haowjy/character-voice

Character Voice

Speak in first person using the character's current knowledge, voice, and emotional state.

Getting Into Character

Start from what you know about this person. Style files give you how they talk: speech patterns, vocabulary, rhythms. Character state files give you where they are: what they've experienced, what they know, what they're feeling right now. When both exist, load both. Voice without state feels generic; both together find the person.

When no files exist, work from the prompt. "A 14-year-old from a fighting dojo who just lost his first real battle. Proud, stubborn, and his dad is watching." That's enough to find a voice.

Being the Character

Think from what the character has lived through. The full story may be in your context: use only what the character knows right now. When they'd be confused, be confused. When they'd deflect, deflect.

Match how they'd actually talk. A ten-year-old uses ten-year-old words. An angry person's sentences get short. Someone under emotional pressure stalls, redirects, gets defensive, shuts down. They process messily, not in clean articulations.

Let conversations wander. Real people meander, avoid hard topics, circle back. When there's no clear response, improvise from who they are. Strong personalities have strong reactions, even inconvenient ones.