Writing help

Writing Uneducated Characters and Illiterate Worlds

The first thing to establish is that illiterate (and/or uneducated) does not equal unintelligent:
A lack of literacy and (what we would consider) proper education certainly does effect a person, but that effect depends greatly on whether the world is set up to accommodate for illiterate people. As I'm not a historian by any means, this is very much a non-comprehensiveness guide, but it should give you some ideas on how to handle illiteracy in:
• A moderately illiterate world.
• A fully illiterate world.
• A primarily literate world.

An illiterate person in a moderately illiterate world:
• Announcements are read aloud in the streets. There's likely a central place in town in which declaration, meetings, and other noteworthy things happen, and gossip spreads like wildfire.

• Religious texts are read aloud by those who studied them. This means the whole religious body likely gathers together on a regular schedule for the readings. This also allows for those within the higher levels of the religion to manipulate what the people believe by reading only what they wish or translated in a the way that benefits them.

• Stories are told orally, in taverns or through plays. Many literary works are designs specifically to be spoken or sung out loud, such as with ballads.

• Systems for transferring messages are set in place. This may be done by having a literate person transcribe the message, or having verbal messages left with specific people.

• Most people still have the able to write their own names and can identify words necessary for their daily lives. Some may be able to read to a limited extent.

• Trades are taught in place of a broader education. This likely happens from a young age, producing workers with a mastery in a useful skill the town or city needs to survive.

• Literacy is valued as a trade of its own.

• Within the illiterate population, logic is based heavily on "street smarts" and discourse is centered around daily life, legends, and gossip.

• Most illiterate people still have a relatively thorough understanding of their immediate world, unless the information they receive is being manipulated or they're in an isolated region.

• Literate people have far more control than illiterate people because they can manipulate what information is given to the illiterate population, as well as determine what academic and theological information is passed down to future generations.

An illiterate person in a world where the written word is never used:
• Oral stories are the foundation of the culture.

• Memory likely increases as each generation is required to learn, remember, and pass on all information.

• Other forms of communication may arise, including basic symbols.

• Daily life is not hindered because the society is constructed to accommodate for illiteracy.

• Advances in academic areas are limited to what an individual can remember and pass on to future generations.

An illiterate person in a literate world:
The effects of illiteracy can be detrimental in a world where literacy is the norm.