accents

[trenchcoatedson.livejournal.com]

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:

Comments

[tsukara.livejournal.com]

My first year I wrote a character (one quite bonkers at that) who talked with a stutter all the time, repeated words, messed with grammar etc. While it annoyed me at some points, it not only boosted my word count (which every new Nano is glad for) but it also, weirdly, helped me to get into this character's extremely messed up head at some points. When, if he spoke normally, or I were to write him speaking normally, I might make the mistake of writing him as a completely normal person.

So, for me, it helped, even though it was, on occasion, frustrating.