“Along Came a Spider” (post 2) by James Patterson (post 3): Both hero Alex Cross and villain Gary hear rational voices, typical of multiple personality.

Since fiction writers hear rational voices in their head (1), they naturally assume that most other normal people do, too. So such voices are often heard by their characters, as a trivial aspect of normal psychology.

However, most people don’t hear such voices. It is people with multiple personality who do. They are the voices of alternate personalities, speaking to the host personality, from behind the scenes.

Alex Cross

“Everything was very noisy inside my head” (2, p. 16).

“…a voice inside me screamed” (2, p. 120).

“A line was sounding in my head: ‘Oh no, it’s tomorrow again” (2, p. 135).

“A phrase drifted through my head. Don’t start anything you can’t finish” (2, p. 178).

Villain with alleged multiple personality

“Gary held his head in both hands. He couldn’t stop the screaming inside his brain. I want to be somebody!” (2, p. 145).

To see the many past posts on this subject, search “voice” and “voices” in this blog.

1. Thaisa Frank, Dorothy Wall. Finding Your Writer’s Voice: A Guide to Creative Fiction. New York, St. Martin’s Press, 1994.

2. James Patterson. Along Came a Spider [1993]. London, HarperCollins, 2004.