People who teach me to write
As a translator, it goes without saying that I am also a writer. Granted, I do not create anything new, not like real writers do. But it is still my job to shape the target text in a way that conveys the meaning of the source text while sounding natural and respecting both the author’s style and the stylistic expectations of the reader. Bottom line: I have to be a good writer.
How do you learn to write? In particular, how do you keep your writing in shape once your studies are behind you? There are many ways, but my favorite is to read. And what do I read? Either good writing pieces or advice from seasoned writers.
My favorite source for good writing is, strangely enough, a blog about living on a farm. The lady who writes it is all about tending to crops and farm animals, and cooking. Oh, I know what you are thinking–how can short blog posts about farm life be an example of good writing? My answer is that the subject matter is irrelevant (although, in this case, it is one of my favorite subject matters). Good writing gets to you. It moves you, it makes you wonder, it raises questions, it provokes feelings. And Farmgirl Fare is all that. Take a look, you’ll see. While you’re at it, make sure you read the funky copyright notices below each post.
As for advice from professional writers, I have been receiving Daphne Gray-Grant‘s newsletter, Power Writing, for a while now. Once a week, she will send you a short text (usually less than a three-minute read) about writing. She simply shares her thoughts, techniques and tips on good writing. Her topics over the past few years included how to be a good reader (a skill not to be overlooked by translators), mindmapping (not only for writing, but for organizing pretty much everything, including your invoicing) and an entire series of newsletters on how to edit. In fact, on the latter, she says:
…my number one piece of advice is that you should be removing as much time as possible from your writing, and putting it into your editing.
Smart advice if you ask me. I have been collecting the newsletters ever since I have signed up and I now have a binder full of them.
I may be too busy freelancing to go back to school for writing classes, but taking a few minutes each week to read these people’s pieces sure keeps me in the loop. Whose writing do you read to keep those writing muscles fit?
