human. We kind of think the voice is the narrator. It certainly helps if the stories are riveting, but a great voice renders the dullest event remarkable.
Mary Karr • The Art of Memoir
Saved by Alex Dobrenko
human. We kind of think the voice is the narrator. It certainly helps if the stories are riveting, but a great voice renders the dullest event remarkable.
the narrative voice The voice that tells the story is the first thing the reader encounters. It carries us from the first page to the last. We, the readers, must believe in this narrative voice or, at least, we must feel strongly for that voice and have a definite and consistent opinion about it.
Walter Mosley • This Year You Write Your Novel
“Nothing is as important as a likable narrator. Nothing holds a story together better.” I think he’s right. If your narrator is someone whose take on things fascinates you, it isn’t really going to matter if nothing much happens for a long time.
Anne Lamott • Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
The goal of a voice is to speak not with objective authority but with subjective curiosity.
Mary Karr • The Art of Memoir
our brains prepare, we are alert to experience what a story can provide, and by listening expose ourselves to the sound of the language, allowing it to communicate to the tonally sensitive areas of our brain through the inflections and higher harmonics of the voice.
Sally Mallam • The Oral Tale
In a first-person narrative, you are stuck with this one voice. Therefore this character, or at least her point of view (POV), must be engaging.
Walter Mosley • This Year You Write Your Novel
Think about “voicey” writers like Julia Reed, Anthony Bourdain, or Rick Bragg: all of these people wrote about ordinary things. But the way they talked about them was extraordinary. A good writer can talk about standing in line at the post office, and it will still be good.
Jess Graves • Jess Graves on Substack
Having a likable narrator is like having a great friend whose company you love, whose mind you love to pick, whose running commentary totally holds your attention, who makes you laugh out loud, whose lines you always want to steal.
Anne Lamott • Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
Having a likable narrator is like having a great friend whose company you love, whose mind you love to pick, whose running commentary totally holds your attention, who makes you laugh out loud, whose lines you always want to steal.