I can tell you now, from my own experience, that the statement is true. I have read somewhere, years ago, that people express themselves with far more clarity in a foreign language, because they have to search more consciously for their words. 200,000 words later, I can’t say that I find it straining anymore. I believe that writing in my maternal language would be just as hard/easy (it is all a matter of perspective, isn’t it?) Of course, it was difficult in the beginning, I really had trouble with the phrasing, but approx.
I should probably mention at this point that English is a foreign language to me,īut if you would ask me now if I find it hard to write in English, I would say no. I often find that the words on the computer screen don’t do justice to the Idea as I saw it with my mind’s eyes, and I find that incredibly frustrating. I encounter this difficulty most often when I am confronted with descriptions, landscapes, interiors, dress or countenance. I sometimes find it difficult to choose the perfect words in order to convey an idea I have in my mind.Īt times, I feel that the words I have written don’t accurately express the idea I had formulated in my head. My character was so strong and came to be so alive in my mind, that she actually did things her way, in the end. However, this only made me happier with the final result. I had invested certain qualities and features in her, and at some point in the story, she began doing whatever she wanted and not what suited me. First of all, my leading character ended up in a totally different place than what I had expected as I began to write the book, and second, she did something which I didn’t entirely approve of. The greatest surprise was the ending of my novel. Not once had I looked at the computer in front of me after committing something to paper and wondered ‘Where did that come from?’ I often try no to be over-conscious about my writing and let my unconscious do the job, too, with very surprising results. I find writing a very rewarding experience and sometimes I manage to enter that state when I am ‘on a row’ and the ideas keep flowing. During vacations, I write 4-6 hours per day, but when I have to work, I am only able to write on week-end for a few hours. When do I write? Being a doctor, my schedule is quite chaotic.
However, that isn’t really an option any more since I became pregnant, so minor adjustments have had to be made. I love to write on the huge couch in my living room, with my computer in my lap, reclining my back on the multitude of soft pillows.
0 kommentar(er)
