3rd POV with an Accent

WriteMinded · Aug 13, 2011

My (fantasy) WIP is written in 3rd POV. The MC is Irish. I've used word choice and order to convey accent (with the one tiny exception being the word, and, is spelled 'n). HOWEVER, the narration is not written that way, BECAUSE (yes, I have a reason) I thought it would get tiresome. Have I made a huge mess?

VoireyLinger · Aug 13, 2011

No, you're fine.

job · Aug 13, 2011

Depends.

I make the narrative surrounding each character conform to the character's voice. When I move to another POV, the background narrative changes to suit the new character.

But, knowing I'm going to do this, I build POV character voice as something I can live with for a whole chapter. This limits the thick dialect, ye ken.

You can also leave narrative in a neutral voice.
You recognize the problem here. You're introducing just the ghost of an omniscient narrator. (If the description of the sunset doesn't sound like the POV character talking, who is seeing it? Has to be a neutral omniscient narrator looking over his shoulder.)

This is not bad technique. Even the tightest and closest POV tends to have neutral background language some places.

Just know that you are doing this and make a decision as to where you're going to drag in that wispy ghost of a narrator and where you're going to leave it in the POV character language.

defcon6000 · Aug 13, 2011

So you mean only his dialogue is accented but the narration is standard English? That's fine. Some people prefer to read non-accented narration as accented gets distracting, but in the back of their mind, they know the narrator's ethnicity.

WriteMinded · Aug 13, 2011

Hi guys. Whew! Thanks so much. I was working up a sweat of worry. I'm sure someone will come along pretty quick and burst my bubble with a machine gun, but I'll be armed with these opinions to help keep my balance.

job said:
I make the narrative surrounding each character conform to the character's voice. When I move to another POV, the background narrative changes to suit the new character.

But, knowing I'm going to do this, I build POV character voice as something I can live with for a whole chapter. This limits the thick dialect, ye ken.

I have only one POV. My daring, little Irishman. So you see how it could be overdone.

job said:
You can also leave narrative in a neutral voice.
You recognize the problem here. You're introducing just the ghost of an omniscient narrator. (If the description of the sunset doesn't sound like the POV character talking, who is seeing it? Has to be a neutral omniscient narrator looking over his shoulder.)

Difficult. Aye. It makes me brain hurt.

job said:
This is not bad technique. Even the tightest and closest POV tends to have neutral background language some places.

Just know that you are doing this and make a decision as to where you're going to drag in that wispy ghost of a narrator and where you're going to leave it in the POV character language.

Thanks. I be workin' on it.

Rachael7 · Aug 14, 2011

I think that as long as you pull it off smoothly you'll be fine. Remember, if someone is reading a book where the main character is Irish, then they probably enjoy the Irish accent... so they shouldn't get too overwhelmed.

seawitch · Aug 14, 2011

I wouldn't write it accented. I can pretty much translate in my head what written text would sound like in an Irish accent. It would be distracting for me to read accented narration. Just my preference, though.

Jonathan Dalar · Aug 15, 2011

Accents are very difficult to write correctly without becoming very, very annoying. It can be done, but I've been annoyed by them even when some of the better writers have done it.

I'd agree completely with just limiting the accent to the character. If you write accents into narration it's going to grate awfully fast.

Postaxial · Aug 16, 2011

I think accented narration would probably get a bit annoying. I'm not a fan of any kind of accented writing, but that's just personal preference. Accented speech would probably be fine for most readers though.
Have you read Blood Red Road by Moira Young? That has accented first person narration and the style isn't for everyone.

Anne Lyle · Aug 16, 2011

Sounds fine to me. If the reader catches onto the character's spoken voice, the accent will probably bleed over into the narration anyway. If it were me, I'd check things like reported thoughts (third-person internal monologue) and make sure they were closer to his accent than the rest of the narration, but that's the only caveat I can think of.

lucidzfl · Aug 16, 2011

I would probably not speak entirely in accent. I would simply say "Bubba spoke with a thick irish accent." and past that, I would occasionally throw in a coloquialism that reminded the reader where the character was from.

Like, "I went down the pub, realized I forgot me wallet, had to dance for the bartender for a free drink."

3rd POV with an Accent

WriteMinded

Derailed

VoireyLinger

Angel Wing Fetish

job

In the end, it's just you and the manuscript

defcon6000

WriteMinded

Derailed

Rachael7

seawitch

Jonathan Dalar

Science fiction, horror and fantasy

Postaxial

Anne Lyle

Fantastic historian

lucidzfl

Back from the dead