Why would someone choose a setting where they don't know how people speak or the terminology they use? Seems a very strange thing to do - write what you know, and all that. It's different from making a choice between realise and realize. Dialogue definitely has to be specific to the character's origins, even if descriptive text isn't.
For dialog, go with what makes sense for the individual character. I agree. For out-of-dialogue (See what I did there?), honestly, I don't think it really matters that much at all. Look at me, for example. I'm German, but I grew up with English as a sort of second mother language from age four or five on. So, naturally, my English is a mix between American and British English. But... to be honest, like I said, I think it simply doesn't matter if there's a bit of mix and match in the way you write. ... okay, maybe it would matter a bit more if you're writing non-fiction, but I think with the amount of globalization and generalization going on... as long as it isn't completely inconsistent and out of control, a bit of mix and match doesn't matter that much. One should just remember to spell words the same way every time. : P Greets, AniGa
Wow. Looks like my grade-school teachers gave me some wrong information. I was taught that schedule, school, scheme, schism, and all words derived from them were of German origin. Further, 'sch' (I was told) is always pronounced 'sk.' Well, now I don't believe in anything any more. I do find it odd, though, that 'schedule' is the only 'sch' word where there's confusion as to its pronunciation.
Reading this I think I have to admit my novel lacks identity. I didn't want to 'set' it anywhere in particular, because I didn't want to get bogged down with geographical research (and I would have). I'm English and wanted to set it England, but feel this country lacks the scope required for a road novel, so I set it in a fictional 'large country' - a kind of bastardisation of the US. Consequently I have characters that are inherently English, but who use American terms (parking lot, trunk, bar). It's also set in the very-near future (so near, in fact, it's barely noticeable) and I think I use this an an excuse to include Americanisms. I just hope it doesn't alienate and/or confuse the reader.
Well, no, it doesn't come from German. The German "sch" is pronounced "sh", for starters, and many word origins lie in Latin for both English and German, not in German for English. Greets, AniGa
I am English - not well traveled but I do research. My stories are set in the USA and also have a smidgen of Italian in them. I think I've managed to pull it off ( I have a review which said I was well traveled) but what I would say to anyone, is never let the language barrier restrict you in writing the story that you want to write. There is an abundance of sites on the web where you can find out the differences in the English language. Coupled with the amount of TV and cinema which crosses the pond in both directions, very soon I reckon there will be fewer differences.
When will authors let go of this "write what you know" shit? Did King have first hand experience with Killer Clowns?? Write what you know, and if you don't know it, ask! Don't be limited or afraid to write what's in your heart, head AND imagination! For that is what we are, tellers of stories and stories don't always have to be true!
Pretty sure it's a given that it doesn't apply to imaginary things. I'm not going to let it go because I completely agree with it. I wouldn't set a novel in Japan because I know zilch about Japanese culture, and anybody who did would read it and be annoyed at all the inaccuracies. If I absolutely had to set it in Japan I would do some intense research, not just go "oh well I'll just write like it's England." Also if you've asked then you know. So you're writing what you know...
I would never try to say you should only write what you know. I think I was addressing the spelling that you use to write whatever story you want. By all means, write a story set in a different country ...but you might want to do it using your own native spelling. Trying to take on somebody else's way of spelling and word usage can be a bigger problem than it looks at first. You may know that the trunk of a British car is referred to as a 'boot' in the UK and a hood is a bonnet, but you'll also need to know that gas is called petrol, and a stick shift is called a manual transmission ...etc etc. And you don't park it in a ga-radge (or ga-razh), you park it in a garridge. In other words, this game can get quite complicated. However, more power to your arm if you want to try.
Yes. Write what you know doesn't mean you have to be born with the knowledge. If you need to 'know' something in order to write about it, then learn it! Live it if you can. Then you'll know.
LOL! Busted! OK, I'll rephrase and say a lot of authors use the phrase "write what you know" to mean "write what you've personally experienced" which is what I don't agree with. I started off believing that fiction is fiction - if it can happen in my head, then it can happen in my book. Obviously, I started out pig-headed - now I'm no so bad. I do still believe in that, it's what creative license is for, but, I will only go that far if I can't find a "right" way of what I want to have happen, happen. This is mainly because I want my stories to have the *could* happen feel to them.
I agree - but I also think, have a go! Most of what I do works out OK with the word/phrase changes, I'm lucky I have someone to point things out to me and I've now done it for long enough, it does sometimes cross-over into my real life, like the time I told my son to pick his cell up off the floor and he just stood and looked at me like I had two heads. But one which did stump me, was the word basque, which for us in the UK, is the name of what is called a bustier in the US. I got it eventually.
Just write British English. Most Americans can't spell to save their lives anyway, so it won't matter.
My question - has British English suddenly become Arabic? Do they write in hieroglyphics? Or cave paintings? Maybe they stand on their heads and wiggle their toes to communicate? There are more than enough ex-pat Brits living in the US, their children in the US, to get what you are saying regardless. British English isn't some alien language that the US is blissfully ignorant of. Now if you were writing dialogue in a different language - Swedish for example - that'd be a different story. Some terms - would you use fag instead of cigarette for example? What about rollie; in some areas of the UK it mostly means a cig, in the US it typically means a joint - I would avoid so as to not offend or outright confuse. But the general - near identical words [honor / honour, gray / grey, etc.] or the common and/or easily identified words [knickers / underwear, till / cash, etc.] - words I'd leave. Now if your readers are a little simple and can't realize A & B are one and the same [he opened the cash register and pulled out a twenty, he opened the till and pulled out a twenty - pretty obvious what a till is even if the reader has never heard the word before]; unfortunately, I'd say, they're beyond help. Now I remember laughing - it was either another forum or a book - where the author had obviously been trying to be American. They used garbage can / garbage throughout most of the story and halfway through you get dustbin. The dustbin stood out more than if they'd started writing in hieroglyphics. With respect to the prior posts about knickers, underwear and underpants / undershirts ... you can use any of them just ID by your writing. He pulled down his underpants. He shrugged out of his undershirt. Slipping his leg in, he pulled up his underpants. He pulled the undershirt over his head. Most people would get the drift. After all, you generally don't pull a t-shirt down to get it off. And that's some mighty big underwear if you're wearing it over your head.
The language barrier between US and UK is about as big as my ass (and my ass aint that big!) There are similar differences between areas of the UK. The area I was born in, calls trousers, trousers and underwear, pants. Yet I move house just 123 miles away from where I was born and suddenly, trousers are pants and pants are knickers!
