Use of proper grammar and standard English.

[jaykaythree]

I was an English major, and my writing has reflected that up to this point; FWIW, all my male leads to this point have been college-educated. However, I originally hail from a rural part of the South (eastern Oklahoma, to be exact), where people play fast and loose with standard grammar.

To what extent would this be acceptable for my characters in a few future stories (I have up to three in mind, with the same male lead throughout) to talk this way, or would it likely be flagged?

Thanks.

 

[TheRedChamber]

It's absolutely fine. I've used characters with strong accents before (most noticably Yorkshire). If you are still worried you can put a note saying there is dialect speech which might be flagged but that it's your intention.

 

[RejectReality]

Grammar in dialogue isn't going to be an issue. Your characters are allowed to speak how they speak.

Just make sure the punctuation is in the right place. For whatever reason, Laurel is a stickler about that.

 

[TxRad]

If you are writing a college or work paper, grammar is important. Listening to people talk regardless of education more or less throws grammar out the window. I write like people speak and very seldom do I get gigged from readers over it. Laurel, who is the only person who could flag a story could care less about grammar. Punctuation and spell she cares about.

You re the writer, write like you want to but try and remember what sounds real to the people reading it.

 

[KeithD]

In literature, as on the stage, it becomes a necessity of balance. It's best to use a representative smattering of colloquialisms to establish atmosphere/character but not so many as to bog down the read or challenge the understanding unduly.

 

[Rustyoznail]

Laurel is tolerant of imperfect English but seems to hate poor punctuation and walls of text.

 

[Imstillfun]

My stories are always told from a first person past tense. People don’t speak in correct grammar. I run through Grammarly for punctuation and quotes but very often ignore the grammar corrections.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Just don't mix your colloquial dialogue grammar with your narrative grammar. The former should reflect how your characters speak, the latter should adhere to common fiction conventions.

 

[KeithD]

Just don't mix your colloquial dialogue grammar with your narrative grammar. The former should reflect how your characters speak, the latter should adhere to common fiction conventions.

Well, no, not necessarily. The narrator is a character too. He/she can use some vernacular to reflect ethnicity if that has bearing in the story.

 

[burgwad]

Are you thinking of going full Cormac McCarthy, or just transcribing Southern dialog in an otherwise plain English story?

 

[TxRad]

Rules in writing are more guidelines that anything.

Breakable as and when needed.

Read a book about writing from a writer. Then read his works and see if he follows his own rules. Nine out of ten times he or she doesn't.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

If you are writing a college or work paper, grammar is important. Listening to people talk regardless of education more or less throws grammar out the window. I write like people speak and very seldom do I get gigged from readers over it. Laurel, who is the only person who could flag a story could care less about grammar. Punctuation and spell she cares about.

You re the writer, write like you want to but try and remember what sounds real to the people reading it.

Every single comment I have received from grammar Nazis has related to the grammar clearly within the dialogue, most commonly associated with pronouns. Some people are either ignorant of the quotation marks or want everyone to speak like Henry Higgins.

 

[TxRad]

Any kind of Nazi on a free reading site are ignorant. They don't realize that they are getting what they paid for.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Narrators can write as they speak, and dialogue should be as people speak, but use non-standard spellings and apostrophes sparingly - let your word choices show the accent and dialect as much as possible. I've written in various dialects and tend to do a draft, then edit down for maximum clarity while still sounding authentic.

Many people like reading good dialogue, others will complain about anything not written in eighth-grade standard American...

 

[PennameWombat]

I was an English major, and my writing has reflected that up to this point; FWIW, all my male leads have been college-educated. However, I originally hail from a rural part of the South (eastern Oklahoma, to be exact), where people play fast and loose with standard grammar.

To what extent would this be acceptable for my characters in a few future stories (I have up to three in mind, with the same male lead throughout) to talk this way, or would it likely be flagged?

Thanks.

I have aliens, actual aliens from another planet aliens, who feature in a number of my stories. Many of them do, uh, rather brutal things when they speak English . They mostly do very strange things to ‘s’ and ‘sh’ sounds. The grammar for many is also non-standard. I’ve had other colloquial speakers feature now and then, but all in dialogue.

If my narrative is first-person or stream-of-consciousness, I might be somewhat loose with my grammar. But even in those cases, I’ve never gone so far as, say, Daniel Keyes did in “Flowers for Algernon.” Otherwise, I‘m reasonably careful while trying not to be overy formal.

