English Woes

[ankursethi]

I've always been good at languages. An year ago, when I was still in high school, I used to end my day with a nice novel. Even when I was a kid, I preferred reading over watching television or playing video games. I also had a blog which I wrote about twice a week, and most of my friends thought I wrote pretty well.

It's been an year, and college has been killing me. I have a stack of unread novels which I'm just too tired to delve into. Whenever I get free time, which is rare, I prefer to pop in a DVD of Scrubs, Family Guy or South Park (these shows aren't telecast on TV in India) and just relax. As a result, my writing has slowly been getting worse. I sit there at the keyboard, knowing exactly *what* to write, but I need to spend at least 15 minutes thinking about *how* to write it. The words have just stopped coming out well.

I need help. Even though I'm trying to get an IT degree, I love literature and I love writing. I want to get back into writing my long winded blog rants, but right now I'm just hating my style.

Q1. How do I improve the way I write?
Q2. I read many tech blogs everyday. Are there any literary blogs I can read?
Q3. Any free reading material online that can help me improve my style?
Q4. If you have a blog and update it regularly, please post the link here. I want to see what other people are writing about. I can't keep writing about how much I rock and how much other people suck all the time.

[chucky chuckaluck]

you've already mentioned the solution: turn off the DVDs and go back to your reading.

[treesurf]

I know this isn't helpful, but university left me feeling more stupid and less creative than when I went into it. It took several months at least to recover.

[tdrusk]

I've always been good at languages. An year ago, when I was still in high school, I used to end my day with a nice novel. Even when I was a kid, I preferred reading over watching television or playing video games. I also had a blog which I wrote about twice a week, and most of my friends thought I wrote pretty well.

It's been an year, and college has been killing me. I have a stack of unread novels which I'm just too tired to delve into. Whenever I get free time, which is rare, I prefer to pop in a DVD of Scrubs, Family Guy or South Park (these shows aren't telecast on TV in India) and just relax. As a result, my writing has slowly been getting worse. I sit there at the keyboard, knowing exactly *what* to write, but I need to spend at least 15 minutes thinking about *how* to write it. The words have just stopped coming out well.

I need help. Even though I'm trying to get an IT degree, I love literature and I love writing. I want to get back into writing my long winded blog rants, but right now I'm just hating my style.

Q1. How do I improve the way I write?
Q2. I read many tech blogs everyday. Are there any literary blogs I can read?
Q3. Any free reading material online that can help me improve my style?
Q4. If you have a blog and update it regularly, please post the link here. I want to see what other people are writing about. I can't keep writing about how much I rock and how much other people suck all the time.
I try to schedule my studies. It helps me have more time for myself.

btw my blog is in my sig.

[yavez]

Suggested reading:

Strunk - The Elements of Style - http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Elements_of_Style (American English, but rather good.)


Any of these authors will give you a grounding in the use of language:

Ray Bradbury, James M Cain, Shirley Jackson, John Cheever, Edith Wharton, Katherine Anne Porter, Raymond Chandler, Eudora Welty, Dylan Thomas, e.e. cummings, Raymond Carver, Kurt Vonnegut.


If you have trouble reading for pleasure, may I suggest short story collections and short novels to get you back into the habit. Anything by the aforementioned Ray Bradbury, John Cheever, Katherine Anne Porter and Raymond Carver will work. The novels of James M Cain are less than one hundred and fifty pages each and are a delight.

[pp.]

I second this opinion:


you've already mentioned the solution: turn off the DVDs and go back to your reading.

The reason for this being the best advice is simply this: If you're exposed to a particular language a sufficient amount of time on a regular base, you train yourself to the rhythm and ways of that language.

In order for that to work, it has to be 'good' English, not the broken kind used in this forum or in technical reading matters. Listening to radio or tv where 'genuine' English is spoken might help.

In this context, English as spoken and/or written by people living in the United States of America might be acceptable, too. English as spoken or written by 'other' foreigners might be counter-productive.

