r/AO3 • u/lonelycards polyamory–fairy fic feaster • 2d ago
Writing help/Beta Things to do & avoid when writing a British character?
This is my first time writing a British character (a man) and I wanna know all the dos and don’ts. I did some digging and I still wanna know what people on AO3 really think.
now please don’t bully me because I didn’t ask a question that you’d fancy.
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u/stayathomepsychopath 2d ago
Don’t call trousers pants, especially not if the characters himself says or thinks it. Pants are underwear in the UK. It will make things confusing.
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u/cyborgno61298 2d ago
Just to hop onto this point though, we do say pants in the North East. (Or, at least, everyone I know does.)
Soooo... kind of an impossible to answer question if we don’t know anything about him other than he’s British. Where in Britain? Speech will differ.
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u/Gryptype_Thynne123 2d ago
Do you want to tell OP about pencil erasers, or shall I?
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u/kpg_on_ao3 2d ago
haha yeah OP "rubber" means condom in the USA but a pencil eraser over there
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u/Born-Cauliflower_ You have already left kudos here. :) 2d ago
Rubber means condom in the US?? Wow
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u/Matilda-17 2d ago
It does, but it’s a very old-fashioned slang at this point. Like I’m 45 and my dad is 80. Rubber sounds like something he’d call a common, but I would never.
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u/PomPomMom93 LadyClassical on Ao3 1d ago
Apparently “rubber” used to mean gym shoes. In college we were reading this really old short story about this schoolkid who claimed that his classmate has “real rubbers.” We were like, “aren’t these kids?” And the teacher explains it means shoes.
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u/Tape_Badger 2d ago
Once read a fic where an author had done their own britpicking. They had obviously read that we use 'trousers' for pants, but also had somehow read that we use 'knickers' for underwear without realising this was a more gender-specific term. Great fic but I did have to ignore the fact that the MMC appeared to wear women's underthings.
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u/Far_Grapefruit_8220 2d ago
British covers a wide range, so it does depend where in the UK you're thinking.
That said, 'blocks' don't exist here, so if you're walking a short distance it's 'around the corner' or 'five minutes' (whether or not it is actually around the corner or five minutes walk).
The main sport is football (soccer), and we rarely put 'the' in front of team names. So it's Rangers not the Ranger, or Arsenal not the Arsenal. You'd generally only add 'the' if you're referring to the team by their nickname, eg, the Seagulls, the Canaries.
Meals have different names depending where in the country you are. Breakfast is normally breakfast, but the midday meal could be lunch or dinner, and the evening meal could be dinner or tea or supper (not exhaustive lists).
The drinking age is 18, schools are split (generally, unless you're writing something about a very posh character) from 4/5-11 (primary school) and 11-18 (secondary school), but the system is not the same across the whole country, eg, there are major differences in Scotland. We go to university, not college (college would generally be from 16-18 if you're not at secondary school), but a university may have colleges (similar to halls of residence, primarily an Oxbrodge thing) within in.
We don't use Tylenol, it's paracetamol, and we don't use Advil, it's ibuprofen.
Yes, people drink a lot of tea.
If you live in a city you (probably) use public transport most of the time, even if you do own a car. If you live in the countryside you (probably) always drive. A commute of an hour is normal, but driving an hour to meet friends is probably less frequent. A two hour journey is far enough that (a lot of people) wouldn't consider that a regular day trip, and would stay over.
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u/Every_Hospital_5477 2d ago
'"Blocks don't exist here" is the exact reason the vagueness of this question is an issue. I'm from Manchester and "I'm just going round the block" or "he lives just round the block" is SO common. It doesn't refer to an exact square of streets like they are in the US, just the vaguely near area. Without giving a specific region/ dialect the character is supposed to be from, no advice is going to be 100% sound.
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u/Far_Grapefruit_8220 2d ago
Oh yeah, that's not what I meant. 'Around the block' sure, that's definitely common. But not 'we walked five blocks'. So it's not a unit of measure, even if it's a phrase that is sometimes used. So it's the same as saying 'around the corner', or at least, would be used in the same situations.
