Yay, voice week is back. This is my third year participating in voice week but I did not join in last year. The object of voice week is to tell the same story each day in 100 words from the perspective of five different characters all having a different voice. It is a great challenge to practice getting into a character’s head, hearing their unique voice and writing it down so that your readers can hear it clearly too. It is not an easy task but it is an enjoyable one. If you want to participate or read any of the other participants work you can head over to voice week head quarters and find out more there.
So here is my first voice for this week:
Now or never. Now or never. Now or never.
I stare at the floor. Don’t make eye contact. My leg bounces up and down. I shiver. Sweat drips down my back. Deep breath in. Slow breath out. I shift my eyes straight ahead.
Niko has his head against the wall. His eyes are closed. His headphones are in. As if sensing my stare, he glances over, winks and stands. It’s the signal I’ve been waiting for.
I gulp.
Now or never. Now or never. Now or never.
I slowly rise. My hand fumbles in my pocket. Deaf. Black. Falling.
Thank you for reading. Please leave comments below. And once again if you wish to check out the other participants you can do it here.
Into the Sun 
Ooo lovely to see you back Billie Jo, and what a great voice to start with, a very hesistant, but also determined young lady (I think), I wonder what they are up to…you achieved well by reeling the reader in, I was hooked completely, cannot wait for tomorrow. 🙂
Thank you Oz. I only just started back a couple weeks ago. This is only the second piece I have written in a very long time. It felt good but a little foreign too. And yes, this was a very hesitant young girl.
Oh I know what you mean about it feeling foreign, it’s been like that for me too, like uncharted, yet familiar territory…it’s good to see your words and hear from you.
Thank you. I hope to get back on the horse and ride forward. I also am glad to reconnect with old friends. It is great to see you around still. 🙂
Oh likewise, I too am in the same boat as you, hope we continue our journeys together, I most definitely want to complete one project this year at least. 🙂
Hmm…well, needless to say I want to know more. Loved the emotion here–very powerful. Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!
Thank you very much for stopping by and reading it. I hope not to disappoint.
You can definitely sense the anticipation! The character is full of nerves but I’m not sure the gender.
This character is a young female but when I reread it just now I can see why that was not clear and to be honest there was another “voice” of a young male who also could possibly have got the first voice week post but I thought the female would start the week off better and so I cut the male. Perhaps the two blended a bit in the end.
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Wow. Wow. Wow.
This voice pulled me in instantly. I was physically tense by the second line, without even knowing what was going on. Still, of course, not sure what’s going on, but glued to the screen!
Thank you Stephanie and thank you for the great challenge again. I love voice week and if I had been in a different place last year would certainly not have missed it then either.
I loved the repeated lines – this voice not only makes me want to know more, but also want to know the character herself, who seems caught between determination and fear. Those last three words in particular switch the tone up a notch.
Thank you. There may be a little more insight into her in a future post. And yes, those last three words are significant. 🙂
This is really good. An excellent voice, sounds very female. And the story is really intriguing. I want to read more!
Thank you for stopping by and reading this. Yes, this is a female. I hope I can keep you entertained with the next few.
The repeated use of “now or never” is almost like a chant. It give this piece a feeling of desperation. I want to find out what is so urgent.
There is certainly a desperation to this character. Thanks for reading. I hope the rest of the posts help this voice become more clear.
The repetition builds the tension, here. It reads to me like a young male, I want to know what’s happening. Must read on …
This is a young female but originally the first post did belong to a young male. His voice did not feel strong enough so I cut him out and I think parts of his voice blended with hers.
Beautifully crafted! Those short, sharp sentence fragments and the repetition added a superb sense of panic and desperation. I could feel the anxiety instantly. Really well done! 🙂
Thank you. I am glad the desperation came through clearly. That is important to understand this character.
Whoa! An abrupt ending, but I love the cliffhanger. Man, this character seems stressed. Is it natural or is it because of what they’re doing? Can’t wait to find out!
The stress is down to what they are doing but that will be revealed a bit more through some of the other voices. Thanks for reading.
Really nice work here… quite interesting.
Thank you.
A very distinct voice, a hesitant teenager I think. I enjoyed reading this!
She is very young and very hesitant. Glad you enjoyed it.
The tension in this makes me realize it won’t end well. For some reason I picture a female who’s in a bad situation and is trying to get out of it…very well written for so few words
I really like this piece. It’s one of the best I’ve read. I’m going through all of these late. XD I really like your style. I really got her/his nervousness and I’m really interested to see what the character is going to do.
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