Blogiversary Guest: Alexandra Christian

Blogiversary marches on! And today we have Alexandra Christian visiting with us and joining the festivities! I put out a call for who wanted to play at ALBTALBS last year, and she’s someone who responded and wanted to guest during the Blogiversary. 😀 So here we go!

Breaking the Rules: Using Idiomatic Language in Fiction
By Alexandra Christian

Gentlemen Prefer BlondesOne of the first rules of writing that I remember really sticking out in my mind is about avoiding common clichés. Saying things like “it’s raining cats and dogs” or “better late than never.” According to every writing professor I’ve ever had, using a cliché is roughly akin to dragging a rusty nail over the brain of your readers. Avoid it like the plague (see what I did there?). But, like most of the rules of writing, once you learn them, you can break them. I’ve found that sometimes an idiomatic expression can be very effective in creating a believable, relatable character.

Consider this. You’re writing a story that features an old man from the rural southern United States. He’s having a conversation with an author who has come to the town to investigate a gruesome murder that took place fifty years previous. Their conversation could go one of two ways:

Lizzie approached the gristled old man who sat fanning himself in the wet summer heat. “Mr. Thompson, I’d like to ask you some questions about the DeGraffenreid murders?” He didn’t look up and for a moment she was afraid he hadn’t heard her. “Do you have time to talk to me?”

Thompson gave an annoyed harrumph and spit tobacco juice at my feet. “I thought it was about that time.”

I’m sorry?”

Oh, news reporters come around every few years asking questions about old crimes that don’t matter anymore. What did you want to ask me?”

Behind the Red DoorNow, that’s a proper exchange. All the grammar is correct and it plays out just fine. But you can add so much characterization to that one passage just by adding some local color that we’ll be able to hear in the old man’s voice. It can reveal a lot without having to say something explicitly and wasting a lot of words. Of course, I’m not suggesting that the exchange be one stupid southern cliché after another. That would be an assault on the ear that no amount of plotting could make up for. But a well-chosen phrase can go a long way.

Lizzie approached the gristled old man who sat on the porch, fanning himself in the wet summer heat. “Mr. Thompson, I’d like to ask you some questions about the DeGraffenreid murders?” He didn’t look up and for a moment she was afraid he hadn’t heard her. “Do you have a minute?”

Thompson gave an annoyed harrumph and spit tobacco juice at my feet. “I’m afraid you might be barkin’ up the wrong tree, Ma’am.”

I’m sorry?”

Oh, them high-falutin’ newspaper folk come ‘round here ever so often askin’ about ancient history that don’t amount to a hill o’ beans. So go on. What you got a bee in yer bonnet about?”

HellsongJust a little bit of flair can add so much to your scene. It helps the reader connect with the characters and paints a vivid picture without clogging up your page with a lot of endless description. Used sparingly, idiomatic language can be very helpful in creating a unique voice and breathing life into your characters.

Thanks so much to Limecello for having me as one of the very first guests in 2015! It’s her Blogiversary this month and to celebrate, I’m offering a pdf copy of my very southern gothic paranormal romance, Hellsong to a random commentor! So don’t forget to leave your thoughts in the space below along with an email addy!

3 thoughts on “Blogiversary Guest: Alexandra Christian

  1. ki pha

    Hi and welcome Alexandra! I love this post! ThThiwill definitely help me in my writing and character interactions and conversations~ I have a hard time figuring out how to incorporate actions and feelings into a scene because I love details and self thoughts. And thank you for this super helpful example.

    Reply
  2. sharonchalk

    I agree with what you said about common cliches in writing,however you are correct when you say that sometimes it really adds to what you are reading,I have lived in many states and many countries as we were a military family and I found that sometimes I could figure out where people are from and even what part of society in that area just by the slang they use.You can really notice it a lot in people who live in or grew up in the south and so to me it adds to the story by how they talk.One other thing that Ive noticed lately though is that there seems to be trends with authors also in their writing,like lately a lot of the romance novels I read seem to use the word smirk a lot instead of other words that denote smiling,to me a smirk is not a smile or friendly laughter,its usually something I think of as the person smirking is being somewhat condensending in their smile whereas lately to a lot of people it seems to be a sexy smile,so you are right the way words are used can make or break the fluidity of a scene in the story,ps–Iove the cover of your hellsong book,the cover alone makes me want to buy it!!

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