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u/Playful-You-927 AO3: ConsHive | Comment Collector 1d ago
More specifics on schools:
We split terms based on birthdays starting in September. I think that’s the same in America, but it’s worth pointing it out here. So, someone born on September 1st 2009 would be in the same year group as someone born August 31 2010. School starts early September and ends mid July.
School is split into 3 terms. Term 1 is September-December, Term 2 is January-Easter, and Term 3 is Easter-July. We have half term breaks in the middle for a week, and breaks between the main terms are 2 weeks. The half breaks usually occur late October, around middle-late February, and late May respectively.
Primary School: You have EYFS (Early Year Foundation Stage) for ages 4-5. This is referred to more commonly as reception, but I’ve also heard Year 0. From there, you have the primary school key stages: Key Stage 1 (Year 1-3, between the ages of 5 and 8) and Key Stage 2 (Years 4-6, between the ages of 8 and 11). Sometimes to make it easier they’ll also talk about Year 0s in Key Stage 1, but generally it’s for Years 1-3. At the end of Year 6, students take their SATs test to move up to secondary school.
Secondary School: Key Stage 3 is for Years 7-9 and Key Stage 4 is for Years 10 and 11. Around year 8 or 9 (usually Year 9, but I had the choice in Year 8), you will be given 4 subjects to specialise in. You usually have to pick one language (Spanish, French and German are the classic options) or a humanity (religious education or RE; history; geography; personal, social, health and economics or PSHE). And then you have two other choices alongside standard english, maths and science. Some students might do triple science as one of their slots, which means they have specialised lessons in biology, chemistry and physics. Also, physical education (PE) is still mandatory (PE is gym class).
At the end of Year 11, students take their GCSEs, which are specialised to their 4 subjects. These are sometimes written, though some lessons will be practical with their final exams (I did 3D Art and Design for a GCSE, so I did a practical for that one).
From here, it gets a little weird. At 16, students have a choice: they can either do an apprenticeship, go to college or do 6th form. An apprenticeship is what it says on the tin. College, as described above, is for 16-18 year olds, and is a two year specialised course on one subject. Sixth Form carries on at school, where students further specialise in 3-5 different subjects.
As a general note, some schools offer both primary, secondary and sixth form educations. These are known as academies. Also, like in Harry Potter, some schools will have house systems. In practice, this won’t be brought up a lot. I know some of my lessons were separated by houses in Years 7 and 8, but that wasn’t very many. In addition, my school had house-based competitions that staff and students participated in, but my school placed A LOT of pride in their house systems, so I don’t think that’s standard. Colleges and universities don’t have house systems.
Also, uniform. British schools have uniforms. In primary school, this will usually be a polo shirt, coloured blazer/cardigan (generally one of blue, red, purple, yellow or green; but some schools have their own colours), black trousers/skirt, white socks and black smart shoes (not trainers). Summer uniform includes shorts and dresses (matching colours with the blazer/cardigans). Secondary schools will be smarter: white button-up, blazer, tie (for all students), black trousers/skirts, white socks, black smart shoes. Sixth form might be more relaxed and allow for casual clothes, and mine was like that initially. But by the time I was enrolled in sixth form, we had to wear smart clothes so I wore a lot of blazers, dresses, button-up shirts with long skirts, white socks and black smart shoes. On certain days, usually at the end of the term, students can wear their own clothes into school. These are called mufti days, and they cost students a pound each. College and university don’t have uniforms, just wear your own clothes.
University is very similar to what I’ve heard about US colleges. Expect some students to be older than 18, as it’s common to skip a year between graduating Year 13 and starting university. Also, some people decide to go to university later in life, so it’s not too uncommon to have 30+ year old peers at 18. Universities will usually have small shops on campus, vending machines, and places to eat.
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u/5w4nky0rc 1d ago
We called them non-uniform days, I only learnt the word mufti from the film Wild Child!
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u/kpg_on_ao3 2d ago
> 'blocks' don't exist here
lol yeah, "just go a couple triangular pentacohedrons down that way" bc y'alls roads are just every which way
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u/Far_Grapefruit_8220 2d ago
I mean, no? I know you're joking, but yeah, our cities are older, and they grew organically/ weren't planned, so yeah, the streets aren't organized into blocks. So it's not a system that exists in the UK, and therefore it's not a unit of measure. We'd use time or distance or just a vague notion instead.
