What aspects of written dialogue are important when giving characters a unique voice?
I have a project that I am working on in which I need to write quite a few fictional informal email correspondences between pairs of characters. I am not using these characters in any other context.
I am working with a relatively large number of characters (12 ish) and have neither the time nor the need to fully flesh out each in great detail.
I think I am doing a good job keeping the characters interesting and unique in terms of the actual content of their conversations, but I am aware that their writing styles are all a very similar.
I have tried to identify some basic variables I can use to determine the character's writing style. So far I mainly have the following:
- Tendency to over/under comma
- Typical sentence length
- Commonly used phrases/sayings (oh god, yeah-but-no, take the world by its nipples and twist)
- Expressions of humour (haha, lol, :D)
What are some other ways I can differentiate my characters' writing styles? Or put another way, what are some things that give away a common writer that I should try and avoid?
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One of the first things I thought of was temperament. Have you given each of these characters a very basic template for their temperament? This also has the added benefit of providing a tangible lead on which to express their backstory through their actions and dialogue.
For example, if one of the characters was a "typically grumpy tough guy who was reluctant but ready to take the lead on things if it came to it", this would greatly influence how you would write his dialogue now that you have placed a general temperament on his character.
He would be loath to express gratitude and humour, for example, and this would be something the other characters wouldn't expect and could joke about in a scene when he did. Some would simply smile and perhaps the reckless, funny guy would throw a line in.
Alternatively, one of the characters might be the "wreckless, funny guy"...
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You could use different spellings and punctuation depending on where the email originates from: favor vs favour; and inclusion, or not, of the oxford comma.
Some people write 'try and' instead of the more technically correct 'try to'. Often Americans use an extraneous preposition 'off of' when 'off' alone does the job. A sloppy writer might write 'would of' instead of 'would've'. Many writers use 'there's' as a plural dummy element: 'There's seven people coming for dinner' when 'There are seven people coming for dinner' would be used by the more careful writer.
Although you don't have the space or need to flesh out these characters, you should use their emails to say as much as you can to show their levels of education and the tone of what they're writing. I'd be using every trick in the book to make each one sound unique. The last thing you want is for all the emails to sound as though they were written by you.
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Few readers will notice difference of style between different characters. Perhaps for one or two of them, but not for a dozen. What distinguished people much more than their style is what they want and the kinds of things they are willing to say. One may be kind to a fault while another is cruel. The kindness or cruelty will distinguish them far more than the style with which each is expressed. One person may be after money, another fame, another friendship, another forgiveness. The focus on these things in their correspondence will distinguish them even if they all use similar styles.
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