Language Use

[Debz]

Originally Posted By: Debz

What kind of language do you prefer to use in your writing? I'm not referring to speaking in German, French, Italian and the likes, though of course those are valid options also. I like to have other languages mixed in to add colour to the tales I weave.

However, in this instance, I'm referring to the style of language you favour.

In my own works, I vary the tone. If the story is set in the 18th Century, I tend toward writing which avoids "modern" language trends. in such a case, for instance, to "eat a meal" would become to "partake of food" or "enjoy repast". For stories set in the here and now, I tend to choose the terminology that best reflects the locale of the story - if, say, it were set in London, I'd try to slip in some phrases of Cockney slang or write in the accent of the area - "Sarf" Londond or such. In the case of stories set in the future, I write as the mood takes me. I'm happy with a colloquial sound to my writings in general.
Through it all, mind you, I suspect I have a great many "writers ticks" which recur no matter what the setting.

But how about you? Do you stick to a particular style of descriptive writing or are you influenced by the setting and tone of the story?

Debz.

[Debz]

Originally Posted By: Jaine

I found that a hard question to answer, Debz. I'd like to think that I don't write anachronistically but I suspect that I do.

However, I tend to set my stories in the near or distant future so I can have any style of language that I like, I suppose!

With regards to dialect, etc. peppering dialogue with local terms adds instantly to the characters identity. But I think it has to be very carefully handled otherwise it becomes impenetrable for the reader.

I was having trouble overcoming my academic writing style and so I recently created a writing persona in the masculine to act as a form of displacement to force me to write 'outside of myself' and feel that it's working quite well. I certainly feel that my 'voice' has changed considerably but that might also be due to the fact that I've switched my focus from prose to screen-play format.

[Debz]

Originally Posted By: Jaine

Ooh, some really interesting answers, ladies, to what you agree is a tough question! I guess I was trying to see how we analyse our styles of creation and expresion. I'm just happy that you've both come up with such practical observations and advice!

I agree with the fact that wrting in dialect can be both distracting and frustrating for the reader if they have to try too hard to decipher the meaning, but in a modicum, it can be useful in the story-telling process.

What a novel approach, Jaine (no pun intended!), to create a writing persona through which you see and write things differently. For myself, I haven't so much created a persona as used several aspects of my personality as a whole in order to write. I switch between them to achieve the tone I'm aiming for - and that makes me sound like I've got multiple personalities, now! *lol* I'm no expert but I'd have to agree that until you find your forte, a form of presenting writing that suits you personally, the creation of masterpieces is nigh on impossible.

It seems you and I have a departure of style, Clare - which I'm not surprised about since you have a delightful guerilla-style to you which I love but wouldn't be content to mimic. I'm basically a descriptive writer, though I almost have to physically restrain myself sometimes, from getting far too indepth. I'm definately the kind of writer for whom "vista-creations" are quite essential - though I'd be willing to try other methods.

I suppose language as a whole is "free and easy" and capable of being manipulated and twisted to whatever form the writer needs in any given situation. Which is, as you suggested and we have discussed in private, how Shakespeare and other prolific and groundbreaking authors, worked. I do try, in my descriptive writing, to make the descriptions engaging though quite how successful I am remains to be seen.

I suppose practice with writing for different age groups also frees up the style of language a writer uses. But I also find it interesting to experiment, successfully or not, with different points in history, present and future, just to feel how things flow. Again, when dealing with history, as you both so rightly inferred, there's a pitfall of the (in)accuracy of the language being the thing which ultimately makes or breaks the tale. I wonder if this is the reason why many more modern screenplays are melding modern and classical language in order to prevent ctiticism.

I have to say, I do think that it very much depends on the reader as to how the language in a story or poem is interpreted - and I don't know if you find that the mood of the reader directly influences perceptions of description and language. I find that if I'm a little cheesed off or tired, I tend to read a story less sympathetically than if, say, I'm calmer. Do any of you find this happens?

I think this could end up being an entirely subjective topic, methinks. What does anyone else think on this subject?

Debz.