yoni1

On 7/28/2017 at 6:36 PM, Sheity Williams said:

Hello there! I know I'm late, but here's another non-native who writes in English. I had to say something in here, because I know the struggles you're going through. Until I came here, I actually thought there were very few people who did this thing, but I am incredibly grateful to know it's not true. 

Allow me to tell you a bit about my personal experience.

I have a deep love for English. Almost to the obsessive point xD. I no longer watch TV or movies in my native language (I don't go to the cinema unless I can watch the movie in English). Same with books. I even manage to speak English sometimes with my friends even if they're also non-natives. The point is my free time is spent entirely around English, so you can say I'm quite committed to writing in English as well. I've been learning English for nine long years. Nine. Ever since I started in school and until today. I've never gone abroad. I don't have any bilingual family members. I don't have any kind of special talent or something to make me special. But I still write in English. No hesitation.

The last four of those nine years, I've spent writing in English and extensively improving it, so let me give you the first piece of advice, the first secret: it's exhausting and very discouraging. Why? Here's some examples:

- You see ads and posters announcing a writer workshop near where you live, but it's not in English. Sure, maybe you can still gain some knowledge to use if they're talking about character development, for example, but it's... not quite the same. I have gone to several workshops, and believe me when I tell you it's not the same. 

- You hear about a contest in your town or province (or whatever similar), for fiction novels. You want to participate but oh... you can't, because you aren't a native writer. 

- Sending your manuscript to publishers in your country is out of the question, because they're not going to even regard a story written in other language, even if they have contact with English publishers. 

- You can't hire or consult with any editors or professionals in your country, because they don't work with English, and even if they do, it's still not quite the same. 

- If you find a native English speaking editor, they're probably not in your country, so meetings can be quite tricky and annoying if they have to be done through Skype. 

- Sending your manuscripts abroad can be quite expensive, not always, but sometimes I haven't been able to efford an entry to a contest. I haven't tried with publishers yet, so I can't speak for that. 

- And probably more cons I am forgetting about right now xD.

So after all this... why do I keep writing in English? It's been four long years, I'm not about to give up at this point xD. I've put so much effort into making my writing better each day. It's hard to know if you're succeeding, simply because few people around you can read and critique you (and with critique I mean long and extensive ones). The internet helps with this, true, but I will repeat myself, it's not the same, and even then it's rare to find someone you can trust 250%. However, you can still find some help through forums and whatnot. 

This thing we do, writing in English as non-natives, is incredibly hard. To crack 1000 words we need a lot more time than a native needs. But it's okay. You're learning, you're practicing, that's the whole point. I can tell you without a hint of a doubt that it gets better, but you need to put a lot of effort into it, otherwise, you don't improve. If I compare my writing to the one I did a couple of years ago, there is a huge difference. I write a lot faster than I used to, and a lot better. Since last year, it's starting to come more natural, without the need for any translations. I still use the dictionary, but I'm starting to use it less and for synonyms rather than translations. 

You don't need to move abroad. You don't need special classes. If you surround yourself with English, if you practice, improvement comes. If you don't, then maybe you do need classes or moving abroad. I've needed years of practice to get where I am, but if you're committed to the cause, if you're passionate, you won't mind. I certainly don't. 

I'd say that you have to ask yourself an important question: is it worth it? Are you willing to spend years practicing? If you are, it comes with important rewards. Publishing in English is always better than any other language, you will reach a wider audience, no matter if you self-publish or not. In the end, that's what we, authors, want, to reach as many people as possible so they can experience the same journey we did while writing. Personally, I've experienced this first hand. I have translated into my native language some of my English short stories. The English versions ALWAYS got more comments and views than the Spanish ones. 

I know this got too long xD. The point I was trying to make is: you can improve at writing in English, no doubt about it, but you need time and MASSIVE amounts of reading in English. Once you've gotten used to it, it gets easier and rewarding. 

If I've done it, anyone can. Go for it!

