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A Common Language
Posted on: Sat, 07/17/2010 - 20:29
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A Common Language
First off if you spot any mistakes in this post it's the painkillers from a broken elbow which is slowing my typing down
I know we have members on this forum from many countries, many proficient writers who know that when penning any prose, story or screenplay the two most important things are an outline and research.
For my sins i spend around 1/4 of my life working in the USA (i enjoyed my 2 years at the University Of Alabama - Roll Tide and they pay me more in LA than they do here), which means when i'm over there i have to research aspects that come easily to me here in good 'ol Blighty. So when it comes to reading the odd (and i do mean odd) fanfiction means, like most Brits, it's obvious at times that a story is written by an American(and not just the mangling of our language, mom and a lack of U's in words like colour are but a couple of examples). Things like breakfast, descriptions of someone living a couple of blocks away.
Is it too much to ask for a little research on the culture!
Perhaps i'm just bitter about having to research too many historical documentaries.
Anyway Chuck where's the next chapter of 'Lost Tower'
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Things like breakfast, descriptions of someone living a couple of blocks away.
Could expand on this please? I have lived several years in Europe, but never in the UK. So I am confused about the breakfast and the few blocks away bits.
"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside a dog it's too dark to read" Groucho Marks
Is it too much to ask for a little research on the culture!
Give up, my friend- I have. There's very few out there who aren't from the UK and care, because most readers aren't from the UK. Sad but true.
Is it too much to ask for a little research on the culture!
Give up, my friend- I have. There's very few out there who aren't from the UK and care, because most readers aren't from the UK. Sad but true.
I just can't help it. If i had it drummed into me from 11 that research is important, why should others get away with all those years of pain! When you find a really good story and it feels like it's set in Montana rather than the UK it does tend to drag you out of it
Things like breakfast, descriptions of someone living a couple of blocks away.
Could expand on this please? I have lived several years in Europe, but never in the UK. So I am confused about the breakfast and the few blocks away bits.
"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside a dog it's too dark to read" Groucho Marks
Not many people here tend to eat muffins or pancakes for breakfast. Someone would live a couple of streets away, not a couple of blocks. We don't have an uptown or a downtown. You go up town or you go down to the town.
Is it too much to ask for a little research on the culture!
Give up, my friend- I have. There's very few out there who aren't from the UK and care, because most readers aren't from the UK. Sad but true.
I just can't help it. If i had it drummed into me from 11 that research is important, why should others get away with all those years of pain! When you find a really good story and it feels like it's set in Montana rather than the UK it does tend to drag you out of it
I agree, but I think what irks me more is the MTV generation language that gets given, particularly to those like the Weasleys, to those for whom its an alien language.
Research is good, being able to write is better, and its with that attitude I've managed to keep reading.
Things like breakfast, descriptions of someone living a couple of blocks away.
Could expand on this please? I have lived several years in Europe, but never in the UK. So I am confused about the breakfast and the few blocks away bits.
"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside a dog it's too dark to read" Groucho Marks
Not many people here tend to eat muffins or pancakes for breakfast. Someone would live a couple of streets away, not a couple of blocks. We don't have an uptown or a downtown. You go up town or you go down to the town.
Breakfast in our house is informal and consists of cereal or toast with tea, coffee, milk or juice. A formal breakfast is likely to be a fry-up but no hash browns. A sure sign of transatlantic authorship is to say 'eggs and bacon' rather than 'bacon and eggs'. If you have fruit, cold meats etc then you are moving more towards continental Europe and when you get on to croissants and pain au chocolat you've made it.
I'm all for a good story, one of the reasons as i'm incapacitated at the moment that i am rereading a few Dick Francis books as well as the old Adrian Mole books (where you see a few names that pop up in the Potter series)
I can understand your point, but none of those things ever bother me. The reason: My first language is Finnish, and here they teach both the british and the american way of saying something, but people just use the word/spelling they are most comfortable with, so they get mixed up. A few decades ago only the british way was taught, but they changed it at some point. And because they show more american films/TV shows than english, people tend to use the american way. At least most books in English are imported from Britain.
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"Night falls and I'm running in circles (Whoa-oh-oh)
I'm being chased by my imagination (Whoa-oh-oh)"
Alesana - The Thespian
I can understand your point, but none of those things ever bother me. The reason: My first language is Finnish, and here they teach both the british and the american way of saying something, but people just use the word/spelling they are most comfortable with, so they get mixed up. A few decades ago only the british way was taught, but they changed it at some point. And because they show more american films/TV shows than english, people tend to use the american way. At least most books in English are imported from Britain.
The point isn't the spelling, the point is the lack of research into what life actually might be be like in Britain. If I wrote in another fandom, say Buffy, whilst I might be able to get Giles right, I'd be lost as to the world they were living in. I'd be too embarrassed to publish something where the kids went to Bexley Grammar school, where the Old Bill ran around in Panda cars and Mrs Miggins pies were a teatime treat. Apparently, in this fandom, most aren't.
I get most of it right ... but it's hard because of the influence of multi cultural Australia. I do automatically say 'bacon and eggs', I wouldn't include hash browns - although I do eat them, stick to Mum and Weasley jumper and I utilise both the term 'mobile phone' and 'chief bridesmaid'. I wouldn't do excessive amounts of research for a fanfiction though. Sure if I was getting paid to write a novel, or wanted something published but fanfiction for many people is just a fun outlet. Research makes it a chore. If the story's good why complain about them having eggs and bacon or a cell phone? I do get irrationally irate about having a shower in the loo though and sleeping on a cot because I worry that Harry's standing in the toilet bowl to wash and sleeping curled in a ball! :P
I get most of it right ... but it's hard because of the influence of multi cultural Australia. I do automatically say 'bacon and eggs', I wouldn't include hash browns - although I do eat them, stick to Mum and Weasley jumper and I utilise both the term 'mobile phone' and 'chief bridesmaid'. I wouldn't do excessive amounts of research for a fanfiction though. Sure if I was getting paid to write a novel, or wanted something published but fanfiction for many people is just a fun outlet. Research makes it a chore. If the story's good why complain about them having eggs and bacon or a cell phone? I do get irrationally irate about having a shower in the loo though and sleeping on a cot because I worry that Harry's standing in the toilet bowl to wash and sleeping curled in a ball! :P
A good story will always outside the lack of local accuracy. I was reminded this week about The Letters of Summer by Kokopelli (the author left a review on Sins)- its a great story (http://www.phoenixsong.net/fanfiction/story/53/ ) but it is unflinching in its refusal to change to reflect the fact that the story takes place in the UK.
Yeah I think you can have a good story without changing but there are some things that you learn from the books that would be good to keep and a little research or an actual British person to keep things a bit even. It's masses of research that will make it not fun. And hey if youre good enough at the story telling it ultimately won't matter.