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But what exactly is voice? The best description I ever heard of the term came from a workshop featuring author Jayne Ann Krentz who said, “Voice is like your accent. You can’t hear it, but everyone else can.” Some of the greatest compliments I’ve received from readers who know me personally is that, when they read my books, they can actually hear me in their heads, telling them the story. That’s voice.

Recently, I finished reading Russell Brand’s autobiography, My Booky Wook. If the name rings a bell, you probably know him best as rock star Aldous Snow in the movies, Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him to the Greek. He’s also rumored to be starring in a remake of one of my all-time favorite movies, Arthur. (Oh, please, don’t screw it up!)

The entire time I read his story of sex addiction, drugs, and his struggles to overcome his vices, I heard Aldous Snow’s voice in my head. A few choice lines from his movies played on an invisible loop over and over. (I won’t repeat these lines here since most of them are very NC-17.)

Okay…I hear ya. It’s easy to discover and write in your voice when you’re writing your autobiography. But what about when you’re writing fiction?

Here are a few tips to help you discover your voice:

1. Write. A lot. As in, all the time. And not just your wip. Write in a journal, write letters to family and friends (even if you never send them), write articles, write blog posts. These are more like an autobiography; they’re coming from your heart, your psyche, your mind. Notice the way you string words together, particular phrases you use, the cadence of your sentence structure. Now integrate those patterns into your fiction work. For example, notice in my paragraph above, I used the term “I hear ya.” That’s me. NY accent and all. Somewhere in my books, a character will say, “I hear ya.”

2. Avoid the thesaurus. Use it if you must, but steer away from words you don’t use on a regular basis (the caveat to this of course, would be when writing a historical or otherworld novel where different verbiage is essential).

3. Listen to yourself when you’re speaking. Hear your accent. Embrace it. Use it in your writing when possible. If you’re a southern lady, don’t be ashamed to show your “y’all”s and “bless her heart”s to the world. They’re a part of you as an author, just as your eye color is a part of your genetic makeup.

4. Don’t overthink it. Write from your heart, let the words flow, and your voice will naturally carry on to the page. Start worrying about it and your writing will become stiff, formal, and shaky. Totally not you.

I hope these tips and my post today will help you gain a better understanding of voice. Post questions if you like.

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The lovely Maggie Van Well is a terrific asset to Dunes & Dreams with her warm smile, amazing talent, and genuine caring for her chaptermates. We are so happy to call her “friend.”

Happy birthday, dear heart. May the world be your oyster, and your publishing dreams a perfect pearl! 

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Over the past 18 months, she’s worked tirelessly for the good of our chapter. From behind the scenes hitting the pavement and the online resources to get our name out there – to being the face of the group at library talks, booksignings and any other promotional event Dunes & Dreams is a part of, we are proud to call her Madame President!

But she’s more than a President, she’s a friend. I know she’ll always be there for me at the other end of an email, of the phone or willing to meet me at Starbucks for a cup of whatever I need at the moment!

For all she does, all she dreams of doing and everything in between, please join my in wishing her happy birthday, a wonderful year and everything that would make her dreams come true.

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From workshops to inspirational speeches at the luncheons, there is so much to absorb – but I loved every minute of it.

On the way home Gina and I brainstormed some ideas to bring back to the Dunes & Dreams membership, things that would inspire every one of us to soar to greater heights. Yes, that means more writing, more submitting and hopefully leading to more contracts!

Some fun additions to the blog are in the works and even more exciting things are planned for the Dunes & Dreams RWA chapter over the next few months.

Stay tuned, the Dunes and Dreamers are planning on turning their dreams into reality!

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Poor Orlando won’t know what hit it when we’re through!  And for those of you unable to attend this year, we’ll bring back all of the news, hot tips, and the latest trends in the industry.

See you in sunny Florida!

