tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post6916657576475726339..comments2023-12-02T05:59:27.143-05:00Comments on YAtopia: Accents, Slang and DialectSM Johnstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03546994863993080465noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post-14295687127323485002011-04-12T21:47:13.620-04:002011-04-12T21:47:13.620-04:00Amanda, haha! Very true. If I have to squint, tilt...Amanda, haha! Very true. If I have to squint, tilt my head and re-read the sentence - sometimes out loud - to figure out what it's trying to say, then it's a little too much. Unless, of course, they're TRYING to make a certain person's dialogue come across as difficult for the other characters to understand.Kelley Yorkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01852321111294729924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post-13592670250812686722011-04-12T19:33:06.458-04:002011-04-12T19:33:06.458-04:00I so posted about accents recently and decided the...I so posted about accents recently and decided they make me stumble WAY too much to use them in my writing. Great post!<br /><br />Marie at the CheetahMarie Reardenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13653459061863869033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post-47145921467227894642011-04-12T16:39:05.969-04:002011-04-12T16:39:05.969-04:00For me, the slang has to be very clear. I don'...For me, the slang has to be very clear. I don't want to have to stop reading, scratch my head and think "WTH?"Amanda Hovinghttp://amandaswrinkledpages.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post-33259333910302281882011-04-11T22:03:13.968-04:002011-04-11T22:03:13.968-04:00Sharon, "thongs" can mean flip-flops her...Sharon, "thongs" can mean flip-flops here, too. At least, they did when I was growing up here in California, before actual thong underwear became a ~thing~. <br /><br />Trust me, I'll be calling on on my YAtopia peeps to help me out when I have a few characters who are from other countries, just to make sure I get it right, LOL. One's Australian, the other is Irish, I have a few that are British, etc. I'm terrified I'll screw it up.<br /><br /><br />Riley, oh, man. Don't get me started on a Clockwork Orange. Easier to watch than to read, right? ;) Trainspotting is the same way. <br /><br /><br />Wendy, you worded it perfectly. A little bit here and there to add flavor. But too much ruins it.<br /><br /><br />Jess, definitely regarding the dated books thing. I read an MG novel a few months back with several movie and pop-culture references, along with some slang, and it really made me stop and think, "Wow, this book is THAT old? That came out when I was in Junior High."<br /><br /><br />Jolene, nope, it's not that book! This one lays it on a bit heavier. Now that I'm a little further into the book, I'm not noticing it as much. And I DO think it is kind of necessary in this case to really drive home a point for the story.Kelley Yorkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01852321111294729924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post-52194312231865497972011-04-11T18:15:11.535-04:002011-04-11T18:15:11.535-04:00I think Beth Revis did a good job in Across the Un...I think Beth Revis did a good job in Across the Universe. The slang was just a few terms, and didn't happen often.<br />ALthough, I'm going to laugh if that's the book you're reading :D<br /><br />I'm in total agreement on accents. Tell me what it is, let my brain fill it in. I don't mind a phrase once a while, but it needs to be done really, really well.Jolene Perryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14809468564016928636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post-36916994527882091982011-04-11T16:41:54.727-04:002011-04-11T16:41:54.727-04:00I'm more a fan of accents than new words. But ...I'm more a fan of accents than new words. But writers can go overboard with it. I remember when I was younger, I HATED trying to read accents. But then in college I had a professor who would read aloud, and he was amazing at it. So meh. I don't know. ;p <3LTMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05239077455322030275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post-30348821496876982112011-04-11T16:05:24.483-04:002011-04-11T16:05:24.483-04:00@Escape Artist - oh that might have scored you som...@Escape Artist - oh that might have scored you some unwanted attention =SSM Johnstonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03546994863993080465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post-20097752160890869562011-04-11T12:51:38.143-04:002011-04-11T12:51:38.143-04:00Kelley, amazing job on the wordage! I'm like y...Kelley, amazing job on the wordage! I'm like you. It's enough for me if they just tell me there's an accent and maybe toss in a few words here and there sometimes to flavor dialogue or as a reminder.Anita Grace Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870961916148616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post-6796703497449591052011-04-11T11:42:25.320-04:002011-04-11T11:42:25.320-04:00I do love slang in novels, though not if it's ...I do love slang in novels, though not if it's so overbearing I can't understand what the characters are saying. I especially love a slightly different vernacular, such as the poster above's example, "Mars to [whoever]."<br /><br />I think accents are tricky. In GONE WITH THE WIND, there are a lot of apostrophes and phoentic spellings, but it doesn't bother me since it's authentic. However, I've come across many other books where the apostrophes and phoentic spellings really bother me. I think it's because for whatever reason these books don't ring true, and as a Southerner I don't like people thinking all there is to the accent is dropping g's and saying ain't (no offense to the commenter above :)). As with any accent, it's just as much if not more about word usage, colloquialisms, and sentence structure.Abby Stevenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06630840834227330806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post-26064618946244154652011-04-11T11:02:07.451-04:002011-04-11T11:02:07.451-04:00Wendy, I noticed that too! Now he's upgraded t...Wendy, I noticed that too! Now he's upgraded to just saying, true. Without the that. LOL.Kelley Vitollohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13304868437913885003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post-19390451565475509172011-04-11T11:00:55.046-04:002011-04-11T11:00:55.046-04:00Congrats on making your word count! Good job.
