When the Voice is Silent
What do you do when you can’t capture your character’s voice?
I’m having a bit of a conundrum. A situation, if you will.
As some of you know, I’m rewriting my NaNo novel from 2009. It’s going swimmingly (despite the fact that I’m not a very good swimmer), and my main female character’s voice is set. Firm. Mercifully natural, most of the time. I’ve got her down (more or less), and where I’m having trouble with it, I can fix it with a few tries.
Problem?
Halfway through the book… the narrator changes.
Er, if anyone from my critique group is reading this… heh. Spoiler alert. Sorry. BUT NOW YOU ARE PREPARED (and hopefully will throw fewer things at me…).
Without saying exactly who it is (for the sake of my crit group), the narrator changes to a teenaged male. I’ve written male characters before… so this isn’t my first time.
However, for some reason that’s beyond my ability to understand, I cannot get this blasted character’s voice right. First he sounds too young. Then too whiny. Then too juvenile. Then too stiff and lifeless. Then too forced.
WHAT DO I DO?!?!?!
If you’ve had this problem before, how did you solve it? Did you just write and rewrite and write again until you found it?
The issue isn’t having the right character to tell the story, either. I know this is the right person. He’s just… being difficult about it. Argh.
Heeeeelp!!!
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