A voice guide must describe repeatable language choices. Personality adjectives alone do not tell an editor how to write a line.
Reproducible voice table
| Speaker / narrator | Syntax and contraction rate | Diction and address | Emotional behavior | Progression | Avoid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mina Kurose | complete, compact clauses, few contractions at work | procedural verbs, surnames, precise questions | expresses concern through practical arrangements | shorter and more contracted when frightened | Making every line stiff or clinical. |
| Ren Saegusa | loose clauses, frequent contractions, comfortable fragments | ordinary concrete words, first names | jokes when afraid, then states decisions directly | loses jokes after the midpoint | Adding slang unsupported by the source. |
| Aster | balanced clauses, evaluative tags, selective contractions | stylish but not ornate, あなた varies by intimacy | exposes hostility through amused judgment | uses less polished language only in private | Feminine pronouns, eye dialect, or a repeated “darling.” |
| Archive narrator | long observational sentences with careful uncertainty | sensory and temporal vocabulary | withholds conclusions | stable until identity reveal | Using elaborate literary prose for every sentence. |
Useful English levers
- contraction rate and sentence completeness
- clause length, nesting, and preferred connectors
- direct requests versus hedging
- technical, institutional, ordinary, or idiosyncratic vocabulary
- questions, fragments, repetitions, interruptions, and self-correction
- titles, kinship terms, names, and second-person avoidance
- explicit emotion versus displaced description
- public/private, early/late, and calm/pressured code-switching.
Use several small language differences together. Do not define a voice with one particle, one catchphrase, or an invented accent.
Worked decisions
| Situation | Flat or wrong English | Voice-aware English | Decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mina gives reluctant permission | “Okay, you can go.” | “All right. Go—but report back by six.” | Complete syntax and procedural language express her concern. |
| Ren sees an obvious disaster | “This situation is very bad.” | “Yeah. This is bad.” | Short, ordinary language fits his tired directness. |
| Aster dismisses a proposal | “That is a foolish plan.” | “You really do make the most charming mistakes.” | Amused evaluation preserves hostility without caricature. |
Repeated evidence and the current emotional state justify the good line. More expressive wording alone does not justify a change.
Narrator voice
Apply the same voice analysis to narrators and dialogue characters. Record the details they notice and the speed of their inferences about motives. Record clinical or emotional descriptions of bodies and their treatment of uncertainty. Blank speaker cells do not imply a neutral default style.
Maintenance
For each rule, keep representative line IDs and at least one counterexample. When a later route shows actual progression, update the guide. Do not apply the later voice to earlier chapters.