I actually thought everyone forgot about this post, 
I have to thank you for the encouragement,

since I feel the same about it as you do, even if I would write only to myself, that's enough for me. and i have seen a lot of improvement in my writing, and I think that I could get to a native's level in a few years, and that's my plan (together with building my daily career to support my writing). 

And again, thank you for the encouragement.

5 minutes ago, Sera said:

I also forgot about this thread (I kinda dropped from the edge of the world actually), sorry for the late reply.

Your Paulo Coelho mention brought a smile to my lips, since he's from my country. Is it possible to start in your own language and become an international success later? Surely! The issue is how unlikely it can be. Paulo Coelho was already big here, years upon years of writing. Then he got translated, and it worked, and the fact he got published in US fed into his national fame which fed into his international fame as well, if it's even possible. Hehas a seat at the Brazilian Academy of Letters, the biggest honour bestowed upon a Brazilian writer. Yet he went bigger! He took risks!

His career is exceptional. It shows you can get translated later and make it work. But it's exceptional. You won't find anyone else from my country experiencing nearly the same success. Even the moderately successful in the national market don't take off the way he did, they just remain moderately successful. To achieve something similar you'll need time, the right marketing strategies, a great book, and a dash of luck. In Coelho's case, going international had a great impact on his career.

4

my country also has a lot of moderately successful writers, that they, as you said, only famous in the country and outside are unknown. but, I think that a sort of "new age" of publishing is coming. thru self-publishing in E-books platforms such as kindle. what I liked about Kindle, that it promotes everyone without exception. which will help beginner authors. my strategy would be, to raise some money from my day job, get a good freelance editor, a good freelance translator and pay someone to design an ebook cover, and promote my books by offering short stories for- either free or at 1 buck. and slowly, as I believe, I could achieve at least a decent fan base, and if I'm any good at it, the sales will rise even higher. 

Is there anyone here who is a college or university student and also is writing? 

Because I have just started as a student, and I would like to know any suggestions on how should I plan my day. 

for example, are you writing in the morning (just before the class starts?) or at evening (after classes and after you finished the assigned homework?) 

I would be happy to get a few suggestion from experienced students.

On 7/7/2016 at 9:01 AM, Elenion said:

There are powerful arguments for both sides, but I think that if you want a career in professional writing then you will need to use English. That being said, I would suggest storybuilding and drafting in your native language, because your ideas will flow more naturally when your mind can express them in a familiar way. When it comes to dialogue, I prefer to base it off of what actual people in my life would say. Since it doesn't sound like you live near an abundance of English speakers, use the internet to ask people what they would say in certain situations. Maybe even make it into a role-playing thing: "Your father has just revealed to you that he can move objects with his mind. What do you say to convince him to help you cheat on your physics practical exam?" Find some people whose natural voices fit your characters, then use their words.

 

before I start, this is my new account since my old one is bugged and it doesn't let me log in. 

I see what you suggest here, and I had a similar thought about it, but what I want is a single language to write in, I don't want to get confused and or put any more pressure and to make the whole experience of writing more frustrating. so in the last few weeks, I had a conversation with some family members about this dilemma, and after a few hours of thinking I decided to try this plan: 

the first decision is to start to write in my native language, (the funny thing that I found is that I was so used to writing in English that my native language felt un-natural for the first few days. but it gets easier fast). - the idea about this decision is to finish a book and compare it to the story I wrote in English and see if I'm evenly good in both of these or the opposite. the other idea is that if I'm actually good at what i do, I would be recognized.

the second decision is to hire a freelance editor, and after that, i would get it translated into English and then publish it on kindle.

the idea behind this decision is the fact that writing is supposed to be enjoyable, a thing that I do after returning home from my day job. it's not supposed to feel as another job. 

in summary, I want to let some time to pass as I write in my native language, and that's how I would really see what is more comfortable for me, whether it would be English or my native one. 

I will update this message when I'll finish a story in my native language, and I guess that we would see what happens next. 

thanks for the help guys.