Author's Voice, Part II

There are many techniques to developing voice. The first two are essentially different sides of the same coin, 1A and 1B: Syntax and Diction.

Syntax runs the gamut of language, from the vernacular to the formal, Twain to Austen. It's rare that any author uses highly stylized, formal English. Even in period pieces, where antiquated terms and phrases might be used, a certain informality in tone that makes the piece far more readable. Complete slang, or perhaps more accurately, a complete copy of everyday speech, also makes a piece more readable. After all, a story needs some sense of direction and flow -- life and language meander a bit too much to be copied to the printed page.

The question facing the author, of course, is what end of the spectrum to approach?

Certain authors use essentially the style time and again. It's their style; it's representative of their comfort zone. They may experiment a bit early in their writing efforts, but once locked in, stay locked in. They generally expect to write the same book over and over again. Sue Grafton can't make X look much different than A because that's the formula and voice she's established, and to stray will leave her readers disappointed. Even experimental authors may be trapped by a certain syntax their readers expect.

Generally, however, the story -- and wants the author wants to say with it -- is best for determining syntax, and that's true even within genres. A traditional whodunit murder mystery cannot contain the gritty street language of the hard-boiled detective novel. Let the story determine syntax.

Diction, or 1B, involves word choice. How fancy or simple should the words be? How big, small, descriptive, plain, and so on? Diction flows from syntax. Carefully read and re-read. Does diction -- and beyond that, punctuation -- fit the syntax. The story? Its purpose. Diction, with its complement in punctuation, will give syntax shape after syntax gives it life. It will shape the narrator's voice, dialogue, character impressions, pacing, and so much more. Keep these two tied together. Diction should nestle inside syntax or they ball fall apart.