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Q&A How to describe an angry voice in dialogue?

The best way to give the reader the sense the the character speaking is angry is through the words they say, not through the description of how they say it. Make the word angry and you don't need t...

posted 8y ago by Mark Baker‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2020-01-03T20:41:50Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/24521
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T05:34:20Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/24521
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T05:34:20Z (almost 5 years ago)
The best way to give the reader the sense the the character speaking is angry is through the words they say, not through the description of how they say it. Make the word angry and you don't need to describe the voice. The reader reading angry words will hear an angry voice.

Effective writing is about focus. If you describe every intonation and twitch of a speaker, you are inviting the reader to focus on the face, not the words. This works (and is necessary) if your speaker is giving curt one word answers. The reader cannot tell from "yes" or "no" if the speaker is angry, so you describe the tone. But if the reader cannot tell that the character is angry from "Have you absolutely lost your mind?" then they are singularly tone deaf.

Never give the reader more than they need. It simply becomes a distraction. If you want them to focus on the words, don't distract them with facial expressions and tone. If you want them to focus on the face and voice, don't distract them with excess words.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2016-09-08T23:03:32Z (about 8 years ago)
Original score: 4