tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5927870683677181756.post7617705132916595288..comments2023-10-15T04:48:05.528-04:00Comments on Free the Princess: Word Choice and SlangMatthew Delmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11452378192874048547noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5927870683677181756.post-72106131298214810032009-09-30T06:38:40.738-04:002009-09-30T06:38:40.738-04:00Also, Stephanie ... I'm curious as to what you...Also, Stephanie ... I'm curious as to what you think a Twinkie smells like.Matthew Delmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11452378192874048547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5927870683677181756.post-89712335613326183472009-09-30T06:38:05.120-04:002009-09-30T06:38:05.120-04:00Scott,
I love the profanity from Victorian and El...Scott,<br /><br />I <i>love</i> the profanity from Victorian and Elizabethan England. So much more satisfying to call someone a "pox-ridden hollow-headed bugbear" than to simply call them a jerk.<br /><br />I've been debating writing a strict historical fiction set in 1890s Salem, for which I'll probably peruse the collection of papers at the Peabody Essex Museum (love that place).Matthew Delmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11452378192874048547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5927870683677181756.post-10258354898381501002009-09-29T14:24:06.473-04:002009-09-29T14:24:06.473-04:00My last book was set around 1600, so I read a lot ...My last book was set around 1600, so I read a lot of writing from that period to pick up the language. My next book is set in 1749 in Colonial America, so I'm reading a bunch of stuff written then. Letters to family members are a good source of workaday speech, as are plays and other things. Even so, a lot of it gets normalized and made into a hybrid of current-day speaking and period speech so that it's intelligible to modern readers. Some common expressions from 1598, for example, now mean their exact opposite. The profanity from 1749 is very colorful, which I'll enjoy.scott g.f.baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05726743149139510832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5927870683677181756.post-66275861394167806402009-09-29T01:16:55.433-04:002009-09-29T01:16:55.433-04:00My characters are all ancient Egyptians and I find...My characters are all ancient Egyptians and I find it's hardest to be accurate and not modern when they need to cuss. Granted, that's not very often, but occasionally you need a good expletive. I usually fall back on something tied to the gods- "Amun's balls" or "For the love of Hathor." <br /><br />I've always wanted to write something contemporary so I could use contemporary metaphors. It just won't work to have Hatshepsut musing about how one of her servants smells like a Twinkie or how her daughter is as squirrelly as a Slinky on crack. :)Stephanie Thorntonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17437077559099315853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5927870683677181756.post-8632483634721304152009-09-28T15:46:24.942-04:002009-09-28T15:46:24.942-04:00Yeah, that's a good reason to write contempora...Yeah, that's a good reason to write contemporary fiction. It's hard enough to write a book without having to stress about what words you can and can't use. Still I love reading historical fiction so I'm glad some writers take the time research word usage :)Nataliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00861022355718378425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5927870683677181756.post-15630711997442766752009-09-28T13:57:28.626-04:002009-09-28T13:57:28.626-04:00Werd.
Oh, wait, was that too modern? ;)
I know w...Werd.<br /><br />Oh, wait, was that too modern? ;)<br /><br />I know what you mean. My new WIP is in the deep (and I do mean DEEP) South, and it hurts to write my dialogue at times, but what other choice do I have? My characters certainly won't be speaking in the King's English, ya know?L. T. Hosthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12448176940211118898noreply@blogger.com