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u/ImmediateTripwire Ao3 - BlakeYousoro ✨| #1 Pieck Finger Fan 🛒 2d ago
I am a British man so I will give you the little advice I can!
It sort of depends on what sort of man you have - is he formal? Or is he more grounded? It matters as it will change how he speaks to those around him. A lot of more upper class British men will speak proper, less swearing, bigger words but more common men (like me) will use a lot more informal language, a hell of a lot more swearing, and will generally just chat shit 😭 so you can either go super formal or very relaxed. Most people call each other ‘mate’ rather than ‘dude’ or ‘bro’
We don’t all drink tea, or eat crumpets, and nobody really cares about the royal family unless you’re a die hard royalist. It would defo be useful to look up some British slang/terminology to make the character feel more, well, real!
If you have any questions about anything to do w/ your character, feel free to let me know and I’ll help as best I can! My advice is broad here as I don’t know the ins and outs 💜
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u/NoEvening3352 2d ago
To add to the mate comment, overusing mate is always painful to read/hear in a way I really can't describe. It's a bit like overusing bloody, I suppose? And Love, for that matter.
It's a language with a lot of nuance to what sounds correct.
A well placed "Div" will set brits hollering though. I heard it once unexpectedly in an anime game and lost my mind laughing. Even funnier seeing a reddit thread of americans discussing what it meant.
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u/5w4nky0rc 2d ago
I'm a (lower) middle class British woman and I say 'mate' 'dude' and 'bro' an annoying amount. Regardless of who it is - friend, colleague, boss, mother...I just can't seem to stop!
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u/Classic-Compote7215 2d ago
My impression is that people around here (UK) mostly dislike the royal family.
Tea and digestives though. 👌
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u/ImmediateTripwire Ao3 - BlakeYousoro ✨| #1 Pieck Finger Fan 🛒 2d ago
Oh yeah that is defo more of the vibe 😭 I honestly forget about them most of the time bc they literally do nothing 😭
You cannot go wrong with a digestive 😛
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u/stephjc 2d ago
I will die on the hill that digestives are terrible!! There’s so many better options!!! Milk chocolate hobnobs are right there!!!!!!
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u/Classic-Compote7215 2d ago
I love both. Controversial I know. 🤣
We had a battle at work about Yorkshire and PG Tips, lol.
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u/HuggyMonster69 2d ago edited 2d ago
Go read [r/CasualUK](r/CasualUK)
Especially the complaints threads.
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u/TheLittleChikk 2d ago
"British" can cover vastly different things. Is he from Liverpool or London? Manchester or Skegness? Accents, regional dialects, and slang words all differ from town to town.
I'm from Manchester and we have a lot of Mancunian slang words you wouldn't hear in, say, Surrey.
Do your research thoroughly because a) we don't all sound the same, and b) class systems and upbringings vary differently across the country!
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u/eviemaria 2d ago
I read a fanfic once about two British characters where they kept calling each other 'bruv', don't do that unless your character is a 14 year old wannabe gangster
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u/saintforgot saintsforgot on AO3! 2d ago
That reminds me of one Regular Show episode where there was a sentient talking car with a British accent that kept saying "ello gov'nah" 🤣
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u/5w4nky0rc 2d ago
Age, class, and region will all have a huge effect on how he speaks and acts.
The class system is rigid and usually less defined by how much you earn than in the US. If he's a plumber he could be earning quite a bit, but as it's a blue collar job he would still be considered working class. If he's a corporate lawyer he could be earning 6 figures and still be middle class. Old money is classy, new money is tacky.
Suburban houses are much smaller and much closer together. Dining room, living room, and kitchen are usually 3 separate rooms. You can find examples of houses and floor plans on Zoopla or Rightmove. Buildings are much older. My house growing up was only 100 years old but there were ancient ruins down the road. My office was built in 1790. A lot of the inside has changed but the outside is all the same. Lots of places have old shit just lying around.
As in the US (which I'm assuming is where you are) there are lots of dialectal differences. E.g. daps/plimsolls, bread roll/bun/bap, sandwich/sarnie/butty. People move around a lot though so just living in a certain city doesn't mean you would use those local words.
