nanowrimo_lj | accents

Is any one else writing a story with an accented character and has decided to actually write the accents in? And having trouble with it? Or has any one had this problem in the past- whether for NaNoWriMo or just any story?

I mean, not the accent itself, but the fact it's nothing like how you normally write or talk.

Currently I'm writing a story about a man from the Ozarks, and I wanted the story to seem as if he was writing it himself... like an autobiography or something. So I decided to implement his accents. Now, I'm actually from down South (Arkansas, the same place he is) so I can write a Southern accent perfectly fine.

But... what's driving me crazy is it's NOTHING like how I talk at all. It's driving me insane, and it's making me have trouble writing. It just seems awkward and WEIRD. I keep wanting to go through and beta this man's writing and edit the hell out of it. I've only written 1,107 words so far. Sad.

I could start over and write it normally, but... I just am not seeing the novel that way, nor am I seeing the character speaking properly. He has Asperger's Syndrome (undiagnosed), and he wants to write just how he talks, or else he feels like it's not actually him writing it.

So I don't know if I should just keep writing until I finally get used to it or start working on a new novel... Someone give me a pep talk or something, or personal advice. D:

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I'm going to assume by "every Aspie I've run into" you're probably talking about the internet. I want to say that the internet is a very bad research source when it comes to these manners. On the internet you don't know if these people are truly Aspie or not. Even in real life you can't rely on personal accounts to determine something. You have to form experiments with statistics to figure out if there's really a difference between Asperger's and non-Asperger's people in terms of literacy.

The best sources for how Aspies really are are case studies from books. True, these are personal accounts as well, but these patients have actually been diagnosed by a licensed professional and it's more likely a professional will make the correct diagnosis than someone who is not trained in the area.

It's really quite amazing how much Aspies on the internet differ from true studies of those who are Asperger's. In my experiences with the online world (particiularly

asperger here, which I got banned from) when it comes to Asperger's, people are really misinfomed and often rely on personal accounts of themselves and others. I'll be honest- I think they tend to be just as misinformed as the people who think that Asperger's/Autism means mental retardation or autism only means severe autism such as Low Functioning.

There is no diagnostic criteria that says those with Asperger's have to be literate. Technically, by definition, Asperger's means you have at least Average intelligence. There's nothing that says you have to have above average intelligence or be particularly literate.

Yes, in my personal experience as well, I am very literate and fluent, at least, IMO. But I tend not to rely on my own experiences when arguing such a general point because they can be skewed and not representative of an entire group of people.

The whole reason I wanted to make the character Asperger's was to show a different portrayal from what people are used to or what others think Asperger's is. I didn't want to show the stereotypical severe autistic, but I also didn't want to show the literate, fluent Asperger's person that the Asperger's community is so fond of.

Edited 2008-11-02 21:28 (UTC)

I am not. I am talking about Aspie support groups, etc. right here in my town.

Well, quite frankly, if you can't rely on what a majority say when you're dealing with a subjective diagnosis, then what CAN you rely on?

Well, interesting. It's weird to me that you live somewhere where you have met so many Aspies. But are these people in the support groups diagnosed officially? In a sense if there's no diagnosis qualification then it's the same as an online group, if you ask me. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with self diagnosis but that people generally tend to not understand what makes something an abnormal behaviour or not. I've seen way too many people diagnose themselves with Asperger's because of personality quirks.

I don't think Asperger's is a "subjective diagnosis". I think the degree of Asperger's varies, but I don't know about subjective- at least not truly subjective. There's a cutting point somewhere.

Majority testimonies and accounts can be valid, but only to an extent. I'm wondering if you've ever taken a Stats class or know about Stats or conducting experiments. The most reliable method of doing something would be to conduct an experiment. Using statistics you can then figure out if there's truly a difference in literacy between Asperger's and non-Asperger's people based on the results you get. Of course, it's also best to repeat the experiment several times to check for anomalies and errors as they can happen. It's very possible to do such an experiment and I wouldn't be surprised if one has already been done that I don't know about. It'd be interesting to see the results. Even if there is a statistical difference in literacy there's still the fact that not every one is going to fit the results.

I could sit here and lecture all day about the merits of certain information and sources, and experiments, and statistical methods, and why personal accounts and even case studies can be an inaccurate representation- but I honestly don't feel like it right now and you seem set on your opinion.

Edited 2008-11-02 21:43 (UTC)

Most of them are officially diagnosed, yes.

Well, a lot of the *symptoms* are subjective, let's put it that way. One of the ones that got me diagnosed was "motor skill problems." But where do you cross the line between "quirky" and "problem?" I had trouble skipping until I was 16. Problem, or quirk? It's not like skipping is an essential life skill. That's why I say it's subjective. A lot of the symptoms - the ones I was diagnosed on, at least - have a lot of shades of gray in them.

As for stats, there is a reason I'm not a maths major ^_^;; Apparently I stood in line for literary skills twice and missed the maths line. (I've never been able to understand anything past prealgebra.)

I'm not saying I can't be wrong, it's just that in my experience it's unusual to find an illiterate Aspie.

There are actually rules as to what makes a behaviour abnormal or not. Generally, in simple terms, it has to interfere with your functioning to a significant amount. Skipping oddly actually isn't technically considered a problem unless the reason that you skip oddly also interferes with other motor activities that have to do with your functioning.

No offense, but you can argue whether it's subjective all you want and it'll still be wrong, if you ask me. Shades of gray is different from the boundary between abnormal and normal behaviour.

Yes, but what's a "significant amount?" Like . . . shit, I don't know how to explain what I mean. Like, okay, some people have no feet and they get prosthetics and go on with life pretty much as normal. Other people have no feet and they spend their lives in wheelchairs, even if the injury is more or less the same. One person rules the disability; the other is ruled, at least to an extent, by it. Did that make any sense at all?

You make sense, but I think there's a difference between physical limitations and behaviour.

I don't know. Maybe I'm thinking off on a total tangent.

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