Writing What You Don't Know: The Assistants

also, what defines a city accent in this setting? sometimes it just comes down to using different slang or not knowing jargon.

 

ah...admittedly that's not something I've put much thought into. the setting is just a general fictional sink kind of place I made up in favor of not using a real location, and I don't have any solid idea of where exactly it would be in the world if it existed as a real country or anything. so I was just looking for general pointers, since I haven't developed anything specific to work off

(worldbuilding isn't my forte. I'm almost purely about characterization...)

 

You should pick a particular accent. If you don't, you'll end up incorporating random elements from a bunch of accents that aren't yours, which will be really jarring to readers who know any of them well. YouTube is a good source for samples of various accents so you can pick one that matches what you're thinking of. For a US country accent, maybe search for Trae Crowder to start?

 

if you're talking about how the speech itself sounds, there aren't really any universal generalizations about what rural accents sound like, other than "different from the area's city accents." like i said, they'll probably have different slang for things, but that's about it. the accent could be subtly different or very different. things like how much contact the rural area has with urban areas, and how easy it is to travel between them, will make a difference.

i second the suggestion for picking an actual accent-- and for good measure also check out the corresponding urban accent(s), if you're not already familiar with them. you don't have to spell out that you're using a real accent in your story, but it'll give you a reference point for thinking about it.

general tips for the actual writing: spelling out dialogue phonetically is usually not a good choice, because it has an othering effect. using slang words and the like is good, if it's done accurately. otherwise, just think about how people from different areas perceive rural folks, and let those attitudes show through the dialogue.

 

If you can find a grammar for your particular dialect you choose maybe give it a look over and get to know the rules. Sadly most of the places I know to find grammars for specific dialects tend to be like. Linguistic papers and texts grammarians write. But I do know that things of that sort exist. Grammar between varieties vary quite a bit, even if in ways that seem minuscule. As do lexicons and so on, which you could again find in like ling articles and the like.

 

Hey everyone! I'm trying to do some character development ficlets for one of my ocs, and at some point I will likely need to write about his process of joining the Franciscan order and becoming a Catholic priest. I found an outline of the formation process online but it's pretty bare, and I grew up with friars and priests around but only saw their lives from the perspective of a parishioner. If anyone could point me at personal accounts (of discernment, vocation, formation, etc) for Franciscans, related orders, or similar (communal religious living with a focus on service), that would be incredibly appreciated!

 

Regarding funetik aksents and othering it would depend on the point of view character, I think. It could work to pick out specific words when your POV character is listening to someone with an unfamiliar accent and point out how different they sound from what the POV character is used to - "he said X, in his accent it came out sounding like Y" is one I've seen done, and stop doing that when the POV character gets familiar with it. On the other hand, excessive accent emphasis rapidly becomes unreadable to most people. (Burr aye, oi grew oop readin' ee wurks of Zurr Brian Jacques. He prepared me well for typing quirks.)

 

Question; I am a gigantic fan of personality classification systems in fiction and reality - Hogwarts houses, classpects, etc etc. I would quite like to make my own system like that, but I'm not sure where to start. Has anyone else written something similar before?

 

This is one of the few times in writing that you'll want to be vague. Personalities are very complex and diverse, and the more specific you get, the more likely you are to lock in things that aren't actually universal or make a system that doesn't actually have a place for everyone. "Gryffindors are brave" sounds clear enough, but then it turns out it covers things like Hermione's intellectual integrity, or Neville's ability to function through severe anxiety.

Symbolism is your friend. It's very evocative without actually locking much down, and the right kind of symbols can mean lots of different things in different situations. Like, the aspect of Breath, what does that mean? Depends. For John I'd say it comes out in his sense of humor and habit of avoidance, while for Tavros it's more referring to his issues with physical mobility. And other readers might reasonably have completely different analyses than me.

And this might be counterintuitive, but don't make your system symmetric. Avoid classifications that are direct opposites of each other - it seems like a good idea but it tends to feel oversimplified and pat.

