Writing as a beginner

[tijana93]

Since I couldn't find a similar topic, I've decided to create one here. Please note that t8his is not about characters, but about the writing ability in general, and that it should be aimed at a begginer level, tho feel free to use whatever deffinition of 'begginer' you prefer. Also, if somewhere out there a similar topic does exist, please join them~

OK, I guess I should start with my questions now. I want to start writing. I am also styding on my own, and using internet as my learning resource. So I have tons of questions...

~What should I start with? - Obviously I can't write some super advanced essays, texts, novels...So, what can I write? The first thougt that came to me was to write about the stuff I'm reading. All the words and phrases should already be in whatever I'm reading (I'm reading Doraemon in chinese wooohooo~). So, should I just retell it, should I add my own feelings and thoughts about it (I have more questions about it bellow)? Then I thought, maybe diary. But I have never writen one in any language, how do I do it in chinese? My other thoughts were trying to write very simple stories, letters (or rather letter format)...What do you think is the best opinion (there are probably many that I haven't listed), what is the easiest, and what will benefit my chinese the most (through vocabulary and phrases used, the style that will help me to learn to better express myself in chinese, generally the most useful type,...)

~How should I express myself (as a beginner)? - Now, obviously, when writing in general, depending on what you are writing, you are going to write it differently. For example, a letter to a friend and an essay (and a random chat with your friend over a cup of coffee) are going to sound different, even if the topic (and what you're actually trying to say) is the same. I know this must be something very important to the advanced speakers (writers), but what about us beginners? Is it ok to use the same language we use when speaking. At what point (and with what, how???) should we start learning to actually write the way its written, rather then the way it is spoken?

~How should I write? - After all of that brainstorming, this is the first actual question. For example, what made me start this topic, was my trying to write a couple of sentences about Doraemon. I wanted to start with a phase similar to 'it is about' or anything like that, that would make a nice intro to a retelling of a story or such, the kinds of phrases we used a lot as kids, and I couldn't come up with anything natural -_- So I started with 'Doraemon is...' =_= I guess the question here is obvious, how do you retell a story in chinese, how do you write reviews, what are some useful, commonly used phrases at the begining, end, in general, how do I add in my oppinion,...Same questions about writing letters (eg.. how do I start, end) and any other form that you find useful and important for beginners. Please give some examples, or maybe even an entire work, so we can see how it works~

~How did you start? - Please share everything about your experience, how you started, when where, the most interesting (funny, embarassing,...) thing you experienced as a begginer trying to write,...What addvice would you like to give, when does it become easier, how often should we (try to) write,...Also any thoughts about anything related are wellcome, and lots and lots of examples...

Well, those are my questions so far, you can see that I am pretty clueless here...But I do have a suggestion, tho maybe there is a thread like that in the forums already (if there is, it's probably for those advanced superhumans who eat chinese for breakfast), but if any of the begginers are interested, maybe we should create a topic where we would have like weekly writing chalenges, like, for example, write a letter to a friend about the wheather in your city (that is, after someone explains to us how to write a letter, form and everything), or maybe write a small paragraph using this gramar construction, these words, this beginning, ending, anything useful for a beginner. Well, either way, thats is a suggestion for another topic, so thanks in advance for replying to this one~

[Kelby]

 

 

~What should I start with? - Obviously I can't write some super advanced essays, texts, novels...So, what can I write? The first thougt that came to me was to write about the stuff I'm reading. All the words and phrases should already be in whatever I'm reading (I'm reading Doraemon in chinese wooohooo~). So, should I just retell it, should I add my own feelings and thoughts about it (I have more questions about it bellow)? Then I thought, maybe diary. But I have never writen one in any language, how do I do it in chinese? My other thoughts were trying to write very simple stories, letters (or rather letter format)...What do you think is the best opinion (there are probably many that I haven't listed), what is the easiest, and what will benefit my chinese the most (through vocabulary and phrases used, the style that will help me to learn to better express myself in chinese, generally the most useful type,...)

