Voice as Character
II of III
For many, one of the challenges of writing is making sure each character has his own unique voice. Who hasn’t received a rejection that referred to our “puppet” or “cardboard” characters? Attending to the body and physicality of our characters can help.
An improv theater exercise has each student walk across the room with a different part of his body leading the way. Try it. Walk across the room with your chin leading the way. Then, with your right shoulder leading the way. By the time the student gets to the other side of the room the way he carries his body has begun to create a particular voice that is not the author’s own.
How does a four-year-old walk across the room? How does an exhausted father walk across the room? Body contributes to voice.
Another way to explore voices is to sink into images (even caricatures) of different people. William Steig’s drawings done long before he thought of SYLVESTER AND THE MAGIC PEBBLE can help our minds play and discover.
Given their body posture and facial expression, how does each of the following characters express their reaction to the scene next to them?
The differences in each character’s response is what makes them unique and interesting.
Bibliography
THE STEIG ALBUM by William Steig. Duel, Sloan and Pearce, 1953.
As a fifth grade teacher some time back, I’ve see all those reactions. I am working on relating the clues of character response now, and this was a timely topic. Thanks George.