Using 'English is not my first language' as an Excuse
Things I Cannot StandI know this can be a touchy topic for a lot of people, especially those who are not native English speakers. I personally was born, raised, and am currently living in America, so I consider myself fluent in English. As I do not have a particulalrly 'higher' education level in English (I'm in high school) my grammar structures may not be the best, as I may not have all the minuscule nuances and whatnot, but I do try.
Many writers on this site are not native English speakers, but write in English anyways. If you want to practice writing in English to improve yourself, good for you! You won't get better if you don't practice.
What I do have to complain about, though, is when people use it as an excuse for writing poorly.
I have read several fantastic fics by authors whose native language is not English.
I have also seen many fics by authors whose native language is not English that are horrible (and yet these fics are still horrendously popular.)
Obviously, there is a discrepancy here.
If you think that your English is not up to par, I advise you to do several things.
1. READ. Not fanfiction (as there's lots of bad ones out there), but normal literature by people who have been published in print. How do they write? What techniques do they use? What do you/don't you like?
2. Use spellcheck. Please. It can be a lifesaver.
3. Get a beta reader. I cannot stress this enough. There are so many fics that I could enjoy more if they weren't so riddled with errors.
(I've also seen a lot of people whose native language is in fact English, and they still write horrendously. That shall be covered later...)
Do NOT make excuses for writing bad stories. I feel no pity for you. If you're not that good at English, fine. But the difference between someone who really tries to improve and someone who keeps churning out half-assed fics is quite obvious.
Don't be one of those bad people.
Comments