Wednesday, August 7, 2013

When Josh Met Paige: The Joys of Writing Main Characters from Different Countries

On Monday I sent my latest manuscript to my agent. It's a bit of a fingernail biting, stress inducing, experience sending your agent the manuscript after the one they signed you for. What if they don't like it? What if I'm a one story wonder? What if they come back and say "Um, try again." What if it's really really bad and you just happen to have critique partners who can't quite bring themselves to tell you?

However, I've had a lot of fun with this story. It's set in Sydney, Australia and features an American heroine and an Australian hero who really really don't get along.

One of the most fun to write components to write has been the differences in language. Yes, they both speak English but you don't realize how different some of our words, phrases and sayings are until you have an American critique partner going "Um what is that?" and "What does this mean?"

For example, Josh sits at a bench at eats his chips with tomato sauce. Paige sits at a counter and eats her fries with ketchup. Josh puts things in a rubbish bin, Paige in a trash can. Josh eats biscuits and drinks soft drink, Paige eats cookies and drinks soda.

Paige doesn't know what it means to prang a car, bring a plate or why someone would be knee-high to a grasshopper. She has to learn how to drive on the left hand side of the road, deal with kilometers per hour instead of miles, celsius instead of fahrenheit and all the seasons being reversed. It all contributes to landing her in some very entertaining predicaments.

Where you really find yourself getting into trouble is when it comes to insult. Words that down here in New Zealand and Australia people wouldn't even blink at I discover are VERY inappropriate to be calling someone in America. Which can create some writing challenges when your hero and heroine do not get on at all initially and there's only so many times you can reuse the very short list of acceptable words that mean the same thing in both countries!

How about you? What things about other English speaking countries cause you to do mental gymnastics? I have to admit whenever I travel to the USA the "tax not included in the price" thing gets me every time :)

If you're an American reader do stories in different countries appeal or are you happier staying close to home? (As a promo for an author and book I have absolutely no connection - if you like contemporary romance and would like to dip your toe in international waters Five Days in Skye by Carla Laureano which is based in Scotland is brilliant!)

 Kara Isaac lives in New Zealand where she is a pastor's wife, toddler mum (or mom), cheesecake lover and Bachelorette fan (please don't tell you Desiree chose!). She has found her happy place writing contemporary romance with sass and is represented by Chip MacGregor or MacGregor Literary Inc.

She loves connecting with people on Facebook at Kara Isaac - Writer or on Twitter @KaraIsaac

13 comments:

  1. Interesting Kara. I live in Canada so mix Britishisms and Americanisms freely. My best language story is of an English woman who complained that the "milkman knocked her up early in the morning." Apparently in England, that means he knocked on the door and woke her. In Canada, it means a baby's on the way.:-) The challenge of the English language!

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    1. LOL. That's great Alice. In New Zealand it means the same as in Canada so that would have certainly raised a few eyebrows :)

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  2. Wow, your latest novel must have been quite a challenge to write, Kara! I hope it goes well for you. It was the pronunciation of words rather than the words themselves that confused folk we met in the US when we visited there. They thought my husband was saying his name was Lonnie when it is Lionel! we found we needed to make it three syllables rather than two when we said it so they would hear the difference.

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    1. That's very true. I definitely find I have to speak a lot slower when in the US so people have more time to process what I'm saying otherwise confusion abounds!

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  3. Well, Kara, I'm back and hoping third time's a charm ;-)

    I love those kinds of cultural differences in novels - always makes for fun and interesting reading. I hope I get the opportunity to read about Josh and Paige one day soon :)

    I've just finished Anita Higman's Winter in Full Bloom which is set in my home town of Melbourne for the first half of the book. Anita did a terrific job of describing my wonderful city and for the most part got the vernacular correct. I did notice the Australian male lead used the word 'sidewalk' when we would say 'footpath'.

    My only quibble with the story is that the male Australian character (Language & mannerisms, etc) is actually an American and has only been living in Australia 12 months. You and I know that no American - let alone a Texan! - (or other nationality) will lose their accent and acquire an Australian accent in that period. I know people who have lived here for over 40 and 50 years who have not lost their native accent. It's probably the same for NZ but I think the Aussie accent is particularly difficult to acquire although we can lose ours quite rapidly ;-) Other than that disappointment the book was great and I loved reading about Melbourne in a book - so much fun!

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    1. Hi Rel. I hope you get to read it one day soon too!

      We have some close friends and the husband is a Texan. He's been living in NZ for well over a decade and the moment he opens his mouth you know exactly where he's from! I've known many Americans who have lived here for many years and not a single of them has ever lost their accent :)

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  4. When we first moved to South Africa from the US ten years ago, I found myself so confused and people were speaking English! I had to learn a whole new vocabulary for the children's schooling, food, and driving, etc. My kids picked up strong accents, but people usually looked at my husband and I and asked where we were from. There was no longer a Texas accent, but we didn't sound South African either.

    When I go back to the US now, I have to mentally make the switch so I'm not talking about robots (stop lights) and braais (BBQs) and such.

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    1. Hi Lisa. It's funny. A lot of people who don't travel a lot assume that just because another country speaks English that it's all pretty much the same when it's so not!

      My husband is Australian and even after five years occasionally I'll still say something and he'll be like "What on earth does that mean!"

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    2. Now I know your other reason for having an Australian hero ;-)

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  5. Hi Kara,
    That's a great post. I've recently finished a manuscript with an Aussie hero and American heroine and had the same challenges. It makes me nervous sometimes, to think of missing something in my research of differences and insulting people accidentally.

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  6. G'day Kara,
    The US/Aussie language is sooo different. I write historical romances set in 1880 Colorado and so apart from the different way people spoke back then there is also the challenge of writing for a US audience and making sure all that stuff is correct.
    Best thing I found to help is to switch the language on my computer over to US, as well as the dictionary/language setting in Microsoft Word. That catches the spelling differences, and my two crit partners catch the rest. I'd be very lost without them!
    I can understand most American people, but I must say that the Kiwi accent is one that requires my ear to bend and I have to decipher more. I love the different sayings we all have and the world is a much richer place because of it. :)
    All the best as you write for His glory!

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  7. Stories set in different countries definitely appeal to me! :) I write novels like this too. My current WIP involves an American girl and a German guy during WWII. Your story sounds fantastic! Keep up the great work!

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  8. Oh I had a great laugh. We lived in the US for a couple of years. My husband spoke at a church dinner and one fellow came up and said,"Great talk. Amazin' the way you picked up the language." I think he thought we were from Austria... a common mistake.

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