When discussing voice, in connection with writing fiction, we need to distinguish between author and character voice.

Author voice refers to the style of the author.

This can include word choice and tone. Author voice will be somewhat consistent, although there may be variations between voice used in one work and the next.

Consider your favourite authors, and what it is that appeals to you about their particular writing style. When you read their work, you just know it’s that author’s work, right? Even if the writer in question writes in multiple genres, there’s something that marks each story out as being their own. Daphne du Maurier comes to mind for me, personally.

All writers, then, have a voice – but should you consciously develop that voice?

Such as, intentionally focus upon absorbing the styles of other specific authors, so that this will influence your own?

As with most other aspects of being a writer, this is an individual choice. Most of us like to at least have some degree of awareness, when it comes to our personal writing styles.

But, yes – voice comes naturally, and will develop simply through the fact that we write and read, and live in general.

Character voice is also “exactly what it says on the tin”.

Each character in each story should, ideally, have a clearly defined voice – although it can be challenging to achieve in practice, and a common writing problem is that multiple characters, within a particular story, seem the same, or very similar, in terms of voice.

Character voice is distinct from author voice, although paradoxically, it’s also an element of author voice.

The extent to which author and character voice merge into one, definitely varies. The general tendency would be for character voice to blend most with author voice in a first person, single viewpoint narrative. However, this is by no means always the case.

The concept of character voice does tend to refer to viewpoint characters, but it’s worth remembering that it applies to other characters, too. But, if a character isn’t a POV character, we’re going to be relying upon dialogue exclusively, to convey voice.

As I mentioned, author voice does tend to take care of itself, but it can’t hurt to be aware of our own developing styles. And, when it comes to character voice – that’s definitely an area on which many of us need to focus.

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In this post, I’ll be expanding upon my Writing Believable Dialogue post.

I would, therefore, suggest reading that first, if you haven’t already.

I can’t emphasize enough that believable characters are the heart of great fiction.

Other elements, such as story structure, are important, but strong characterisation is essential. And, without convincing dialogue, you won’t have believable characters. That’s why I consider this subject sufficiently valuable to revisit.

It’s important, in general, to avoid exposition in dialogue.

Many writers will attempt to convey backstory via dialogue, but this rarely comes across as natural.

However, there’s one circumstance in which this can actually work: arguments. It’s important to include conflict in your stories, and although not all of this conflict will be in the form of rows between your various characters – well, arguments are bound to be in the mix, right?

In real life, arguments are very much a time when accusations are flying:

“And what about what you said, on Julie’s wedding day?”

“Well, how about what your mum said to my sister, last Christmas?”

“Aren’t you forgetting the time you…?”

Okay, you get the idea. Basically, people hurl anything and everything at each other, when tempers are high, so take advantage of this, as a writer.

In my Believable Dialogue post, I mentioned the overuse of character names in dialogue.

I still find myself doing this, and having to remove name tags, as part of the revision process.

One specific problem I find is that many of my characters are known by more than one variation of their name, used interchangeably. Some examples, from my WIP: Lucy/Luce, Catherine/Cath, Matthew/Matt, and Charlotte/Charlie. This tends to result, in my experience, in the inclusion of more name tags, in total.

There’s no obvious way to avoid this, other than limiting the number of characters, within any one story, who are routinely known by multiple versions of their names.

It really is worth paying attention to this. Listen intentionally to real life conversations, as these provide useful comparisons. It’s surprising how seldom we actually use each other’s names, during real interactions.

I mentioned this before, and will repeat: Said is not dead.

It’s time to get past this myth. I still occasionally come across infographics on Pinterest, providing extensive lists of “said alternatives”, most of which make me cringe.

Whilst there are some viable alternatives, less “exclaiming”, “confessing”, and “admitting” will make your writing sound more stylish. “Said” is an invisible word, and does its job.

Not every line of dialogue requires an attribution at all – particularly the case when a conversation involves only two characters.

Action tags can be useful but, as with every other device, some writers overdo these. They serve a purpose, and can be used effectively, but don’t use them too often.

If in doubt, keep it simple, and go with the functional, unobtrusive “said”.

Hopefully, these tips, along with those in my related post, will help you to improve the quality of your dialogue.

