One of the hardest things I had to do in writing Bad Girl is to find a unique voice. Sylvia doesn’t talk, act, or think the same as Koen does. I was so used to be in the head of Koen, my first chapters sounded like Koen was doing the talking. So I had to silence him and delve deep down into the persona of Sylvia. As most of the writers in this place, I try to write like a woman, but the few women out here will know instantly her diary is written by a man. But I gave it my best shot, and this is as good as it gets.
Looking back at the finished manuscript of Bad Girl, I am quite pleased at how I finally found Sylvia’s voice that is so different from Koen’s. I will leave it up to you to judge objectively if I succeeded. Like Koen was a part of me, so is Sylvia now. I was thinking of this, as I am writing Ugly Girl. Zuzanna’s voice differs totally from Sylvia’s. Yet Sylvia is in my system, and without thinking, I react like she would. It will take me several thousand words that will end up in my trash bin before I find Zuzanna’s true voice. But I will.