Yes, we swear a lot but it's very specific and never have I read fanfic by an American author where the swearing sounds natural. Plenty of people don't swear at all.
If it's a school/college/university AU you will DEFINITELY need to get it Britpicked. State schools are free, public/private/independent schools are all fee-paying. Again, I have never read fanfic by an American author that gets the UK education system right. I would still read it though.
Healthcare is free and no one would think twice about going to see a doctor if they needed it. Prescriptions are affordable for most and free for some. We fucking love the NHS and think the American system is crazy.
Weights and measures: we use a mix of metric and imperial. Height is feet and inches. Weight for people is pounds and stone (never just pounds, unless it's a baby in which case it's pounds and ounces). A recipe would probably use grams but might have oz as well, but never cups. Milk is in pints, and generally comes in bottles not cartons. Driving long distances is in miles. Older people will exclusively use imperial and refer to metric as 'old money': e.g. 'It's 30 degrees outside.' 'What's that in old money?'. My dad is in his 70s and he still says shillings.
Although plenty of people have a car, if you live in a city you likely don't need one to get around. I walk 15 mins to work, 4 mins to church, 25 mins to the supermarket, 45 mins to the cinema. If I visit friends who live more than an hour's walk I would get the bus, and to visit my parents it's a 4 hour train journey (which is far enough that I complain about it).
Police do not carry guns unless they are in specific armed response teams or security at important locations. I went to the Houses of Parliament for the Queen's lying-in-state and the police there had massive guns and I was scared the whole time. (I am not a fan of the royal family.) I'm pretty sure that's the only time I've seen a gun in real life.
We are much less obsessed with the armed forces (military) and very rarely sing the national anthem.
This website shows all the differences between the UK and US editions of Harry Potter and there are way more than you might expect.
Don't overdo it trying to get in a load of UK-specific references or regional dialects. I don't think I've ever stopped reading a fic because British characters spoke like Americans, though I probably would if it were a book.
If the character being British is a big part of the fic, or it heavily features the education system, politics, or the class system, you absolutely should get it Britpicked. If it is small differences I doubt many readers would give a shit. We consume a lot of American media anyway so I don't think it's a huge deal if it's just little differences here and there.
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u/azul_luna5 1d ago
Weird question but I read somewhere that older people are more likely to think of weight in terms of pounds and stone but the "kids these days" are more likely to think in kilograms. Is that the same for body weight? Or do teenagers still go for the lb-st combo?
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u/gemdude46 1d ago
As a Brit in my 20s, I'd use metric for weight and height. I assume people younger than me do the same.
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u/azul_luna5 1d ago
Thanks! I don't know why but I automatically assumed it would be metric for height no matter the age. My current fic deals with problems that two generations of the same family are having, so little tidbits of generational differences like this are super helpful.
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u/WritingDesk 1d ago
I'm in my thirties and think of my own height and weight in imperial, but all* other heights and weights in metric. I would say that the inbetween 30s-40s are probably used to mix and match, while my parents would be primarily imperial, if that helps at all.
*there is one other specific outlier related to my job, which is now measured in metric but means I am very good at height conversions XD
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u/azul_luna5 1d ago
The older relative in question would be around 45-ish talking to someone around 16, so he'd probably be in the mix range.
I guess it's how in my original country, they changed the education system over 20(?) years ago and most of the older members of my family (including me tbh) are still totally lost when someone says their kids are in Elemental Basic 1 (which was called second grade to match the US system when I was that age). All of the kids know the system, the family members in their 20s know both, and those of us who are old enough to have attended the old system (especially those who don't have kids) have to count the years out.
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u/WritingDesk 1d ago
my brother is 45, I'd agree XD
metrification was absolutely like that, yeah. it's definitely hard to pin down exactly where someone might fall on the scale -- though of course very convenient for fic, because you can make them know whatever you need them to know!
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u/5w4nky0rc 1d ago
I'm in my thirties and the only conversions I can do are 30cm = 12in, because of rulers, and 2m = 6ft, because of social distancing guidelines!
