Using Gotta and Oughta in first person

MJWare · Mar 3, 2012

I'm working on a YA, first-person manuscript and I keep using 'gotta'.
Now, I know even if I keep it, I'll need to go back and cut most of them out. But I'm wondering if I should even use it at all?

I occasionally use 'sorta', and 'oughta' (in dialog), but 'gotta' just seems to be pushing it, especially when it's not in dialog.

I'm guessing this is just a matter of style? Or, even in YA, is it considered bad form?

Oh, and I did search the forums before asking; really thought someone would have asked this before.

Libbie · Mar 3, 2012

"Shorta" is a new one on me. But I don't see a problem using this kind of language in first-person. If it works, it works. Worst-case scenario, maybe an agent or editor will suggest you change it to "got to" and the like just to make it easier on the eyes. Not a big deal. Keep working on it!

MJWare · Mar 3, 2012

Oops, I meant "Sorta" -post updated

Thanks for the feedback!

SaronaNalia · Mar 3, 2012

I think it's something you can do if it really does just fit the character's voice. But I think you should give it some serious thought. I don't know many people who actually say "oughta" or "gotta."

jaksen · Mar 3, 2012

In dialogue, sure why not? Kids talk this way. Teenagers. Especially in quick, slang-laden dialogue.

Even I say, 'Gotta go,' when I'm leaving my Mom's house.

(I've not been a teenager in four decades.)

Cacophony · Mar 3, 2012

Damn. I was actually intrigued by 'shorta'. Sounded a lot like 'short of'. I might have to steal that.

MJWare · Mar 3, 2012

Cacophony said:
Damn. I was actually intrigued by 'shorta'. Sounded a lot like 'short of'. I might have to steal that.

I guess you could do it with most any two-word combo that ends with of, but shorta seems pretty natural, "I'm running sorta excuses for not finishing my novel."

blacbird · Mar 3, 2012

As a reader, even as a young reader (by remembrance only), I'd prefer not to use those, outside of dialogue. They don't really do much for your narration. The difference between "shoulda" and "should have" is that you'll notice the first, and read right on by the second. Reading right on by stuff is what you want the reader to do, most of the time, because that's what makes the reading experience of a story flow.

caw

ShadowyEclipse · Mar 3, 2012

Depends who it is.

I'm pretty sure some Yale graduate that swears smoking purple jackets and smokes from a little fancy pipe wouldn't go saying "I oughta getta outa here."

But, I could perfectly imagine someone from the south, or someone that talks with a lot of slang, as said above, "Y'all oughta getta outa here!"

Polenth · Mar 3, 2012

I've used words like that in first person narration. It's one of those things people are okay about and some people hate. Do make sure the dialect is consistent though... if it's not your own dialect, it's easy to slip without noticing.

little_e · Mar 3, 2012

ShadowyEclipse said:
Depends who it is.

I'm pretty sure some Yale graduate that swears smoking purple jackets and smokes from a little fancy pipe wouldn't go saying "I oughta getta outa here."

But, I could perfectly imagine someone from the south, or someone that talks with a lot of slang, as said above, "Y'all oughta getta outa here!"

Many Yale grads come from the south, actually.

I used to know an Asian fellow from Oklahoma who spoke in urban ghetto slang and graduated from Harvard. No purple jacket, though.

But as for the OP's question, I suspect that gotta, oughta, and the like won't add as much as they detract, at least from non-dialogue portions. I would use them sparingly.

Federator · Mar 3, 2012

Well i think it would be acceptable in dialouge at least, but maybe you could use words like i needed to or i had to instead when not in dialouge. But if its how the person the person would write and thats how thier vulcabulary worked than i would find that ok as well.

blacbird · Mar 3, 2012

little_e said:
Many Yale grads come from the south, actually.

Yup. Like George W. Bush, two-time President of the United States.

And famed for his ability to fracture the English language.

caw

Federator · Mar 4, 2012

He he he

Bufty · Mar 4, 2012

These words are acceptable in dialogue but I think it would get a tad tedious if they were used all through the narrative.

BethS · Mar 4, 2012

If this is first-person POV, then you can use whatever colloquialisms suit the voice of the character.

Bufty · Mar 4, 2012

But keep in mind the reader is reading, not listening.

BethS said:
If this is first-person POV, then you can use whatever colloquialisms suit the voice of the character.

Brigid Barry · Mar 4, 2012

mware01 said:
I'm working on a YA, first-person manuscript and I keep using 'gotta'.
Now, I know even if I keep it, I'll need to go back and cut most of them out. But I'm wondering if I should even use it at all?

I occasionally use 'sorta', and 'oughta' (in dialog), but 'gotta' just seems to be pushing it, especially when it's not in dialog.

I'm guessing this is just a matter of style? Or, even in YA, is it considered bad form?

Oh, and I did search the forums before asking; really thought someone would have asked this before.

In my personal and unprofessional opinion, first person is basically an interior monologue. So if someone uses "gotta" and "oughtta" in speach they are going to think the way they speak. On a SYW post regarding voice, someone mentioned that less can be more when using speech patterns. If you wrote the narrative with "have to" instead of "gotta" and then used "gotta" in dialogue the readers would get the point.

WCS, you do it the way you want to do it and you have to edit it later. I wonder if an agent reading your MS would see "gotta" in the narrative would think you were illiterate instead of seeing it as voice.

BethS · Mar 4, 2012

Bufty said:
But keep in mind the reader is reading, not listening.

Well, yes and no. Don't you hear the words when you read them?

However, it's probably best if dialect and phonetically spelled words are used sparingly. They should be treated as spice, not rice.

Jamesaritchie · Mar 4, 2012

You shouldn't overdo anything, but there's nothing at all wrong with using such words in first person. If it matches the character's voice, use them.

Stijn Hommes · Mar 4, 2012

You can use that in dialog. Just stay away from miscreants like "should of" or you might give more people bad ideas.

Federator · Mar 5, 2012

I agree, should of doesn't really look right to me.

The Seanchai · Mar 5, 2012

I personally make certain to avoid those, especially outside of dialogue, as a writer. As a reader, I would not want to read a book that contain those. Again that goes for outside of dialogue, inside dialogue I think would be okay.

This probably comes from the fact that I despise misspellings and they tend to pull me out of a story pretty quick. And while that word isn't misspelled, it's not actually a word--it's a combinatin of two words yet not a contraction. I'd rather see the two words, personally.

Using Gotta and Oughta in first person

MJWare

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Libbie

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MJWare

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SaronaNalia

jaksen

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Cacophony

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MJWare

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blacbird

ShadowyEclipse

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Polenth

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little_e

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Federator

14 and writing.

blacbird

Federator

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Bufty

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BethS

Bufty

Where have the last ten years gone?

Brigid Barry

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BethS

Jamesaritchie

Stijn Hommes

Know what you write...

Federator

14 and writing.

The Seanchai