11/6/09–Among the bits of advice offered at a recent "how-to" session delivered by a successful novelist was her warning about use of dialect in our fiction–or nonfiction–for  that matter.

This is particularly pertinent for me right now. A member of one of my workshops has launched a promising novel (as to plot).  It is about a Southern family that goes West for gold during the gold-rush days in our country.  The author keeps us on-scene with steady dialogue among members of the family, but it is all written in dialect making it difficult to stay with.

The anti-dialect "guru," told her audience that a word or two in dialect at the beginning sets the scene but should NOT be used through the whole book.  I've tried to convey this to the author, but she cites examples from her reading in which dialet is used throughout.  I will ask her to bring a sample that we can examine.  Of course, if this author plans to self-publish, she can write it any way she wants.  What she needs to understand is that authors of self-published books are 99% on their own for promotion and book sales.

I'll report again on progress with this "dialect" business–Willma