I’ve been playing a lot of Skyrim, so the voice in on my mind. But that’s not what this post is about.
I’m talking about the written voice, that particular tone and cadence unique to each of us. I never realized how important it was until I began editing someone else’s work.
With the first draft of The Dead Beat 2 behind me, I’ll be spending the next couple of weeks editing and polishing Aron’s nonfiction storytelling guide. It’s a first draft and has all the requisite rough spots of one. I’m happy to smooth those out, but that lack of Aron’s own voice in the manuscript is alarming me.
In person, Aron’s funny and witty and a little crass. When some game concept or system needs explaining, we all turn to Aron and let him loose. Understanding and laughter ensues. It works great! That’s why our friends suggested that he write this book; not just because of his track record of excellent games, but because he speaks so well about it.
But his book is… dry. It lacks all of that verve and nerve. It doesn’t sound like Aron at all! I can’t hear him actually saying any of this. I’ll smooth out the books flow, but Aron knows that I plan to put it back on his desk for major rewrites to give it a better voice. We don’t want to put his name on the cover of something and have it sound nothing like him.
