In a Manner of Speaking . . .

“When someone says, “One last thing,” it never is. Unless they die right after speaking. Make sure that they do. 
Check their pulse to be certain." -Jarod Kinz

First: found my writing binder again on Monday. Proceeded to give the first three chapters away on Thursday, with no backup or hard copy. Silly, silly me.

So, I have this habit of reading books and then looking up the reviews on my Kindle and spending several hours reading them. I'll often either be agreeing with all the bad comments and saying, "They're right! Why did I ever spend eight dollars on this?" or scanning all the bad comments and saying, "Wow. How'd they get that?"

One of the complaints I see is about dialect. Usually it's not about how awful it is, though I know that there are some out there that say its too stiff and feels like you're trying to fit a beam into a blender. But I see things about how "modern" the dialect is, complaining that it doesn't fit with the era it's placed in. And yes, it does happen. It probably happens a lot. First, dialect changes with time, place, and person. But some words just weren't used in the past. Just as how "rad" and "groovy" are considered very odd and out of place now and "mates" and "bloke" is associated with Europe, every word matters.

First: look over your writing. Look for the obvious ones like "guys" and "whatever." But then consider: do you have modern day sayings hidden in there? I found one in the first line of a completely medieval story: "still as a statue." Sayings are a lot harder to find than you would think; they like to slip in and cling to the words of the story. But sometimes its fun to make up your own proverbs and such. I've made up several, and it satisfies me to be able to put something small and original in my work. I spend time thinking about it and writing it down, but I don't do overkill. Sayings are common in our lives, whether you notice it or not. And, as an aspiring author, you have to notice everything.

Have a good weekend!

Kirah