18 Links to Writing & Marketing Blog Posts

MOST COMMON MISTAKES: THE DO’S AND DON’T’S OF DIALECT

By K.M. Weiland @KMWeiland

Who doesn’t love a good accent? British, Indian, French, Spanish, Irish, Australian, South African, and Japanese actors, among many others, all bring added spice to their roles on the American big screen. And I suspect the same holds true in reverse (when I visited Australia several years ago, someone told me she loved my accent, which was a total mindbender for me). 

Exotic settings and unusual characters are one of a writer’s most enjoyable opportunities in fiction—and sometimes these opportunities will allow our characters to speak in foreign languages, dialects, or accents.

Dialect Don’ts

So far, all is cool. But, too often, writers get carried with their accents. Because we hear our leading man’s Scottish burr so clearly in our own heads (and because it makes him nth times more awesome), we’re determined to share that experience with our readers. So we start manipulating our character’s dialogue to reflect his accent. (After all, everybody knows that properly spelled dialogue must always be read with a plain-vanilla American* voice).

The result might look something like this:

Click here to read the complete article (see #1 below)

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If you missed my writing & marketing tweets and retweets yesterday, here they are again: 

1. Most Common Mistakes: The Do’s and Don’ts of Dialect http://ow.ly/kJXrD via @woodwardkaren
2. Indie Author Branding: How to Figure Out How to Brand Yourself: http://t.co/fpttLWahys @PassiveVoiceBlg RT @elizabethscraig
3. 3 Important Lessons That Writers MUST Learn From Marketers http://ow.ly/kJWqF
4. Uncertainty: The Normal Writing Process http://ow.ly/kJWvL via @FictionNotes
5. Need a favor? Here are 6 ways to boost your odds of hearing yes: http://t.co/3OyLsJ055M @tawnafenske RT @elizabethscraig
6. Blurb Etiquette http://ow.ly/kJWPv via @RachelleGardner
7. Use a Dash for Number Ranges http://ow.ly/kJXHy via Daily Writing Tips
8. On Rejection and Beyond http://ow.ly/kJXZP via Writer Unboxed
9. Notes from Tabor Lane: Today's Links to Writing & Marketing Blog Posts http://ow.ly/kJRAr
10. The importance of protecting our inner peace http://ow.ly/kK2FV via @VeronicaSicoe
11. Energize Your Writing with this Easy Trick http://ow.ly/kKgVW via write_practice
12. How to Be Less Scared of the Blank Page http://ow.ly/kKh4G via @janefriedman
13. Launching a Blog Is Easier Than You Think http://ow.ly/kLfFD via @JeffGoins
14. Are a Media kit and a press kit the same thing? http://t.co/0cDWHLopPo @MelissaBreau @elizabethscraig
15. The Importance of Measuring Trends http://ow.ly/kLgpZ via @CliveEaton
16. Take Two: When to Start a Sequel http://t.co/3s95nn1xgE  via @Janice_Hardy
17. Will My Publisher Let Me Self-Publish Too? http://ow.ly/kLgMd via @PassiveVoiceBlg
18. How to Use Pinterest Analytics: 6 Metrics Worth Measuring http://ow.ly/kLgX2 via @smexaminer 

I’m always looking for great content to share. If you have a writing and/or marketing blog, or have a favorite that you visit often, please leave a link in the comment section. Thanks for stopping by.

Happy writing & running, Kathy

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