Changing Voices

I've been reading Scot Westerfield's Uglies and Pretties and have been fascinated with how the entire voice changed from one book to the other. Voice is one of those things that's hard to pin down. It comes from not only speech but thought patterns and the way we perceive the world around us. It's word choice and perspective and so much more that combine to give us a feel for the person. In Uglies Tally is a 16 year old, slightly rebellious problem solving girl experiencing a lot of things for the first time and it shows in the voice. After she becomes a Pretty, her word choice changes and she sounds like a futuristic valley girl supplanted from the 80's. The same character, but as her brain was changed, so did everything about her and it reflected in the voice.

It's been a fascinating tool to pull from the writer's toolbox. I am interested to see how it translates to the next book, Specials. Tally's character remains the same, but man, what a shift in everything else. It's a tool I'd like to use to show change sometime soon.

Quote of the Day: :"Find out the reason that commands you to write; see whether it has spread its roots into the very depth of your heart; confess to yourself you would have to die if you were forbidden to write."

~Rainer Maria Rilke