imagination through interview, getting to know them like you might know a friend, so that when the time comes for them to tell their story, it sounds and feels right, and honest. Again, not easy to explain how it works, but that's how it is. It works OK for me most of the time.
My narrative voice about comes in a rather non-scientific way. As I write, I basically visualise the audience I'm writing for. If, for example, I'm writing for ten-year-olds, I'll see a group of ten year olds sitting on a classroom floor listening to me read that story to them. Are they laughing, listening and otherwise engaged? Yes? Then the voice is working. If they're lounging, yawning and otherwise apparently unimpressed, it's not landing. I do accept that I can only do this because I spend half my life in front of kids in classroom talking about my work, and reading it to them. This is how I'm able to see their reaction, and this might not work for everyone. But it works for me.
There are variations on this theme. For example, when I wrote "A Boat For Bridget", I basically assumed the role of a aging uncle, telling an old-fashioned fireside story, and the voice came out of that.
The way I find character voice is quite simply through knowing them. Researching my character, drawing them out of my imagination through interview, getting to know them like you might know a friend, so that when the time comes for them to tell their story, it sounds and feels right, and honest. Again, not easy to explain how it works, but that's how it is. It works OK for me most of the time.
"It works OK for me most of the time."
It sure does, James-- as evidenced most recently in "Problem Child". Your experience in classrooms must be a huge help. I wonder if other writers feel that way? I know many claim (and I have no reason to disbelieve them) never to think about their audience when they're writing, but of course, everyone has their tricks and techniques that work for them.
Thanks for commenting.
Judith
It sure does, James-- as evidenced most recently in "Problem Child". Your experience in classrooms must be a huge help. I wonder if other writers feel that way? I know many claim (and I have no reason to disbelieve them) never to think about their audience when they're writing, but of course, everyone has their tricks and techniques that work for them.
Thanks for commenting.
Judith
Sorry not to be able to comment on the 'voice' thing - although I think I agree with the commenter about F# - it's about 'hearing' it; and actually reading a work aloud, in the presence of another person can very easily light up which are the parts where a voice errs and moves away from the personality of the character speaking.
But what I actually wanted to say was
that I have just read Before I Die this week, and thought it a very good YA read; the voice seemed to grow both more distinctive, sharpened, but less like herself, as she went on, and faded from the world. Needless to say, I was crying hard by the end. I look forward to your review (and haven't written my own yet...)
But what I actually wanted to say was
that I have just read Before I Die this week, and thought it a very good YA read; the voice seemed to grow both more distinctive, sharpened, but less like herself, as she went on, and faded from the world. Needless to say, I was crying hard by the end. I look forward to your review (and haven't written my own yet...)Thanks, Col. Your comments on "Before I Die" are interesting! And I look forward to exploring your site more fully.
Judith
Judith
Judy, you do attract a stellar commentariat. My own litle twinkle is just to note that for an example of narrative voice that has picked up this little white editor by the scruff of his neck and given him a good shaking I'd find Alexis Wright's Carpentaria hard to go past.
Ah, JS, I never cease to be amazed and intimidated by the people who turn out to read my blog! I very nearly bought "Carpentaria" for my brother's birthday (so now he knows what he's not getting, although I'm not sure he reads this...) I look forward to reading it myself, although it's a bit fat for the commute.
Love,
Judy
Love,
Judy
Judith, Really looking forward to what you make of Before I Die. IMHO (thank you for asking!) it's one of the most interesting YA books for a while. It's a book that cleverly controls and powerfully exploits a number of key themes in (not just) YA literature. The looming death provides the heightened emotional force, while paradoxically, Tess is determined to live within this world. I think the voice cannot be easily split off from the subject matter, and Downham seems to have found a way to write from within, to let the body of Tess do the talking. It's hard to think of a book that inhabits the human body with such intimacy.
Also interesting is that novel stays well away from talk of god, the afterlife, the great beyond, him upstairs. The narrative simply refuses to give us that little escape hatch. No looking down on life from above, no ghostly afterword, no voices from beyond the grave. I wonder if people will object to the novel because it simply refuses to admit god into the picture. The consolations of death are to be found elsewhere.
