: Re: What language to write in for a beginner wanting to write fiction? So far, all of the fiction I've written in my life has been short stories given as writing tasks in school. However, I've

@Steve161

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The answer to your question depends on your proficiency with English: to what extent you're comfortable writing in English, to what extent you enjoy writing in English compared to Swedish. Do not discount the last part: if you do not enjoy the process, what are you doing it for?

There is more than one example of writers who wrote in a language other than their mother tongue. Nabokov is one example: Russian-born, his family left Russia after the Revolution, his work was written in America, in English. Many Israeli poets active in the beginning of last century, among them Bialik and Tchernichovsky were also Russian-born, but wrote poetry in Hebrew, as part of their work to rebuild the Hebrew language and provide the nascent state with poetry.

For my own part, I am now in the process of learning my fifth language. English is my third, the one I write in, and the one I feel most comfortable writing in. Here are my considerations for this choice. You might stand differently on each point, which could make the final choice different for you.

I am completely mother-tongue-level fluent in English. I am comfortable with colloquial speech (though I could not use the slang of a specific location without doing further research). I can distinguish between middle-class and upper-class English, and employ this in my writing. I most certainly have no fear of grammar mistakes slipping in. That is to say, anything I wish to express, I can express in English.
Most of the literature I read is in English. I do not enjoy reading translations, and what interests me at the moment is English literature. Because I read more in English, it's easier for me to write in English.
Because of my academic work, because interaction on the internet is in English, and for other reasons, I type fastest in English. In English I type at the speed of thought, while in another language I need to slow down to match my typing speed. I find I really struggle to be creative when I need to slow down like this.
What I want to say - I want to say it to an international crowd. Writing in my mother tongue, I'd be preaching to the choir.

Now, where do you stand with regards to all this? What language are you most comfortable creating in? What language do you most enjoy creating in? Writing is a creative work. If writing in on language blocks your creative juices in some way, you should write in the other. As far as audience goes, you'll find it in either.

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