My feelings exactly on the Amish books. I've never known any Amish people personally, but I know a lot of Mennonites, and all I can say is - if you haven't lived it, don't write about it. No matter how much research you do, it's going to seem stilted and fakey. Throwing a few Pennsylvania Dutch words in the dialogue does not equal authenticity.
It would be like my deciding to write a soap opera story about a group of nuclear scientists in Chernobyl. It just wouldn't work.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2008-11-03 05:34 pm (UTC)My feelings exactly on the Amish books. I've never known any Amish people personally, but I know a lot of Mennonites, and all I can say is - if you haven't lived it, don't write about it. No matter how much research you do, it's going to seem stilted and fakey. Throwing a few Pennsylvania Dutch words in the dialogue does not equal authenticity.
It would be like my deciding to write a
soap operastory about a group of nuclear scientists in Chernobyl. It just wouldn't work.