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Exercise #128: Craft
Posted 10/7/05
We hear a lot about “voice.” I’ve heard of actors refusing certain lines because the words didn’t fit their character’s voice. As writers, we have our own, and our characters have their own, too. Like the actor, we sometimes work very hard to get the voice just right. If it doesn’t fit the character, we might lose the reader.
The voice of a piece is made up of many different things. The style of writing, the syntax, the grammar, even the punctuation all add to it. The “voice” of a doctor will differ greatly from the “voice” of a grade schooler on the playground. Imagine the doctor saying “Gimme my scalpel or I’m going home!”
For this exercise, we’ll explore the voice of at least two characters. The setting is an airport terminal. Assembled and waiting for the arrival of a jet are a limousine driver, a doctor, a lawyer, a housewife, twin six-year-old boys, a two-year-old, a wanna-be politician, a cab driver, a high school teacher, and a priest.
Give us two paragraphs of the internal thoughts of one of these people. Then do the same for another character.
You may do more than two, and you may add your own characters, if you let us know at the beginning of your SUB what or who they are.
Word limit: 1200
Please use the subject line
SUB: Exercise #128/yourname
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