Guide
How to Write Voice Directions in Drama 3
Drama 3 is directed with language, not with a settings panel. Four moves cover most performances: describing intent, placing sounds and pauses, scoping an effect to a few words, and writing the direction in your own language.
Real Drama 3 generations
Each clip below is a generation of the exact script shown next to it. Open the full script, copy it, or send it to the studio and direct your own version.
Holding it together
[barely holding it together] I'm fine. Really. [shaky breath] Go on without me. I'll catch up. [pause] I just need a minute.
Cold open narration
[low, measured, like a documentary narrator] The city went quiet at 3 a.m. [short pause] No sirens. No traffic. <slow>Just the rain.</slow>
Villain reveal
[amused, taking his time] You came all this way. [soft laugh] For a file. [harder, dropping the warmth] Then let me show you what is in it.
Late-night radio host
[smooth, close to the microphone] You're listening to the midnight hour. [sigh] If you're awake with me, <emphasis>you're not alone</emphasis>.
Training video, plain then pointed
[clear and friendly] Welcome aboard. Today we cover the basics. [short pause] [firmer] And then we cover the mistakes that cost money.
Fairy tale opening
[hushed, telling a secret] Once, in a village that no longer exists, [pause] a girl traded her name for a lantern. <whisper>This is her story.</whisper>
Support call, patience thinning
[professional, polite] I understand. [short pause] [slower, holding it together] I have explained that twice. [exhale] Let us try once more.
Audiobook line, tender
[gentle, unhurried] She kept the letter for forty years. [pause] [almost a whisper] She never read it again, but she never threw it away either.
Four ways to direct a line
Each technique below can be used on its own or mixed into the same sentence.
Describe the intent, not only the emotion
Say who is speaking, to whom, and what they are trying to do. "[apologetic, trying to keep it light]" gives the model more to work with than "[sad]".
Place sounds and pauses exactly
A sigh, a laugh, a breath, or a pause goes in its own bracket at the position where it should happen, and it stays there.
Wrap a phrase to change only those words
Paired tags apply to the words they enclose, so a whisper or a slowdown can cover one phrase while the rest of the line stays at full voice.
Write directions in your own language
The direction is read as language, so you can describe the performance in the language you think in while the script stays in the language you are producing.
A direction-first workflow
This order keeps the script readable and makes each generation comparable to the last.
Write the line plainly
Type the dialogue as it should be spoken, without effects. Read it once to check the punctuation, because punctuation shapes the delivery.
Add one direction at a time
Start with the direction that matters most for the scene, generate, and listen. One clear direction beats four competing ones.
Change the wording, not the tag count
If a take sounds flat, rewrite the direction to describe intent more precisely before adding more brackets.
What the editor accepts
These limits come from how the studio sends the script, so they apply to every generation.
Up to 2000 characters per generation
Directions count toward that limit because they are part of the script text.
One audio file per generation
The whole script is rendered into a single MP3 that you can preview and download.
One voice per generation
Multi-speaker dialogue in a single request is not available; generate each character's line as its own file.
No voice cloning
This studio generates speech from your script and directions; cloning a voice is not offered.
Direction questions
Do the directions count toward the character limit?
Yes. The 2000-character limit applies to the whole script, brackets included, because the directions are sent as part of the text.
Which tags can be used in pairs?
Fish Audio's editor lists paired tags such as whisper, emphasis, soft, faster, slower, stress, and forceful. A paired tag changes only the words between its opening and closing tag.
Can one line contain several directions?
Yes. Directions and paired tags can be mixed in the same sentence, which is how a line changes tone halfway through.
Must the direction language match the script language?
No. The direction is read as language and can be written in your own language, while the script itself stays in the language you are producing.
Why does a take sound flat?
Usually the direction describes a mood but not a purpose. Describe who the speaker is talking to and what they want from the line, then generate again.
Write a line and direct it
Load one of the published scripts or start from your own, then send it to the studio and direct the take.