Hello! I was wondering if anyone would like to help me edit my book, but solely for more historically-accurate terms. I'm not trying to go all Lady Grace Mysteries with my writing, but sometimes I worry that I'm not using a term or curse word right, or else I can't find the proper term for something. Mainly for Medieval England around the 1500's or so? I realize that's not much to go on tho, but if anyone's interested please let me know.
I know that William Shakespeare was obviously popular then, so if you use some of the vocab he used in his plays - I would say use WS because obviously his audience had to understand what was going on or the actors would find themselves performing to an empty theatre! There are some insults and stuff like that in there. Hope this is helpful to you for your book :)
Hi there, I'm more than happy to have a look at any words that you're struggling with. (I have an MA in History).
A few notes, 1500 is just on the cusp of Medieval Britain so be careful with your periodisation. Also, Shakespeare was more mid to late 1500s and early 1600s so it depends on what time period you're going for.
One thing I've found really helpful is dictionary.com they usually give the origins and common usages of words so that you can find out when they were created\in usage etc. its a really good marker for phrase too.
With regards to the language, it doesn't have to be overly formal, but avoid contractions and slang and so forth. Also (I feel like Columbo - one more thing) there are quite a lot of different local dialects in England which have their own words, for example Devon and Cornwall, and if you're writing the speech phonetically it may help.
Sorry for the long post, I hope that helps. Drop me a line if that makes any sense, or none at all, or you want to know anything else.
xx
Thanks, @"Green snek" sorry for the late reply, but I'll definitely use some of his insults lol
And @CatherinePrice That's amazing! May I keep your 'contact' when and if I have any further questions? I also have my story on Google Docs if you'd like the link? (Though if you don't or don't have enough time in your day, that's totally alright, too!)
Hi @Sassypennepasta of course you can. Just send me a message whenever you like. If you're happy for me to read it I would be honoured to look it over.
Really? That'd be so great, honestly that's very flattering but I'm so honoured as well! I'll DM you with the link =)
Sorry about that. I have the link saved so you can delete all you want. I'm really looking forward to it. It might take a while, I have chronic fatigue so concentrating for too long sends me to sleep but I will do my best. I'll add comments as I go along, but message me if there's anything you don't understand.
Oh, of course! Really, take your time–The last thing I want is for my series to be more harm than it's worth so I hope there's no pressure at all for this. =)
Bless you. I sent you a DM, did you get it? It's just a general view of what you can do, I'll add specifics to the document :)
looks useful
thanks :)
:)