How to develop a unique voice for your character

Just like good dialogue, establishing a unique voice involves understanding the character's background, personality, and worldview. Consider their upbringing, education, and any defining experiences shaping how they perceive and articulate thoughts. 

But a character’s voice goes beyond dialogue. Character voice involves sentence structure, vocabulary, tone, speed and topic.

Interactions between Harry Potter and his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, provide one of the best examples of character voice.

As the most intellectual in the group, Granger finds herself explaining her thoughts and actions to the boys, leading to a character voice that is expository and logical, but also overbearing.

Being the only member of the trio who grew up in the magical world, Ron tends to have a more balanced view of Hogwarts and their experiences at the school. Combined with the fact that he comes from a large family (unlike Harry and Hermione who are only children), Ron has a sarcastic, humourous but supportive character voice, well aware of the fact that his two companions come from a non-magical background. 

Harry Potter, our main character has a questioning character voice, mainly because the truth of the magical world was so harshly revealed to him. The existence of Hogwarts, the death of his parents and his status as a celebrity were a few of the things Harry discovered in a very short period. And so, Harry tried to question and reason with people and things, seeking to understand the world he was thrust into.

What not to do with character voices

As expected, the biggest pitfall to avoid is an inconsistent voice. Characters should maintain a consistent manner of expression unless a deliberate shift occurs due to significant plot events or character development.

If a character is known for using a certain tone of voice or specific expressions, abrupt change can blindside the reader. Think of iconic characters and their catchphrases. Hercule Poirot’s “these little grey cells”, Sherlock Holmes’ “the game is afoot”, and James Bond’s “the name’s Bond. James Bond.”

Such catchphrases form part of a character’s voice. Along with your characters’ accents, common expressions, exclamations, catchphrases and vocabulary, these should be noted and detailed in a character profile.

Summary

Maintain a character's unique voice throughout the narrative. If a character’s voice does change, ensure such change is with sufficient reason, such as character development or due to the plotline. Otherwise, fluctuations in character voice can disrupt the immersive experience and confuse readers.