Character & Voice, an overview

Thinking Notes are short reflections on elements of craft that are meant to trigger further thought on the subject, or to direct you to reassess your work through focusing on specific elements. They work best if you make your own notes as you read and reflect on your work critically as you do so. This note focuses on Character as the focal point of a story, and Voice as the source of its distinguishing features.

Character is the eye of a story, our tour guide, while Voice encompasses elements such as vocabulary, gestures, social posture, traumas, and perspective. The tension between the character and the world forms the basis of all stories (with poetry having an additional tension in the form of language itself.)

"tension creates memory" - Derek Walcott, Nobel Prize winner