If it is a normal accent for the locale, then nobody in the story, at least natives, will hear an accent at all. Maybe make local concessions for vocabulary. Is the evening meal called "dinner," "supper," "tea" (I think that may be Australian), or what, in the regular speech of the characters? If one opens a bonnet, is it to prepare to kiss a girl or to fix an engine? Then there are idioms. (Can we use the word "pissed" on this forum? Would the character be angry or drunk?) I recall an old movie that took place on a ship. The steward in his British accent asked a young lady passenger, "What time would you like to be knocked up?"

Oh, and I like XK's idea of using dialect spelling to indicate that the charcter is incomprehensible to the listener in the story.

Quoting things in the original Klingon should be used sparingly.

As for "all y'all," some real Southerners use that as an intensive plural: "All y'all come" could mean not just to bring the immediate family, but bring along the whole neighborhood and distant cousins.

I think the most annoying accent to me is that of some folk from Ohio. They are nice people, but their speaking voice affects me like fingernails on a blackboard. No spelling of words would convey that.

If we know the character is a California teenage surfer dude, we know it's pronounced "dewd" -- It doesn't have to be spelled that way. If we know he's a Minnesota (or Canada or Wisconsinn or Michigan or North Dakota) snowboarder dude, we know it's "dood".

Well, no. I didn't know that.

I mean I can tell a Texan from a New Yorker but that's about it.

If the nuance is important for the story, it shouldn't be automatically implied based on local standard. Or I guess many "outsiders" would miss it and miss on the depht of the story.

Now of course, taking that in consideration and still have subtility and fluidity in the writing is the real challenge. ^^

I recall an old movie that took place on a ship. The steward in his British accent asked a young lady passenger, "What time would you like to be knocked up?"

 

Someone methinks had been watching 'Carry On Films'

Actually, the reason I asked the question is because I am working on something where a main character has an accent, but his

Actually, the reason I asked the question is because I am working on something where a main character has an accent, but his