I have been working on what I call the "Character Voice Pass" for the past two months, and honestly? It has been one of the most challenging aspects of writing this book. When you are deep in the flow of writing, it is easy to let all your characters sound like, well, like you.
But readers deserve better. Anya should not sound like Bjorn, and neither should sound like Elara. Each needs a lexicon, a rhythm, and a way of seeing the world that belongs to them alone.
The breakthrough
My breakthrough came when I created character taglines: core phrases that capture each character's essence.
- Bjorn: "Stone holds. I hold."
- Anya: "Every debt gets paid. One way or another."
- Elara: "Threads endure, even when frayed."
These became my north star for every piece of dialogue. Bjorn uses stone and battle imagery. Anya thinks in terms of debts and shadows. Elara speaks of threads and patterns. Suddenly, their voices became distinct not just in tone, but in the very way they conceptualize the world.
"Do not go dying, stone-man. I did not sharpen my knives just to drink alone."
That line used to be much more generic. Now it is unmistakably Anya: sharp, caring despite herself, and tinged with the fatalism that comes from growing up in Greygate's undercity.