Most probably, the past few weeks was a period in my life when I write in English most intensively, just because of Steemit.
But, somehow, writing in English is still a not easy task for me.
I am a writer and editor in a non-English environment. I do write a lot, but of course not in English. And I know how to write well, so maybe I set a standard a bit too high for myself.
The biggest problem is, I found myself unable to express the things deep inside my mind. I can do it easily in my mother tongue but not in English. What I can write here is only something superficially.
But Steemit motivates me to write more. Honestly, money is one of the reasons. But another equally important reason is the sense of community that most of us feel here. So I get more encouragement to put in the effort to improve my writing.
This is the language that I familiar with.
Some ways to make it easier
I do find some ways or principles or tools to use to make the writing job easier for me. This, probably useful too for fellow Steemians who are struggling in writing like me.
Do not force myself writing something "deep" or "difficult" or something too serious. Just write whatever come to my mind. The most important thing is not to have a perfect writing, but to have myself more familiar with the feeling of English-writing. And I believe that things will get better.
Do not force myself trying hard to search for those difficult and fancy "big words." Instead, use the simple words. Keep sentences short and simple, avoid using too many complex sentences.
Grammar is always a problem. Go search for some tools. I personally use Grammarly. It does help, not 100%, but at least 60-70%.
Read a lot.
... Please give me suggestion if you have any.
I am Mingh, @ygern.
*I truly believe the value of contents and social interactions, so I have strong confidence for Steemit.
Please help me to involve more in the community by following, upvoting, commenting, or resteeming my posts.
Thank you for reading.
Practice make prefect is always true. I was in similar situation when I started my full time jobs.
That's when I needed to use (both written and spoken) English to communicate in real life. I had no where to hide and had to keep using English, which was definitely difficult for a fresh graduate.
But after a few months of non-stop emailing, document reading and writing, I found that writing in English was not as difficult as before (spoken was still not easy to me).
So keep posting here in English and you will find it just as easy as your mother tongue.
Yes, I write more confidently now, after months being here. This one of the biggest gift from Steemit. :)
Use the online grammar check software to correct the wrong grammar
Grammar is no different from the nightmare of most people, but in the English writing practice do not be too obsessed with the use of the correct grammar, it will make you timid, incomprehensible, and even hinder writing thoughts. We recommend that you use the online grammar check software such as "GingerSoftware", "GrammarCheck", "Grammarly" and "GrammarBook.com" to help you correct your mistakes. In addition, "Microsoft Words", "Google Doc" or iPad also have a single word Pinyin and grammar check function, so that you practice English writing while learning grammar. thx follow me
Yes. i agree. I try not to care too much about grammar while writing, because it really hinders writing thoughts, especially for non-native user.
thanks you wrote some really good english now. For me, I feel it is important to find an interest that is English oriented. For example, I like watching basketball when I am young, then I start learning their names, listen to games.. then my English really improves.
Yes. A lot of people I know learnt their english by watching AMerican drama series. :D
I am in the same situation man! Know how it feels and sometime can be a bit frustrating (at least for me) but the way you are doing it it's surely the easiest and best for us. Keep it up, we'll get better in time ;)
Practice makes perfect.
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
I feel the same way. It's really hard to talk or write about something "deep" in english. But as time goes on it becomes a bit easier really. Gotta put in a lot of time to become fluent in another language you know :P
@trendo
Hi @trendo , welcome to Steemit
Just followed you, and waiting for your blog post. :)
Thanks ! Will be doing that soon :)
This is a good post for anyone who has not written a lot. I rely on the tools in my word program. the spelling and grammar check and the thesaurus.
Thanks for the comment :)
Yeah I did not mention spelling. Actually Grammarly or other similar tools help me a lot in correcting spelling.
Am motivated by your article. I am very good with english but am not a provocative writer but now i am learning how to write good content. Its very intriguing
haha,yes, you will get addicted
I pray so
Sharing similar feelings with you here! Spoken and formally written English are more ususally practiced that makes me feel a bit 'powerlesss' to express in a passage.
Recently I have read an article regarding tips for fast and efficient writing (link below) and I found that making outline and draft could be useful too! You may make a reference there.
Let's practice and improve!
(http://www.business2community.com/content-marketing/8-tips-fast-efficient-content-writing-01856145)
Hi. Thanks for your sharing. WIll go and have a good :)
Hi @ygern!
I noticed one interesting thing in your post.
you wrote "my mother tongue" and I even start to thing that you're Russian because Russian language does use word "tongue" as a word for language.
We don't have 2 separate worlds : tongue for part of body and Language as a method for communication. Instead if it Russians use word "tongue" in both cases
Hi. It's interesting. :D
I just check the dictionary. lol.
and found that the word "tongue" in English do carry the meaning of "language."
While substitute "language" with "tongue" is not common, using "mother tongue" to refer to native language is actually quite a common usage.