On The Mystery of Voice

As we all know, "voice" is one of the most powerful elements in fiction.  A strong, compelling voice will snare a reader instantly and will keep them through the duration of your novel.  A voice can make up for a myriad of trouble spots in a story.  (Not that you should try to write a story with problems, but you know what I'm saying.)


So, what is it?  And how do you get it right?


There are a kajillion blog posts out there about voice, though I still think Megan Rebekah did it best.  But I just found a visual example.


And that's about the time my brain exploded.


If you haven't seen the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off, this probably won't mean anything to you.  (Also--why haven't you seen it?  Are you kidding me?)


For those of you who have, just imagine if the whole story had been told in this voice:

The creator, Joseph Brett, says this of his video:  "My aim was to make it look more like an indie coming of age film; perhaps the kind of film Sofia Coppola or Godard might make."


He didn't create anything new.  He didn't manufacture moments from the movie--this story is there in John Hughe's classic.  He just used a new "voice" to show us another side of Ferris Bueller.


What do you guys think?


- Liz