Writing convincing English

[MalignD at aol.com]

<< From last Saturday's Telegraph (sorry to take so long to post) an article 
about the difficulties english speaking writers from either side of the 
Atlantic have in creating convincing dialogue from the other side: >>

English slang and insult is far richer than American, part of the reason 
Monty Python and Harold Pinter are such fun to read.  American insult is usually 
either sexual, scatological, or anatomical.  British slang is all that plus 
verbally inventive, zoological, punning ... just much more inventive.

I read Martin Amis's Night Train some while ago and don't remember having 
problems with bad Americanisms, but I read it quickly (it's short); I might feel 
differently were I reading it with the topic to hand in mind.