When writing about characterisation and voice, there are main types, or areas, of characters to consider focusing on in the writing.

• Relationships formed between characters
• Villains or heroes
• Female or male
• Comic or tragic characters

You should remember that each character interacts with the others and, as such, you need to think about the characters as a set. It is important that you demonstrate to know why each character is how they are. Look at what they say to each other and how they act. How does the author, or narrator, describe them and how are they seen by the other characters? You should also consider how their story ends and what their fate is as this will give you important clues.

Voice

This refers to how the reader hears the characters speaking in dialogue and how they come to life through it. It also includes the voice of the author or narrator. In order to identify the voice of a text you need to ask yourself some questions.

• What writing techniques are used to tell the story?
• How does the narrator respond to the characters/story – what is the general feeling or attitude?
• Is the narrator obviously an extra person taking part in the story, with attitudes and feelings, or are the other characters the only real people in the story?