I recently ventured into the world of audiobooks, which I did because I could “read” while working out at the gym.  But a funny thing happened.  One, I liked them more than I thought I would.  Two, it has made me so aware of the importance of voice.  A good narrator will often tweak their own voice to convey the different characters and assist the listener, but even without that, a good writer should be able to tap into the character they are creating well enough to hear what they sound like, to know how that works only in our mind.

I really think that there is something to be said for really visualizing our characters to put a voice with them.  Honestly, I’m sure you can think of some people who you see and you expect them to have a certain sound, and if they don’t, the conversation stalls as you try to re-align what your mind said would be the voice. And while we like to spend time on what the character looks like, in part, that is to help align what they are supposed to sound like.  

I’m working on the voice of several male characters in my editing right now.  I have one that sounds a little bit like this: