3 ms·
> And while I'm comfortable writing in English, I'm not a native speaker and it probably shows. Getting from alright to good is a lot of work and the bar is ext
by duggan 2y ago
> And while I'm comfortable writing in English, I'm not a native speaker and it probably shows. Getting from alright to good is a lot of work and the bar is extremely high
For what it's worth, at least from this comment, I don't think I'd have any way to distinguish your writing from that of a native speaker (as a native speaker). I'm also not sure that mastery of English is the most important skill of a novelist. Obviously I'm just a random commenter on the Internet, but I don't think you should let English being a second language dissuade you. Might even be an advantage if it discourages you from using flowery prose.
- jeegsy 2y ago> advantage if it discourages you from using flowery prose. I've always said that "flowery prose" is something that needs to make a comeback. I really miss that style of writing. What fun to read! The 'modern' impulse for 'efficient' writing is at least a contributing factor to the decline in reading I daresay.
- duggan 2y agoI suppose "flowery" is open to interpretation, but generally I mean those occasions where it looks like someone is randomly choosing from a thesaurus for every other adverb. Anyway, I don't think it's in any danger of disappearing – it's pervasive and popular – but I've never been able to complete a book with too much of it.
- jeegsy 2y agoI mean it in the Dickensian sense