How to Make Character Voices Sound Different (Dialogue Writing Advice)
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- Опубліковано 9 лип 2024
- Do all your characters sound the same when they talk? Learn how to distinguish character voices when it comes to dialogue.
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Brandon Sanderson has a lecture about dialogue. He says that an intelligent character isn't the one that uses big words, but adapts to the situation by changing tactics to get what he or she wants.
Good point. Because if you want to win someone over, you need to communicate with them in a way that wins them over and convinces them to help the speaker accomplish a goal
That's the difference between and educated and a smart person.
Yes, I think three characters would speak differently if they are educated, sophisticated, knowledgeable, or smart.
In Star Wars IV- A New Hope, I love how the contrast between Grand Moff Tarken and Princess Leia's dialogue. Both are leaders, in their respective camps, but Tarkin is aristocratic, harsh, and impersonal. He uses forceful, impersonal language. Leia is personal and persuading- a completely different leadership style.
Tarkin: (to functionary) You may proceed when ready.
Leia: What?! Alderaan is peaceful. We have no weapons, you can't possibly...
Tarkin: You would prefer another target? A military target? Then name the system!
Etc
Might I also suggest selfish vs selfless. It subtly tells you the difference between how 2 characters think based on what they put emphasis on.
example 1 The character responds to someone lying to them.
Selfish: I can't believe that.
Selfless: That's not true.
The selfish character views the world through a lense that focuses on themselves, which makes the truth of what's said to them subordinate to their abiliity to believe it.
Powerful villain decides to throw the hero instead of delivering a more effective blow/stab/shot.
I've been binge watching your videos and had soooo many "aha" moments thank you so much!!!
Haha I've had quite a few "aha" moments over the past decade or so. I always try to share those moments. If something works, it needs to be talked about.
One character I'm writing is a military Captain, and from watching videos of real life ones I've noticed they tend to speak in a formal way, using longer words when shorter ones exist. So they'd always say "that's correct" instead of "Yes". They don't like talking about feelings, and they would never talk negatively about their country or the alliances they've got.
Another character would be no-BS, and speak in more slang which the Captain would never use
Good stuff
Tangential to the verge of being irrelevant-- but you may find it interesting that the Amish do not use contractions when they speak. Being around them or Mennonites can be an otherworldly experience.
Whenever I hear someone in the military interviewed they tend to reply to the interviewer using "sir" and "ma'am," especially if they're in the lower ranks. Must be a hard habit to break when they're required to address superior officers that way.
@@johnterpack3940 that's an interesting observation.
I'm not even considering writing. I have neither the time, imagination, or literary prowess. But I still find this channel fascinating.
I'm causiosly optimistic writing is a craft unlike acting ( at least for me) Go for it if your interested
Most soldiers returning home don't have PTSD, it's just that you only hear about the one's who do.
Love the tips. 💫
Some of my characters wasn't raised in the same states. So, I looked up accents/jargon/slang from the city/states that they from to build a more realistic character.
Example: I'm from Texas so when talking about a canned drink, I call it soda; while my husband, originally from Chicago, calls it pop. We also have a different accents and way of speaking to each other. I say 'fixin' to' and he say 'about to'.
I’m from PA and I have never heard anyone from my area call soda “pop”. Truly a regional thing
We call sub sandwiches “hoagies” where I’m from
Yes, it's like "restroom", "washroom", "bathroom", "man's room", "toilets", etc.
@@WriterBrandonMcNultyIn Liverpool we call popsicles "Lolly Ices" whereas a lot of other areas in England call them "Ice Lollies" lol
I LIKE that part u said at 3:47. That definitely helps with fixing my dialogue. It actually shows a difference between people.
What's your favorite example of a hero and villain with opposite dialogue styles? Let us know!
huey: AAAAH WHAT THE FUCK (intense breathing) FUCK MY LIFE
butcher: oooi you're a facking cunt aincha!
homelander: DO IT... shove that thing in your FUCKING ass i will lazer a FUCKING hole in your face if you dont.
Just re-watched Alien. Good example of different speaking styles between the hero and villain. Ripley speaks like a normal human, whereas the alien just makes all these screeching sounds. Haha seriously though, great video. You brought up all sorts of things I've never even considered before. Some writers are so good at different speaking styles for chacters, you can tell who's talking without even the use of dialogue tags.
