Last year, I took part in the National Novel Writing Month and successfully passed the 50,000 word mark. Since then, my poor novel has languished on a cd in desperate need of rewriting, editing and revising. And, there it would have stayed if I hadn't injured my hand at the end of October which made participating in this years NaNoWriMo impossible. However, I decided that I may as well put this month to good use, and make a start on the rewriting etc.

So far, it's going pretty well. This is the longest piece of work I have ever written, let alone edited, but I'm making some progress, and quite enjoying the process. Well, except for one thing.

Dialogue. Or, more specifically, the dialogue of one particular character. This character is supposed to originate in the East End area of London, but, for some reason, I am finding it almost impossible to reflect that in his speech. Instead, he comes across more like a character from a 1950s, British, cops and robbers caper. You know the kind of thing, they always featured frightfully posh, RADA trained ac-tors doing, what they though was, a great rendition of a working class acccent.

"Cor blimey, guvnor, it's a fair cop"

That's just not right. Instead of a Ray Winstone soundee-likee, I've got Winston Churchill doing a bad impersonation of a cockney. That's not going to work is it?