I've been writing fiction for three years, and
I've noticed something.
I talk funny.
Not funny-ha-ha,
funny-different.
In those early days, I wrote the way I always had, then edited later. (Not that it improved my writing much, but humor me here. :P)
As I learned more about fiction writing and honed my craft, I began to self-edit as I write. Now, that lingual self-awareness comes so naturally, it has altered the way I speak.
Has this happened to you?
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Does writing fiction make you talk funny?
I think this is the first time I've thought about how editing affects my speech. But you're right, it does. For example, I pay a lot more attention to my verbal use of subject vs. object pronouns I/me and who/whom.
ReplyDeleteI've always been conscious of the words I use, probably even more so now that I am contemplating them as I write as well.
ReplyDeleteSometimes, I find myself saying, "Delete that." :)
ReplyDeleteI know it's not related, but I LOVE the guinea pig picture :)
ReplyDeleteI don't know that writing has changed the way I speak, but reading certainly has. When I was a kid, I was using words I didn't know how to pronounce because I had only read them... which lead to some comedy sometimes...
Great. Now I'm going to be hyper-aware of my speech all day... LOL
ReplyDeleteLOL! I always talk funny, Half norwegian, half english. You should see my grovery lists!
ReplyDeleteHa ha ha...Grocery lists that is!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if editing has made me more aware of the way I speak.... But living in France and having bilingual kids, has definitely made me hyper-aware of what and how I say things around them, especially in English.
ReplyDeleteI definitely talk funny, but I'm afraid it has nothing to do with the writing. LOL
ReplyDeleteI've never actually paid attention to how I talk. I don't think I'm self-editing, but maybe I haven't been writing long enough :)
ReplyDeleteOh well. If it has changed, I don't really care.
I notice I tend to use more precise words when I speak. And if I can't think of the word I'm looking for instead of calling something a whatchamacallit, I describe it. It's embarrassing when something simple escapes me. The other day it happened, and I said 'the flat board that you sit things on' and the other person said 'oh, you mean a shelf'. Well...duh!
ReplyDeleteOh Lord...my speaking and writing are almost like night and day. It's not that I can't speak well, but my mind goes faster than my mouth and I usually stammer and such. That piece of conversation went through my mind a good thirty seconds earlier...
ReplyDeleteWriting slows my mind down. Allows me to think and write evenly, I guess because while thinking, I'm also having to do something dexterous and it keeps both of them even.
Good post...good topic!
M.L. Swift, Writer
I swear less :)
ReplyDeleteBut that may also be because of those three little "recording devices" that run me ragged all day :)
Haha, great topic. It hasn't affected how I speak, but it has affected how I write.....everything. From blog posts, to Twitter, I find I'm scrutinizing my words very closely :)
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's altered the way I speak, but now I can't even send a simple email without fussing over the language.
ReplyDelete