#queenofbraces

Regarding distinct and consistent character voices (I assume you’re talking about not just dialogue but also narration, etc., but it applies either way), here are a few things to think about:

What kind of words to they know, and what kind of words do they use? Are they into long fancy words? Do they swear a lot? What kind of things would they have a more technical vocabulary in?

How would they structure their thinking/speaking? Do they tend towards long rambling sentences? Short, concise thinking? Does that change when they become anxious, scared, excited, nervous?

How do they tend to feel/act? Are they generally angry? Calm? Nervous? This should be reflected in their voice.

What are they concerned with? What are they going to be thinking about, focusing on, preoccupied by?

It can be difficult to keep these distinct, so one thing you can do particularly if you’re switching POV is to take some time between different characters. Even if it’s just five, ten minutes, take a breath, look away, and get the character out of your head and the new character into it. 

Remember what makes them different characters, when you’re writing different characters. What makes one character distinct from the next, what makes them different enough that you need two different characters?

If you’re writing fanfiction, listen to or read how they speak and express themselves. Think about how you would narrate a certain scene so that it matches the voice that you’ve been given by the original author. 

In terms of not feeling like you’re ever going to write well--we all feel like that, sometimes. It sucks, but everyone feels insecurity about their writing, and frankly, if you’re not occasionally insecure about your writing, you’re probably doing it wrong.

One of the best things you can do is look back at your old writing. See how you’ve improved. See how much better you’ve gotten, even in six months, a year.