My primary language isn't English, you'd scarcely understand me when hearing me speak, but I have read several millions words of English. Recently, I have taken to re-reading my collection of SF books while commuting from and to work. That leaves me about half an hour up to a hour each day for reading stuff in English. As a consequence, school children have started speaking to me in English on seeing the books I read.

[gjoellee]

Q1. How do I improve the way I write?
Q2. I read many tech blogs everyday. Are there any literary blogs I can read?
Q3. Any free reading material online that can help me improve my style?
Q4. If you have a blog and update it regularly, please post the link here. I want to see what other people are writing about. I can't keep writing about how much I rock and how much other people suck all the time.[/quote]
Q1. Write more, if you are writing a book or something like that use a lot of adjectives!
Q2. May this work? http://www.complete-review.com/quarterly/vol3/issue3/litblogs.htm (have not read anything there).
Q3. Find a book using this search engine: http://*******ooks.library.upenn.edu/lists.html
Q4. Sorry I have no literary blog.

[benerivo]

Try a little poetry to provide a different view on the way single lines to whole chapters can be composed. Just ten minutes reading something by Wordsworth, Shelley or Keats for enjoyment, makes me focus on and become aware of the use of language, and helps me to get out a rut.

[gn2]

This fellow's website and blog might interest you: http://www.stephenfry.com/blog/

[ankursethi]

The Elements of Style is neato. Bookmarked. Also, there seems to be some nice content at Wikibooks.

I'm trying my best to get back into reading. I realized I should probably stick with the kind of books I like and leave the heavy reading for vacations (The Name of the Rose mangled my brain). I'll try to buy another Wheel of Time. That ought to get me back into reading.

For poetry and short fiction, I found Portitude.org. Robert Frost kicks ****. I also have a few volumes of short stories lying around that I bought a few months ago.

Dragging myself back from college at 5 in the evening and then choosing between Family Guy and Jules Verne is going to be tough.

[pp.]

(The Name of the Rose mangled my brain)... Jules Verne

The Name of the Rose is a translation from Italian and Jules Verne wrote in French. I would advise to stick to texts which originally have been written in English, if keeping up with English is the objective. Otherwise, both Eco and Verne make fine reading.

[LaRoza]

It's been an year, and college has been killing me. I have a stack of unread novels which I'm just too tired to delve into. Whenever I get free time, which is rare, I prefer to pop in a DVD of Scrubs, Family Guy or South Park (these shows aren't telecast on TV in India) and just relax. As a result, my writing has slowly been getting worse. I sit there at the keyboard, knowing exactly *what* to write, but I need to spend at least 15 minutes thinking about *how* to write it. The words have just stopped coming out well.

Read and write. Set regular schedules for watching those DVD's. Don't watch them randomly.



Q1. How do I improve the way I write?

By writing ;)



Q3. Any free reading material online that can help me improve my style?

Good will get you more specific style guides. What exactly type of writing are you interested in?



Q4. If you have a blog and update it regularly, please post the link here. I want to see what other people are writing about. I can't keep writing about how much I rock and how much other people suck all the time.

Blog in sig, but I don't post often in it.

[chucky chuckaluck]

In order for that to work, it has to be 'good' English, not the broken kind used in this forum or in technical reading matters. Listening to radio or tv where 'genuine' English is spoken might help.

yup, learn from the best, not the worst.

[samjh]

Q1. How do I improve the way I write?
Q2. I read many tech blogs everyday. Are there any literary blogs I can read?
Q3. Any free reading material online that can help me improve my style?
Q4. If you have a blog and update it regularly, please post the link here. I want to see what other people are writing about. I can't keep writing about how much I rock and how much other people suck all the time.

Q1: You're already writing well. :) Reading novels from famous writers can help.
Q2: Not sure.
Q3: http://www.lib.uts.edu.au/information/writing_skills/writing_style
Q4: LOL, sorry I don't have a blog. :)

[LaRoza]

yup, learn from the best, not the worst.

Actually. reading things done wrong (if they are pointed out) is a good way to learn.

Obviously, random forum posts is not the answer, but good instruction can be received from knowing what its wrong and how to avoid it.