@aleksandrawithks on creative writing in your target language
Aleksandra has built her newsletter around her writing in English, which happens to be her third language.
Hi everyone! For today’s edition of Hyperglot, I interviewed fellow Substacker
. Aleksandra has built her newsletter around her writing in English, which happens to be her third language. In this interview, she’ll talk us through how she started writing, her language learning journey, and advice she has for other aspiring non-native writers.Who is Aleksandra, and what does she do?
Hi, my name is Aleksandra, and yes, my name is unfathomably spelled with KS instead of a more conventional – and less disturbing – X.
But as one eventually accepts their foreign accent and the idea that they will never become native speakers of their target language, so did I. My name is Aleksandra, and it is spelled with KS because that’s how it was transliterated from the Slavic language I believe to be my mother tongue.
Now, what do I do?
I teach. Languages. English and French. And hope to teach literature one day.
What languages do you speak?
In my everyday life, I use French and English, but my first language happens to be Russian.
Can you share your journey of learning English?
This is a funny thing. My mom was convinced that I should learn English. I didn’t have any linguistic talents. I didn’t possess any penchant for languages. And yet, since I was a very obedient daughter, I did what my mom told me to do.
So, I was learning English at school, attending all sorts of speaking clubs after school, and had a private tutor, but I couldn’t say I loved this language. What I did love back then was literature and books that I read – voraciously and passionately – in my first language.
Everything changed when I started reading books in English and could witness the beauty of the language. The first book I read in English was Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll, and, in a way, it was my personal looking glass that I stepped through to find myself in an absolutely new world: the world of literature created in English. That was when the flames of passion for the language started to burn in my soul.
Everything changed when I started reading books in English and could witness the beauty of the language.
What inspired you to start writing in English? Why English?
Unfortunately, I cannot use this beautiful verb “inspire,” because my decision to switch to writing in English was dictated by reality-shaking circumstances. In 2022, the country I used to call home started a vitriolic – and completely useless – war that no one in their right mind could accept.
Needless to say, I was devastated. All I wanted was to erase my past, my identity, to start everything from zero. I quit writing in my first language and writing in general. For several months, I was floating in the dark and murky waters of shame, guilt, grief, and despair.
Who was I? What was I without my first language which I had quit using (at that moment, I didn’t have any need to use it though, because I had already lived in France for five years).
But most importantly, I realized I couldn’t live without writing. Writing was my way to render the chaos of life more orderly (if it is possible, of course). It is through writing that I was shaping my reality, my personality, and my life in general.
And that is how I made a decision to give it a go and take to writing and blogging in English. One of the best decisions that I might never have taken hadn’t there been these ugly and blood-spilling circumstances.
Now, why in English?
It would be much more logical if I were writing in French, that’s true. I mean, my husband is French, his family is French, all our friends are French. But I am the most illogical person one could ever meet! And I love challenges.
So, when my personal, war-induced chaos paid me a visit, I needed something to keep my anxious mind occupied and distract myself from doom-scrolling. Writing in English was just what the doctor ordered in that situation.
The second reason why I have been writing in English and not French is less obvious. I am not a huge fan of real reality with its chores and gray monotony, and I do my best to escape it by creating my own reality with books and candles and all things coziness.
And here is the thing about the French language. It has become part of real reality. I use it to get toilet paper and to renew my carte de séjour, to pay my taxes and to complain about yet another transportation strike. It has lost its charm of faraway countries and unknown traditions. And my mind is craving escape.
And here it is – witty and sardonic and so charming – the English language in all its beauty with Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King, Jane Austen and J.K. Rowling, Lucy Maud Montgomery and Oscar Wilde. And all I can do is follow their path.
Are there any particular English writers or works that have influenced your style?
My favorite quote about the creative process comes from Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon: “Start copying what you love. Copy copy copy copy. At the end of the copy, you will find yourself."
When I just started writing in English, I knew what effect I wanted to produce on my readers: with words, I wanted to create cozy paintings of the most trivial things, like having your first cup of coffee in the morning or lighting your favorite candle when it is raining. I wanted my readers to feel safe and cozy and that my writing inspired them to cherish small moments of their daily routine.
That’s why I was obsessively looking for writers who wrote in this style. Lucy Maud Montgomery, Virginia Woolf (I wouldn’t call her style cozy per se but impressionistic, which served my goal), Charles Dickens, Tove Jansson (which is a little bit of a cheat because I didn't read any of her books in their original language), Roald Dahl, Stephen Fry – all these writers are my role models.
Does your native culture or other cultures influence your writing or the topics you write about?
I consider myself a cultural nomad who has been creating her own cozy cultural bubble. I don’t feel any need to belong to one culture. I don’t call myself Russian. I am not French. Nor am I English. I am a crazy mashup of books and films. My writing is very personal and is rooted in my routine that I imbue with softness, tenderness, and warmth.
What advice would you give to others who want to start writing in their target language?
Start from the beginning. Read everything you can get hold of about word order, punctuation, and style. Read and apply immediately what you have learned in your writing.
Write every single day. A sentence. A paragraph. A post. And publish it somewhere. I think it is extremely important to have someone who will read what you write right from the beginning. Because it helps, first of all, get rid of imposter syndrome and take your writing seriously.
Read a lot. And I mean it. If you want to write in your target language, you should read in it all the time! Books, articles, posts. Choose the topics you want to write about and read about them.
Read everything analytically. Don’t skim over. Take your time. Pay attention to details. Write down sentences that you like and examine them. What is it exactly that makes them so special for you? What should you do to write like this? Is it about word choice or sentence structure?
Get used to feeling anxious. Writing itself is a very worrisome process. But when you write in your second language, you are at your most vulnerable. And what if I make a mistake? And what if everyone makes fun of me? These are the questions my inner critic splashes on me every time I sit down to write. But remember that “Anxiety is fuel. We can use it to write with, pain with, work with. Feel: anxious. Try: using the anxiety.” (Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way)
How do you continue to improve your English?
I read A LOT and listen (well, also A LOT) to audiobooks. And jot down new words and try to use them in my writing.
What are your future goals as a writer in English? Are there any projects you're currently working on that you're excited about?
Truth be told, I am just excited about writing in English in general. That’s what wakes me up in the morning and fills my days with meaning. I am not a very ambitious person, and the only thing I want is to write as best as possible to help my readers – and myself – overcome the absurdity of life.
Thank you
for your thoughtful answers!Join our Discord server ‘Correct Me!’ to practice your writing and get corrections from native speakers all around the world:
Thank you so much for this great opportunity to share my story! I hope that there will be more and more exophonic writers who are not afraid to express themselves in languages other than their mother tongue!