It...Congrats on making your word count! Good job. <br /><br />It depends on the book for me. Also the writing style, characters etc. It had to come off like it fits, like it belongs there otherwise it just feels like they're trying too hard.Kelley Vitollohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13304868437913885003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post-35999010031798771322011-04-11T10:59:59.609-04:002011-04-11T10:59:59.609-04:00Everything in moderation for me. I am a huge fan o...Everything in moderation for me. I am a huge fan of accents in real life, but reading them for an entire novel can give me a headache. It's like, "Yes, I know they're British...you don't have to make them say 'bloody' and 'bollocks' every page to remind me." Made up slang is okay as long as it fits into the story. Real slang is tricky, because it can date your manuscript. What's cool and well-known now might not be in five years.Jesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14121018905141253640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post-14250397032365235552011-04-11T08:51:05.965-04:002011-04-11T08:51:05.965-04:00It's a tough one. I had this old lady in one ...It's a tough one. I had this old lady in one of my novels and I used to sit in my office talkin' like her, real thick accent and you know, I sure looked like I lost my marbles, but it was a terrific passage. I kind of became her, but would I want to write a book talking like her, probably not - bits and pieces for sure. <br />Now for slang. I've got a bit of a problem with slang. I guess if I'm using it too much, I feel like I'm trying a bit too hard, but that's just me. I'm not saying the use of it is a no-no, however it will date your novel.<br />Regarding Sharon's comment, I walked around Australia and New Zealand all innocent like for years wearing a Roots sweat shirt... and of course you'll know what root means over here. In saying that, if you're writing Australian, then it should include the dialect and you can get into problems when it doesn't. Ah, that's it for me. It's late.<br />Good night.Write Lifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11243460609179141414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post-91326049564306358472011-04-11T08:32:16.321-04:002011-04-11T08:32:16.321-04:00Hmmm... as soon as you started talking about slang...Hmmm... as soon as you started talking about slang I immediately thought 'The Maze Runner' b/c I know that book has been criticized for its slang (especially one word that gets a little bit too close to the f-word). I personally really liked the slang in that story, and I thought that it helped with the world building. <br /><br />And I agree with Wendy's post there: modern slang is almost never a good idea. Nothing dates a book faster than slang. I was recently in a play were the script was about ten years old, and we were constantly having to change small phrases b/c they just didn't fit anymore. You can do that easily with a play, but it's a bit harder with a novel...Elanor Lawrencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00936078326828012174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post-35845713042182441792011-04-11T08:14:35.986-04:002011-04-11T08:14:35.986-04:00**Pat, pat, pat** Yay word goal!!!
Slang and acce...**Pat, pat, pat** Yay word goal!!!<br /><br />Slang and accents have to be done with a gentle hand, sprinkling here and there so the reader gets the idea, but if overdone it's too distracting and annoying. And writers have to be careful with modern slang, which goes out of style and sounds corny later (see V's "True that" dialogue in the early BDB books, *cringe*)...Wendy Higginshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01060366096097773416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post-68607149599098229142011-04-11T03:35:05.658-04:002011-04-11T03:35:05.658-04:00Sometimes I wonder if accents are written phonetic...Sometimes I wonder if accents are written phonetically to make the reader concentrate more!<br /><br />If the story is really engaging, I won't mind. If the book isn't gripping me, it'll annoy me and make me less likely to read the whole thing.Miss Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05014234633679291480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post-53125757814230714192011-04-11T03:28:46.741-04:002011-04-11T03:28:46.741-04:00@Sharon- you've had that problem before too? G...@Sharon- you've had that problem before too? Glad to know that I'm not the only one!<br /><br />As for the accents, I like it when the author just points out that so-and-so have an accent. I don't like it being spelt out for me. One of the reasons why I'm having an on again off again relationship with Across The Universe. In Amy's POV, she sometimes spells out what they're saying according to their accents and it makes it really hard to read and get into the story. <br /><br />Although I think slang adds a certain deepness to the world building. In "Genesis" by Lara Morgan (Aussie book/author that I really really like) instead of saying "Earth to Rosie" it's "Mars to Rosie" because the influence that Mars has had on them is that large. Also in "Across the Universe" they say frexing (which I love!) and shite (though not completely original). Anyway... my point: for me it adds an extra layer to the world building and I feel more involved with the world.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05313479884291199749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post-84540210618836371512011-04-11T01:13:12.605-04:002011-04-11T01:13:12.605-04:00Ooh. One book I saw with made-up (world-relevant) ...Ooh. One book I saw with made-up (world-relevant) slang was The Maze Runner. It took me a while to adjust, but I ended up loving the book - I still have yet to read the sequel! Dangit, I should jump on that. Anyway, point is, it's more the material than the slang. I'll work around the slang if I love the story enough, you know?<br /><br />I love reading a book with dialect, though. Patrick Ness's Chaos Walking trilogy is a great example - his books even have misspellings, like 'concentrayshun', because the main character is illiterate. I think it adds tremendously.<br /><br />Now, when we get into, say, Clockwork Orange territory... hehe, it's hard to make any sort of sweeping judgment for books like that. Govoreeting like that oobivats my gulliver, don't you know. :Psurveyslulzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06496107805107037453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post-85232100053108298832011-04-11T00:52:53.169-04:002011-04-11T00:52:53.169-04:00Nice writing! That's a lot of words.
I tend t...Nice writing! That's a lot of words.<br /><br />I tend to write in accents if they're similar to everyone elses. Things like dropped gs and aints and whatever.Lydiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09968910379796546556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post-37703826459486857962011-04-11T00:14:18.018-04:002011-04-11T00:14:18.018-04:00I don't have a preference but I know that ther...I don't have a preference but I know that there's a big difference in meanngs for some words between Australia and US that could cause issues.<br /><br />Thongs are flip-flops in Oz. The Thong Song made it quite clear they're something else in the US.<br /><br />Fanny is quite rude in Australia and I was mortified the first time I heard The Nanny theme song. It was a Simpson episode that set me straight. <br /><br />Innocent to one culture is not innocent to another.<br /><br />Congrats on your word count too =]SM Johnstonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03546994863993080465noreply@blogger.com