Screenwriting : What is “voice”? by Lee Griffin

The expression of an idea in a way that is singular to the writer.

It is what makes you unique. It is word choice, it is phrasing, it is the difference between beat poetry and rap. It is the thing that distinguishes an artist instantly from their fellow artists.

Very Interesting question. I'm inclined to believe that a screenwriter can have many voices and be adept in each one. Just a hunch. Sometimes it has to do with the phases of his life but there is also this matter of style and technique for each narration (i.e. each movie or story). Therefore, Voice is style and technique...

Flavor.

How you express it

Something the industry attaches great value to but the audience doesn't care about?

It’s the reason that makes stealing scripts very difficult. People might be able to copy your idea, but they can’t copy your execution.

Someone also said it's one of those catch-words designed to amaze the unsuspecting.

It's your tone, attitude, and style.

Mine tends to be rebellious :-P

Can it be a way for a writer to game the system, by stuffing a script full of "Voice", if only it could be defined?

So it’s a real thing, but pretty hard to define… and probably precisely why cinema has lost that certain…. “something”; because of the culture of re-write after re-write… multiple voices creating a interference pattern that generates out of phase material… not that nothing good can come if it, but perhaps it dilutes “voice” and maybe that’s why the more original and interesting material comes from the indie world of writer/directors where the voice makes it to the final product, rather than tent pole blockbusters that go through all the “risk” filters and mined from the pits of regurgitated IP ??

Good one CJ. I missed that on the first read-through. Which brings up a good point I think - whatever "Voice" is, it can't be subtle, indirect, or ironic because it will get missed as a reader skims over a script. Whatever "Voice" is, it needs to be OBVIOUS, or maybe even HEAVY-HANDED, possibly involving repetition, or even multiple repetitions!!!!!!!!

I think it might also have something to do with breaking script writing conventions… maybe a unique take on structure, language, dialect… playing around… using a bit of prose Here and there. And wether you like his stuff or not, someone like Shane Black has a strong voice and he breaks the 4th wall and so on… stuff that is irrelevant to the movie but makes his scripts very much his… and an enjoyable, exciting read… I bet he’d get a 10/10 for voice.

Lee - "stuff that is irrelevant to the movie" - l think you've probably captured the essence of "Voice" right there.

Lol!

Voice is why the vibe of a Dickens novel is different from the atmosphere of an Austen novel. Word choice and sentence structure play a major part, and voice is what distinguishes you from other writers, for better or worse.

If "Voice is the ineffable expression of the soul," then every writer has it.

Richard Buzzell I don't think it has to be heavy-handed, nor do I think it is irrelevant. It is a large part of communicating to a director and actors what the atmosphere of the piece is, for example. A script that is an enjoyable read also has better chances of getting made.

But I remember getting almost simultaneous feedback on a written pitch from two different producers. One guy loved it and thought it had great "voice," among other things. The other guy complained that the language was too "stylish" and too difficult for him to read.

I have also read scripts, where the style of the. writing, the voice, annoyed me, so I feel that guy's pain. But the larger point is that "voice" is the result of making choices, it will be noticed, and the reader's reception will be highly subjective. So in a sense, this is where your balls as a writer show.

I identify it as a style in this connotation and yes, every writer has it more or less...words on paper are words on paper, but how u combine it makes u stand up in the crowd and that's the point I believe...

Here's a new blog about how to find your voice as a writer, Lee Griffin: https://www.stage32.com/blog/how-to-find-your-voice-as-a-writer-3157

Funny how theres this talk of voice, but I have read scripts that have won some big contests and did not feel like there was any voice. In fact it was the opposite, extremely tight writing with the absolute minimal visual description needed for the director.

Another common phrase thrown around with "voice" is "POV" - the character's set of unique traits and experiences that shapes their views of others, experiences, and the social world. (wearing my social psychologist hat)

https://www.stage32.com/blog/how-to-find-your-voice-as-a-writer-3157

One view of voice is how your personal experience resonates thematically through your story to the audience

My apologies for being late to this thread. Here are my thoughts on voice:

When describing a writer’s voice, one aspect of it is sort of an answer to the question, “what’s the emotional and thematic subtext and how does a particular writer make it ‘live’ within the pages of the screenplay?” For example, is dialogue doing more of the heavy lifting when instigating emotion and conveying theme or is it predominantly visuals and character actions with subtext in dialogue playing a minor role. Or is it vice versa. Or is it kind of balanced between the three. I still feel like I’m clumsily articulating what I want to say, but that’s the best way I know how to put it at this stage of my screenwriting journey without using the words "tone" "attitude" and "style."