Speaking

[Maddiecake]

<sup>This is more of a rant than anything... but is anyone else very irritated when writers have to have every word typed out, no contractions or anything.

Example: "You do not have to do that, Ponyboy."

In my opinion, this takes away from the character. It's the way they speak, and when they type out the words the voice of the characer is completely lost. It makes them sound like a robot.

Sorry this isn't quite as long as I originally anticipated, I just wanted to know your opinion on this.</sup>

[Nittanylizard]

Definitely, if a character is somebody who would use contractions, it sounds off if they don't use them. I've wondered before if some of the newer writers listen to Microsoft Word and correct for contractions. In dialogue especially, anything goes, and it should sound as close to actual speech as you can get it.

Now, if you were talking about a character with a more formal education, or maybe who is older, dropping the contractions doesn't stand out because it fits the character.

"Jeeves," Rose said with a wave of her handkerchief, "I would like you to carry my bag over to the car."

[Keira]

Building off of what Liz was saying, dialog can sometimes be enhanced with non-contractions. If something is being said sternly or there is extra emphasis on what's being said, it's a good thing. Such as:

"I do not care," he growled.

or

"Like I said, it will not matter in the end."

But for the most part, I think it's lack of experience. I remember that being a problem of mine at one point. Most people either don't realize that they're doing it, or don't realize how it sounds.

[Nittanylizard]

Hahah, Keira, I was just coming on this morning to bring up that same point . I was lying in bed last night thinking about it, because that's exactly how I often use non-contractions - for emphasis. Often, just the context is enough to make it clear.

[latch22]

Looks like I came to the party a little late, so I'm just going to agree with Keira and Liz. I will say, though, that it really, *really* grates on my nerves when I see that. My biggest annoyance in writing is unnatural-sounding dialogue. I'm hyper-conscious of it to the point where it can ruin an entire story for me, and few things can do that. When I see a dearth of contractions, I just want to scream, "Use them! They're your friends! They won't hurt you!"

It strikes me as a beginner habit; a way to sound more proper, to prove that they know what they're talking about. It's actually a step backwards. A lot of non-native English-speakers do that as well, though, so I try not to judge too harshly.

[Nittanylizard]

latch22 said:

A lot of non-native English-speakers do that as well, though, so I try not to judge too harshly.

This is a really good point for within a story, as well - if one of your characters speaks English as a second language, their dialogue can sound more authentic if written without contractions.

[Keira]

A good rule of thumb to stick to is, if it doesn't sound good read out loud, then it probably doesn't look write the way it's written. Just one more reason that beta's are a good thing to have, lol.

[sharpshooter]

You all make really good points, but on the flip side, it's really annoying, at least for me, to be reading a story where a sentence looks like this; " Ain't ya' gonna do nothin' 'bout it?"
I understand you want it to sound like your character is really speaking the words, and not just a line of dialouge that doesn't really fit, but too many contractions are almost worse then none.

[Nittanylizard]

sharpshooter said:

You all make really good points, but on the flip side, it's really annoying, at least for me, to be reading a story where a sentence looks like this; " Ain't ya' gonna do nothin' 'bout it?"
I understand you want it to sound like your character is really speaking the words, and not just a line of dialouge that doesn't really fit, but too many contractions are almost worse then none.

While I agree with your comment on the example you gave, it isn't an example of contractions. I can't think of what they're called right now (colloquialisms is coming to mind), but the words as you wrote them are used to make a character's speech come across as exactly the way it sounds. Contractions are combinations of words - we're for we are, they're for they are, don't for do not, etc.

But yeah, I agree - some writers really overdo it with those (ya', nothin', goin', etc.), and it gets distracting. It's one of those things where a little goes a long way; once your readers get a feel for the way the character speaks, you don't need those so much (or at all, if the character's way of putting words together makes it clear how they would sound).

[latch22]

That's why all writing is balance -- a balance between too much and too little, the subtle and the overt, the science and the art. You just need to experiment a bit and find what works for you, the story, and the characters involved. And the readers, if you plan to share. (Yes, the readers must be considered, even if some would argue that they write purely for themselves ... and yet post to a public archive anyway.)

You all make really good points, but on the flip side, it's really annoying, at least for me, to be reading a story where a sentence looks like this; " Ain't ya' gonna do nothin' 'bout it?"
I understand you want it to sound like your character is really speaking the words, and not just a line of dialouge that doesn't really fit, but too many contractions are almost worse then none.

I think that no contractions are worse than too many, personally, but I will agree that writing out accents, as your example cited, is incredibly obnoxious. New York accents, to me, are the easiest to mess up and the most groan-worthy when laid on too thick. I think that people often write out what they want to say, then go back and replace letters with apostrophes at random, but they don't read it aloud; that's proven by how awkward and sometimes almost impossible to say some of it is.

I don't want to have to translate something that I'm supposed to be enjoying, though, so I try to take that into consideration for others when dialect comes into play.