How do I study an author's "voice"?

[JoanDrake]

Specifically, I want to be able to study an author and then imitate this aspect of their work. How would I do that? What would I examine?

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Why do you want to imitate them? Just out of interest? In terms of voice I think it is how they put words together eg I had a chat with a writing chum today - she is metaphor rich, I am literal and factual. That, I think, is part of voice. Could I imitate her? Not a chance!

 

[Fishbowl Helmet]

Specifically, I want to be able to study an author and then imitate this aspect of their work. How would I do that? What would I examine?

So you want to copy another writer's style and word choice? Take a copy of their best two or three novels and manually type out every single word. When you're done with that you should be able to accurately mimic their voice.

No idea why you'd want to ape someone else though. The only thing any of us have to offer the world of any artistic value is uniquely ours, our voice and word choice. Subsuming that by intentionally copying someone else is selling out the only thing that would make your writing actually yours and worthwhile.

Better to just give up writing as a hobby and get a regular job.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

I don't see anything wrong in working out how an author achieves aspects of their stories that I enjoy.

I find taking a paragraph that does what I want and studying it word by word is really useful. With a grammar book, dictionary and thesaurus by my side. I rewrite it in my own style and compare it. It often highlights where I am going wrong with something or why I am not achieving something in my own work. Writing fan fiction for that particular author can also be useful because it shows the difference between my style and theirs.

 

[The Judge]

Everybody has stylistic tricks and words that are used a lot, so find the author's most typical work and sit and analyse a couple of pages. If you look around you'll probably find a lot of Dan Brown parodies going around at the moment, and they'll all include something like "Six foot two, former mud-wrestler Dab Browen looked across suspiciously at the superlatively attractive woman. She was very pretty." or some similar rubbish. They've latched on to his journalistic pre-loading of names, use of dodgy adverbs and repetition of ideas.

If you're doing this for a parody, then it's a bit like drawing a cartoon of a political figure -- you take one feature and exaggerate it, but no one expects it to look real.

 

[Coragem]

Author's "voice".

I shouldn't dismiss that as pretentious rubbish, but it's tempting.

Bear in mind that if you're writing 1st person or 3rd person limited you're more likely to be focussed on how to find your characters' voices.

In terms of learning from other authors, read and take notes. Think about the things you find impressive and might like to try for yourself. It takes practice, but the more you read actively the better you'll get at seeing exciting things in what other authors are doing. For example, I always take careful notice of verb use, ways or incorporating flashback and other stories within stories, sentence length (why is the author using a short sentence in a certain place – e.g., impact?), the way dialogue is set out, etc.

Coragem.

 

[Bowler1]

I always think of voice as something unique to every one of us from the moment we type our first letter, word etc.

I’m a firm believer that the only thing that will complicate things is trying to be something you’re not, as you won’t be writing honestly. Yes, study writers and how they do things, more so if you like their books, as the books you enjoy will no doubt be close to the style you write in. Writing can be hard enough when just trying to do your own thing, but trying to twist your writing to copy someone else can only lead to muddle in my opinion. Lastly, why do you want to be like someone else when everything I see from publishing houses clearly states that their looking for the next fresh author, the next big thing – you’ll never be the next big thing if you’re a carbon copy. Take a deep breath, cross your fingers and toes and hope that you’re the one the world is waiting to hear from, because all we can do is try.

Loud noise in the background, shouting and glass breaking.
‘Get off my keyboard you horrible, green monster,’ shouts Bowler1.
‘Use the force I will,’ counters Yoda, to the sound of a lightsaber powering up.
Quickly followed by the sound of RAY GUNS!

 

[Dream Walker]

Bah and Humbug... I say nick everything you can.
Publishing Houses aren't looking for original. They are looking for derivative mass production workers delivering what sells.
If you are trying one of those rewrite a classic novel into romantic fiction things, read the books until the author's diction crowds into your brain then write.

