[nyggus]

Originally Posted by bianca

Allow me to tell you what I think about the climate of writing.

Do you think in Polish when you write in English? Are you overly conscious about the linguistic aspect of what you're writing? Then your writing muse - the inspiration or the creative spark that ignites your imagination - just won't show up. Muses inspire not only poets, but all artists. And you need to be creative, an artist, if you are to create a sense of climate around your writing.

Years ago, when writing in English, I would search my subconscious for a word or phrase that just had to fit in. I also minded the grammar and the flow of ideas, it just had to be coherent and neat. The writing process seemed artificial, I didn't bond with it. I was an outsider to it. Nowadays, when writing for myself, I often simply begin jotting down anything that comes to mind, unanalyzed, from my stream of consciousness. I don't censor the language, but let it do the work for me. Language is the dress of thought - by giving free reign to langauge, my thoughts come out untarnished and uninhibited. That creates a special climate around the writing process, where writing becomes art.

But what works for me might not work for others. Find out what works for you to bond with your writing.

Thanks, Bianca. First, I do try to think in English when trying to write in this language. But this is not my native language and it will never be, so my thinking is always kind of poor when it's to be done in English.

Nowadays, when writing for myself, I often simply begin jotting down anything that comes to mind, unanalyzed, from my stream of consciousness. I don't censor the language, but let it do the work for me. Language is the dress of thought - by giving free reign to langauge, my thoughts come out untarnished and uninhibited. That creates a special climate around the writing process, where writing becomes art.

Everything is fine when your language is proficient. If you don't care about the language you don't know too well, there will be no chance to obtain the climate we talk about - you will write a piece that is worth nothing. Can you imagine writing in, say, Polish or Slovak without censoring the language? My point is, you must be really proficient (by really I mean really) to not really care about grammar and such stuff when writing.

Thanks a lot for all of you guys,
Nyggus