Do You Speak Your Genre?

Every genre comes with its own kind of specifications.

Science Fiction is based in the future, Fantasy is based on made-up worlds, Historical Fiction is based on (you guessed it) history, and so on. But most genres also have their own slang and usage to go along with their characters, setting, and plot.

For example, say you pick up a Fantasy book. It saves writing and the reader's time if you just assume the person holding the book understands what it means to scry, or what a mage is, and there are often four elementals.

In Science Fiction, using terms like hyperspace, intergalactic, interstellar, star system, and so on is among the everyday. Starship? Let's get the jump drives fired up, Captain!

And there's the more specialized slang, one of the main ones I can think of being the slew of gaming terms, particularly 1337: j00 KN0W wH@ i m34n?*

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Plus, some books are written in tweets and IM and email. In thos cases its eesy to rn into speleing errors and abbrs., wich can b hard 2 read, after a while.

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It isn't necessary to use those kinds of terms, of course; I've read several books that used little slang, and pulled it off just fine. However--especially with SF/F and other books set in other worlds--it seems almost inevitable you're going to be using some kind of genre-specific language.

It can go the other way, too. Some books I've read just use word after word after word that I would have to sit around and stare at for a while to get their meaning. Sometimes it's fun to decipher a lot of leetspeak, or puzzle through BRB and LOL and TTYL, but if I just want to sit back, relax, and read, they can get on the nerves.

What about you? Do you use slang, and words with their own specific usage, in your writing? If so, what kind? Do you like it when authors use slang, or does it just get in the way?

*Okay, I cheated. I used this 1337 Translator. I'm not a gamer.

-----The Golden Eagle