 | Writing books warn against using unusual spelling in character dialect. It can promote harmful stereotypes and modern readers generally don’t appreciate working hard to decipher meaning. The way the character Jim speaks in Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a classic example of phonetic dialect: De night am still, an' de big river keeps a-movin' on jes' like it always done. Though phonetic dialect was common when Mark Twain wrote, today’s writers have more effective and nuanced ways to convey character background. |
Modern authors are encouraged to play with word choice and sentence structure. Spelling, punctuation, and grammar are other language tools writers can utilize to develop realistic characters and build unique storyworlds.
 | “Born of Man and Woman” is an impactful short story by Richard Matheson that uses spelling, grammar, and punctuation to create a unique character and advance the plot. Notice the text's rhythm and reliance on one- and two-syllable words: “This day when it had light mother called me a retch. You retch she said. I saw in her eyes the anger. I wonder what is a retch.” ... “I am big. It is a secret but I have pulled the chain out of the wall. I can see out the little window all I like.” ... “I looked out the window. I saw all the little people like the little mother and little fathers too. They are pretty. They were making nice noise and jumping around the ground. Their legs was moving hard.” |
In “Flowers for Algernon,” author Daniel Keyes changes the character’s grammar and spelling to illustrate character transformation:
“I hope they use me. Miss Kinnian says maybe they can make me smart. I want to be smart. My name is Charlie Gordon. I am 37 years old and 2 weeks ago was my brithday. I have nuthing more to rite now so I will close for today.”
“I tried to avoid all discussions of intellectual concepts and to keep the conversation on a simple, everyday level, but she just stared at me blankly and asked me what I meant about the mathematical variance equivalent in Dorbermann's Fifth Concerto.”
“I hope they use me. Miss Kinnian says maybe they can make me smart. I want to be smart. My name is Charlie Gordon. I am 37 years old and 2 weeks ago was my brithday. I have nuthing more to rite now so I will close for today.”
“I tried to avoid all discussions of intellectual concepts and to keep the conversation on a simple, everyday level, but she just stared at me blankly and asked me what I meant about the mathematical variance equivalent in Dorbermann's Fifth Concerto.”
 | Dialogue is a useful vehicle for characterization and moving the story forward. In this example from The Dragon’s Path by Daniel Abraham, the clipped banter (truncated sentence structure) between Yardem and Captain Marcus Wester portrays the tight bond between the characters: “That’s a problem,” Yardem said. “It is.” “We need men, sir.” “We do.” “Any thoughts on where we find them?” “No.” |
Another technique is to use a specific grammar “rules.” For example, in my-novel-in-progress, Sky God’s Warrior, commoners use “be” for all “be verbs” or add "be" to other verbs:
“Thugs be harrying the herds.”
“Ye be good peoples.”
“Our slings be nothing against their swords.”
“Thugs be harrying the herds.”
“Ye be good peoples.”
“Our slings be nothing against their swords.”
A wise but slow-speaking character’s diction in Sky God's Warrior is shown through punctuating his sentences into short fragments:
“Whatever the gods. Choose to give. Will come. Of its own. Accord.”
“Mud. And swamp grass. Might. Make bricks.”
“The gods. Place abundance. In the hands. Of those. Who work hard.”
“Whatever the gods. Choose to give. Will come. Of its own. Accord.”
“Mud. And swamp grass. Might. Make bricks.”
“The gods. Place abundance. In the hands. Of those. Who work hard.”
 | Another stylistic device is to incorporate poetry techniques, including consonance (repeating consonant sounds) and assonance (repeating vowel sounds) into the story. Here I embed them within a poet character’s dialogue: “This is the second time you’ve saved this knave.” “She’s sweet as golden wheat.” “Another reason to jade my blade with his blood.” |
Sentence structure is another fun strategy to differentiate characters. English generally follows a subject-verb-object (SVO) order. In my fictional world of Kolkha, characters speak multiple languages. I illustrate this in Sky God's Warrior by subverting the SVO order.
 | For example, in the eastern trade language “Swogdi,” based on Sogdian, verbs come last in the sentence (SOV). Here Ayda interacts with a Sogdian fortune teller: “Milesian the cards show?” she asked in Swogdi. “Never the cards lie.” She swept the thin wooden cards into a neat pile and shuffled them in weathered brown hands. “I your fortune reveal.” And after the reading: “Your words not welcome are.” |
Ashurian characters follow the verb-subject-object (VSO) style of ancient Aramaik. Ayda offers her home to aristocratic Ashurian refugees in this passage:
“Provide I homing you,” she said in rusty Aramaik.
“Charge what price?”
“No, ah, you, uh. Join you Clan Geveli.”
“Join?”
“Welcome we you as nobility. Will live you in palace.”
“Provide I homing you,” she said in rusty Aramaik.
“Charge what price?”
“No, ah, you, uh. Join you Clan Geveli.”
“Join?”
“Welcome we you as nobility. Will live you in palace.”
 | The final example is the main character Ayda’s name. She refers to herself as Ayda’ia (Ay-dah' ee-yah) reflecting her years on the northern steppe among her Skosak-speaking kin; Ayda for short.
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These are just a few examples of the many ways to morph and bend grammar, spelling, punctuation, and sentence structure to illustrate character and build a distinctive storyworld.
For related content read Engaging Character Voice, Drafting Daring Dialogue,
Characters, Emotion, & Viewpoint
Characters, Emotion, & Viewpoint
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