Writing Lister

[lordvalerymimes.livejournal.com]

Sorry for posting so much on the group, but I have SO many questions.

So I'm still working on my "epic" and I've been going back and forth between writing Lister phonetically and not writing him phonetically. I want to be consistent throughout the fic and I can't decide which I prefer. Sometimes it just feels right writing Lister with an occasional dropped consonant and in' instead of ing. Other-times it feels... I dunno, forced? Maybe like I'm trying TOO hard to sound like Lister.

I know I've encountered both phonetic and non-phonetic Listers in my fanfic readings, and I was curious what everyone else thinks of it. Do you have a preference? Does it irritate you when you read, "smeggin' hell" instead of "smegging hell" or do you prefer it?

This has probably been discussed before, so I apologize if I'm dredging up a dead-horse to beat. :)

Comments

[felineranger.livejournal.com]

I tend to write Lister mostly unphoenetically, as we all know what he sounds like and I think focusing too much on the accent can actually derail the dialogue. I drop things in occasionally, but it's usually to show that Lister himself is playing up the more 'rough and ready' or 'cheeky scouser' elements of his personality. It's nice to make reference now and then to the fact that no, he doesn't speak like Rimmer, but you don't need to hammer the point home.