Author's note. So far the response has been good, remember this is just a bit of fun that hopefully does help some authors.

Suggestions are very welcome.

Hermione is in normal text, any input by Ron is in bold.

Enjoy and please review.

2. Another issue that seems to crop up is the fact that while we and the books are set in Britain, that's including England, Wales and Scotland. Remember, Britain is not just England, it includes two other countries. Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom along with the other three, it may strange to those outside but it makes sense to us. Anyway, as I was saying, while we are located in Britain, a lot of readers and writers of fan fiction are American.

Now, I have never been to American but I've read enough about it to know that the United States does have quite a different culture.

Yeah, they call biscuits cookies, can you believe it?

Thank you Ron. Yes, this is actually one of the things we are talking about. Some American words for British items seem strange to us. Like I've never understood why you would want to call a courgette a zucchini. Of course, it is your culture and you are going to use it as a reference but as Harry is based in Britain, it becomes very clear who is a British writer and who is an American writer.

Ron and I have compiled a little list of things to avoid if you want to sound like Harry and other characters are in Britain. The first thing relates to spelling, something you may or may not know about.

If writing as a Brit, you should always spell color as colour. Humor is humour, flavor is flavour and so on. If you spell something that ends in or it probably is ends our in Britain.

There is also ize, which is ends quite a few American words as well like realize. This should be spelled as realise, we do not use z on the same scale as our American counterparts. So again, if you've got a word which ends with ize, it should be ise except in the case of seize.

This may seem silly but honestly, any Brit who spots the word color instantly knows the work isn't by a British author.

I thought they hadn't bothered to check their spelling.

Well, I always sort of knew but that's only because I'd read a few American books when I was young...anyway, let's talk about words now. Here in Britain, we have several words that you either spell differently or have a completely different word altogether.

Like you guys say mom instead of mum.

Exactly Ron. There is also diaper instead of nappy.

Restroom instead of toilet or loo. I still don't get why you'd call them restroom...

Artifact instead of artefact.

Ax instead of axe.

Booger instead of bogey.

Bum instead of tramp.

Candy instead of sweets

Chips instead of crisps.

Check instead of cheque.

Cookies instead of biscuits.

You've already said that. I know, I thought I'd say it again.

Cozy instead of cosy.

Dollars instead of pounds. We also don't use Euros over here, that's only in certain European countries.

Elementary school instead of Primary school. Also, here in Britain, we go straight to High school after Primary, there is no Middle school.

Gray instead of grey.

Fall instead of autumn.

Fries instead of chips.

Jello instead of jelly.

Mold instead of mould.

Omelet instead of omelette.

Phony instead of phoney.

Pimply instead of spotty. I still don't get this one.

Pounds instead of kilograms or stones.

Semester instead of term.

Snickers instead of trainers.

Story instead of storey. We use storey as a way to say a building's level and to distinguish between a literary works.

Sweater instead of jumper. Jumpers are not dresses, they are woolly sweaters.

Trashcan instead of rubbish bin.

Tire instead of tyre.

Also, one of your slang word for homosexual is fag but over here, fag means a cigarette. Just so you don't get upset or confused if you see the word fag in a British story.

I believe that is most of them, now onto some words that are a dead giveaway for non British.

Meatloaf and potroast are not dishes we generally have. Also, it is quite rare to have pancakes for breakfast, they tend to be reserved for special occasions. Bacon is something that someone who loves fry ups on a regular basis so avoid that and fried eggs. Half boiled eggs with a runny yolk to dip toast soldiers are okay although they are associated with children.

We tend to have cereal, toast or porridge for breakfast so these are safe options for you. If you do want to include a fry up as a breakfast, we have fried tomatoes, fired mushrooms, potato scones, French toast, fried egg and some bacon. Not stripy or bacon cooked so much you could snap it in half. Just gently cooked bacon.

And while we can get blueberries in this country, mentioning them instantly reveals you to be...not British. It just isn't a common fruit over here so if you start going on about blueberry flavoured something like syrup, we know you're not British. Also, remember that Thanksgiving is not a British holiday so do not use it unless you've got an American character.

Other give aways include frequent mentions of doughnuts, coffee, white washed fences, StarBucks, mountain dew, rootbeer, milk (for kids), going to park, talking about frats. Jocks, cheerleaders, red necks, hill Billies. Also, there is no such thing as a prep, frankly I've no idea what this is.

Urgh, I hate that stupid My Immortal.

Everyone does Ron, everyone was I? Oh yes, here are some animals that we do not have. Gators, racoons, possums, wild tortoises and fresh water turtles.

Is there anything I've forgotten Ron?

Yep, probably the biggest giveaway, even bigger than color and blueberries.

Oh yes, I think I know what you're talking about. This is a real issue for any Brits, I'm afraid it bugs the hell out of us. J.K Rowling, the Muggle author of these books is said to have regretted this a lot.

You guessed it, it's changing the first book's title from Philosopher's Stone to Sorcerer's Stone. I've never understood this, Hermione has never understood this and Harry definitely hasn't. I mean, the Philosopher's Stone does exist in Muggle history and myth, why would you make up a stupid, dumber down name for it?

Apparently, American publishers thought that American children would not be able to cope with the name, which I've always thought is really insulting. And it doesn't make sense as Ron said, it's a pre-existing mythical object. Sorcerer's just sounds so general, like it could apply to any sort of stone which had magical powers.

Those publishers were probably like Percy (at his worst) or something. Or maybe they actually met Goyle and thought he represented America, something stupid like that.

Who knows, Ron. But if you want to stick to the original and frankly proper title of the first Harry Potter book, it's Philosopher's Stone. Once again, both Ron and I hope this has been helpful and educational for you, please leave a review if you have any suggestions or comments.

Thank you.

Author's note. Well, as it says above, I hope that was helpful. Until next time.