 

[SimonDoom]

Just don't mix your colloquial dialogue grammar with your narrative grammar. The former should reflect how your characters speak, the latter should adhere to common fiction conventions.

This wouldn't apply in either first person or third person free indirect, where the narrator essentially IS a character in the story and it's reasonable to believe that the narrative grammar and style would correspond with the character's background and, perhaps, educational limits.
I think what some others have said is the best advice: you can be flexible with grammar and word choice. But be careful with spelling and punctuation. I think that's what's most likely to get your story bounced here.
The fact is that people speak ungrammatically. I can't imagine a story getting bounced because a character said, "Me and him are going to the store."

 

[SteelPoint]

I was an English major

Sorry, but I suspect you were an American major. A cheap point, I realise, but I note that at least one other contributor has made it. The two languages are, at their extremes, now verging on being mutually unintelligible.

 

[TxRad]

For those using English English, please remember that Laurel uses the American punctuation rules of the punctuation goes inside the quotation marks.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

For those using English English, please remember that Laurel uses the American punctuation rules of the punctuation goes inside the quotation marks.

She may do, but she clearly has no objection to British-style punctuation in authors' stories. (punctuation goes with the quoted text or not depending on logic)

 

[000zing]

For those using English English, please remember that Laurel uses the American punctuation rules of the punctuation goes inside the quotation marks.

Nobody's perfect. Her "bad". A clear "fail".

 

[TxRad]

In dialog, people, in dialog.

 

[TheRedChamber]

She may do, but she clearly has no objection to British-style punctuation in authors' stories. (punctuation goes with the quoted text or not depending on logic)

I don't know. My first story got bounced back for using the British style and passed once I'd swapped to American. It's possible that I committed other sins and overcorrected, but I've played it safe ever since.

 

[shakna]

Bad grammar, inside quotes, has never had anything of mine flagged. I have used it a lot to demonstrate differing backgrounds for different people. A few egregious examples:

“I carry child.” Sharhalla snorted.

“Ya face. Nuttin’ else.” She shook her head, “Barely saw it. T’ing came ’n went ’n shit. Just a flash. Dunno where came from. Dunno what it means. Jus’ means ya gots ma attention, moment I saw ya. Runnin’ ’n shit.”

He shrugged, “I intend to. That’s my offer, actually. You will become one of my brides. You can keep my granddaughter, of course. Play around with her. But when I call, you come to me.”

“I’ma goin’ ahead and pretend ya actually listening to me.” Kitty rolled her eyes.

“The king! The king!” It squealed, “I wouldn’t lie to the Violent! No lie, no lie! Spare me!”

I also widely use words and grammar that are exaggerated Aussie. Lots of gal and gaol. Lots of Oxford commas, and other divisive things.

I did get flagged for poor grammar just once - but I couldn't find anything really, resubmitted asking for further information on what was wrong with it, and it just went through.

 

[JGittes]

Sorry, but I suspect you were an American major. A cheap point, I realise, but I note that at least one other contributor has made it. The two languages are, at their extremes, now verging on being mutually unintelligible.

I'm an American expat living in England. I tell everyone I speak American, they speak English. I've lived in Angola, Germany, France, Norway, and Denmark. I could understand everyone who spoke English in those countries better than I can understand about half the native English speakers here in the UK. I've been here seven years and I'm getting better at understanding, but it's a slog.

 

[stickygirl]

"Shut the fuck up, Georgie," another voice answered. "Her leg got proper walloped."

"S'all good kid. This is Mike Caffrey, from the City Junior squad. He's been watching the session. Wants you to try out for them. Wotcha fink of that then, Vicks?" Sean mussed up her hair to show his excitement.

These are from my latest story and the characters are soccer players from the north of England. I stuck with using 'soccer' not 'football' and used 'lounger' not 'sofa' because of the obvious confusion it might cause to the majority of US readers. I aim to make the narrative grammatically more formal.

I think it's fine to include regional accents to establish a character initially but it can get old fast, so I'll ease up on usage as the story progresses. We can almost hear our readers complain 'Okay, I get the accent thing, but this is becoming hard work.'

I've read contemporary stories that include modern language and 'I'm cool with that' thought I've yet to describe a great story as 'sick'. I spotted a phrase recently 'the words ghosted on her lips' which I just loved. We should be free to paint with our words and I applaud fresh ideas that make us stop for a moment and smile in appreciation. Rules are made to be tested so long as we don't end up is jail... or gaol... slammer, clink, irons, at his majesty's,