@@TheLonelyCosmonaut Hahahaha great analysis there
Frodo sounds soft spoken, noble and unsure of himself whereas Sauron says nothing throughout the whole three movies.
@@leonmayne797 Hahaha you might also compare Frodo to Gollum who rambles and thinks out loud
Great job on another important topic. Distinguishing character voices is important, you know? And that's an example of what I sometimes do, giving a character a speech tic or filler-word habit, you know?
Good suggestion about perception. I think personality type might be related to that. For example, a timid or fearful character in a tense or dangerous situation would ask if others hear or smell something, while a hero probably wouldn't. Thanks for this tip. My character development should now reach a new level.
One more thought: ethnicity. Without phonetically writing an accent, which we should not do, we can still show ethnicity. I recently read a book with nisei characters (US-born to Japanese immigrants whose native tongue is Japanese) who spoke perfect colloquial American English -- including use of contractions. From their dialogue we wouldn't know their ethnicity, that they were niseis. But in my considerable experience with Japanese here and abroad, I can confidently say that niseis and even some sanseis (third-gen) don't speak quite like a typical multi-generational American. Limited or no use of contractions is a distinction for most English learners but is ubiquitous in niseis. Throw in near-perfect enunciation and occasional odd diction and you've nailed the nisei character voice. And yes, I do stereotype.
Great video, Brandon. You'll make decent writers out of us yet.
Thanks man! And good call on the contractions. I studied abroad in Ireland years ago, and I had classmates from all over Europe, including countries where English was a second language. This one French guy would often question me on American English and say things like, "I notice when you are talking..."
It was always "you are." Never "you're."
@@WriterBrandonMcNulty I bet the Frenchman also end many questions with "no?" That's a quirk of English learners coming from French and a few other language backgrounds.
@@desertgecko4549 Hmm I don’t recall them ending their phrases in “no?“. Might vary between different French speaker’s
Your channel has spoiled me; such a wealth of helpful information in easy to understand short form content. Thorough; yet simplified. This is a goldmine
Thank you so much!
because fictional characters speak through our inner voice! the one voice we choose not to listen to the most, the voice that we try to pretend is wrong, while our ego trys to fit a circle block into the triangle hole because we're more comfortable making rules work for us rather than working for the rules! be honest! dont scheme and try to be clever, just be! the truth will flow like molten gold.
Good call
You may or may not see this but on the chance you do, know that I've been watching your channel for a while and I do appreciate the content.
As a self-taught writer, (I've been writing since I was 11. I'm 60 now), it's good to have some type of yardstick to measure against to determine if I'm doing something right or wrong. It seems that so far I'm doing okay.
One thing I discovered along the way is that all of my dialogue was virtually the same. I could hardly tell one character from another. I had to teach myself about "voices."
A few years ago, I had a eureka moment. I asked myself, "What if I could make my story into a movie? Who would I choose to act out the parts?" They didn't have to be current big-time performers. They could be actors and actresses from any era and from either stage, screen, or TV. Once I chose them, I made it a point to listen to how they spoke, then I wrote dialogue with their voices in mind. I know this may sound overly complicated but it may work for those folks writing stories with not a lot of characters in it. I also listened to people from different parts of the country and world and studied their slang. It helped A LOT.
Oh, and in answer to your question, one that stands out for me is Ricardo Montalban vs William Shatner in the original Star Trek; The wrath of Khan.
An excellent example of differing character voices is Gollum & Smeagol in the LOTR movies, particularly in The Two Towers, where the two characters have an argument, which is a fascinating juxtaposition.
A good example would be a dialoge in Cape Fear between a hero (a lawyer) and a villain (an ex- con).
Also, in James Bond franchise you can see a difference between agent Bond's way of speaking vs. eccentric villain's style.
Btw, your channel is awsome and there are many useful tips.
Very timely advice. I'm starting an editing pass of my latest novel where I will look at each character's speech in isolation. This advice will help me strengthen the uniqueness of each voice.