Creating realistic dialogue is vital, because without it, as I mentioned, you simply won’t have realistic characters.

But the good news is that it often only takes a minor tweak here and there, during the revision and editing process, to make a significant difference.

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Filter words or phrases, in fiction, create distance between the direct experience of a character, and that of the reader.

Lucy heard the door slam. If we know we’re in Lucy’s mind, we don’t need to be told that Lucy heard the door slam. The door slammed. That is sufficient. It’s more immediate, and uses fewer words, to convey the same information.

Whilst there will be instances where filter words are actually useful, these are few and far between. Most of us tend to overuse them.

A few to look out for include: saw, heard, felt, noticed, realised, knew, and wondered.

These are all popular ones, but we will each have our own favourites, so it’s very individual. If you can identify filter words that you personally tend resort to, it should become easier to find and eliminate them, during the editing process.

When it comes to prose style, it’s often these seemingly minor issues that make a significant difference, to the quality of our writing, as a whole.

Removing filter words is a simple task, and definitely worth the effort.

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So, today we’re discussing epilogues.

No, I’ve not yet written a post about prologues – and to be honest, have no immediate plans to do so. Epilogues interest me more right now, because I’m planning to include one in my WIP. Please note that said “WIP” was a reference to the novel Distorted Perceptions – published in 2020.

Some people believe that you shouldn’t use epilogues at all, and many feel this way about prologues, too.

I don’t share this opinion. However, both prologues and epilogues should certainly be used with caution. Ultimately, you will know, in your heart, whether you need one or both.

There are readers out there who routinely skip both prologues and epilogues.

I can’t understand this personally, as they’re part of the story.

There are definitely cases, in which the author might have done well to skip them, or at least scaled them down somewhat.

Incidentally, I don’t imagine that many people would be tempted to miss out on an epilogue, having cared about your characters enough to finish the rest of the book, even if the same readers might have lacked the patience to read a prologue – but, as I mentioned, I can’t really comprehend skipping any part of the book.

One instance where you might include an epilogue – and this applies to my own story – is following a time lapse: a gap notably longer than those used throughout the rest of the novel.

The passing of time wouldn’t be the only factor involved, but would be one consideration. The characters may need to be left to their own devices, for possibly six months, several years, or even decades. The exact period of time can vary greatly.

There must then be sufficient justification to re-join your characters.

Why could the book not have ended, as it was? You should be able to answer that. My novel commences in 1983, and ends in 1990 – but I show a glimpse of life in 1993, for my protagonist, Lucy, and a few other central characters.

Is there a need for closure, beyond the last page of, as it were, the main story?

Maybe you need to show that there’s hope, beyond tragedy – or struggles, beyond the seemingly “happy ever after” aspects of the story’s climax.

In fact, all of those apply to my own work, as complex and contradictory as that might sound.

Another reason for including an epilogue is to emphasize the novel’s underlying theme, in some way that couldn’t be fully achieved, during the course of the main plot.

As well as considering why you should include an epilogue, think carefully about the possible reasons why you should not.

It could be that the story really is over, but you’re finding it hard to let go. Of course, as a writer, you’re going to know – or, at least, want to know – what happens next to your characters. It’s natural. The question is, does your reader need to know, too? Are you making the story stronger, or are the characters overstaying their welcome?

Or, on the contrary, are you ending it too soon, and trying to condense what should be a sequel, into a quick “P. S.”?

That brings me to my next point: length.

In general, an epilogue shouldn’t be significantly longer than the longest regular chapter. Very short epilogues can work but, if it’s turning into a novella, or another novel – maybe that’s exactly what it’s meant to be.

Being honest, I’ve felt conflicted about many aspects of my WIP, including the ending, which changes, whenever I believe that I know it.

The characters don’t necessarily agree with my outline, or want to make my life, and writing process, simple.

Whether or not you choose to include an epilogue is, as I’ve stated already, a personal choice.

They’re devices and, in my opinion, can be highly effective.

As always, it’s a case of doing what we feel is best for our stories. It’s often a question of trial and error – so don’t be afraid to write that epilogue, even if you end up having to discard it. Since when has the writing process been easy, after all?

On the subject of endings, I’ve also discussed how to write your novel’s climax – and, if you need specific advice on killing off characters, check out my post, on that topic.

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