Hello Everyone!

As I said in the subject line, I am a writer who needs help!
I am from Kirkland, Washington which a suburb of Seattle and have never been to NYC. Anyways, I am writing a a contemporary fantasy book where the male protagonist is a 21 year old new yorker who moves to Seattle for a couple of reasons, long story. I didn't want to make him stereotypical so I've been trying to do some research to make his personality more authentic among other things and then I stumbled onto this website so I have decided to post and hopefully get some opinions because hey, who would be better to ask other than a new yorker or more?

I have many questions, like what personality traits are indicative of a new yorker? Because I have read in other threads, just because he's a new yorker he shouldn't be rude just because that's just the stereotype. Are there certain mannerisms he should have? Like since I've heard everybody walks in NYC would he walk so "fast" that other characters would have a hard time keeping up with him? Also what part of NYC should he hail from? I was automatically going to have him come from Manhattan, but I read in another thread that Manhattan is the "Disney" part of NYC and I imagine him more down to earth than that, so maybe he should be from Brooklyn or Queens... By the way, he's white and his last name (Fraser) is of Irish descent so hopefully that helps since NYC is so diverse!

So how can I make my character more authentic? Any comments and/or opinions is greatly appreciated!

Thanks for your time!
-Crimsyn

In my opinion the whole attempt at stereotyping New Yorkers on how they walk, talk, move, etc. doesn't hold much water. New Yorkers come in all types, flavors, looks, sizes... whatever. There may be certain lessons your character may have learned by living in New York but attempting to pin certain mannerisms or behaviors on him simply because he is from NY just doesn't feel right to me.

I'm sure others might disagree, but I'm a Native and really couldn't pinpoint specific mannerisms or behaviors that are typical of most NYers.

I agree with Mike in regards that New Yorkers are too diverse to stereotype. Breaking part of that stereotype has been the mission of AANYer since day one,specifically that we are unfriendly and too tightly wounded to help others. It's interesting how there is this universal take of our disposition. The following was in todays Post.
Blunt.


Don't worry, be mellow
Last Updated: 9:07 AM, June 1, 2010

Posted: 12:42 AM, June 1, 2010
Dan Aquilante
JACK JOHNSON

"To the Se

WE tightly wound, fast-walking, faster-talking New Yorkers might not immediately get the laid-back mellow melodies on Jack Johnson's latest, "To the Sea." On this, his fifth studio album, Johnson's happy hippie aesthetic finds inspiration in the simple life, requiring the listener to relax, take off his shoes and feel grass or sand underfoot.

Read more: [www.nypost.com]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/03/2010 05:39AM by askanewyorker.

Hello Crimsyn. Interesting use of a pseudonym.

I'm also a writer with writing issues, but you're in the spotlight so I'll offer my bit. It's hard for me to write what I don't know. I've never been to Seattle, and though writing about Seattle or a character from Seattle is entirely within my range, I would find it extremely hard to do so - because I would have no real relationship to it. I could research as much about Seattle as I could, but without some tangible experience in the place or through another person, I would doubt my ability to do it convincingly. I do know New York, and though I don't live there now, can easily summon details to my mind - the kind of details you just don't get from the millions of movies set there.

So I understand your dilemma.

To be frank: as much as stereotypes are roadblocks to get around (in terms of creating characters that could stand apart as real people), some surface stereotyping may not be a bad thing at all. In fact, it may make your story more marketable. Why? People identify with them - so making an Irish New Yorker (from Manhattan, Brooklyn or elsewhere) your central character gives you room to embrace that image throughout your narrative - maybe Mr. Fraser has a favorite Irish bar, or half a dozen, and New York is famously littered with them. And yes, New York is wondrously diverse and multi-ethnic - even if Irish is the character label you wish to make the most pronounced, maybe your character reflects that diversity by being multi-ethnic himself. Research the neighborhoods in the Boroughs, their histories, who lived there, what kind of jobs they had; despite what I've said about the reward of experience, solid research goes a long way. Also consider, that there are New Yorkers whose ancestries go back to the Dutch days of colonization in the 1600s, and there are New Yorkers whose ancestries go back to Immigration through Ellis Island in the early 1900s; and there are New Yorkers whose parents come from Boston or Virginia, and New Yorkers who have literally come from Ireland just a few years ago. So, within your Irish label, it looks like you can have a lot of fun fleshing out this New Yorker of yours.

My last point of advice at this moment: visit New York if you can. It will make a world of difference to your writing.

Also Crimsyn:

When I take friends to New York, they are warned ahead of time that I will be walking fast, with a long stride. I often become obnoxious to them, or at the least, intimidating - because of my annoyance at their snail-speed pace, and my New Yorker tendency to walk with a purpose. That comes from knowing the City. If you observe a Manhattan map, you will see that the distance between Avenues is greater than the distance between Streets; that is to say, there are only so many Avenues running up and down, and infinitely more streets running across the island. A New Yorker will walk fast while marching up an Avenue, because they know they have to cross so many Streets, and a New Yorker will walk fast while marching across any Street just to finally get to the next Avenue. If your story is set entirely in Seattle, this may have little meaning to you; but in my experience, it's why New Yorkers (in Manhattan specifically) walk so fast, because we know how far we have to go to get wherever we are going, and know that walking slower won't get us there on time.

Maybe your character has a reaction to how people walk in and around Seattle. Or he may be astounded at the difference between public transportation networks. Or maybe not at all.

Also, having this character be from Manhattan is not absurd - I have extended family who live in Manhattan, whose kids went to school and did their homework and played with their friends - in Manhattan. It's not inconceivable. In fact, since you're coming at it from an outsider's point of view, someone wanting to learn more about what New York is and who New Yorkers are, my advice would be (if possible) to make your character from Manhattan - since it will be the easiest to research, and since you no doubt have some idea about New York already, and that New York probably is Manhattan more than anywhere else, if I may be bold to say so.

Other questions, ask.