tips for writing in Bertie's POV?

[wemblee]

All right, now that LJ's pretty much dead, I hate to be that person clogging up the community, but: I realize we have a fair number of fanfic writers here. Any tips for getting better at writing Bertie's POV? (Besides "read the canon," which, obviously.) It's really difficult. I like that it's difficult, but... it's difficult. There's a rhythm to

Comments

[wotwotleigh]

As possibly the person who made that cheat sheet *whistles innocently*, I've been thinking about this a fair bit. It's really hard to articulate what makes Bertie sound like Bertie, but I guess I can offer a few more random thoughts and suggestions, some general and some specific

[wemblee]

Oh, wow, I possibly owe possibly you a debt of possible gratitude, thank you! And thanks for these extra observations as well.

It can be useful to write down generally what you want to say in a sketchy approximation of the Bertie voice

Haha, before I saw your comment, I was about to edit/self-reply with this exact suggestion! With other characters, I can kind of just bang it out (insert juvenile snickering here), but for me, Bertie sort of requires a few passes in order to get it right, so having a firm idea what I want to convey beforehand is helpful.

I think this is something that develops more in the novels, whereas in the earlier stories his narration is less eloquent and more similar to the way he speaks.

Yeah, I noticed that as well.

[okapi1895]

This is all fabulous. I wish I had these tips a few weeks ago. I've only written 2 short fics, but I really appreciate #5 on the cheat sheet (i.e., he lit a moody cigarette) because I hadn't even noticed it, but of course it's spot on.

I start off my cutting and pasting from the stories (like the quote about the lark and the snail that appears a lot; or the English bulldog reference which he uses for himself and Bingo and others) but then the real challenge is when you put Bertie in a novel situation (and isn't that what fanfic is for?!) and ask yourself, how would Bertie say X or how would he describe Y, when it's something that's not appeared in canon and you can't find a good parallel.

And the crazy plots. Hats off to anyone who attempts to write a new one.

[wotwotleigh]

Even Wodehouse struggled with those plots! I recently read part of P. G. Wodehouse: A Life in Letters, and he was constantly asking his friends (writer or otherwise) for plot ideas. He wrote a letter to a friend shortly after getting married and was all excited because his new wife had "already come across with several good plots."

If all else fails, there's always the MacGuffin. There are endless comedic (or dramatic) possibilities around people losing, finding, seeking, stealing or concealing some silly object. Wodehouse fell back on that a lot (see the cow creamer, Gussie's notebook, various necklaces...).

[okapi1895]

Good point about the MacGuffin. I've only read one excerpt of A Life in Letters, but was shocked to learn that the inspiration for the fireplace with 'Two Lovers Built This Nest' was none other than H.G. Wells! Truth meet fiction.

I've always been struck by that line of Bertie's where he says he wants to name his first-born Green Swizzle after the cocktail he has (at the fair, I think). If I had the chops I would do a cracky bit of omegaverse where he and Jeeves actually have a child and name it Green Swizzle Wooster-Jeeves.

[wotwotleigh]

Yes, he drew from real life a lot! I think that's part of what makes it so good. The situations are incredibly silly, but still so relatable.

Ahaha, I forgot about Green Swizzle! Doooo eeeet. (I can totally imagine Jeeves being highly disapproving of the name, but finally compromising with some extremely stodgy middle name to make up for it. Either that or he just makes Bertie burn half his wardrobe.)

[storyfan]

I've written a fair few Jooster fics, and I can't say I've come even close to mastering the Bertie voice. It's a hard voice to capture, especially if you're trying to do some serious material.

The one thing I'd warn against is going overboard on the Bertie-isms. Some writers, in an effort to capture this most difficult voice/narrative, substitute too many words with a single letter. For example:

Jeeves oiled into the young master's room with cup of fresh c., along with a welcome plate of e. and b., sweetened with a dab of j. for the t.

Wodehouse does this quite often, but we always understand what he means. I once wrote a piece of narrative with four word substitutions. My beta sent the story back to me with a well-deserved "fix it! I have no idea what you're talking about."

Also, there's nothing wrong with re-using a few of Wodehouse's charming little word twists. After all, we're writing fan fiction, and that allows us some license.

From one old egg to another,

Storyfan

[godsdaisiechain]

I think you catch the Bertie voice simply charmingly, old bean

[godsdaisiechain]

I agree with all the advice here

[wemblee]

He played tennis _for the nation_.

Oh, wow, I totally missed this. Where does this reference appear?

That early voice is easier to replicate.

I definitely noticed that, the stark difference between Very Early Bertie and Late Period Bertie* and how much easier the early voice was. I thought to myself, "Should I...? No, that's cheating. But should I...?"

*aka pregnant Bertie

[godsdaisiechain]

I don't remember exactly where the reference is to playing tennis for the nation.... but it is there somewhere in one of the longer books. The next time I come across it, I'll come back and write it down for you.

My thought is why shouldn't you work with whichever voice works best for what you're doing.

[wemblee]

Thank you!

My thought is why shouldn't you work with whichever voice works best for what you're doing.

Oh, no, you're right, and I realize now what I said also seems dismissive of other people's choices, which is really not okay. And in the end, I did as you said, which was going with sort of a mix of the two styles.