Holding it together

I'm hearing voices again. Only now do I realize that I'm hearing too many different voices.

In retrospect, it's obvious. How could I have not noticed it? I very consciously choose to have characters speak in their own voices. If a character is a kid, he should talk like a kid, not like a literature professor. I don't think anyone would argue that point.

What's easier to forget, though, is that the prose surrounding that characters will look uncomfortable out of place if it looks like it was written by a literature professor. The whole work needs some cohesion. Obvious, right? It is once you look at it. It's very easy to miss if you're comfortable with a particular style of prose. You may not even notice that you're doing it; I didn't.

I tend toward a more formal style of writing, coming from an engineering background. But, that can clash with "folksy" character dialog. I was so focused on making sure the characters were consistent within themselves I completely ignored the prose style. Oops.

Consistency needs to be an all-around theme. All the parts needs to hang together as a whole. It's so obvious it's embarrassingly easy to overlook.