Describing Voices

Describing Voices

Does your character have a particular voice type in mind? Do they have an accent? Are they monotonous? Does their voice grate? Is it silky? Sultry? Low? High-pitched? Do they slur? Stutter? What in the world is the difference between some of these? Here are some links below to help further identify your character:

Words to Describe Someone’s Voice ~ With definitions of each

An Article About Describing Voice ~ Includes some thought-provoking questions to ask yourself and some exercises

Voice Types ~ Describes and gives examples of types like soprano, alto, etc.

Panix.com Character Chart ~ An extremely in-depth character chart; scroll down to the Voice Quality category for examples of some of the many types of voices, ranging from aphonic to glottalized to yawny.

Vocal Qualities ~ Directly from the above link, for those who want to head straight for the quality types.

Vocal Impressions ~ Lists listener comparisons with examples from celebrities, such as Morgan Freeman and Marilyn Monroe. (example: “She sounds like… diamonds dipped in caramel.”)

Speech Patterns ~ With examples from different well-known folks

Gender and Speech Patterns ~ An interesting article about the observation of speech between men and women

Speech Accent Archive ~ A very broad archive that includes different audio samples of accents ranging from Afrikaans to Ancient Greek to Korean to Zulu. Can search by geography as well.

Speech Impediment (Wikipedia) ~ Includes links to different pages such as stuttering, cluttering, muteness, and the social effects.

What Makes A Man’s/Woman’s Voice Sexy? ~ Just what it says on the tin.

Other Words/Synonyms for ‘Said’:

Synonyms-Antonyms.com ~ Listed according to usage

TheCaveOnline ~ Includes categories and meanings for each one

550 Alternative Words for Said (HubPages) ~ Includes adverb / phrase modifiers

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Have more ideas/links? Have a question? By all means, submit your input and questions to The Writers’ Helpers!

-J