Spent $35 on a style guide PDF and it actually fixed my character voice problem

I bought this cheap little digital bundle from a writing blog I follow (like 35 bucks after a coupon code they posted on Twitter) and I swear it saved my whole second draft. I was stuck with three characters who all sounded exactly the same, you know, like they were all just me with different names. The guide had this one exercise where you pick 5 words your character would use and 5 they would never say. That little trick cost me maybe 20 minutes but it totally changed how I write dialogue now. Has anyone else bought a writing resource that actually delivered or did I just get lucky with this one?

2 comments

2 Comments

xena_fox391mo ago

I read somewhere that a lot of published authors keep a "character bible" with specific quirks like that. For me, it was a free video series on pacing that helped me stop over explaining every little thing. Your mileage may vary on paid stuff, but that word exercise sounds like a real winner for the price.

ruby_rivera7629d ago

The character bible thing is legit. I started doing one a few years back and it saved me from having to scroll back through 50 pages just to remember if my MC's favorite coffee order was a cappuccino or a flat white. One trick that helped me was just jotting down one weird habit per character on a sticky note and taping it to my monitor. It keeps things real without turning into a whole database project.