How To Write Accents In Your Book

Ever wondered how to write accents in your book?

You’re not the only author who might be nervous about HOW to write accents in your book or novel, and how NOT to make the characters and voices sound weird 🙂

In my research, I came across a couple of great articles which have some excellent tips and examples.

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This article is great, and please read the Comments too – very insightful and interesting! Welcome to “Ten tips on writing characters with accents”, by Rose Lerner who covers the following topics.

1. I never write an accent phonetically.
2. Accents have nothing to do with intelligence or temperament.
3. Let your point-of-view character tell the reader what kind of accent a new character has.
4. Remember, there are variations in accents even among members of the same socio-economic or regional group.
5. People with accents speak differently depending on who they’re speaking to.
6. Rely on diction and grammar to convey the accent’s sound and feel.
7. Make sure any slang or foreign words are either unnecessary to following the action, clear from context, or decipherable by the reader.
8. Be even more understated in narration than in dialogue.
9. Be aware of contractions, but don’t overdo it.
10. In the interests of full disclosure, there is a character in my book who talks in spelled-out dialect.

To read Rose’s complete article, pop over here to KatLatham.com >>

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This article “How to write accents and dialects: 6 tips” is written by Jordan Kantey of NowNovel.com, whose tips are:

1. Make sure you use accent and dialect for the right reasons
2. Make a list of regional colloquialisms/slang
3. Use eye dialect carefully
4. Learn how to write accents other ways: Use word choice and placement
5. Learn and use the most common language errors
6. Create local speech variation with idioms and sayings

To read Jordan’s complete article, pop over here to NowNovel.com >>

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The next article is “How to convey accents in fiction writing: Beyond phonetic spelling” by proofreader Louise Harnby. Louise’s very thorough article also has a wealth of knowledge and tips galor:

1. Avoiding the inexperienced-ear trap
2. When phonetic spelling trumps story
3. Deliver what you promised and what’s interesting
4. Respect your audience now, then and from wherever
5. Make things easy for your reader
6. Other ways to convey accent – light flavouring
7. Why focus on that accent?
8. Summing up:  It isn’t necessary to write accents

To read Louise’s complete article, pop over here to LouiseHarnbyProofreader.com >>

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Will These Tips Help Show How To Write Accents In Your Book?

I do hope these interesting articles have helped you with ideas for writing accents and dialects in your own book – if you’d like to share how you have achieved this with any tips for other authors, please do let me know, I’d love to hear from you.

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