On character development (part III)

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

The Character’s Voice
1. Does your character speak in a high or low pitch?

His voice is tenor in pitch.
2. Are they a loud or soft talker?

He is a soft talker.
3. Is there a wide range in the voice in volume, pitch, quality, or is the voice consistent and even?

His voice is very consistent, except for when he gets very emotional. Then it gets higher in pitch.
4. Is there good resonance to the voice? Is the voice throaty, chesty, heady, or nasal?

His voice is very full.
5. Is there tension in the voice? Anxiety? Emotion?

He tries to speak tension free, but emotion often seeps into his voice.
6. Is there an accent? Anything unusual in pronunciation? Emphasis? Phrasing?

His voice definitely has an American accent, leaning towards New England. Not quite Boston. He sometimes mispronounces words, like “intestine” as “in-test-teen” or “epitome” as “epy-tome.”
7. Is it a trained voice or just natural? Does the character “try” to speak well or just “however it comes out”?

He tries to speak well.
8. Is the speech clear or muddy? Do they mumble? Are they distinct?

Despite his best efforts to speak clearly, he mumbles a lot.
9. Is the voice comforting or irritating? Reassuring or disturbing? Are they self-conscious when they speak to others? How large a group could they speak to before they become self-conscious?

He is very self-conscious and shy, but has no issue speaking in front of people he’s never met. Through him in front of his classmates and he stumbles over what he says. His voice is pleasant to listen to.
10. What is the first thought one might have after hearing your character speak?

That kid has a voice? He sounds nice, I guess.

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