We're always told that as writers we have to find our own voice. In Amy's review she stated that she didn't know what shit-kickers, voluptuous, and niggling meant. That seemed odd to me as they're quite common terms where I live, well, maybe not voluptuous, but I like the way the word rolls off my tongue. And it's a great substitute for curvaceous or sexy or built like a brick shit house.
Now here's my problem. I always sprinkle my stories with words and phrases that are common to my area and I try to always use them in context so readers can understand what I'm saying without having to use a dictionary to keep up with the story. That's my voice, the way I think, talk, and write. But if my readers can't understand what I'm saying do I have to change my voice? Are the old-fashioned words and phases out of style even when they come from the mouth of an older person who would have grown up talking that way?
Let's face it, a senior citizen isn't going to be talking rap and most definitely a rapper isn't going to be slinging words like voluptuous around. So how do you find a middle ground that won't alienate readers and still keep your own voice?
The quote today comes from Jeffery Deaver:
"If the bad guy in a book is a superficial caricature, then the hero's victory against him means little."
6 comments:
Part of the reading experience for me is to be able to pick up the meaning of new words from the context. I think this is a fun and make reading more exciting. So I like it when I am introduced to a word of two that I am not familiar with, plus in this day and age, with wikipedia and the rest of the world wide web at my fingertips, if I really can't figure something out, it shouldn't take long for me to "google" something and probably learn more than I ever wanted to about any given subject!
Sandra, I agree with you. Whenever I see a new word I look it up. That way I add this word to my vocabulary.
I love playing with words when I write, mixing old and new, putting a different spin on an old cliche, even making up words if it fits the story.
I love reading books by English and Irish authors and figuring out their slang from the way it's used in a story. Perhaps it comes from reading Regency Romances. It used to drive my husband nuts when I'd start tossing out phrases from the books and he'd have to ask what I was talking about.
And welcome to my blog JZID. Are you a writer also?
I think that is rarely a problem because the actions help you define the word. I'd rather struggle with a new word than be bored by old ones.
I'm not a writer Sandra, at least, I haven't had much of anything published. I think I may have read a short story or two of your's and found my way here!
Well, I'm glad you did JZID! The more the merrier. And readers are even more important to the world of books and stories than writers. Heresy, I know, but it's the truth.
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