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Q&A How to write English in Merlin (TV Series) style?

This is a speech. Uther, whatever his other faults, does give good speech, but so do many modern English speakers. If you want all your characters to speak in speechese — long-winded, complex, win...

posted 13y ago by Lauren Ipsum‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-13T12:00:01Z (about 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/4412
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T02:03:19Z (about 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/4412
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T02:03:19Z (about 5 years ago)
This is a speech. Uther, whatever his other faults, does give good speech, but so do many modern English speakers.

If you want all your characters to speak in speechese — long-winded, complex, winding sentences; occasionally inverted grammar; archaic phrasing; drums and trumpets under every applause line — it will read very prettily, but it won't sound realistic. It's up to you if that's the effect you want.

Read through a few Tolkien books. If they sound like ear candy, go for it. If it takes you three or four tries to get through a sentence... leave the speechese for the speeches, and have your dialogue sound more like people talking than people orating.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2011-11-08T20:47:09Z (about 13 years ago)
Original score: 3