Novel writing ,
How I found my voice: My do’s and don’ts
Ooh, the pesky voice!
When my debut novel NINE DOLLS won the Joffe Books Crime Prize in 2024, the judges said a lot of lovely things — but one line stuck with me: “It feels wholly original, with entirely its own voice.”
I was both flattered and slightly stunned. Not because I didn’t want to believe it — but because it hadn’t come easily. I had to work hard for it: consciously, for instance across a whole week on the life changing Self-Edit Your Novel course run by the wonderful Debi Alper and Emma Darwin. But also subconsciously, as I questioned everything that my character ever did (or didn’t do), delving deeper into their mind.
So, if you’re feeling a bit lost trying to “find your voice”, I promise you’re not alone. It doesn’t come in a flash of inspiration. It comes in layers. Below are a few things I learned along the way — my own list of Do’s and Don’ts—that helped me get closer to the kind of voice that felt, finally, like mine.
Do…
1. Leave your fingerprint
Voice is like a fingerprint. It’s uniquely yours — formed by your scars, secrets, inside jokes, heartbreaks, and the way you see the world when no one else is watching.
When I finally stopped trying to sound “literary” and started writing like I think — a bit messy, sometimes sharp, always curious — something shifted. The writing got warmer. It got truer.
So, write from that place. Your voice is already in you — you just have to let it out without judgement.
2. Gossip with your characters
You’ve probably heard that old writing exercise — take your character on a dinner date. Find out what they wear, eat, the music they listen to and all those good things. And yes, that’s important. But I’d urge you to go one step further: make them your gossip partner (or, even better, the subject of the gossip).
That’s where the real gold is. What do they say behind someone’s back? What do they admit only when drunk? What do they pretend not to want? This is where character voice becomes textured and real — when you understand not just what your characters do, but why they do it.
3. Say one thing, think another
This one was a game-changer for me: don’t let your characters say everything they think. Most of us have a filter — even the bluntest among us! We present one version of ourselves, while something else bubbles underneath.
In fiction, we’re lucky: we get access to both the inside and outside of a character. Don’t be afraid to use it. Let your character say, “I’m so happy for you,” while thinking, I’d rather be hit by a truck than see you win again. That tension between outer words and inner truth? That’s the voice. That’s what makes it human.
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Rupa Mahadevan is an acclaimed author of psychological thrillers. Her debut novel, NINE DOLLS, won the Joffe Books Prize in 2024 and will be published on 25 September 2025. She grew up on the south-eastern coast of India and has lived on the south-eastern coast of Scotland for over 15 years. She now resides in Edinburgh with her husband and two children. When she isn’t working on Excel in her day job, she enjoys reading and imagining her own stories.