Writing dialect fiction

Currently there are only two leading definitions of dialect writing: literary dialect and dialect literature (Honeybone et al., 2022, pp. 4–5). These speak to where dialect appears in a narrative, but not how dialect styles are created, how they can be used in creative practice or the effect this has as a literary form. This paper establishes and defines three new styles for creating written dialect – phonetic dialect, syntactic dialect and lexical dialect – before considering how these styles can be used in the creative practice of writing dialect fiction. Examples of this creative practice will be explored through analysis of two novel manuscripts, as well as existing published work that uses dialect. Though this paper focuses on regional dialects from the North of England, the practice and analysis detailed here is applicable to dialects of any country or region.