Quote from Giorgia on June 13, 2023, 9:15 am

I am Italian and have been writing fiction in Italian for years. For the past year I have been dabbling in English and (oddly enough, I am very self-critical 😂) people seem to like my stories.
One piece of advice I can give you is to immerse yourself viscerally in the characters you want to tell and to continuously read good quality fiction 💚

Quote from SanctuaryAngel on June 13, 2023, 10:31 am

When I am unfamiliar with a character I'm new to writing, I spend a lot of time researching and reading before I even think about writing. Character studies are extremely helpful, which can be easily found around with a search (I don't have any specific ones, though). I research multiple descriptions for those characters. such as tone of voice, personality, appearance, body language, any quirks you can observe, facial expressions, mannerisms, common phrases said by them, etc.

I'd make a list into its own document for reference, so it is easily accessible.

Fics are fine to delve into to help, but finding one in character enough to be considered to be enough, is challenging. So really by default, the books will be your initial source of information.

Also youtube - There are some really cool character studies I've stumbled across (Severus) that are also helpful in order to further understand characters.

Severus is a tricky one to begin writing because he is such a contradictive, complex man.

And for general writing tips for Britishisms - Google is your friend. If you need to find the British word for candy, sweater, couch, etc. When in doubt, look it up.

Quote from mmlf on June 13, 2023, 12:01 pm

Quote from Namesakesnake on June 13, 2023, 7:50 am

I'm currently trying to write my first ever fan fic, yay! I'm trying my best to create something that isn't completely crap.

You won't know whether it's completely crap until it's finished and published, so I wouldn't fuss about that.

Because I'm American I want to be conscious of my writing so that I can make the characters sound more authentic.

Being conscious of your writing could ruin it. If the story is good, then readers won't fuss over the fact that you're American. I was under the impression that many, if not most, fanfiction writers were American. It's certainly dominated by American entertainment culture. So it's very unlikely that a sensible British reader would tear you to pieces.

I've read lots fics so I know I've picked up British words and phrases but I'm still feeling like I might not be getting it quite right, or that I'm accidentally making some weird hybrid of the two cultures.

There's no need to worry about British words and phrases until very late in the editing stage, and even then. It's fanfiction, not historical fiction. And the Harry Potter series already borrows from numerous cultures, anyway.

I think I saw a resource to help with something like this a while back back but now I can't find it. I don't know, maybe I imagined it?

Does anyone have any advice for me? If so, I would appreciate it a bunch

Here's some advice for the rewriting and editing stage:

1. Keep a physical copy of the Harry Potter books handy for reference
2. Copy out quotes by Snape that you like and adapt those to your own Snape
3. Reread your dialogue aloud during each edit
4. After publishing, keep an eye out for constructive criticism and incorporate into future work

Good luck with your writing!

Quote from Namesakesnake on June 14, 2023, 7:42 am

Thank you guys, I appreciate the tips!

Quote from Heatherlly on June 14, 2023, 10:31 am

I totally agree with @mmlf (who is British, btw) about British-isms. While I occasionally use British centric words and phrases in my writing, I only do so when it feels natural/comfortable for me. Otherwise, I write like an American, and after multiple epic length stories, I can tell you that I've never received any complaints about that.

Comfort level is what matters here. It is much better to write in a way that feels comfortable for you than try to shoehorn in a bunch of culturally specific stuff to make your story seem more "authentic". The latter will stick out like a sore thumb, and like @mmlf said, it isn't even necessary. Harry Potter is universal, despite its original setting, not to mention that it's a work of fantasy. The fantasy part gives you even more wiggle room… British witches and wizards don't need to communicate exactly like their Muggle counterparts, who (technically speaking) are part of a completely different society.

Quote from Krystal on June 16, 2023, 7:23 am

Trust me, I feel the same issues with writing Severus as a non-native English speaker myself. Just tried some Writing Challenges and I quite like writing silly situations. I kind of miss Round Robins because they let me flex my writing muscles in a fun way and are often engagingly interesting.