Drawl

[indri]

As usual, I've set myself a fairly stupid task for my new fic. At least this time I'm writing about somewhere I've been, but four days in San Antonio does not exactly make me an expert :(

So I'm writing Burkle dialogue and then reading it back to myself to see if it has the right rhythm. My native Scots accent is clearly useless for this, as is the weird hybrid UK-US-Aussie-yet-somehow-BBC voice that's become my everyday speech. So I am calling to mind the writer Joe R Lansdale for this.

Joe's from east Texas (or at least, he lives in Nagadoches). He seems a nice enough guy but I wouldn't want to get on his wrong side. I met him a couple of times at conventions in Austin and most of the time his accent didn't stand out in the crowd. But when he did his book readings or took to the podium, he could turn up his accent real thick. So thick I can still hear it now.

So maybe the story-telling voice of Joe R Lansdale is not what I need for this fic. Maybe I've done the equivalent of giving a Glaswegian turn of phrase to a resident of Dundee. But he's doing a great job of making my fic sound more Texan, at least to me.

I'll need a Texan beta, eventually, but I have to finish a draft first.

Comments

[ludditerobot.livejournal.com]

I'd be glad to give it a look. I've lived in the south but not in Texas itself. I know that automatedalice_ is a Texan, so you might want to lean on her.

Thanks

[indri]

akam1 has said she'll help me with Texan content, but that's good to know in case she gets busy. If I get really stuck, I could run it by a former colleague... he'd blink a little, but he's a good friend and broad-minded and anyway, this'll be a PG13 at most :)

[malkingrey.livejournal.com]

Using Joe Lansdale as a template will probably give you at least a first-try approximation of Fred's voice. It'll be Texan, at any rate, which is about as accurate as the show got -- considering that Fred was apparently from someplace near San Antonio, but Amy Acker, as I understand it, hails from Fort Worth.

I'd offer to do a Texan beta, but after first going Up North to grad school and then doing a stint as a camp follower Navy wife that took me from Virginia to Panama by way of California, and then settling down in the upper reaches of New Hampshire, I'm not sure how much of the authentic voice is left. (If I ever had one to start with, having been born and raised as much in Florida as in Texas.)

A first-person fic that does a good job of making Fred actually sound Texan is Minim Calibre's "Body Shots" -- it's also funny, which is nice.

[indri]

akam1 pointed out to me a few weeks ago that Fred didn't have a San Antonio accent, which made me feel a little better about using Mr Lansdale (I see now that I can't spell his name after midnight, I'll have to correct my post). But I'm reassured to know that it may not be completely dreadful.

I'm not sure how much of the authentic voice is left.

For similar reasons, I wouldn't beta anything requiring authentic Scots vernacular. I did my stint in Florida quite young and my immediate family's pretty anglicised anyway. Besides, I've learnt that many "Scots" words have very precise geographical regions, so Prof Higgins would be able to tell that I'd lived in Edinburgh and Glasgow but had a grandmother from Perthshire.

[indri]

Oh and thanks for the link. I'll have a look at the story tonight.

[scribll.livejournal.com]

Not a native Texan, but I've been here for more than 25 years.

The accent's becoming quite muted, especially among the higher educated type I mostly deal with, but for some reason I find drilling engineers to be a strong exception to the rule. I'm facinated with accents of all types. The drilling engineer I'm working with now has a thick Texan accent. I keep catching myself listening to 'how' he's talking rather than what he's saying.

Of course, the trick in writing with accents is to just give a flavor of the accent without going overboard. I thought MustangSally and Chase did an excellent job of rendering the west Texan accents in Eldorado I.

[indri]

There must be something about drillers. The most strongly-accented South Australians I've met have been drillers, including the SO's dad. (The SA accent is milder than most Australian states.)

Of course, the trick in writing with accents is to just give a flavor of the accent without going overboard

I usually aim to match the speech rhythms and maybe include a few local words. I won't touch phonetic renderings with a bargepole -- I've seen this done badly with Scots many more times than it's been done well. But the rhythms seem to be astoundingly important. When I took my SO to Glasgow to meet my extended family, my gran couldn;t understand what he said, until he deliberately added a few words to get the rhythm right, e.g. "Where are you going on the Saturday?", not "Where are you going on Saturday?" or "Where are you going Saturday?".

I thought MustangSally and Chase did an excellent job of rendering the west Texan accents in Eldorado I.

No disagreement there! I'm looking forward to the next part.

[caira.livejournal.com]

There must be something about drillers. The most strongly-accented South Australians I've met have been drillers, including the SO's dad. (The SA accent is milder than most Australian states.)

I'd mention this to my girlfriend... but I don't want to frighten her. ;o)

I must admit, though, that most of the rest of this post blurred in my head to a simple, "Woohoo! Fredfic! Written by indri! Woohoo!" Et cetera. Bring it on.

[indri]

I'd mention this to my girlfriend... but I don't want to frighten her. ;o)

Hee. I'm afraid it's true though. Just compare Adelaideans with country Victorians or Queenslanders. When we're overseas, the SO is often mistaken for English.

Is it your girlfriend you're off to visit in Poland? Either way, have a great time. I enjoyed your post from Narita. If you're getting one of those 24 hour stopovers, be sure to take the courtesy bus into town. Fabulous of its own accord and then there's the temple complex...

I must admit, though, that most of the rest of this post blurred in my head to a simple, "Woohoo! Fredfic! Written by indri! Woohoo!" Et cetera. Bring it on.

Aw. I feel all inspired now :)

[caille.livejournal.com]

This site - Texas Talk - seems like it might be fun and useful.

[indri]

Argh! I never got the email notification of this comment so I've only just noticed it!

Thank you for this -- the site looks fun.