Last, but not least important, situate the system within a fictional setting so that it's clear why the characters care, and why the reader should care. The nature of the setting will also help you figure out the details of the different classifications.

 

Thank you!

 

So, this character has taken an injury that seems to have partially severed his achilles tendon. What would treatment and recovery for that look like? How long would it take to heal, how much work to get full use of it back? From what I know of tendons, he's probably going to have a long and crappy time of it, but I'm fuzzy on the details.

 

kinda depends on the injury site and the nature of the injury. it MIGHT heal on its own but if it actually has severed the tendon, there'd likely be surgery involved, which can lead to a (potentially) temporary shortening on the tendon. Absolute worst case, there's the option of transplanting a piece of tendon from elsewhere in the body/foot to act as a 'bridge' that closes the gap.

The recovery period would have to contain a fair amount of PT to get the flexibility and length of the tendon back, or they'd be walking tippytoes for the rest of their lives, since this is the tendon that allows you to put your foot flat on the ground.
It's a fairly common sport injury for a lot of people, gymnasts and dancers included, and tendon shortening is even relatively common in the general populance especially if someone wears heels a lot.

generally, if they go slow, do their PT exercises, and the injury wasn't too grave, it should be possible to retain full use though it might take a while. Now if the character keeps injuring that tendon, or keeps putting undue stress on the recovering tendon (or doesn't do their exercises) it's possible to retain damage like a shortened tendon for quite a while, in which case it might be necessary for them to get special made shoes to support themselves and keep the heel up.

 

iirc it also changes how far you can bend the knee of the leg without lifting the heel.
(source: me achilles tendons are every so slightly shortened)

 

It's actually 50/50 on whether you'd prefer surgery or conservative treatment. I have no time now, but I can type some more tonight if someone pings me in 6 or so hours

 

@Emma here's your ping, a little late.

If you need more info:

Canon has handed me these facts: character got grazed by a bullet on the ankle, on the inside toward the back (that is, medial and dorsal) above his shoe. He needed help to stand up immediately afterward; he might not have been able to put any weight on that foot at all. Later we see him with crutches and a brace thing, and doing PT that looks really unpleasant. After a timeskip of a few years, he's running around just fine.

I'm assuming that's an injury to the Achilles tendon because it obviously hit something important and there's nothing else there. (I guess it could have chipped bone where the tibia has those bulbs at the bottom, but I don't think so.) I had assumed the tendon wasn't completely severed because he could stand with help immediately after, but now I'm not sure, especially since I don't think he even tried to actually walk.

Actual Consequences are a theme both of canon and my fic, so I would really like to be accurate about the length and suckiness and other details of this recovery process.

 

I'll try to get to it tonight, I'm on European time and have to work all day.
Unfortunately there are patients who need my attention :P

 

I'll get back to this on the weekend, I am completely knackered.

I'll just do a brief rundown, there's two methods of achilles tendon healing.
1. Conservative treatment. This consists of putting your leg in a cast for a period of at least sixweeks. During this time your foot will be in plantar flexion to allow healing (toes pointed down). You'll likely be at the doctor's office weekly as you get a different cast every week as they bring the foot slowly from plantar flexion into dorsiflexion. After this time you can carefully start using your foot again, the doctor will give exercises, and sometime refer you to a physical therapist. Pros: no surgery and associated risks. Cons: takes a long time. perhaps less suited for people who have to use their achilles tendon a lot such as pro athletes

2. Surgery. the ends of the tendon are approximated, after which the procedure is as described. There's the added bonus of the possibility of surgical complication such as infection (I've seen some truely nasty cases), blood clotting, bleeding and death (every surgery has a chance of this).

Either way there's going to be a prolonged amount of time in a cast, and healing can take at least 3-6 months depending on how active you are (a sprinter will need more recovery time before they're back at they're old level of performance). The cast will increase the chances of oedema in the foot, as well as thrombosis and the ankel will be really stiff because of disuse. Also the calf muscles will have atrophied some because you won't use them.

If you need more info, let me know :)

 

Why can't I hit "informative" more than once? Thanks a lot!

 

@iff This link is dead; do you remember what was at it?