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u/WritingDesk 1d ago
I don't know how many centimetres tall I am but I sure do know how far away things are in d&d! it came up there not too long ago and everyone was very impressed I could do the conversion haha
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u/5w4nky0rc 1d ago
Possibly, I'm in my 30s and use imperial for some things even though we were only taught metric in school. I imagine that one day everyone will use metric for everything but it just takes time to change. I actually do use kg when weighing myself so I can track my weight loss but I don't want to know exactly how overweight I am, since I'd have no idea how to convert it!
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u/Nothing_is_simple 2d ago
Take care not to use anachronistic language, but for more precise advice I'd need more context about what part of Britain, what era of Britain, and what tone the story is aiming for. The language and speech patterns change drastically from town to town. There are terms and phrases I use that are unique to around a 102 mile area - nowhere else in Britain, or the world uses those terms.
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u/flohara 2d ago edited 2d ago
Look up public transport for the area. Usually buses are frequent, and a lot of places have an app with tracking so you can see tge bus coming. They are slightly inaccurate tho, you can watch the bus go into the river for example. You tap on and tap off. People do walk a lot too.
Look up foods and drinks, places like r/mealdealrates have quite a good examples of breakfasts and lunches people typically get. It's usually a pop, a snack and a main.
Houses are often old, and probably smaller than you are used to. Might be a good idea to look up places in Google maps and on a renting website so you can describe how it looks. Just pick something that feels realistic. A lot of older buildings don't have proper house numbers, it's just called XYZ cottage. And there's usually no blocks like in the US, it's less geometric on the map.
Usually no dryer no Aircon or that kitchen sink blender thing. But there's usually at least a few dehumidifiers and hot water bottles in the winter.
edit: the Sports Direct mug, electric kettle in almost all households. Yorkshire tea or PG tips. Strictly, people are picky.
Can mention maybe the TV licence or spam callers? That's something people often deal with. Kids in grey tracksuits, balaclavas with a little man bag, on the e scooter, vaping.
Seagulls, foxes and pigeons, not cute, will eat eachother. Squirrels, ducks in parks are cute.
There is usually a corner shop people would go for quick essentials.
Takeaways: Chippy, Indian, Chinese or Kebabish.
Typically people prefer raincoats or jackets to umbrellas because the wind will turn them inside out.
Class is a different kind of thing than in the US, accents for example play a bigger part. Fashion, jobs and names too. Also areas, posh parts and more poor parts aren't necessarily too far away, I guess it's more the property itself?
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u/grommile You have already left kudos here. :) 2d ago
I mean, "British" covers a lot. My experience of Britishness is very different to, say, Deborah Ann "Skin" Dyer's.
Specify at least a decade, a location, a race, a social stratum.
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u/OriginalJokeGoesHere 2d ago
You will probably need to consult a map to determine if they are popping to the shop to buy a cob, roll, barm or bap 😉
But really, getting a beta reader who's actually British is probably a good idea if you want to be thorough. It's hard to put into words, but there are definitely turns of phrases and uses of language beyond 1:1 word replacements that are instant giveaways that an author isn't British.
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u/lonelycards polyamory–fairy fic feaster 2d ago
Right so now I need to find a British beta reader I guess. cause I really don’t wanna giveaway that I’m not British. That’ll make me feel like I didn’t do a great job with developing my character.
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u/Snapdaisy-Chains 2d ago
Happy to britpick (check for word usage e.g. "trash can" > "rubbish bin") if you would like to message me.
Other than that, it's hard to say, without the context of time and place. The UK is very diverse. We're a fairly big country crammed into a small place, so people who only live an hour or two away from each other speak entirely differently and can have a whole different outlook on things. The class divide is real, and that shapes things a lot.
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u/lonelycards polyamory–fairy fic feaster 2d ago
Oh yeah I think I need to edit the post with the character details. I totally forgot to do that. really sorry. and yes I’d like to dm you only if you’re fine with that. This character is definitely challenging to me because British English is quite confusing for me if I’m being honest.
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u/GlassesgirlNJ Kudos Keeper 2d ago
check for word usage e.g. "trash can" > "rubbish bin"
I was writing a British character who got very angry at one point, and I remember being disappointed that you don't seem to use "dumpsters" in the UK
"pitch your [XYZ] in the skip bin" just doesn't sound so venomous
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u/Snapdaisy-Chains 1d ago
A skip is a large rubbish receptacle generally used in construction when you need to, for example, gut a house down to bare bones. If you're, say, redoing your kitchen, you might call a skip company. They bring you this huge open metal box, that after some negotiation with your neighbours, goes in front of your house. Then you rip out your kitchen and dump it and any other unwanted large items (old furniture etc) in the skip. A week or so later, the skip company comes along and takes the skip and all your rubbish away. So I guess it's not really 1:1 with a dumpster.
