Rorick
Scribe
I've written, re-written, edited and begun to polish a novel. It's written in first-person from the perspective of a thief and con-artist. During the course of his interactions with other characters, I've found his voice changes a lot. For example, when he's amongst other rogues, he replies in the sweary, swashbuckley patois of the underworld, all slang and profanity. When he's talking to gentry and those who consider themselves above his station, he almost puts on a more formal voice. He's more well-spoken, his vocabulary expands to match his station. At other points, he has a more natural way of speaking, somewhere in the middle.
Now, I guess this comes from me. I tend to do this myself, unconsciously, and I guess to an extent, most of us do. We tend to tailor the level of communication to the party we're conversing with.
I've done this in the story, but again, it's almost entirely subconsciously in the narrative too. My character isn't really aware he's doing it, as indeed, I'm not usually. Because of this, I haven't described it as a conscious choice in the narrative, he just slips into these modes silently.
The question is: is that too subtle? (I'm aware without the context of the story that's difficult) Or should I make the decision to do this more obvious with some internalisation? I personally think I shouldn't need to and my readers should pick up on the nuance. Is this too much to ask of an audience? Or is the mere thought that I doubt them patronising?
Any thoughts?
Now, I guess this comes from me. I tend to do this myself, unconsciously, and I guess to an extent, most of us do. We tend to tailor the level of communication to the party we're conversing with.
I've done this in the story, but again, it's almost entirely subconsciously in the narrative too. My character isn't really aware he's doing it, as indeed, I'm not usually. Because of this, I haven't described it as a conscious choice in the narrative, he just slips into these modes silently.
The question is: is that too subtle? (I'm aware without the context of the story that's difficult) Or should I make the decision to do this more obvious with some internalisation? I personally think I shouldn't need to and my readers should pick up on the nuance. Is this too much to ask of an audience? Or is the mere thought that I doubt them patronising?
Any thoughts?