April is Poetry Month. What makes poetry different from other forms of writing? Poetry uses an economy of words to paint a picture, amplify an emotion, or provoke deep thoughts. Word Pictures Some poems use words that create a visual representation for the reader. Color, shape, and texture portrayed in fresh ways help the reader experience what the poet sees. These poems plop the reader into a setting, as if they are there. Poets carefully select their words to bring a specific place or landscape to life. Nature often figures prominently in this type of poetry. Emotion Another type of poem is one that amplifies an emotional event. It tugs…
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Two Voices
The two voices in writing belong to the author and their characters. An author with a distinct voice is recognizable across their many works. This may manifest thematically, stylistically, or in their tone. Conversely, the voice of characters the author creates will reveal their personality through word choice, attitude, and emotion. Author Voice You pick up a book. The author’s voice jumps out at you. Perhaps they always write about the environment. Or their stories always explore relationships. Maybe every story or essay has a political bent. Themes play an oversized role in an author’s voice. Another marker of author voice is their writing style. Do they use flowery…
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Cultural Appropriation
When writing a dialect it is important to be aware of cultural appropriation. Cultural appropriation is the arrogance of writing characters outside of your own background without personal knowledge or research. While this sounds harsh, a movement has sprung up to bring attention to the practice. Originally called Own Voices the movement is now referred to as We Need Diverse Books. Today’s post will look at three aspects of cultural appropriation: whose story is it, harmful stereotyping, and lack of respect. Whose Story? Can an able-bodied person write a disabled protagonist? Should they? In this case, I’m using disability as an example of a culture. I could just as easily…
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Phonetic Spelling and Dialects
Phonetic spelling and dialect often go hand-in-hand. It’s a way to capture the genuine sound of language but it can be challenging for your reader. When to Write in Dialect Let’s say your character is a Scottish immigrant. In order to establish his unique sound, phonetic spelling is your best bet. This will not only give him a voice distinct from his fellow characters, it will introduce challenges of interpretation. Down becomes doon, no becomes nae. Some characters will be unable to understand a heavily accented Scot, while others will misinterpret his words completely. Why Phonetic Spelling? You want your reader to ‘hear’ the words as your Scot pronounces them.…
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Give Your Characters a Distinctive Voice
Use dialect to give your character a distinctive voice. I grew up in California, completely accent-free. In my teens I met a Texan who scoffed at my “accent,” when clearly, he was the one with an accent. The reality is, we always consider our way of speaking as a baseline. Everything else represents an accent. In today’s post I will explore how culture, financial status and line of work affect your characters’ speech patterns. Culture Consider the many variations of English across the United States and the world. It sounds different in Cape Cod than it does in New Orleans, different in Ireland than South Africa or Australia. And of…
