As a native of North Carolina and someone who has spent all of her 30+ years living in the southern United States, I often have beef with how the American South is depicted in books and movies.

While, yes, there are some (hilarious) accuracies depicted in media, with excellent examples being The Help by Kathryn Stockett and A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks, I’ve found that the majority of media often pokes fun at a few cliches about the South that, for the most part, I haven’t found to be true of the culture at all.

So, buckle up, y’all. Let’s go off-roading into what books and movies often portray incorrectly about the South and how you can avoid these cliches in your writing.

Inaccuracy 1 | “Howdy, Howdy, Howdy”

Outside of Texas (and I can’t even speak for people who live in Texas, because I’ve never been), most southerners from other states don’t walk around saying “howdy” all the time as a greeting. If we do, most of the time we’re trying to be funny when we say it. 🙂

So, if you’re writing southern characters who are from other states, like North Carolina, Georgia, or Alabama, this may not accurately portray the specific accents or phrases native to their neck of the woods. This also goes for words/phrases native to Appalachia that are not as prevalent in the coastal regions of southern states, and vice versa. If you would like to hone in on a certain area’s way of speaking, there may be resources available online that provide words or phrases used in specific regions.

Inaccuracy 2 | Cousins Are More Than Cousins

Honestly, this one makes me sick to my stomach (AS IT SHOULD!). While yes, there are some people in the South who end up having a thing for their cousins, and I know at least one person who fits this mold (though it wasn’t their first cousin, thank God!), I want y’all to hear me when I tell you that people dating/marrying their cousins down here is far from the norm.

From what I’ve noticed within my hometown and surrounding areas, because our communities are so small, people usually dive deep into their family trees before dating someone by asking their parents/grandparents who all they’re kin to or even going so far as to go on genealogy websites, just in case. In fact, I remember a couple times growing up when boys liked me or my sister and when they found out we were distantly related, the flirting came to a complete standstill. XD For this reason, a lot of people I went to school with ended up marrying people who did not grow up in our area, and the ones who did marry their high school sweethearts did their due diligence in scoping out their family trees.

Instead of focusing on this cliche when writing southern characters, instead emphasize that it’s hard for your characters to find someone to date, since they are kin to half the town and therefore have limited options.

Inaccuracy 3 | Everyone Down Here is a Redneck and Behaves Accordingly

Um, no. For the most part, no.

While yes, there are a ton of rednecks in the American South, as documented heavily within books, movies, Reels, and TikTok videos, not every southerner dabbles in the drug scene, gets married in the local Waffle House, or names their dog Marlboro.

There are some people like this. Again, I’m not denying it. You don’t grow up in the country without seeing some crazy things like beaver nuggets or knowing someone who made a pool using a tarp in their truck bed. XD But, most of the people I know are your normal, run-of-the-mill folk that you can find anywhere across the nation. A lot of households include couples who have a mix of blue-collar and white-collar jobs. Some of us read for fun. The majority pursue college education, whether from the local community college or a four-year university. What I mean to say is, us southerners are nowhere near as “ignorant” as the media makes us out to be. We’re not country cavemen. 😉

When trying avoid this cliche in your writing, you could instead add a dash of redneck into your otherwise normal small southern town so it will be a more accurate representation of most real-life rural communities.

Inaccuracy 4 | Farm Life is the Only Life

Okay, so a lot of the South is made up of farmland. But, just like in the other parts of the United States that also have farmland, not everyone in the South farms. Many employers in the South are agricultural adjacent, but we still have a lot of other industries to work in. Those who live in rural areas may have to commute to larger towns for more job opportunities, but there are plenty of fields available outside of growing crops or raising livestock, such as working at manufacturing plants, in healthcare, or for the school system.

Like with including rednecks into your southern fiction, if you want to include farmers into your story, go for it! Just remember to include characters who work in other industries as well.

Talk to Me, Arrowheads!

What part of the world are you from? What are some things that books and movies often portray incorrectly about your neck of the woods? Let me know in the comments!

Aim high, stay strong, and always hit your mark.

-Allyson 😀