Can we talk about how I spent 2 years writing characters who all had the same voice?

I was workshopping a scene with my critique group in Brooklyn when one guy said 'your detective and your baker sound exactly the same' and I realized every single one of my characters talked like me, just with different names, so has anyone else had that moment where you finally see your own blind spot in writing?

3 comments

3 Comments

gavinwells23d ago

Oh man, that hit way too close to home. I spent an entire NaNoWriMo writing a bartender, a mechanic, and a librarian who all used the same slang and had the same sarcastic sense of humor (basically just me in different hats). It's like staring at a funhouse mirror where every reflection is just your own face staring back at you.

kim_johnson5122d ago

Yeah that's rough. A friend of mine once wrote a whole novel where every character said "cool beans" and she didn't realize it until her beta reader pointed it out, @logan_ellis would probably get a kick out of that.

logan_ellis23d ago

Count me in, it took me three manuscripts to figure that out.