Musings on Word Choice
Okay, so I'm currently working on a Rome fic (very scary as there is barely any backstory yet and we're just getting to know the characters), and I'm running into some very sticky situations and I was wondering what you all thought (I don't know if you write or not, it doesn't matter, really).
The biggest problem is word choice. I want it to sound like the show and have a, well...Roman feel to it, but still be relatively understandable and picturesque. I mean, let's face it, the dialogue style of the show is meant just for that, dialogue. Not descriptions and internal reflections. I'm trying hard to avoid glaringly anachronistic phrases like "pushing his buttons," and modern slang, but even words like "okay" and "maybe" give me pause. Except short of writing in Latin (which I can't do), it's really impossible to write fiction comprehensible without those words and still express the characters as I see them.
What are your thoughts on that? How much is too much (and I know that no fic exists yet so it's hard to know how you'll react)? Where would you get pulled out of a story? Any ideas on how to address the problem? I'm a curious girl and I've got preslash plot bunnies nibbling at me.
The biggest problem is word choice. I want it to sound like the show and have a, well...Roman feel to it, but still be relatively understandable and picturesque. I mean, let's face it, the dialogue style of the show is meant just for that, dialogue. Not descriptions and internal reflections. I'm trying hard to avoid glaringly anachronistic phrases like "pushing his buttons," and modern slang, but even words like "okay" and "maybe" give me pause. Except short of writing in Latin (which I can't do), it's really impossible to write fiction comprehensible without those words and still express the characters as I see them.
What are your thoughts on that? How much is too much (and I know that no fic exists yet so it's hard to know how you'll react)? Where would you get pulled out of a story? Any ideas on how to address the problem? I'm a curious girl and I've got preslash plot bunnies nibbling at me.