Do you ever listen to how story characters speak? I don’t mean what they say, but how they say it. I wasn’t as aware of this factor as I should have been until I put my first four mysteries into audiobooks. Then I realized each character needed a distinctive voice quality.

Now that I’m working on a new book, I need to assign each cast member a voice type. To help me in this task, I’ve devised this list of characteristics.

Then there’s the difference between a person’s speaking voice and their tone. A person with a Southern drawl could give a clipped reply. Or a man with a hoarse voice could speak in a tight tone out of concern for a loved one. How do you differentiate? I would say tone conveys emotions. Voice is what you’re born with in a physical sense, and manner of speech involves cadence, accents, dialects, slang and such. Not very academic, but neither am I. There you have it.

gravelly
grating
gruff
harsh
high-pitched
hoarse
hushed
husky
loud
nasal
raspy
scratchy
shrill
silky
smoky
smooth
soft-spoken
strident
sultry
throaty
velvety

What else would you add to the list?

Podcasts

I’ve recently been guest author on a couple of podcasts. Check them out here:

Nancy J. Cohen visits The Book and Life Podcast hosted by Kristal Fleming

“Let’s Write a Cozy Mystery” with Nancy J. Cohen on the Florida Writers Podcast

Giveaways

Enter Here to win two free books at Booklovers Bench in our June Contest.

June 1st is the start of Hurricane Season in Florida. On my latest Booklovers Bench post, I discuss how hurricane prep relates to writers. Leave a Comment Here and you’ll be entered into a drawing for a signed copy of Trimmed to Death (U.S. residents only).