Monday 18 May 2009
Writers Talk IV- Giving your characters an accent
Posted in Writers Talk
Does anyone here sometimes give their characters an accent, Scottish, Cockney, Chinese, or whatever? Or even just a habit of speech (keeps using the same phrases, manner of speech, pirate-y slang, etc.)? If so, how do you do it? How do you depict different accents? Do you base the accent on a friend, and copy their mannerisms in your character, or what?
I personally haven’t done accents/dialects/mannerisms very much, and I don’t really know how to portray different accents. Does anyone have any tricks or tips?
Please, discuss and converse!
HOMER
Comments
Tuesday 19 May 2009 - Oh, boy!
Posted by gelpenprincess
Oh, boy, that's my favorite thing ever, Homer! All my characters have accents, real or made up. And my made-up ones are completely out of the blue! Here's Jo Pippin's Cockney for you: "Jo Pippin a' yer se'vice, Cap'n! Now wha' do ye wan' me t' do, Cap'n?" Oh, and Charles Dickens in Bleak House did one accent that made me laugh: "Mlud, feel it my duty tsubmit, mlud---" And my made-up countries all have their different accents and dialects. I don't type my Leonese how they say it, but if I did, it would be like this, "Of cou'se, You' Majes'y, whateve' you wisssh."
Aniquian Island accents are far different from Aniquian, too. Frankly, I'm fascinated with accents, and if we're ever doing a play or a game or a skit or if I'm reading out loud, I have to do the accents. I'll let Jo Pippin take over to help you get a better feel for reading and writing different accents. 'ello, 'omer, this is Jo Pippin, Darcy's new edi'or. Um, she sai' tha' Oi 'af t' type s'me stuff, so Oi'm doin' i'. Oh, she wan's me t' act'lly type s'methin' abou' s'methin'. Ou' ship was jus' 'it by abou' five wa'erspou's yestahday... tha' awlways 'appens... an' me an' Snigsby--- by th' tsunami--- got flung up 'gainst th' side o' th' ship, an'... a whowl bunch o' stuff 'appened, an' Oi think Oi shoul' be done typin'. Thanks Jo! Do you think you've got it? I could keep typing in different accents all day, but I should stop before I show you Brierthorn!
~Topsy-Turvy-Darcy or Hailey or Barrie
Edited by gelpenprincess on Tuesday 19 May 2009 at 06:46 AM
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Tuesday 19 May 2009 - Untitled Comment
Posted by narnialover95
Um, I've never given my characters a specific accent, but I am going to for NaNoWriMo, and I intend to do it by showing you where the setting is (the south, [In America] so they are going to have a southern accent) and, in the dialouge, I am going to write what it sounds like they are saying. For example, "Ah don't like the way ya'll do that, it ain't fair." That's all!
God Bless,
The Infamous Snick
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Tuesday 19 May 2009 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Anne Sewell
I just think of the person/animal I am creating and what their personality is, and then I think up a accent/voice for them. It's pretty simple =)
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Tuesday 19 May 2009 - Untitled Comment
Posted by spitfires/Homer
So you guys just imagine what sort of accent could be developed and then just write that out. Sounds logical!
What about a real-life accent, like Scottish or Southern? How do you "research" those?
Do you guys try to get a feel for the accent, or do you keep a kind of mental checklist, making sure the accent is consistent?
HOMER/SPITFIRES
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Tuesday 19 May 2009 - Well,
Posted by Darcy Jo Jarndice
Well, I just hear the character say it in my head, and I copy it down exactly. I don't have a mental or physical checklist or anything like that... clutters up my brain and my space.
~Darcy Jo Jarndice
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Tuesday 19 May 2009 - Untitled Comment
Posted by narnialover95
Well, for real accents, I've heard alot of them, either in real life, movies, whatever it is, so I have a general idea of what they sound like, but what I want them to sound like is really up to what...well...they sound like when they first appear.
God Bless,
Snick
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