Writing in English as a Foreign Language: Help and Advice
Since some of our members write fanfiction in English as a foreign language (good for you!), I am opening this thread for help and advice.
Feel free to ask questions about the English language, which our native speaker members will be happy to answer. If we don't know, we will find trustworthy sources to help you. Be aware that some issues simply come down to style, which is subjective. You won't need to sound absolutely correct, but it's good to avoid the common pitfalls that can often plague native speakers.
This is a no-judgement space. No question is too stupid, so ask away!
Do you have suggestions to improve grammar, tenses, expressions and writing dialogues. I can conceptualize the plots and general outlines but I need help in improving those aspects in writing.
Great question, Krystal.
This is something that native speakers can struggle with as well.
We need to parse this out systematically. Grammar is a broad subject. I don't know what your native language is, but English is a very fluid language and not as rigid as its continental neighbours, like French. So we have to narrow in on the fundamentals and not panic over broad topics or overly specific issues.
Most importantly, do not worry about any language issues until your story is complete and you are happy with the structure, plot, characters, description etc. I made this mistake for years, and it ruined my progress as a writer. Story comes first, always.
The biggest problem I often see in the writing of native speakers is tense issues. So I think that's a great place to start.
Here are some tips:
Pick a tense and stick with it
Many stories take place in the past tense, and I would strongly urge you to stick with the past tense first before you try using the present. I understand that in foreign languages, there can be some fluidity with the past and present, but if you read a standard story in English, there's usually consistency when a story is written in the past.
(You may need some other tenses or moods, but let's not worry about that for now.)
So, just focus on writing correctly in the past and being consistent. The actions are either ongoing in the past or completed. If you find your character now doing something in the present, you need to change the tense. When you write dialogue, you can use the present tense, but the dialogue tag must be in the past tense.
Understand the different kinds of past tense
This works in a similar way to your native language. We have has done, was doing, did, used to do, would do, had done
So:
[The recently finished event] "Snape has finished marking your essays," Professor McGonagall said.
[The ongoing action] Snape was mixing a potion.
[The historic and/or finished event] Snape died in the Shrieking Shack.
[The habit] Snape used to play with Lily in the park.
[The future in the past] Snape said that he would hide Lily, James and Harry.
[The thing that happened before something else] Snape had already seen pictures of Harry Potter in the newspaper.
So, when you're editing for language, look out for these forms. You'll see them in other people's stories (if they are predominantly using the past tense). So this means you need to read a lot, which I am sure you already do. 🙂 The more you read, the more you will notice. Then it will become easier.
Check, check, check
If you're not sure, you can check an English verb conjugator online. Just type in the verb, and it will give you a massive chart of conjugations for that verb. Then put the correct form into your manuscript wherever required. Don't guess! Keep rereading until the majority of tense errors are removed.
So, you might want to focus on your tense issues first, get really confident with those through consistent practice (maybe with our drabble challenges)-- then you can start to focus on expressions and dialogue, though I am sure other members will have advice on those two areas.
Any follow-up questions, feel free to ask. 🙂
Thank you @mmlf for your suggestions. Usually, I write in the past tense but sometimes, I end up mixing it with the present tense. I will focus on it. The English verb conjugator is a very helpful suggestion, I tend to Google the verbs but this is more useful to see different usages.
I wrote a Challenge Response earlier in the week and I had some trouble puzzling in words to make my sentences.
I was stumped on an idiom in particular. In the scene Severus is waiting for his father who had altered documents to change Severus’ date of birth. Severus is wondering to himself whether Tobias succeeded or not. I wasn’t sure on the wording of the idiom.
Is it, “Did Tobias come through?”
or
”Did Tobias pull through?”
or something else.
Then there is the tenses. I wrote Severus’ ears reddened but I’m not sure I have that correct. Is redden the past tense or reddened?
Reddened is past tense, while redden is present tense.
As for "come" or "pull", I think either one works within the context.
Thanks.
As a note, you could also use redden in past tense if you structured the sentence like "x watched y's ears redden", or something similar.
I realise this comment is a day late, so don't feel you have to change things now, but I personally would favour 'come through' when deciding whether someone has been successful producing a desired result, as 'pull through' seems to better describe overcoming a difficult or dangerous situation (like recovering from a serious injury).
A tip for checking correct past participles:
If there's no known spelling change (go--> went), it's likely that you need to add 'ed' (redden--> reddened), which you already got right, so well done.
Question:
I was informed recently that “just” could also be used when expressing time as well. For example, “this just happened” and “that just came” but I’ve heard it used more to express different types of emotions, at times frustration and annoyance.
“That’s just not right.”
“Just stop.”
There are multiple uses for this one word that I often find them littered in my writing when I’m trying to exercise my English. Is there another word that is synonymous to this so I’m not adding just all the time?