Before I Die took me places I didn't expect to go, namely, into a close-up contact with the physical self. And in doing so, pushed me clooser to experiencing life. (I'm told the Greeks had a word for it.) It's a book of great integrity, and that probably arises because of the novelist's ability to really inhabit the voice of dying narrator. What does it for me is those wobbles in seeing the world. The vulnerabilties that arise in the passing moment. This immediacy between event and word, the responsive movement between the two, is what makes the writing, er, come alive. (Perhaps it is also to the novel's benefit that in keeping god out of it, the writing is allowed to experience the tactile realities of the everyday world. There's no counter-narraive of religion belief coming between us and the world.)
I have a feeling that while Before I Die will strike a big chord with many, many teenagers, some adults (read: school libraries) are going to have problems with it (read: won't stock it because of content). So it's likely to be a strong word of mouth book as much as anything.
To use that reviewer-ese phrase, I found the novel compelling. It took me over and dragged me forward, like fish-hooks in the chest might drag me forward. What I'm really looking forward to is further discussion of Before I Die. Expect tears.
Also interesting is that novel stays well away from talk of god, the afterlife, the great beyond, him upstairs. The narrative simply refuses to give us that little escape hatch. No looking down on life from above, no ghostly afterword, no voices from beyond the grave. I wonder if people will object to the novel because it simply refuses to admit god into the picture. The consolations of death are to be found elsewhere.
Before I Die took me places I didn't expect to go, namely, into a close-up contact with the physical self. And in doing so, pushed me clooser to experiencing life. (I'm told the Greeks had a word for it.) It's a book of great integrity, and that probably arises because of the novelist's ability to really inhabit the voice of dying narrator. What does it for me is those wobbles in seeing the world. The vulnerabilties that arise in the passing moment. This immediacy between event and word, the responsive movement between the two, is what makes the writing, er, come alive. (Perhaps it is also to the novel's benefit that in keeping god out of it, the writing is allowed to experience the tactile realities of the everyday world. There's no counter-narraive of religion belief coming between us and the world.)
I have a feeling that while Before I Die will strike a big chord with many, many teenagers, some adults (read: school libraries) are going to have problems with it (read: won't stock it because of content). So it's likely to be a strong word of mouth book as much as anything.
To use that reviewer-ese phrase, I found the novel compelling. It took me over and dragged me forward, like fish-hooks in the chest might drag me forward. What I'm really looking forward to is further discussion of Before I Die. Expect tears.
Geez, Mike, way to go to make a fellow reviewer feel inadequate!
Fabulous insights into "Before I Die". I may have to steal them (or pass the Viewpoint review over to you!).
I hope you're wrong about your expectation that school libraries won't stock it, but being closer to that particular coalface than me, I will simply keep my fingers crossed and wait to hear more.
By the way, Jonathan Shaw probably knows the Greek word...
Cheers,
Judith
Fabulous insights into "Before I Die". I may have to steal them (or pass the Viewpoint review over to you!).
I hope you're wrong about your expectation that school libraries won't stock it, but being closer to that particular coalface than me, I will simply keep my fingers crossed and wait to hear more.
By the way, Jonathan Shaw probably knows the Greek word...
Cheers,
Judith
Judith, pah, inadequate Ms who's been published in The Horn Book. I'm not saying all schools will baulk at BEfore I Die. Of course they won't. Many will love it. But some certainly will resist. But, as is the way of these things, we're unlikely to have an open debate about censorship. I guess that was the point I wanted to raise on this. It's a very fine book. Let's hope a lot of people can enjoy it. I guess it's a book that really moved me.
Ah, well, Mike, it's been a while since I published a feature review, and I feel the responsibility (and the public nature of putting one's critical faculties out there!) keenly. Your comments are pretty impressive. I agree that it's a book that deserves a wide audience.
Cheers.
Cheers.
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Comments
about Narrative Theory and Children's Literature
Wed, 28.07.2010 22:19
Hi Cathy, So sorry about th e email links on the website. I'd be really happy to meet wi th you while you're in S [...]
