I have this little book called SPOKEN LIKE A PRO by Mim Harrison that I ordered from Levenger Press. It’s subtitled: an insider’s guide to the language of professions. I also own a couple of books on slang, and I’ve bookmarked a few web sites. They’re all great and wonderful and seriously not enough.
For the reader in me, I love, love, love feeling as if I’m getting a peek into a world that’s new and unfamiliar. Note I said a peek. I don’t want to be immersed in the world of the actuary, even though I think it would be interesting to know what an actuary does. I don’t need to come up from reading a book feeling confident that in a pinch, I could fly that F-18.
In essence, I want to feel smart, not actually be smart.
Warning: Tangent Alert
I believe that the skillful blending of tidbits, slang and atmosphere, told simply with simple language is the key to some very successful novels. Take Grisham’s books, for example. Specifically, THE FIRM. That was an incredibly easy book to read, but he never spoke down to the reader. Grisham made people feel smart. As if they were “in the know.” A door was opened, and it was very welcoming. We could feel smart about lawyer stuff without having to have gone through any of that time consuming and headache inducing law school business.
Same thing with THE DA VINCI CODE. Secret societies! Insider tips! Hints of treasure and scandal! Kind of like reading the National Enquirer for religion. Again – even though the topics could be considered quite heavy and inscrutable, Brown made them totally accessible. It made perfect sense to me when I learned that a large number of people who’d read TDVC had not read another novel in their adult lives. ::boggle::
Tangent Over. Thank you.
Often what makes me feel smart when reading is when I’m given tiny little pieces of insider language. I don’t even need to understand the word or words, oddly enough, but if well-written and I get the meaning from the context, I feel smarter because I could actually use those words-I-don’t-understand in a sentence! I could make other people feel dumb for not knowing those words! YeeHaaa! (Oh, sorry, did I type that last bit out loud?)
I know it’s important to get the facts straight. We all try our best. The internet is a wonderful thing, as are research books, etc. But there’s nothing, in my mind, that puts us square into the writing-smart category as the well-turned detail. Often, that comes in the form of slang. Not just pop vs soda vs coke, but the slang of a specific environment. I would be very grateful if someone came out with a book on law enforcement slang by agency, by region, by city, by town. I would equally be grateful for a slang book on the military. Again, not in big lumps, but very, very specific according to branch, rank, location, etc.
The book SPOKEN LIKE A PRO covers restaurateur, retailer, airline pilot, cookie baker, pharmacist, television promo producer, hotelier, printer, symphony orchestra musician, venture capitalist, waste manager, perfume maker, Broadway company manager, microbiologist and magician. So far, I’ve been able to use it for my books that take place in Hush hotel.
It leaves me wanting more. Much more.
Have you found other books like SPOKEN LIKE A PRO? If you’re in a field that has an insider language (and most fields do) have you found a reference book that is chock full o’ slang and juicy tidbits?
What insider books would you like to see?
And what books made you feel smarter after you read them?
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I would really like to see an insider’s book to a specific area in the world say Romania. I know I know there are traveler books and slang sites but having that information in one area would be great. I don’t need the details just a quick over haul of the location what the locals eat, where they go, what is a typical day in the life of ______ fill in the blank and what are some everyday slang that the young and old people use. That would really help me with the current book!
I’d like to see one for truck drivers. They’re not an uncommon romance feature, and nothing jars me out of a story faster than something like alcohol on a truck or the notion of a driver carrying a gun.
Both of those are things I’ve seen in published stories. Both of those are highly illegal and can lose a drive his CDL. (Commercial drivers license)
I’ve been doing a ton of research into daily life during the depression. I found a great book called “We Had Everything But Money” that not only taught me some things but also gave me great ideas for a story!
Honestly, writing aside, I love to read to learn. My DH always asks how I know so much stuff (I adore “Jeopardy”), and I tell him — from reading fiction!
Great post
I think it is challenging to come up with a concise guide. Slang changes constantly, especially in technology heavy fields. Look at the world of venture capital. I wrote Breach Of Trust, set in that world, 3 short years ago. Doing the final edits for the May release, I was shaking my head because some of the language has changed.
BTW…
If someone tells you he’s an entrepreneur and there’s no product/industry attached to that statement, that means he’s unemployed. Writers, please do not make your heroes mysterious entrepreneurs unless you want your reader to laugh her butt off.
See now I want this book.
I also love retaining tidbits of jargon. A friend was going on SERE training. My dh asked me if I knew what that was. I looked at him and proudly said, Survive, Evade, Resist, Escape.
When it comes down to it little details lend authenticity. If you pair that with honesty of language in a book, you’re going to have something quite readable! LOL
I, too, have SPOKEN LIKE A PRO! It’s sitting on my shelf next to another book titled, ONLY IN BOOKS which is a collection of quotes about various topics taken from books of the world.
I’ve never heard of SPOKEN LIKE A PRO, but it sounds great and extraordinarily useful.
I’d second your interest in a military version and a government agency version–to help me make it though all those spy thriller movies.
I picked up the Dictionary of Slang at a garage sale. It comes in handy for dating slang and deciding if it’s correct for the period I’m writing in.
I write historicals, and have a great book called FUBAR (F****ed Up Beyond All Recognition), a dictionary of slang terms used by the Allied and German forces in WWII. Priceless.
I find that magazines in the field you’re researching (trade mags) are really helpful to the fiction writer. They always include the “jargon,” either in ads, in the articles, or especially in the “letters to the editor.” You get a real sense for how people immersed in this world (whether it’s fly fishing or sports management or dentistry or aviation) speak to each other, and what’s important to them.
Much as I love books and I really do–IMHO, nothing beats hanging out with the pros in whatever field you’re trying to capture.