This post by Jennifer Flaten
Recently, Grammar Girl posted one of her Quick and Dirty Tips on using accents and dialects in writing. It got me thinking a) if I ever really start writing dialogue I need to keep these tips in mind b) as a reader I’ve encountered both good and bad examples of these tips.
In the best books, I can hear the dialogue in the character’s voice in my head. It is seamless, like a movie as I am reading I am “hearing” it in my head. Posh British accents, low and lovely southern drawls all conveyed with just a few words to describe the speaker.
English: The main reading romm of Graz University Library (19th century) on 2 Sep 2003. Picture taken and uploaded by Dr. Marcus Gossler. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
This probably explains why I am so often disappointed by a movie adaptation of my favorite book. If the author describes the speaker/narrator/main character so that I “hear” Antonio Banderas’ voice in my head as I read the story I am going be sorely disappointed if the movie has Bruce Willis in that role. In my case, it is not only a case of “not how I pictured it in my head”, but “not how I thought he would sound”.
In the worst, the accent or dialect is distracting. Take for instance Loch by Steve Alten. It takes place on a Loch in Scotland. Yep, you guessed it; one of the main characters “spoke” in a Scottish accent through the entire book.
It was rendered phonetically throughout the entire book (a big no-no according to Grammar Girl). It truly distracted me from the story and I tried to figure out what the character was saying. This is also a case of the story not being good enough for the reader to put up with a quirky dialogue.
Of course, I understand you can’t make every reader happy, but in this case do you agree with Grammar Girl. If you use dialects/accents, how do you use them?
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This Blog by Cher’ley Grogg
May will become my month for reconnecting. Some by visits, some by 
phone calls, some by emails, but mostly I’ll connect on Facebook. On a personal note, a card or phone call still means a lot to me. I like to get something in the mail besides bills and something on the phone besides tele-marketers.
don’t stay glued to your phones when there is real company present.
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And please join me on my 
Doris got me thinking about the stars. She talked about going to see the stars and I’m talking about how the stars influence our lives.
As a teen, my friends and I talked about 
everywhere for our enjoyment? If there’s a grassy patch, there are little flowers. The tiny buds on trees and bushes that burst forth in the spring are awesome.
tiny, little, small pleasures of life give us some of the happiest most contented moments that anyone can experiences. Just think about the wonder of viewing a kitten, a puppy or a newborn baby.
In the springtime, my mother and would sit for hours in a clover patch searching for a four leaf clover, she could spot them so quickly that I would be in awe. Eventually we would tire of searching for the Shamrocks, and if we were lucky enough to find a four-leaf clover , we’d take our treasure inside and press it in a big book for good luck. Legend says that each leaf of the clover means something: the first is for hope, the second for faith, the third for love and the fourth for luck.
My brother always kidded his wife about the song “Waiting on a Woman”. He died 4 years ago this April and I know he’s “Waiting on a Woman”. 
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