Wed, 28.07.2010 22:19
Hi Cathy, So sorry about th e email links on the website. I'd be really happy to meet wi th you while you're in S [...]
about Narrative Theory and Children's Literature
Tue, 27.07.2010 11:36
Judith--none of your emails fr om this site connect!Dear Ms. Ridge, I'm a teacher librar ian in an American high [...]
Tue, 27.07.2010 11:36
Judith--none of your emails fr om this site connect!Dear Ms. Ridge, I'm a teacher librar ian in an American high [...]
about Prime Minister's Literary Awards shortlists announced
Tue, 27.07.2010 10:31
fabbo! i agree with jonathan and wish they could all win. a nd i love the inclusion of the museum of mary child be [...]
Tue, 27.07.2010 10:31
fabbo! i agree with jonathan and wish they could all win. a nd i love the inclusion of the museum of mary child be [...]
about Prime Minister's Literary Awards shortlists announced
Fri, 16.07.2010 23:40
My only thought abut the child ren's and YA lists is that I'm delighted to see people there whose work I love, and [...]
Fri, 16.07.2010 23:40
My only thought abut the child ren's and YA lists is that I'm delighted to see people there whose work I love, and [...]
about Prime Minister's Literary Awards shortlists announced
Fri, 16.07.2010 22:47
Fine, JS, you win! I retreat f rom the statistical field. (An y thoughts about the children' s and YA shortlists?)
Fri, 16.07.2010 22:47
Fine, JS, you win! I retreat f rom the statistical field. (An y thoughts about the children' s and YA shortlists?)
about Prime Minister's Literary Awards shortlists announced
Fri, 16.07.2010 15:20
No, it was a Howard initiative . Howard overrruled the first panel's recommendation on the non-fiction prize and de [...]
Fri, 16.07.2010 15:20
No, it was a Howard initiative . Howard overrruled the first panel's recommendation on the non-fiction prize and de [...]
about Prime Minister's Literary Awards shortlists announced
Fri, 16.07.2010 08:46
Website only goes back as far as 2008, Jonathan, so I think we have to split the differenc e on 3 years (and 2 PMs— [...]
Fri, 16.07.2010 08:46
Website only goes back as far as 2008, Jonathan, so I think we have to split the differenc e on 3 years (and 2 PMs— [...]
about Prime Minister's Literary Awards shortlists announced
Fri, 16.07.2010 06:38
It's actually the fourth year, Judy – and the third Prime Mi nister. And at least one of th e judges of the children [...]
Fri, 16.07.2010 06:38
It's actually the fourth year, Judy – and the third Prime Mi nister. And at least one of th e judges of the children [...]
about Prime Minister's Literary Awards shortlists announced
Thu, 15.07.2010 23:11
Literature, not literacy, Davi d.
Thu, 15.07.2010 23:11
Literature, not literacy, Davi d.
about Prime Minister's Literary Awards shortlists announced
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There you go. I never know the Prime Minister had a Literacy Award. d
Thu, 15.07.2010 18:00
There you go. I never know the Prime Minister had a Literacy Award. d
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Why? Because she can write a b ook that anyone and everyone c an read with enormous enjoymen t. Here characters have [...]
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Mon, 12.07.2010 00:00
Yes, Judith, I love them too. Partly because I'm drawn to st ories about big wacky families (I'm one of 6kids) and [...]
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Yes, Judith, I love them too. Partly because I'm drawn to st ories about big wacky families (I'm one of 6kids) and [...]
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Sun, 11.07.2010 22:31
A really charmer is the pictur e book Hairs/Pelitos from Sand ra Cisneros's The House on Man go Street.
Sun, 11.07.2010 22:31
A really charmer is the pictur e book Hairs/Pelitos from Sand ra Cisneros's The House on Man go Street.
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Thu, 08.07.2010 17:12
Meg Murray in Madeleine L'Engl e's books has hair that is unc ontrollable since she stopped wearing it in tightly co [...]
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Meg Murray in Madeleine L'Engl e's books has hair that is unc ontrollable since she stopped wearing it in tightly co [...]
about Flow it, show it.
Tue, 06.07.2010 00:11
And there's Hairy MacClary -- though I suppose he's not a ha iry human ...
Tue, 06.07.2010 00:11
And there's Hairy MacClary -- though I suppose he's not a ha iry human ...
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