Amer-pick

Synonyms:	Ameripick, Beta
See also:	Brit-pick
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Ameripick or Amer-pick is the act of looking over a work of fanfiction to ensure that American characters and settings are accurately depicted, using correct language, spellings, slang and colloquialisms.

For instance, an English character might take his torch out to investigate the loud noise from the dustbins in the back garden; an American might take his flashlight out to investigate the loud noise from the garbage cans in the backyard.

British and other non-American fen writing stories set in or characters native to America (i.e. some segments of bandom, Supernatural, etc.) might put out a call for American friends to help them with a spot of Yank-wanking, in order to ensure the veracity of their characters' interactions, settings and speech.

See also: Brit-pick.

One Fan's Opinion

Speaking of dialogue, this is another barrier when reading English K/S. It seems to me that American fan writers make an effort to try to write dialogue with verisimilitude when they are working with English characters such as Bodie and Doyle. They may not always be successful, but they do try. English K/S writers don't make the slightest effort to write American dialogue for Kirk or McCoy. It isn't just a matter of English slang. American have different sentence structures and different rhythms of speech as well as the more obvious differences in vocabulary. I would suggest that English K/S writers watch the episodes and listen to how the characters really speak. I always check the dialogue in my own stories by closing my eyes, reciting it aloud and seeing if I can imagine Kirk or Spock saying that.