Thanks Fred! Glad it helped and best of luck with the editing
Best difference in good guy / bad guy dialog???
perry the platypus & dr doofenshmirtz
Favorite hero/villain contrasting voice: Jane Eyre and Edward Fairfax Rochester (minion of the villain, the villain doesn't speak in the novel)
I just started listening to your videos, and I think the advice is great. I’m currently working with a publishing company to get my first novel published, and I think that dialogue is definitely my weak point. I hope to use some of these techniques for the rest of my series.
Your videos provide amazing insights into the mind and craft of writing. I wish though you would provide more examples from other novels/stories rather than movie examples.
Excellent advice! Sometimes trying to improve an aspect of writing can be very overwhelming, and your videos always offer clear and practical steps on how to do so. Thank you so much and keep going!
Thanks!
This video was really informative! I do some writing from time to time - this will be very helpful. By the way, in answer to your question, in my mind the biggest contrast in hero/villain speaking styles is from the Fantastic Four: Ben Grimm (the Thing) speaks short sentences in a working class Brooklynese style ("It's clobberin' time!) while Doctor Doom speaks long winded phrases in an almost poetic manner (" I, who have mastered all arts, all sciences, all secrets? Whose technology and magic cross the stars as easily as they scramble an alpha telepath's mind?".)
I needed a video like this
Thrilled to hear it helped!
Excellent video and advice, Brandon. Thanks a lot!
Thanks!
Thanks, I needed this one.
Glad it helped!
Your advice is so valuable
I appreciate the kind words. Thanks!
Thanks a lot, McNulty.
Favorite hero villain dialogue is in Halo 3. When the gravemind, master chief and Arbiter all have separate desires that unify as one against the covenant.
Never owned an Xbox. One of these days I gotta grab the MC Collection on Steam
thats pretty damn cold!
Haha!
This is excellent and succinct. I friend had me read his SciFi screenplay, and the first thing that hit me was that all of his scientist characters sounded exactly the same. It reminded me of something another friend told me about her time at UCSD; she remembered organic chem in her head in the voice of a professor with a specific accent, and physics in the accent of another. Oversimplified here, but dialogue where everyone sounds the same is boring.
I had two fantasy elf characters that I was struggling to give different voices, so finally I just had one guy start every sentence with "Yo," and the other end every sentence with "you know what I'm sayin'?" Worked like a charm!
3:40 - Taste: this doesn't taste right.
Great education, Thanks Brandon🤝💯🍾🕊
Thanks!
Thanks!
Awzum tips! 😎👍
Thanks!
4:08 lol irony
Everything explained is pretty on point. Some other things I've thought of when especially considering multi-pov first person, to construct narration using different words like one character prefers “Yet/for” in their sentence constructions, while another might prefer “but/and”; using simpler sentence constructions or more complex based on their observations/senses. I know they say to “streamline” dialogue and narration but wouldn't everyone just sound the same? That's the part that kinda throws me off for a ringer. The point should be to pick particular phrasals so we can label that, that character's style. Right?
I struggle with streamlining dialogue for that reason. When you trim down everyone's dialogue, it runs the risk of making everyone sound alike. Something the unnecessary verbiage gives dialogue its unique sound. Just need to find the happy medium.
@@WriterBrandonMcNulty This is a huge thing! I write historical fiction, in a Civil War time frame, in frontier locations. I've found watching movies and TV shows with similar subjects to be useful. Comparing dialogue from Deadwood, Hell on Wheels, and currently, The English, is very helpful, as it's not as cliche as old Westerns, and you have a variety of great actors to study as they deliver the lines. It's also good to vary speech patterns and syntax between characters, rather than load your dialogue up with too much old fashioned lingo.
Another great video as usual. My favorite from a new writer is it’s a wonderful life and George Bailey against Mr. Potter good contrast
Love that movie. Can’t wait to rewatch it in 2 months
Duuuuuude how did you time this so perfectly!!!! I need this right now!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! You’re amazing!!! Also do you like bloodborne. Apologies for the non-sequitur.
Thanks! And I got maybe 10 hours in Bloodborne before dropping it. I had issues with the exploration. Like I thought I had to kill the machine gunner in the tower, then I found out it was optional after spending 2 hours trying to kill him. Stuff like that just frustrates me. Have you played Hollow Knight? That’s more my style. I love 2D Metroidvanias
5:04 caught me totally off guard lol
Sarah Conner and Terminator
Always love Dirty Harry and the way he deals with his bosses.
