Reading fiction is an EASY, free, and a very effective method to improve your writing skills.
The problem is not that most people are naturally bad at writing. The problem is that most people haven’t seen enough good examples.
Writing in a foreign language means learning to write differently. You’re learning to use different punctuation standards, different style, different syntax, different grammar rules, and very different imagery… The words you use help your reader SEE the story, IMAGINE the situation, and FEEL the sensation. Words transform to images in your reader’s mind.
Our job is to paint the right image in the mind of a native speaker. You have no idea how to do this unless you have experienced “seeing” characters in English books, “feeling” into them when they speak in English on the pages of a novel, and “experiencing” the same emotions that they experience in a story.
We desperately need a lot of good examples to learn to feel the language and to use it to communicate our feelings.
Translation is a bad method here.
The world does look the same in any language, but native-speakers of every language use their own code. Our job is not to challenge their view of the world, and not to force them to accept ours, but to agree with them that human experience is human in any part of the world. When we write, our job is to learn to speak the human language; we use a special language code to be understood by native speakers but not to disconnect from them or enmesh in their culture.
Read fiction to understand. Learn to be understood.
- Pay attention to the imagery and your sensations as you read.
- Don’t fly over words. Let them give you goosebumps.
- Say them out loud. And use them in your own writing.
If you want to get serious with your writing practice and receive professional feedback, consider joining finite writing challenge for non-native speakers
If you already speak good English but your goal is Native-Like fluency, you’re welcome to join our Community of Practice and connect with other curious and daring learners. Unlock dozens of creative exercises that focus on developing cognitive skills in a foreign language and help you build a deliberate practice routine to attain better fluency. No credit card is required to begin. Start your free trial today
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