Like it? or Loathe it?
A lot of modern books are increasingly using slang, and more and more slang is being added to the dictionary. So what are your opinions? Have you stuffed your stories with so much slang that it reads like rap lyrics? or do you avoid them like the plague?
Hey SW.
Agree with the above sentiments to a large degree.
My own view is that slang should be in dialogue only, and should never be done to the extent that readers from a different location cannot understand it.
Best regards, and keep on doing.
PabloJ.
Just a general wondering. An open debate/ discussion. Abbreviations, modern words, that sort of thing. I tend to read dated books, I don't really like modern literature and was just wondering what views budding writers have on them. Are many people including modern lanuage in their books? Are they embraced like modern technology or are they hated for degrading the written word.
Do you like reading books that contain a lot of slang, SW? Do you find them easy to follow? Or do they put you off as being a little 'too much information'? Do you mean slang terms or swearing? It depends on your character, the background you're giving them, the world in which they move. To put it simply, would you refer to a telephone when you mean a mobile/Blackberry/i-phone? Would you lose your reader by talking entirely in slang relating to a particular scenario of which they have no experience? In that case, you need to perhaps scatter your slang terms where they are necessary, rather than end up with a kind of patois, however authentic it may be.
It depends on the readership you are aiming for, and how much they would understand or accept.