Scott Oldford Site

Tag: writing in english

  • 5 Easy Ways to Fight Writer’s Block in Your Second Language

    5 Easy Ways to Fight Writer’s Block in Your Second Language

    Writer’s block afflicts all great writers.

    Suddenly the words just won’t come out and you’re stuck sitting in front of your notebook or computer screen full of frustration.

    There are plenty of great articles out there with general tips about how to beat writer’s block. Now think about writing not just in your first language, but your second (third or fourth).

    What do you do then? How can you get the words to form in your non-native language?

    The tricks for this type of writer’s block involve reorienting your brain to think outside the box of your mother tongue. Try these five steps to fight writer’s block in your second language:

    1. Sing along to a song

    Try listening to your favorite song in that elusive language and singing along by heart or by looking at the lyrics. Beyond the fact that singing (and dancing) are proven strategies to boost your mood, your brain will thank you too for a reminder that whatever language you are frustrated to write in can be fun!

    According to Benny Lewis of Fluent in 3 Months, singing in another language has been shown to expand vocabulary, review slang and help with an accent when speaking.

    Now, consider how it can help motivate your writing too.

    2. Translate (and cook) a recipe

    Kill two birds with one stone — hunger and writer’s block.

    Try cooking a recipe written in your second language, maybe even one that stems from the culture. As you read and translate the recipe instructions, you will be forced to think and analyze your second language.

    Grab your computer or dictionary to look up words you don’t know and keep it close as you continue with the writing process.

    Next, as you eat that delicious meal, get yourself in the mood to produce the language in your writing.

    3. Write a journal entry

    Start with what you can definitely write about: your own day.

    Begin with basic sentences that simply chronicle your day or the day before. No need to add fancy transitions. Just focus on getting the words down and crafting cohesive sentences.

    If you’re still feeling stuck, start to elaborate on each activity with more and more detail. Test yourself with how much vocabulary and wordplay you can use to describe even the most boring activity.

    You never know, your next journal entry could turn into a masterful personal essay of its own.

    4. Brainstorm an outline

    Now it’s time to focus on your writing task. Maybe it’s an academic paper, cover letter or a bigger project, like a novel.

    Try first to break it down to a simple list and start generating that relevant vocabulary. This is a great opportunity to also use references from books, the internet or other sources to start you on the right path with phrases or terminology that is specific to whatever you want to write. Don’t forget to cite your sources!

    Next, organize the list into an outline that can quickly transform into a fluid piece of writing. Then just like with your journal, begin to expand and elaborate on each to create cohesive paragraphs.

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    5. Convince yourself with confidence

    The worst thing you can do is to deflate your own ability to speak your second language.

    Writer’s block is natural and is not a reflection of your mastery of whatever language you are attempting to write in. Think instead about all of the years you have studied this language and things you have written in the past to get to this point.

    You can do this! Pretend you are a native speaker and get the words down on paper. You can always spend some quality time editing later.

    What are your strategies to beat writer’s block in a foreign language?

  • 5 Tools for Improving Your Second-Language Writing Skills

    5 Tools for Improving Your Second-Language Writing Skills

    How do you start writing in a foreign language? Swear off writing in your own.

    At least that’s what I did when a teacher — not the inspiring kind — decimated my love for both reading and writing in my last year of high school.

    I grew up in USSR, the country best known in 1980s as both the “Evil Empire” and as the nation where Moscow’s subway often featured more readers than Lenin’s library.

    I was no exception. By the age of 16 I read most of my parents’ 600-book strong library, I dabbled in poetry writing, and I had penned a few short stories. I didn’t think of writing as my profession, but I didn’t discount it either.

    Until Svetlana Vassilievna, my Russian language and literature teacher, decided to embarrass me.

    Who needs literature?

    We called her Baba Yaga — after a Russian fairytale character who kidnapped children and threatened to eat them — for good reason. In class she tolerated no opposing arguments, discouraged creativity, and berated every mistake we made. During recess she preyed on us looking for transgressions of uniform, behavior, or both.

    When one day she overheard me say that I wouldn’t need Russian literature in the university I was applying to, she decided to teach me a lesson. She began failing me.

    After my mother, horrified at the prospect of an F on my school transcript, intervened, Svetlana Vassilievna offered a makeup opportunity. She had me stand up in front of the entire class, glared at me through her large, round glasses, and for fifteen minutes quizzed me about class struggle themes in Dostoevski, Tolstoi, and Mayakovski.

    I wanted to die.

    A change of perspective

    When I came home that day I burned all my short stories, ripped up my poems, and decided there would be no more reading — or writing — for me.

    Then I moved to the United States and had to include an elective in my pre-med curriculum. Creative writing was the only course I could fit into my schedule.

    During the first few classes, I sat there perplexed: Not only did my fellow students engage in open discussions with the professor, speak their minds, and ask questions, but the teacher also gave actual instructions on the craft of writing. At the end of that semester I wrote a paper on Mrs. Dalloway and Taoism. I got a B+.

    I was hooked.

    Since then, writing — but only English writing — has accompanied me through my master’s degree and several careers in non-writing fields.

    In my free time I translated Russian poetry into English and wrote short stories.

    When I moved abroad and couldn’t find a job, I began writing full-time. The result? A debut novel, several personal essays in national outlets, a screenplay, and a finished pilot.

    I never went back to writing in Russian and although I still make mistakes common to non-native English speakers — “a” and “the” continue to elude me — I now write in English full time.

    The following have been, and continue to be, invaluable in my journey as a writer in a foreign language:

    1. An active community of writers

    Ever since I began writing I’ve made sure, wherever I’ve lived, to get together with people writing in English on a weekly basis.

    Not only do these groups guarantee a constant creative atmosphere; they also offer a continuous stream of writing samples I can read, provide input on, and learn from.

    There’s also the added bonus of making friendships, but you probably already knew that.

    2. Writing workshops and retreats

    If you can afford it, take one. Most likely it’ll be the best several days you’ll ever spend. You’ll learn from some great writers, have a chance to hear what they think of your work, and make new contacts in the writing world.

    3. An aversion to cliches

    If you hail from another country and have been speaking another language for most of your adult life, chances are you are not aware of cliches in English.

    My first stories were littered with them. I couldn’t figure out how to recognize which phrase made a cliche and which one didn’t.

    After struggling for a few years, I decided that the best way to avoid those pests would be to come up with a different turn of phrase for every potential cliche.

    4. Active reading

    I read my favorite essays and stories with a pen in hand. Whenever I see a word I don’t know or a sentence structure that mesmerizes me, I record it. Then, either while walking or waiting for a bus or exercising, I practice making sentences with it in my head. Next time I write something I often discover that word or that structure has somehow made it into my narrative.

    5. A dictionary and a thesaurus

    There are moments when I’d be writing and suddenly instead of an English word my brain would produce a Russian word.

    If after a few minutes of concentration I still cannot remember the English word I want, I open a dictionary (or go to Google translate) and look up the translation of that Russian word.

    Then I check the thesaurus for the synonym that feels right.

    And finally? Don’t wait for something inspiring — or someone inspiring — in your life to give you a push. It may just be the opposite that does the trick.

    Are you fluent in several languages? Which do you prefer for writing?