A Quick Question About Character Voice

[CL Mustafic]

I have a quick question about writing in a character's voice. How much is too much? I really want to write like the character would speak, like saying coulda, woulda, shoulda, sorta, that kind of thing but is that distracting to the reader when it's not in the dialog?

How far can you go with that sort of thing before people get annoyed?

Would it be too annoying? Comments? Suggestions? Any feedback would help before I go to far down the rabbit hole on this one.

[Melrick]

I know that sort of thing does really annoy some people. I also know it can get annoying if it makes it difficult to read and to follow what they're saying. But if the character speaks in a rough, uncultured and uneducated kind of way, they would you really write them speaking perfect English? Of course not; that would be stupid, and completely misrepresents the character. So, personally, I say go for it. Besides, it's your character, if people don't like it then they can read something else.

[pittwitch]

Absolutely use the character's voice for the parts they would speak! If the narrator speaks in slang, then use it. What annoys me more is inconsistency in the voice.

[PervOtaku]

I've been using that sort of slang to help indicate intoxication in characters that are otherwise well-spoken. If a specific character is very informal and slangy all the time, that's fine, it helps them stand out, especially if you have many protagonists.

The extreme form of this is http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FunetikAksentwhich is okay right up to the point where the reader has to think too hard to understand the dialogue. The process of reading should be seamless, without having to slow down or read things twice.

[GeorgeGlass]

I generally prefer to reserve that way of writing dialogue for stories in which I want to emphasize that some characters speak differently from others. Otherwise, I get concerned that it will get old for the reader.

[CloverReef]

I think it becomes annoying when, in the narration, every second word is altered for dialect. It can work being all throughout the narration if the changes are consistent as others have said, and I think toned down a little bit - if it's a thick accent or thick slang. It becomes distracting when the reader gets pulled out of the story to decipher, or if the accent is too over-the-top/cheesy.

On the other hand, dialects, accents and slang bring life and a new dimension to written works. I don't think it's something people should shy away from, especially in narration. I know, some people disagree with that, but I think it paints the world that much better and makes it easier for (some?) readers to be absorbed into the story.

One of my favourite books has this character that, whenever he talks, talks like: "AyeMateYeLookWell." It was surprisingly not distracting at all, and a completely lovable character, but in narration might've been a little distracting, lol. I think you can get away with a lot more with accents and slang in 1st POV and some versions of 3rd than one might in 2nd or the see-into-everyone's-heads version of 3rd.. but you're a great writer and nothing I've read of yours, CL, has struck me as excessive. So in my humble opinion, trust your instincts.

Edited January 22, 2016 by CloverReef

[CL Mustafic]

Thanks for all the great answers guys!

I decided to keep the slang mostly in the dialog. I have decided to write the story in a much more simple style to reflect the character though. It's hard trying to remember that an 18 yr old who isn't all that bright probably wouldn't have a great vocabulary. It's somewhat limiting but a challenge that I'm going to take.

Thanks again.

CL

[PervOtaku]

Here's an idea for you, then. A while back, XKCD did a comic that explained the functions of a rocket using only simple words. Then he did a whole book of such diagrams. To facilitate this writing, he made a word checker tool that flags when a word is not in the most common words used. Afterwards, he made this checker publically available:

http://blog.xkcd.com/2015/09/22/a-thing-explainer-word-checker/

I have decided to write the story in a much more simple style to reflect the character though. It's hard trying to remember that an 18 yr old who isn't all that bright probably wouldn't have a great vocabulary.