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

[kronette.livejournal.com]

Unintentionally and completely unconsciously, I picked up a lilt to my speech when I was in the UK last year. Not so much in Scotland since we were only there two days, but once past London into Bath, Warwick, Liverpool and Birmingham, I sort of heard myself pick up on speech patterns and imitate them. In Liverpool, though, it was easier to slip into, because I grew up watching and listening to the Beatles. Our Red Dwarf friend sunny_bexter was surprised I could tell that the four lads sounded different, I assume because other Americans don't tend to try to tell the difference. I even practiced correctly pronouncing "chuck" as in "you know damn well sprouts make me chuck." :)

Most Americans I've met tend to lump the accents all together and don't realize that they're just as different as a South County vs. North County vs. West County St Louis accent, and that's in one city. The only reason I know there's a difference is because I watch a lot of different British television, and I was exposed to it early on. Having Lister sound like John (I think he sounds more like John, at least to my younger ears), had me hooked.

I have noticed Craig sounds different in Corrie, but he's still markedly different than the Manchester accents (I assume that's what most of the actors are? Carla has a very distinct accent that sounds harsher to me). I like how Lloyd calls all the ladies 'babe' but Owen says 'love'. I don't know if that's a preference or a regional thing or how the writing just is.

And since I just wrote a Corrie ficlet, Lloyd's speech pattern is slightly different than Lister's, though he's still a Scouse at heart :) It's odd to hear him say 'my' and other characters say 'me' when early Lister used 'me' all the time. When Craig's emotional, 'me' will slip out (in BTE I noticed his changed speech patterns and when he said 'you wasn't even there' it was very much a gutteral reaction and a throwback to early Lister for me).

Writing is all in the listening.

[felineranger.livejournal.com]

I don't know if the 'babe' thing comes from the writers or is just Craig - it does seem to be his automatic term of endearment for females of all ages. As with 'me' and 'my', I've also noticed that he hardly ever says 'man' anymore - it only tends to pop out when he's emotional or excited - which used to be a defining element of his speech. He seems to use 'mate' a lot more frequently now instead. I don't know whether that's more of a Manchester thing that he's picked up, but overall his accent is still pretty scouse :-)
Carla I think has more of a Lancashire edge to her accent - maybe even a touch of Yorkshire. As a soft middle-class southerner it's hard to pinpoint it with real accuracy...

[janamelie.livejournal.com]

He also calls women "Darling". Well, he called me that at DJ, anyway. *Blushes at memory* ;)

[lordvalerymimes.livejournal.com]

Oh so jealous. :)