13 Dec How does a ghost authentically capture a person’s voice?
I get asked this question more than any other.
And it’s maybe best explained by a quote the actor Christopher Eccleston gave to The Bookseller after we’d collaborated on his memoir I Love The Bones Of You – ‘I trust my ghostwriter John Woodhouse implicitly. We’ve spent a huge amount of time together and I’ve bared my soul. I’ve seen John try to become me in the same way I would when playing a character.’
While I am in no way equipped to match Christopher Eccleston’s ability at inhabiting some of TV, film, and theatre’s greatest characters, as a ghost I will indeed attempt to inhabit them and their world as much as I can. That might mean meeting family and friends, or just spending a day having a nosey around where they grew up. Background and environment are huge influences on attitude and voice. If I am going to put words on a page purporting to come from the mind of someone else, then I need to understand exactly who they are.
There’s another ingredient in this mix – no two people speak the same. Some talk in short staccato sentences. Others head off on flights of fancy. One person might have a gentle, lilting tone. Another might be slightly more forceful. Such characteristics have to be transferred to the page. A good ghostwriter will use rhythm, punctuation, plus an assortment of key words – maybe related to accent, or to a common pattern of speech – to reinforce the belief in the mind of the reader that the book does indeed contain the true thoughts of the person whose face is on the cover. If that belief isn’t there then, as a ghost, you have failed.
The reason a book will fail
This element is particularly important in passages that are heavily ghosted. A book will fail if there’s a clear separation between text that has been worked from quotes and that which you have added for structural or contextual reasons. How can an autobiography work if it is not seamlessly that person?
Fortunately, I have always had a fascination in other people’s conversations. The worst thing about the chronic lack of public transport where I live is the fact it denies me the absolute pleasure of earwigging on the bus. My dream would be the return of the ‘crossed line’ where, if you were lucky, you’d pick up the phone to make a call only to happen across someone from a few doors down having a gossip-laden conversation with a friend. A beautiful few minutes of listening in would ensue. If the ghosting dries up, surveillance could be an alternative career.
Essentially, capturing voice is about being genuinely interested in that other person. It’s a two-way street. Christopher Eccleston is right in saying that I tried to get inside his head, but that could never have happened if he hadn’t given so much of himself. I have been fortunate to have had the same from 99% of those I have worked with – some truly brilliant and beautiful people who opened up with such depth of emotion and honesty.
Which leads me the second most-asked question. What happens when you encounter that other 1%?
I’ll tell you next time.