doesdoctorstuff: Navaan from Trudy Cooper's Oglaf (Talking - Tellin' It Like It Is)
Navaan ([personal profile] doesdoctorstuff) wrote in [community profile] fandomhigh2024-01-22 06:31 am
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Creative Writing--So Simple Even You Can Do It! (Probably), Monday, Period 4

On the board there were some...words...written when the students came in.

"S'pose we must be resigned; but oh Lord! how ken I? If I know'd anything whar you's goin', or how they'd sarve you! Missis says she'll try and 'deem ye, in a year or two; but Lor! nobody never comes up that goes down thar! They kills 'em! I've hearn 'em tell how dey works 'em up on dem ar plantations."

"So, we've already talked about making sure your characters don't sound the same, and make sure you use different words for them. But there's another way to make sure all your characters sound different, and it's also an easy way to shove some background diversity in there while you're doing it. Today, we're talking about eye-dialects!"

"Now these are really useful writing tools, because you can pack SO MUCH into just a sentence! With an eye-dialect, you show that your character is from somewhere different, and talks funny, and so they stand out from the rest of your cast! In fact, you can just give a bunch of your characters eye-dialects and then you don't have to spend much more time on making them special or unique! Just throw some zh's in for t's or use a v instead of an s and BAM! You've got a character that people can already just assume a lot about because they talk funny--where they come from, how smart they are, everything! And the best part is? You can just leave it there! Nothing else is needed, just some wacky misspellings and a letter substitution or two and your work as an author is done!"

And anything that made writing easier was something to be used liberally. Nay, excessively! "Now, the important thing is to make sure that your character is always speaking in dialect. You can't just have them use one or two words, oh no! You want them to be authentic, right? It doesn't matter how difficult it makes reading become--if your book is good enough, your characters will be invested!" She pointed up to the blackboard. "That quote's from a book by somebody named Harriet Beecher Stowe and shows a lot of dedication! I want to see all your writing look like that!"
pun_king: ((king arthur) a blessing! a blessing fro)

Re: Sign In #3

[personal profile] pun_king 2024-01-22 01:00 pm (UTC)(link)
Graham Cracker
hasaknightjob: Mr Knight in full costume (Mr Knight)

Re: Sign In #3

[personal profile] hasaknightjob 2024-01-22 02:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Steven Grant
mustbeawitch: (reading)

Re: Sign In #3

[personal profile] mustbeawitch 2024-01-22 02:32 pm (UTC)(link)
Lydia Bennet
professionalweirdo: (dystopian)

Re: Sign In #3

[personal profile] professionalweirdo 2024-01-22 03:45 pm (UTC)(link)
Gonzo the Great
furrybluefreak: (female!kurt)

Re: Sign In #3

[personal profile] furrybluefreak 2024-01-22 06:09 pm (UTC)(link)
Kurt Wagner
noonedecidesmyfate: (x - brave sir robin)

Re: Sign In #3

[personal profile] noonedecidesmyfate 2024-01-22 10:39 pm (UTC)(link)
Belle
hasaknightjob: Steven doesn't believe you (Steven doesn't believe you)

Re: Listen to the Lecture

[personal profile] hasaknightjob 2024-01-23 02:23 am (UTC)(link)
Steven wasn't entirely certain this was good advice. He knew he'd seen versions of dialect written like this, but he wasn't sure he necessarily liked it.
hasaknightjob: Steven wearing glasses (Steven glasses)

Re: Activity 1--Adapt Someone Else's

[personal profile] hasaknightjob 2024-01-23 02:25 am (UTC)(link)
Steven spoke French so he absolutely started out getting the assignment wrong by simply translating. Then he remembered it was supposed to be... French English? Maybe? So he tried writing things out like someone French attempting to do their own English translation for the first time. But then he realized he had no idea how that would work since he'd never been in that position. Which resulted in him making a mish mash of English and French with a lot of "How do you say?" written in it.
hasaknightjob: Steven and Marc talking via mirror (Both talking to themselves)

Re: Activity 2--Write Your Own

[personal profile] hasaknightjob 2024-01-23 02:27 am (UTC)(link)
After looking at the options, Steven went for a Chicago accent. Did he write something out which was the most stereotypical version with a lot of "da" for "the" and "youse" for "you"? Did he also giggle to himself while doing it? And ignore the heavy sigh in the back of his head from someone who said he wasn't funny, Steven?

Yep all around!
professionalweirdo: (breakfast)

Re: OOC

[personal profile] professionalweirdo 2024-01-22 03:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Yo, I've been reading X-Men fanfic of late and good god, the eye-dialects.

"Attempt at Remy LeBeau's Accent" is an official AO3 tag. Save me.
hasaknightjob: Steven tour guide (Steven tour guide)

Re: OOC

[personal profile] hasaknightjob 2024-01-23 02:28 am (UTC)(link)
I was gonna say the touchstone is and will always be "Never go full Gambit and Rogue."
betterthanaplan: (shhhhhhhhhhh)

Re: OOC

[personal profile] betterthanaplan 2024-01-23 03:01 am (UTC)(link)
I cut my fanfiction teeth on Gambit and Rogue. And even at fourteen, I still knew that wasn’t how “y’all” works.

(The 90s comics have Gambit talking about “Danksgiving” at one point. It’s a miracle any of us survived.)
hasaknightjob: Marc drinking from a flask (Marc drinking)

Re: OOC

[personal profile] hasaknightjob 2024-01-23 03:03 am (UTC)(link)
I mean Danksgiving could be cool with the right company, but probably not what Remy had in mind...
hasaknightjob: Marc blacked out (Marc blacked out)

Re: OOC

[personal profile] hasaknightjob 2024-01-23 03:06 am (UTC)(link)
This is what I'm saying!
hasaknightjob: Marc making a wry comment (Marc sardonic aside)

Re: OOC

[personal profile] hasaknightjob 2024-01-23 03:09 am (UTC)(link)
Oh yeah, I was just emphatically agreeing with you.
hasaknightjob: Marc doesn't want to hear it (Marc arguing)

Re: OOC

[personal profile] hasaknightjob 2024-01-23 03:17 am (UTC)(link)
No, I'm agreeing with you agreeing with me! SO THERE!
betterthanaplan: (restrain that guy)

Re: OOC

[personal profile] betterthanaplan 2024-01-23 03:10 am (UTC)(link)
Right?? But nooo, they were conflating the various sounds indicated by the “th” in English.

If I ever app him — and let’s be real, I very well might — it will be with a strict “spell all the th’s” policy.
hasaknightjob: Steven chatting (friendly) (Steven chatting (friendly))

Re: OOC

[personal profile] hasaknightjob 2024-01-23 03:12 am (UTC)(link)
I've said it before and I'll keep saying it: I don't write Steven phonetically AND YOU'RE ALL WELCOME.
betterthanaplan: (two thumbs!)

Re: OOC

[personal profile] betterthanaplan 2024-01-23 04:10 am (UTC)(link)
Your work is noted and appreciated 💜
hasaknightjob: Steven presenting something (Steven presenting something)

Re: OOC

[personal profile] hasaknightjob 2024-01-23 04:12 am (UTC)(link)
Innit bruv?
intheeyeofthebeholding: (Default)

Re: OOC

[personal profile] intheeyeofthebeholding 2024-01-22 06:05 pm (UTC)(link)
JFC, I never realized just *how incredibly horrendous* the version Gage wrote was.