I’ve read a lot of R.A. Salvatore. Wulfgar, Drizzt, and Catti-brie, with their adventures across Icewind Dale. So when Audible had a bunch of short stories from the Drizzt series available for free, of course I grabbed them up. I’ve been listening my way through.

Some are interesting. Some are explanations of things from older books. A few only slightly connected.

In this particular story we find Drizzt and Catti-brie trying to capture or kill some pirates in order to pay their way onto a ship… or to at least prove themselves worthy of being aboard it.

What strikes me, listening to it, is the flow of the words, and seeing how language has changed over time. Newer fantasy might still give you that thick description of places, themes, and experiences. But Dowry isn’t just thick with description. It uses a style of writing that almost feels archaic compared to modern fantasy.

And that’s normal, of course. Language shifts over time. We no longer speak Old English. Even language from back in the 1950s would feel different from someone speaking today. We don’t say “rad” or “square” or half the old slang anymore. And slang of today is constantly shifting. (Who the hell knows what “6-7” means anyway?)

But for this particular story, it’s the wordage itself. It’s the way it flows, the structure of the language, the way each sentence is built. That’s what gives it the old-time feel.

This isn’t to say it’s bad. In fact, I’d argue that if you’re trying to write a story in that kind of setting, you’d want to lean on older style and slang in your prose to keep the feeling consistent across the board. But it’s also wise to keep in mind that the same style that builds atmosphere for one reader is the thing that bounces another one right out of the book. Choosing, and sticking to, a style that draws in the audience you’re looking for is an important part of creating your own voice in writing.

The opposite end of this is that modern slang tends to go out of popular circulation pretty quickly. Using too much of it might make your work look dated sooner. There is also the option to make your own slang, like Pern by Anne McCaffery using “shells” as a swear word since the whole world revolved around dragons.

The trick is to keep your reader in mind, and wright for that person. Because you can’t please everyone, but you can try to please the one person you’re writing for.