How do I find other character voices that are natural and not a gimmick?

[JoshRaed]

I have a problem with character voice and characters having my voice. I could write a character saying something i’d never say to someone else and it would still sound like it’s something I’d say, even though I wouldn’t say it. Like at that point how do I even change this sentence to belong to someone else if it’s already not something i’d say to someone? I don’t notice my own character voice either, I feel like I just talk how people talk, do you really not talk like this when you talk? I know it’s obviously the case but I don’t understand how that is.

The only way I’ve been able to give a character a unique character voice is to make them do something weird and obviously off.

This one like, totally speaks in a valley girl accent or something.

This character does not use contractions and uses unusually formal language compared to those around them.

This one avoids talking.

And without one of those gimmicks I genuinely do not know how to make them speak in a subtly different way. Most of these gimmicks make no sense, and in the context of this story I actually can't give these characters any sort of distinct diction from any sort of place without it feeling anachronistic to this fantasy world. The Valley girl talk makes no sense in a world where LA never got created, and if she was country or something that would also not make sense because there's no Texas either.

What do I do to make this work?

[Oriflamme]

A character voice is not just how they speak, it is also what they say. Use dialogue not as only a method to advance the plot, but what characters are saying and how, should help inform the reader on who they are . A kind character will never say something to offend another, and so on.

You mentioned the sentence structure and choice of word, but you could also use what they say and on what they focus on when they speak as a source of character voice. For example, the character who speaks formally, are they more of an artist, or someone more analytical. The answer to that question will help inform when they speak how they describe things.

You could also add text explaining what they’re doing while speaking and the tone they’re using as a method characterisation. Are they looking at the person they’re speaking to or are they doing something else. Is their voice monotone or filled with excitement? Adding descriptors when the character speaks should help.

The other thing you should accept is that sometimes you're not going to succeed at using all the methods of creating a character voice for every line of dialogue. Sometimes the need of the story will take priority, but as long as what is said doesn’t stray too far from what is established you should be okay.

Hope what I said made sense, and helped.

[jwabeasley]

The easiest way I know of is to get to know some other people in your life and then have your character talk the way a specific RL person talks. If it doesn't sound the way that person would say it, then try again. It also helps to exaggerate until you have the hang of this skill. Better to lean gimmick-y than lean bland!

There are some other methods - adding setting-specific jargon or character-specific slang can help.

Having done advice threads with you before, the most important step is to make sure your characters aren't all just you in a different body and situation. Make sure that they'd react to the same situation in radically different ways such that even if they were stuck in an elevator for 16 hours with nothing to do, they'd react in radically different ways.

Some other easy tips:
Give them different regional dialects. A bombastic girl from rural Texas will obviously speak in a different vocabulary and cadence than an introvert from Maine.
Make one loquacious and the other laconic. Maybe the proper princess will never speak directly and always uses lots of diplomatic couched language, while the rough nobleman from the frontier always uses direct, short phrases that follow the Army Writing Style. Maybe that mechanic only uses "Yup" and "Nope" while a gossiping market-woman can't finish a sentence without relating it to some news she heard about someone she knows.
Have them use a lot of job-specific jargon. Especially if they are a side character whose only story function is their job. A military person talks about military topics completely differently than civilians do!
Make one unnecessarily insulting. Give someone else a speech impediment. Be gimmicky. It'll be okay.
You could also base character dialog on characters from media you like, if they stand out in some way. You can adjust it later if it's too close. Usually, as long as you're not directly quoting and the character is relatively obscure, nobody will notice.

Most of those are ones I use when DMing to make my NPCs seem varied. My players have never complained!

[JoshRaed]

I think it all made sense. Thank you.

[JoshRaed]

I'll keep all this in mind. Thank you

[Lensing]

Here are some things I did to get good at this, it´s one of the things I feel
like being really good at.

I played in fantasy roleplaying games in the 80s and spoke in the voice of
my characters. Everyone did that in the group so it never fealt embarassing.

My brother and me invented different characters and we spoke to each other
in the character voices all the time, we are still doing this today. We switch
between characters and can always recognise which character we are.
It´s also hillarious to do that and very entertaining

Something I never did but another option is joining an acting group

[JoshRaed]

Thank you. I will think about doing this.