What’s in your purse?
When I write I try to use the right lingo in my dialogue. Kids talk like, um, kids. Adults speak clearly but within character. Y’know, like real life. I’m also careful about dialect and regional idiosyncrasies. “Yo” comes to mind. I didn’t realize until I left Philadelphia that “Yo” is not a common used to get someone’s attention. But if a character said “Yo” — even far from the East Coast you would probably know this person’s origin.
Where I live, I carry a purse (What kind? That’s a post for another day). But where I grew up, I carried a pocketbook…something fancy might have been a handbag. But you put your coins into a purse.
So depending where my characters live, is what they might call their bag-o-choice. Because if you have a character in the Midwest carrying a pocketbook, you’re not going to pull it off unless she is from the East Coast and if along the way, the reader knows that. I read a book last summer (sounds like the name of a scary movie) where the character spoke too formally for her persona. I didn’t believe she would talk the way she did – there was no underlying reason for it. It distracted me from the story.
Just so you know, no one in the Midwest sits on a stoop. And neither did I growing up in Philadelphia. I sat on the steps. I also ate water ice, which has no place in a novel, frankly, because there is no way to explain what it is without actually having it. (It’s not a slurpee, slushie or Italian ice. It’s indescribable, in a good way.)
In my own world — and in my WIP — I use a bisele Yiddish – bi’-seh-leh – a little bit. I’m not sure why but some things are just better described with Yiddish. And when I use them around my kids, if they don’t know I explain it, give another example and make sure to use the word again. It’s much more direct than the way you’d explain a foreign word or even a bit of back story in a novel, but it’s the same idea. Just get the meaning out there so you can use it again, so it makes sense to the reader (or the kid) and so you know that it is the best word for the job.
Capiche?
Which words, phrases or verbal idiocyncrasies helps define one of your characters?
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My mc’s best friend is a sassy black girl from north Philly. I’ve never had a close black friend, although I’ve always wanted one! I know that sounds silly, but I love the way black gals sometimes talk to each other. Cassie says things like, “Are you crazy, baby girl?” or “you can kiss my skinny black ass” or when Jenny talks about Cassie’s mom Cassie says, “that’s mama to you, girlfriend!” She’s funny, sarcastic and smart. I’ve never had so much fun writing a character. There’s also a British guy in the book and I had fun playing around with things like “jolly good” and “bummage” (English version of bummer). I love the whole pocketbook/purse thing. When I moved to Denver from Long Island when I was 12, I had no idea what “pop” was. It took me a while to realize it was soda. Or cuss? What the hell was that? In New York it’s curse. And ruff? That’s a sound a dog makes not the top of a house. Everyone knows the correct pronunciation is rooooof!
This was a great post, Amy. Made me stop and think about my own WIP and the words I use. And yeah, we don’t sit on the stoop here in the Midwest, but on the steps.
Hey – I went to Temple University in the heart of North Philly! Nothing sassy about North Broad Street, that’s for sure, but I can see how growing up in the slums would make for a vibrant character! Have you ever been to North Philly? I graduated in 1986 – and I haven’t been back. I hear the campus is great but the area is the same. I still have dreams/nightmares about it sometimes. Rough stuff.
Don’t forget the Philly accent!! Wooder for everyone!
Yo!
Amy
Oh, my. Most of my WIP characters are from the deep deep DEEP south like me, so from visiting my blog, you can just imagine some of their favorite and choice words. And one is a real Cajun, so she says a lotta dis an’ dat, sha.
Melissa,
I sat on the steps in Philly too, but I know in NY they sit on the stoop. In Philly I went to the supermarket and here it’s the grocery store. I’ve made my feeling on the word “pop” plainly known – I won’t say it. SODA. Although in Philly that would be pronounced sodeh.
I think it’s as much about the words as the grammar and cadence of the dialogue — my mc has a bf who is very direct and honest, but still refined. Another character beats around the bush more, and is subtle.
