The Brit-picking debate, yet again!

[emmagrant01]

devon_may has posted a little rant about Americanisms in fic. I've posted my thoughts on this issue before, but I generally try very hard to have my British characters sound as British as possible. It's not because I worry that people won't read my fic or will flame me if I don't; it's about making my fic as good as it can be. If my characters are supposed to be British, I'd like that to be believable. Devon has recently Brit-picked something for me, and she did a fabulous job. I have great respect for her as a person and as a writer.

I know there are people out there who disagree that Brit-picking is necessary, though. *looks meaningfully at flist* I think Devon is open to debate, but I'm going to suggest people who disagree with the whole Brit-picking thing post your honest feelings about the issue here. Rant at me! You know you want to! ;-) Do it anonymously, if you want.

ETA: Finally! Someone disagrees, and in an extremely intelligent way.

Comments

[jetis.livejournal.com]

I agree that sometimes Brit-picking is necessary, but I don't always do it. I guess I tend to look at the importance of a fic, then decide whether it's worth Brit-picking for me, because honestly, it's a pain in the ass to do. I have to get someone to go over my stories, because I will never be able to pick out all the stuff myself, even with a detailed guide and I can't always find someone immediately. So it tends to go like this: Would people rather I said 'pavement' instead of 'sidewalk,' or would they rather wait an extra month until I can scrounge up someone to give my fic a thorough Brit-picking?

As for the people who say that Americanisms disgust them: Trust me, I'm from the South. I have to deal with stories set in the South and the misuse of words and dialects all the time. If I don't like it, I don't read it. Simple as that.