Yes, I would, too. I once wrote an HP story with an American Mary-Sue as the main character and, even though I was actually living in the US at the time, I was conscious at every stage of how wrong I could be getting it. My American beta reader had a lot of fun correcting it for me.
My feeling is that there is no way to get it right as a foreigner (in whichever direction) but by far the best way to do a good job is to have someone of the right nationality read the whole thing. They'll spot the things you never thought to ask about.
When I first read blamebrampton's post and poll, I thought that was what she seemed to be arguing for, but actually in conversation she was clearly not. Did you ever read any of that dreadful Draco/Hermione fic that involved one long tedious description of the woman's research about quaint Oxford traditions after another? I think it may have scarred me for life.
I think I did once see a review on FF.net from an American teenager claiming that it would be better for a British writer to use American terms so that the readers could understand. I think she was pretty firmly squashed.
Yes, I agree with you totally about beta-readers, though I'm not sure how good I'd be about practicing what I preached.
What are your feelings about people attempting to write their fic in British / Canadian / Australian / American / delete as appropriate English when they're writing in foreign fandoms, out of interest? It doesn't bother me at all if people talk about 'the color of Harry's scarf', or whatever, though I know for some people it's on a level with Ginny going out and riding a broom clad in a vest and pants.
I generally don't mind about the spelling, either. In fact, having spent two years correcting my academic writing to US English, I find myself sometimes utterly at a loss to know how to spell words properly at all now. I had to look up 'fulfil' yesterday, just to convince myself that it really didn't need two l's.
Sometimes I don't even mind about the other stuff. I'll giggle at the pants (Draco in leather pants is something I'll always find funny, no matter how many times I see it). But part of me feels that these writers are entitled to have their play in the sandpit too. And if they're well-written (and sometimes even if they're not), I'll read them and enjoy them for what they are.
I think what irritates me most are those things where someone has obviously tried to get it right but just not quite managed it. People going to the loo for a shower, for instance. Or having scones for breakfast. Or eating shepherds pie for every single meal. Or speaking in mock cockney. It's like the girl with the Missing First Letters. Obviously she thought she was reproducing the French accent. Only she failed utterly and hilariously.
And why shouldn't people go to the loo for a shower? Don't you guys (I mean umm... umm... gender-neutral people) have bidet's in England? (I mean Uk. Or GB. Or GB&NI. Or...) *g*
Obviously, I need to use more smileys in my posts. People have started taking me way too seriously. (Although, washing one's... embarrassing bits at a bidet is still a types of showering - just b/c the water comes up, instead of down, it's no reason to dismiss the procedure - seriously! <- not, not really :-):-):-))
Ah, I think that's because posts made over a certain time limit - two weeks, possibly? - ago don't appear on the friends page, and we've had a posting hiatus because of us both being busy in the run-up to Christmas. It will return!
The worst I came across was a writer at SQ being told by her SQ beta to Americanise her story (in particular in reference to talking about Colin Creevey's muggle schooling). Totally ridiculous and a beta reader should have known better.
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My feeling is that there is no way to get it right as a foreigner (in whichever direction) but by far the best way to do a good job is to have someone of the right nationality read the whole thing. They'll spot the things you never thought to ask about.
When I first read
I think I did once see a review on FF.net from an American teenager claiming that it would be better for a British writer to use American terms so that the readers could understand. I think she was pretty firmly squashed.
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What are your feelings about people attempting to write their fic in British / Canadian / Australian / American / delete as appropriate English when they're writing in foreign fandoms, out of interest? It doesn't bother me at all if people talk about 'the color of Harry's scarf', or whatever, though I know for some people it's on a level with Ginny going out and riding a broom clad in a vest and pants.
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Sometimes I don't even mind about the other stuff. I'll giggle at the pants (Draco in leather pants is something I'll always find funny, no matter how many times I see it). But part of me feels that these writers are entitled to have their play in the sandpit too. And if they're well-written (and sometimes even if they're not), I'll read them and enjoy them for what they are.
I think what irritates me most are those things where someone has obviously tried to get it right but just not quite managed it. People going to the loo for a shower, for instance. Or having scones for breakfast. Or eating shepherds pie for every single meal. Or speaking in mock cockney. It's like the girl with the Missing First Letters. Obviously she thought she was reproducing the French accent. Only she failed utterly and hilariously.
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