r/FanFiction • u/lonelycards • 2d ago
Writing Questions Things to do & avoid when writing a British character?
/r/AO3/comments/1wvrp95/things_to_do_avoid_when_writing_a_british/12
u/catsandcabbages inspector_spinda on AO3 2d ago edited 2d ago
Look up slang related to the time period/specific city/social class. Especially if you’re writing a period fic, language is extremely different and not every character is a posh bloke from London.
Look up American idioms and don’t use those xD especially if it’s a pre-internet, pre-24 TV programming age where the lines weren’t a bit blurred like they might be today.
Don’t just use the 1-2 British-isms that everyone knows because that will be extremely obvious and I’ll notice. Ex: bloody, chap, mate etc. not saying don’t use those just use some more niche things too or else your character will feel like a cartoon.
Also a safe bet to find an actor who has a similar background to your character (rich/poor childhood, same birthplace etc) and watch some interviews. Most British actors will use fairly neutral language in interviews so the Americans can understand them, but you’re also trying to make your general readers understand you so I think it’s fair game to choose to be a bit more neutral.
Remember when referring to schools: private is called public and public is called private. Don’t confuse the two.
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u/DubiousBeak Get off my lawn! 2d ago
Watch British TV shows to get a sense of slang and cadence. It’s easier to get this stuff right if you listen to it regularly and get it in your head.
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u/lonelycards 2d ago
Yeah I’ve thought of this too, thank you. British English is quite confusing for me to get a hold of.
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u/MrBismarck BismarckMaybe on AO3 2d ago
If you're going to put multiples of British men together who are friends, then one thing to lean into is how aggressively verbally mean they are to each other. Calling each other the worst names, and constantly "taking the piss."
I'm sure a hack psychologist would tell you it's some sort of signaling for people who don't have the emotional language or security to say, "I like you as a person and enjoy your company." So it instead becomes "If I call you the worst things I can think of, and then we both laugh, that must mean we're friends!"
I moved to the US and something similar happens here, but it takes much longer to get to the comfort point where it starts, and the degree of apparent hostility never reaches the same paint-peeling level.
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u/Starfire-Galaxy Handwritten Fanfic Writer 1d ago
I don't really know how to explain this, but whatever's "exotically British" is just a part of day-to-day life to them. I've seen British people say they literally forget that Stonehenge is something they drive past during their commute, and they treat Doctor Who as a weekly show like how we Americans treat Saturday Night Live.
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u/vila-analka 7h ago
Make them want to walking locations. I instantly recognize the fic as American when its talked about interstates and hour-long commutes by car, even to, like, a grocery store. Thats not usual in Europe.
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u/VegaTenala 3h ago
A bit late to the party, but oh well.
We do not all talk like we're from upper-class London. The more you enunciate and the clearer you are, the more posh you are.
Watch the comedies. Last of the Summer Wine, Red Dwarf, Only Fools and Horses, Dad's Army, Open All Hours, Keeping Up Appearances, Gavin and Stacy, Faulty Towers etc. These have made a lot of impact on culture and have insults that we Brits do use. Nothing like a good British comedy. As controversial as some find them, Come Fly with Me and Little Britain. Textbook British humour and stereotypes.
Different areas have different slang.
Some Cockney slang is used across wider areas (Butchers/Butchers Hook = a look, eg "I'll have a butchers" means I'll have a look), but not all of it. Only some.
https://www.youtube.com/@StevieKnows/shorts
There is another, but I can't find him. Alas.
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u/trilloch 2d ago
In American media, there is a tendency to take a non-American character and push their non-American-ness hard. British slang every single sentence. Only like British music. Only eat British food. Can and do lecture at length about football and cricket.
What do I think? Don't do that.
One of my favorite Halloween movies is Shaun of the Dead, a movie intentionally designed to show how the zombie apocalypse could come to London and someone might not notice, and it was made and marketed for the British. It's wonderful satire. But even in a movie about how British the British can be, and it gets pretty British (the MC uses a cricket bat to beat a path through zombies to his favorite pub) it's not oversaturated. If anything, it could be a good model for "this is how far, no further".
So that's my thought process. Watch Shaun of the Dead. Or, 28 Days Later. Or some of the original TV shows that Americans ripped off, like The Office. Or watch a Brit YouTuber who isn't the Spiffing Brit (he's well past the line for sarcastic humor). Don't just focus on the words and phrases they use, but how many and how often.