The Voice! (1 Viewer)

[bright_angell]

I cant find a voice for my 40-something year old male character! i know what he's like coz i did a profile and even wrote a detailed description of his physical appearance- ITS SO FRIKEN HARD! i sound "like a thesaurus" as one class mate put it (and a teacher who told me to "put the book down") so i did all that and i still cant steer from all those big words coz its where i started with my protagonists language (its written in 1st person)-

P.S . in short- how does a 17 yr old female write in teh voice of a 40 year old male?

 

[Abbeygale]

Speak to forty year old males. Read books/stories written in first person from the perspective of forty year old males. There's no magic formula, you just have to research it.

 

[bright_angell]

thanx for the advice

i dont think its that simple unfortuantely- i reckon it gets down to the character i have in mind- my specific problem is interpreting this dude in my head onto paper- i guess looking out for 40 year old males conversations should help somewhat- but in the long run- it wont find my voice for the story- its up to me and i know it....
guess i was looking for a magic formula after all.

ps. anyone has that magic formula-gimmi a buz...or simply post ur reply

 

[tez0r]

think of how you speak in everyday life, and apply it to your character. If you're doing first person, there's no way someone would use "conjugated theasaurus verbose", it's all simplistic language.

 

[bright_angell]

yeah your right- i just dont want to fall into my own voice and realise this 40 year old male uses teen slang or whatever..........yeah, i'll just keep writing and try to get ppl to tell me if it makes sense....

 

[princesssfi]

only thing to try is just listen to people on the street, what they say, how they act.
if you've tried writing exercises?
like those that ask you questions about your major character...

and just talk to people who are 40 yrs old - what they've been through is different to us, they've seen a lot more etc etc. i dont need to crap on anymore.

 

[PerfectByNature]

well, maybe if you write it how you think then you can get someone to proof it and they can tell you where you slip back into 17yr old girly crap... then you can rework it.
try it first