It’s fascinating, don’t you think?
Amy
Angie,
I love when writing is accurate like that. I love to read work written in dialect, it truly transports me. One of my all-time favorite books is Uncle Tom’s Cabin — and I feel the same way about Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters. It takes me several pages to catch the rhythm, but when I do, it’s like — free travel!
Can’t wait to read more of yours!
Amy
Not to be argumentative, but they do use ‘stoop’ for the apartment buildings with only one or two steps in front of the door in some Chicago neighborhoods.
But I get what you’re saying and yes, definitely the voice has to be authentic. I use words like ‘front room’ – which someone actually told me NOT to use because it’s strictly a chicago thing (yeah, that was the point..) I also use viaduct (pronounced, vi-dock), I’ve used a lot of different foods – Italian mostly, but also mexican and american and strictly Chicago dishes, I like to be able to smell it on the page… and I’ve used assorted ethnic phrases, because in a city environment, it’s pretty common for Italians to pick up yiddish, polish, mexican, you name it… and vice versa.
I do use dialect here and there, but I try to pepper it in to get the feel of the voice without making it too hard for the reader to understand. And for me, it’s important that not every character has the same idiosyncracies in their voice.
Great post… now I want to visit Philly.
Ah, see Merry? I didn’t know there were stoops in Chicago! That’s what I get for living in the suburbs. When I moved here I had no idea what a viaduct was. To me, it was simply driving under the train tracks. Who knew?
I think a lot of Midwesterners also push their babies in buggies. I pushed a stroller.
Those are the little tidbits I like to remember when writing…because it is what makes the voice authentic without anyone really noticing! And you’re right, we’re all different and so characters should be as well.
Yes, go to Philly. I will give you a list of foods to eat you’ve never heard of but won’t be able to do without!
Amy
I thought a buggy was the old fashioned thing my mom used to wheel us around in when we were babies–and a stroller was something a baby could sit in.
But, when I lived in NJ my neighbors called she shopping carts-buggies.
I’m not a writer, but I agree that water ice must be experienced, just as its Hawaiian counterpart, shave ice, must be experienced, and you would ONLY use them with characters in those regions.
I struggle with this concept in my writing. As I start a story or novel I try not to get too picky. When the story if finished I go back through and make the dialogue more authentic to the region and character.
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I try not to get too crazy with dialect because I don’t want anyone to have to work too hard to read my book. But mine are always Southern like me… we have steps, porches, say “y’all”, drink “cokes” no matter if it’s a Dr. Pepper, Coke, or root beer. Hamburger meat is “ground meat”. Women wear flops, not sandals. A refrigerator is an “icebox”, and old dogs and football are sacred.
Old men eat Steen’s Pure Cane Syrup in the yellow can on their pancakes, anything else is wussy. And the best breakfast/lunch/supper in the world is “milk hash on toast”. Which is country gravy with “ground meat” in it, served over toast or biscuits, and it is perfection.
What an interesting post, as are the comments. I guess that means I would make quite a character in someone’s book with all the places I’ve lived and the lingo I’ve picked up along the way. Growing up in the burbs of Chicago I would definitley agree that as a non-jew I picked up a lot of Yiddish that I still use today. And we called all soda “coke”, as in “what kind of coke would you like?” Then I moved to Kansas and it was “pop”. Is it dinner or supper that you eat? I’ve lived in DC, Texas, AZ, Iowa, and Colorado too so there’s a lot of conflicting lingo I think would be hard to define in a character. Interesting to ponder though.
Ha, I love this.
Moving from Michigan to the DC area taught me A LOT about how varied dialect can be. Then living in Virginia REALLY showed me. Now I’m a mixed-bag. I still say soda even though I claim to be from Chicago and I keep waiting for someone to call me out on it.
btw, my gramma always calls it a stoop, and she’s from Michigan. *shrugs*