
Episode 218 - Our writer's voice.
From Essential Guide to Writing a Novel by James Thayer
May 22, 2026 · 27 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the importance of a writer's voice and how to develop it, along with the use of contrast in writing.
What is a singular attribute that separates Oscar Wilde, Ernest Hemingway, and Edgar Alan Poe? Their literary voices. Here are thoughts on our own voices: if and how we should try to develop them. Also: the strong tool of contrast, when the character contrasts with the setting. Here is a 20-episode master class on fiction writing—a start-to-finish course covering plot, characters, dialogue, scenes, sentence-level craft, and much more. Each episode is focused and a...
People in this episode
Host: James Thayer
Topics covered
- writer's voice
- literary voices
- character contrast
- fiction writing
- developing voice
Keywords
- writer's voice
- literary voice
- contrast
- fiction writing
- character development
- plot
- dialogue
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- Episode 217 - Why and how to practice. And Edgar Alan Poe. · May 15, 2026 · 27 min
- Episode 216 - Too many characters is a scene. · May 8, 2026 · 27 min
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