I just finished reading Jaycee Dugard's book A Stolen Life. It's a memoir, (a non-fiction account) of what happened to Jaycee after she was kidnapped when she was 11 years old. She was held captive for 18 years. Jaycee was an adult when she wrote her book but the novel is written in the "voice" of her 11 year-old self. She talks about things being "disgusting" and speaks in a way that makes you see Jaycee as a child. Writing in the voice of an 11 year-old is very powerful and effective because it forces the reader to remember that everything she wrote happened to her when she was a little girl.
Tim O'Brien's book The Things They Carried, is a collection of stories about Vietnam vets during and after the war. It's written in way that allows you to see the horror of war and what it does to the people in it. In his book he replays certain stories over and over again. It makes you feel like you're reliving a bad memory. This allows you to connect with the soldiers he writes about.
Walter Mosley, a writer who write tough "street educated" detectives, writes his characters so you understand that they know about the darker side of life. His characters have an attitude when they speak. As you hear his characters tell their story you know that they've seen things in their lives and that they know about how things work in the "streets. Finding the voice of you character is very important. As you write think about who your character is and what their "back story" and life experiences are. This will help to inform you on how they speak and what they think about. It's not just the story that captures your readers' attention but how your character tells their story that reels them in.
Tim O'Brien's book The Things They Carried, is a collection of stories about Vietnam vets during and after the war. It's written in way that allows you to see the horror of war and what it does to the people in it. In his book he replays certain stories over and over again. It makes you feel like you're reliving a bad memory. This allows you to connect with the soldiers he writes about.
Walter Mosley, a writer who write tough "street educated" detectives, writes his characters so you understand that they know about the darker side of life. His characters have an attitude when they speak. As you hear his characters tell their story you know that they've seen things in their lives and that they know about how things work in the "streets. Finding the voice of you character is very important. As you write think about who your character is and what their "back story" and life experiences are. This will help to inform you on how they speak and what they think about. It's not just the story that captures your readers' attention but how your character tells their story that reels them in.
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