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You can have the most brilliant story in the world but it won’t do any good unless you know something about how to get that work published.  Even though there are more avenues today than ever before to get your books published, it’s still a stormy sea out there and some help navigating the choppy waters is definitely required.  But before you go on that endless round of submissions and queries, you need to make sure your manuscript is pristine.

Yes, YOU.  A long time ago, publishers would employ people known as copyeditors to pour over every aspect of your manuscript to make sure it was grammatically correct, had no spelling errors, and was nice and tight to fit the publisher’s requirements.  With the volume of manuscripts today, copyeditors — if they even still exist — don’t have that kind of time.  That means it is up to you.

You don’t have to be an English major yourself but you have to show your manuscript to the right people before you put it out there.  Work with a beta reader or a critique group or even a friend you trust who can help catch some of these things for you.  Sometimes you are too close to your work and simply don’t see it even though you’d easily recognize it elsewhere; sometimes you just don’t know if that comma belongs there.  

In the recent books I read, the stories were really good and kept me turning the pages.  However, in one book, one of the main characters was called the wrong name in two successive chapters!  His hair color also changed in the middle of the book.  It happens, hey, I get it.  I do it myself.   I start out with a blue eyed heroine and in the middle of the book I decide I want her eyes to be green.   But then it is up to me to go back and fix every instance where her eyes were blue.   In another book, I liked the story very much, but it was told from two first-person angles (hard to do, but it worked well) with a different typeface for each viewpoint.  One of the typefaces was difficult to read — it fit the view perfectly but was a bit hard on the eyes.   In my days in the copyediting/production room, that never would have happened, but today is a whole new ballgame.

Authors, trust your readers, and be fair to them.  Yes, I know it’s not fair to you that you not only have to write the books, but you have to find your audience, do promotion, and a host of other activities to make your book a success.  But your readers deserve the best book they can possibly have from you in all aspects.  Take the extra steps to make sure the one you put out there is a winner in every way!   

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As for my definition of a hero, aside from having gorgeous eyes, he is selfless and caring, yet strong. Far from perfect, he has flaws that keep him human. Great body, though. He’s got integrity, but willing to tell a white lie if it is necessary. He’s also willing to sacrifice or give up something near and dear to him for the sake of my heroine and though his determination may waiver at times, he remains steadfast in this cause. He’s the one who stands behind someone encouraging and supporting them when no one else will. That brings up his loyalty and gallantry. My hero does the deed with a modest style that is unique to him. However, above all he has compassion which actually makes him the man he is, for without it, he’d only be a hunky-looking tin man taking the wrong route to the Emerald City.

Every person has their own idea of what a hero is made of. What’s yours?

If you’d like to check out my entire interview with Amanda McIntyre, here’s
the link:
http://mcintyreshouseofmuse.blogspot.com/search/label/Thursday%20Coffee%20Talk

Fondly,
Candy Caine
www.candycaine.com

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Throughout the talk, I kept thinking about what little mannerisms do I give my characters?  One gesture I constantly use for my male characters is pinching the bridge of the nose to indicate a headache or just plain weariness over what’s going on.  For my female characters, I have a lot of eye contact, eye fluttering, and lip biting.   What secret body language signals are your characters giving YOU? 

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Body language is an important aspect of fiction writing. Our characters have to do more to communicate mood than smile, nod, and shrug. The savvy author will expand the repertoire to include other signals, both the conscious and sub-conscious. How? Through the study of body language, of course!

Head to toe, our bodies are mirrors of every mood and emotion we experience. Our eyes can show fear, love, sexual attraction, anger, and a host of other signals. Smiles can range from tight-lipped (hiding something) to jaw dropped (fake). How we stand, sit, shake hands, and maintain eye contact all contribute to what we project to others.

Nervous before a public appearance? Lift your head and stick your chin out. The change to your posture will make you feel more secure and confident.

Want to know more? Join us on Wednesday, July 7th at 6:30 pm at the Patchogue-Medford Library for a fascinating discussion (and demonstration) of the science of body language.

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