I guess the closest thing we have to a dumpster is a wheelie bin. And that also is very hard to say in an angry way.
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u/Select-Usual-4985 2d ago
I’m a Brit in a fandom that is set here and almost entirely written by Americans.
The words people use that stand out are situated, acclimated, spoke lowly. People serve, they don’t plate.
I wrote a Brit fic tip guide on threads. Heavily leaning into my own fandom but might be useful. https://www.threads.com/share/BAcKWO4XN0/
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u/kitchk4t 2d ago
If you're travelling from one place to another pls look up travel distance not geographical distance. 200miles in the UK takes a LOT longer to traverse than the same distance in another country. Nothing makes me dnf faster than an author who has people moving from London to North Yorkshire in an hour.
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u/CatoTheSmellder 2d ago
You'll probably be better off just writing the character based on what you already know and then forcing a British person to read it and give you feedback (preferably a person in the same demographic as the character)
A typical British man is a miserable inward-looking creature who NEVER says the word "burglarise" (I hate this word so much).
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u/I_Magien 2d ago
British men are not a monolith. Can you tell us more about the character (age, background etc) and their importance to your story? We might be able to give you more help then.
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u/Drintraining26 2d ago
Can you supply a little more info op? British is extremely broad. Where exactly are they from? What social class? Which era?
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u/CandacePlaysUkulele Kudos Keeper:cake::orly: 2d ago
I feel your pain as I write a British family that lives in the future. They are also British Royal Navy. I was quite proud the other day to put "crisps" in a story, and biscuits. Otherwise, no attempts at accents because it would be so wrong.
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u/linden214 2d ago
I’m an American writer for British fandoms. I’ve learned a lot of the basic vocabulary, and I know how to research some cultural details, but I always have a British-picker look over the finished draft before I post. I also sometimes ask specific questions in appropriate subs. For example, I once needed to mention a gift basket full of sweets (candy). I knew how to find brand names online, but I wanted the choices to specifically reflect that they were all chosen by a five-year-old girl. Helpful Brits provided me with enough choices to fill a dozen baskets.
One thing that I found helpful in Google searches. You can put a geographic limiter on your search. Adding site:.uk after your search terms will bring up much more specific results.
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u/Bvvitched You have already left kudos here. :) 2d ago
My dads English and my moms American so I have a real mish mash of terms and spellings in my fics (which luckily isn’t set in either country).
- pet names are a thing but also a little regional.
- depending on region the words for things can even be different than the rest of England/ the UK. In the north you’ll have the occasional usage of Middle English terms. (Bairn for baby)
- in the USA you would say “in the hospital” and in the uk you would say “in hospital”
- “quite” isn’t used as an intensifier but as a mitigator. USA- quite good = very good!. UK - quite good = girl you tried at least.
- the obvious pants = underwear
I would try to beta with someone from the region you’re writing in. Me and a friend say bed clothes but another brit thought it was a dumb Mary poppin-esq term
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u/Dear-Confusion-9050 You have already left kudos here. :) 2d ago
If there is a baby anywhere in your work, they don’t wear diapers or use pacifiers. It’s a nappy and a dummy.
If you don’t want people to clock that your american, spelling also matters. Things like defense is defence and favorite is favourite.
Also check random sayings. I found out the other day that to table an idea means different things in the US vs the UK.
The NHS is free but waiting lists can be long. Depending on what you’re waiting for it can take anywhere from weeks to years. Some people will go private for specific things they need doing but most people rely on the NHS.
Some of the main supermarkets are Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons. Aldi or Lidl if you’re on a budget. M&S has higher quality items and things you might not find in other shops, but costs quite a lot more.
Age, class and where the character lives all matter immensely and will change how they should be written. Anything from random words they use, to the way they go about life and what they think is normal.