I did not finish the video because I'm in the midst of other stuff I want to do but this is quality stuff and helpful. I'm just writing right now but not fiction.
Thanks for watching!
Syndrome and Mr incredible. One is more likely to monologue than the other…
Sure I would support the channel. But I don't like horror stories, and do not want to buy one or read one.
Hmm I need to look into Patreon or something. Till then, you can always gift one of my books to somebody who likes horror or thrillers
I'm not sure if you misunderstood the question or maybe it was me, but this video wasn't really about character voices, but more about the way characters talk. When I read the title, I was hoping you'd talk about ways to describe character's voices properly and how to make their voices sound different, not how to have them talk in different styles. The movie examples were also worthless, because you can literally just hear what the characters sound like, rather than having to imagine and describe their voices in text.
In creative writing jargon, "character voice" is exactly what this video discusses.
You might want to look at videos that discuss describing characters as that includes describing the sound of character's speaking voices to readers.
@@blshouse but is that what the person meant with the question? We can't know for sure, and still, he should've named the video differently to avoid confusion.
@@Vitou777 The question seems plain to me, and the name of the video and its topic are exactly on point.
I only commented because the issue you bring up is a good topic that is covered by other videos. I believe you might have missed them because you are confused by the common usage of the writing concept of character voice.
Why doesn't anyone confront the "grammar rules" within dialogue??? Is there some dubious and unknowable plot to keep prospective writers in the dark and all their characters reading/sounding like grammar teachers when they write until some editor has to break the horrible news that everything they've been doing is a LIE?
Folks, different people will break the laws of grammar and English (especially?) in different ways, so this should reflect itself on the written page in DIALOGUE more than anywhere else. You CAN use this for the "narrator", too... BUT that's a different level of writing... and right here and now, I just want to cover the spoken words shared between characters WITHIN the narrative block.
Country types, also known for being "crusty old red-necks", can be gruff and low-brow... even when they try to sound educated. It's not a rule that they can't know about things, of course. They certainly CAN understand deeply about highly educated subjects, but it's just that they don't articulate that knowledge by the technical terms so well...
Example...
"You see those purple and blue lines from the pus-pocket? That ain't worth a cunt full of cold water right there... If we don't get your boy to the doc's in the next hour or two, he's gonna friggin' die."
Here our country "hero" is capable of the visual examination to diagnose potential blood toxins from an infection, possibly gangrene or necrosis. That would be the technical terms, which he may or may not know. The reality, regardless of the technical knowledge, is that he KNOWS what he's looking at. He KNOWS the circumstances around it, and what to do about it, and a reasonable timeline by which survival or certain (or near-certain) death resides.
This example is admittedly a tad "over the top"... BUT it's not without precedent. It is the kind of thing you could expect of a "crusty redneck" to say... AND you can Scroogle up an image search for blood-poisoning, to see the "purple and blue lines" spanning outward from an infected wound, the "pus pocket"... or as a doc' might put it, the "abscess"... but again, that's a technical term.
Almost nobody will advise you to write with terms like "ain't" or phrasing of "not worth a cunt full o' cold water"... BUT in dialogue, you DO have the option to toss those rules. Dialogue is actually fun to write because you GET TO write the way you might ordinarily TALK... or the way someone else might ordinarily TALK, especially if you've been wildly entertained by their talking... SO dive in there, and really STUDY how people express themselves in speech... THAT is the big secret about dialogue...
OH OF COURSE, it helps to know the rules when you're breaking them... It helps because when you start crashing through them, you'll be more consistent as you can diagram out HOW this or that person breaks those rules in their lack of education, their attempts to sound educated when they aren't (like MISUSING big technical words and jargon), or when they dubiously mix around some of the subtleties of the English language in their short-comings... like the Oxford Comma... just as a for-instance of things you can play with... giving pause where it might not be necessary... or starting an argument around such a subtlety... or even arguing whether something is merely sarcastic exaggeration or outright a sardonic remark... one of them is purposefully more derogatory, while sarcastic is merely exaggerated... haha...
Have FUN with it! ;o)