I have a question about contractions. I want English professionals opionions only please(English majors, profe

Question

My question is this: If a story is told in first person and the person telling it is a thirteen year old kid that typically uses contractions, would it be correct to use contractions in the narrative? I read somewhere that it would be in that instant, but I want some professional opinions. Please state your English experience and what you do if you don't mind, so I will have an idea of your knowledge. If you would rather not, that's fine too.

Answer 1

Yes. In fact, the story wouldn't flow as a narrative if you didn't. Scott Turow often writes in the first person - read some of his novels for inspiration.

Answer 2

Of course it would be correct. You would also want to imitate a thirteen-year-old's speech in other ways, e.g. some slang, not overly sophisticated vocabulary, etc. (but without dumbing down your writing--this can be tricky).

It might be helpful too to imagine someone to whom the kid is telling the story. He/she would not talk the same way to a friend of the same age as to a parent, a teacher, a judge, etc. He/she would also reveal and hide different things, explain reasons/excuses for doing things differently, etc.

Contractions are only inappropriate for very formal writing such as you would use to write a business letter, an academic paper, etc. There's no reason not to use them when writing a fictional story, especially in first person narration or dialogue, unless for effect, i.e. to make the person seem exceptionally formal or stress the formality of the situation.

Answer 3

When writing creatively, then using dialectics (writing in the vernacular of your character) is acceptable and even common. Mark Twain wrote in that style and is regularly imitated. In fact, Shakespeare used contractions in his writing.

Those who tell you that it's the only way to make the writing flow are very correct. Be careful that your thirteen year old sounds thirteen, unless he's supposed to sound younger or older. Be careful though that it's still intelligible to your audience.

Answer 4

that depends on whether or not you are using direct quotations. if you are directly quoting someone, then yes, you should put down exactly what they say. if they use contractions, then you should use them as well as quotation marks.

by the way, even though i apparently loath capital letters, i do have a ph.d. is that good enough?

Answer 5

It is always correct to have characters speak in their own language. If that includes contractions, then that's how you write it.