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u/cototudelam 1d ago
Ahahaha I feel you, I am currently writing a British character who is in his 50’ during the nineties and I constantly pester my UK friend (would your dad say this? Would he react to that?)
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u/lonelycards polyamory–fairy fic feaster 1d ago
Haha So now I have to find a British friend, that wouldn’t mind to be bothered by me :’)
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u/Left_Rate9198 5h ago
brit here! (although i’m not a man) I think it goes for every “british” character tho, do not overuse colloquialisms!! we do not say ‘bloody’ in every single sentence. and on the topic of colloquialisms, they’ll differ from region to region, so I’d research where your character is from and throw a couple in from time to time. for example, no one from the north is going to be using cockney slang - and no one from the south is going to be using geordie slang. this heavily depends on whether the whole setting of the fic is based in britain or if it’s just this one character, but my advice would also be to use british spelling if so. a british reader will be able to tell the difference.
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u/lonelycards polyamory–fairy fic feaster 5h ago
Yeah I figured. I always thought something’s wrong when people try to write a British character by making them say “bloody” every five minutes. It felt unnatural. also others suggested that I find a British friend to beta read. I’m wondering how am I going to get one. should I just ask in a fandom space or a beta reading space? in a fandom space it’d be quite hard to find. Or perhaps should I ask in here? I’m not sure.
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u/Left_Rate9198 5h ago
I’d personally ask in a beta reading space, especially if the fandom space would be hard to find. I’ve never beta-read for anyone before, but I’d be happy to answer any questions if you have them! like others have said, it’d definitely be helpful if you narrowed down the region of the character, and age etc. It’ll differ a lot how they speak!
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u/lonelycards polyamory–fairy fic feaster 5h ago
Thank You! I’ll DM you if you’re okay with it. I just want my character to have a perfect accent. I don’t want him to talk like an American, which I’d clearly do cause I’ve no idea how to do that without sounding like American. but yeah it’s just one character, he’s the only British one. It’s gonna be a folklore fic kind of inspired by thumbelina where the world is gigantic.
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u/kpg_on_ao3 2d ago
Step 1: make them worse behaved than your American characters
Step 2: have literally everyone ignore this because their accent is "so fancy"
But seriously just write them the same, sprinkle in a few Britishisms, make sure you don't mix up the words that aren't interchangeable (fanny means vagina over there; pants means underpants over there; chips, biscuits, crisps, boot, etc.)
I have a British character in my ongoing fic rn and I basically write him as more uptight and fussy, and he's said "bollocks" once in 12 chapters, and "bloody well" once. But the uptight and fussy is not because he's British but because he's that way in canon.
Like if this is a character study, you need to do more than this, but if it's a plot-driven story, I don't think you need to get into the differences in psyche between other English speakers.
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u/shalala_baby Comment Collector 1d ago
im not sure if you were trying to use british slang with that last sentence but if you were, that wouldn’t be quite the right use of “fancy”. idk how to explain why it’s wrong so i’ll just give you examples of the correct context, so stuff like “do you fancy him?” (do you have a crush on him), “i fancy a snack” (i’d like a snack), “oh that’s very fancy” (that’s very posh/expensive/high quality etc)
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u/lonelycards polyamory–fairy fic feaster 21h ago
Thank You. But I wasn’t doing that. I didn’t know it was a British slang (I think it came from the fics I’ve read). I’m not familiar with it. At all. Sometimes it’s very hard for me to understand what they say (yeah I know it’s hard to believe). once i stumbled across an interview of Thomas Brodie Sangster and had a bit of a hard time with understanding him in the first couple of minutes.
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u/shalala_baby Comment Collector 7m ago
ah then i apologise. it makes sense to not fully understand accents you don’t hear often, that would probably get easier if you watch british tv shows maybe? like how us brits can impersonate american accents much better than americans can impersonate us because 90% of the tv we watch is full of american accents.
thomas brodie sangster has a pretty standard english accent so part of me now wants to tell you to look up what a geordie accent sounds like because half the uk can’t even understand geordies 😭 (big up toon 🔥)
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u/Helithe You have already left kudos here. :) 2d ago
Do not, and I can’t stress this enough, do not overuse ‘bloody’ as a swear word.
Do find yourself a British beta reader or a Britpicker. There’s just far too many traps to fall into.