 

[chrispenycate]

The Louvre, a student (frequently several) producing a brush-stroke-perfect copy of La Gioconda.

Conservatory students given the task of composing (and arranging) a piece that anyone hearing it would be convinced was penned by Mozart, or Vivaldi.

And there's very little risk of them becoming art forgers, or writing endless sonatas.

There may be an element of hommage, or caricature, but mainly it's an exercise in analysis, as much of one's own work as that of the master. There is no long term intention of plagiarism, to riding piggyback on ancient fame, just questions like "Why did she do that?" or "Why did that particular scene work so well?" Just as critiquing someone else's submission here frequently gives an insight into what you yourself have always done wrong, but never noticed, deeper than that when someone else tries to be diplomatic while critiquing yours.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

I agree Chris the most enlightening thing I have ever written was a story about a pregnant Captain Jack Harkness being lured Wickerman style by the Kandy Man (My favourite Dr Who baddie).

Writing in someone else's world with someone else's characters is the hardest thing I have ever done. It highlighted a lot of my writing issues. Coming up with and developing my own is so much easier.

Now I write more fan fiction (everything from Charles Dickens to the Octonauts) because it improves my own work more than anything else.

 

[ZombieWife]

I did a few "replica" exercises in grad school. The hardest one? Flannery O'Connor. Good grief. We also tried Raymond Carver and Sherman Alexie. None of that changed my voice, though, it just felt like an exercise to try and understand a writer's choices. I found it very educational at a critical level. But, I write in my own voice for my stuff. It took me a while to discover just what that voice consisted of. I kind of ham-fisted my way through things for a while there.

 

[JoanDrake]

So you want to copy another writer's style and word choice? Take a copy of their best two or three novels and manually type out every single word. When you're done with that you should be able to accurately mimic their voice.

No idea why you'd want to ape someone else though. The only thing any of us have to offer the world of any artistic value is uniquely ours, our voice and word choice. Subsuming that by intentionally copying someone else is selling out the only thing that would make your writing actually yours and worthwhile.

Better to just give up writing as a hobby and get a regular job.

Yes, I've read that before somewhere. I could, I suppose, but that sounds terribly laborious (tho I do need the typing practice too). Wouldn't it be enough to just read them multiple times? I've done that.

I'm trying to find some way of getting around the problem I have of getting bored of my own stories. I always do that and I know that if I'm bored the reader is likely to be doubly so. They say you should write what you'd like to read yourself, and there are a few books I can read over and over and never get tired of. I want to imitate them, (but with different stories, of course)

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

They say you should write what you'd like to read yourself, and there are a few books I can read over and over and never get tired of. I want to imitate them, (but with different stories, of course)

Then imitate what you like about those books, and not worry about "the voice." (If you need to ask how to study it, I'm guessing you are having a little trouble identifying it, and if that is the case, then that may not be what makes the books so enjoyable for you. However, the things you like might add up -- more or less -- to a specific author's voice, so maybe it would help to break it down to the specifics of what you enjoy.)

But it's really write "the kind of book you would like to read yourself." Maybe you just need to improve in general. I haven't read your writing so I don't know, but so long as you keep working and improving (which is something we should all be doing) you may finally hit on a style and a voice of your own that you really like.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

I think there is a certain amount of magic involved in an author's voice. Something we struggle to define because it is the sum total of who they are.

 

[jastius]

have you tried writing in a different place? in plein aire so to speak? that is when a painter takes a small kit out of the studio and refreshes his artistic vision by interacting with the world in quick little paintings done outside. perhaps something like that would inspire you.. go to a place that has elements of what you are writing about and observe, make notes, take photographs.. and write ... sounds as if you just need a little inspiration.. my dad would say: sometimes before you start talking about the weather, you've got to go sniff the air..

 

[JoanDrake]

Thank you all very much so far and keep the ideas coming. All of them seem good and I will try to make application forthwith. Your signed copies will be on the way should any of them ever work.