 

I'd start with a daily journal. Writing about what the things you're reading sounds like a great place to start because you have the vocabulary bridge you mentioned, but branch out from there writing about anything that sparks your fancy. This will push you to learn new ways of expressing yourself and new vocabulary, rather than just reusing the stuff you already know. 

 

As far as the issue of not knowing how to express different things, I'd put what you write up on Lang-8. Just add a note on what you were trying to say on the bottom of each post, and when people wander by to check your posts they can help you figure out how to better phrase yourself (provided they speak English). At the very least, doing this where people can see it and correct it will help you write in a more and more authentic manner. 

 

 

 

 I wanted to start with a phase similar to 'it is about' or anything like that, that would make a nice intro to a retelling of a story or such, the kinds of phrases we used a lot as kids, and I couldn't come up with anything natural -_- So I started with 'Doraemon is...' =_=

 

I think the word you're looking for is 关于(guānyú). You would say something like "这个故事关于_________。" ("literally, this story is about________.").

 

Let us know what you settle on for your practice and keep us updated

 

. 

[Demonic_Duck]

I agree that lang-8 is your best friend here (there may be other sites that do the same thing, but lang-8 seems to be the most popular, at least around here). Write about whatever you feel like writing about and are able to do so. I don't write on lang-8 nearly as often as I ought to, but the last few topics I've written about are: static electricity; homeless people in McDonalds; the TV show "爸爸去哪儿"; the film "人在囧途"; a busy crossroads near where I live with faullty traffic lights; having a mouth ulcer; the English phrase "take (smt.) with a pinch of salt" and why you should apply it to unrealistic advertising; the "devil horns" hand gesture; muscle memory in language learning; signs saying "老幼病残孕专座" and how they illustrate the conciseness of the Chinese language; little-known facts about hummingbirds.

 

When you choose something to write about, just think of something that's been on your mind lately for whatever reason, and whether it's within your capability to write something about it. If not, consider whether that's simply because you're missing a few key vocab words, or whether it's because your overall language skills simply aren't up to the task yet. If it's the former, this can easily be solved through use of the wonderful jukuu.com, which you can use to type in words and see translated sentences containing those words in various different contexts. If it's the latter, simply choose another topic.

 

One other thing: consider your audience as well. On lang-8, this will be native Chinese speakers who are willing to correct your work. However, they'll be much more willing to correct your work if you write about something interesting. You'll also be expected to correct some of their entries in return. Also think about the length of what you write - my entries are normally just one or two paragraphs rather than a mammoth essay, because who wants to correct a mammoth essay in badly-written Chinese if they're not getting paid for it?

 

 

I think the word you're looking for is 关于(guānyú). You would say something like "这个故事关于_________。" ("literally, this story is about________.").

 

Be careful with "关于" though, it certainly doesn't have a 1-1 correspondence with "about". I'd probably go with "这个故事讲的是…" ("what this story tells is...")

[Hofmann]

~What should I start with?

According to the ACTFL proficiency guidelines, you seem to be an intermediate writer. Try to be able to write everything Intermediate High writers can write. For example, summarize your day, or summarize a chapter about Doraemon. After that aim for higher and higher levels of proficiency. For example, an Advanced Low skill is writing paragraphs.

~How should I express myself (as a beginner)?

 

You are referring to register. You can ignore it until you are Advanced High, when you can start looking into patterns and terms that are more common in writing, collectively called 書面語, usually employed for clarity, economy, or because the writer wants to sound edumacated. For now, aim to express yourself comfortably in a conversational register first.

~How should I write?

In general, look at examples and search for translations of what you want to write. This is a pretty good resource if you use it right.

~How did you start?

I started with a teacher requesting me to tell a story, which was way above my level, so I made a story about two English speakers having a conversation. But really, my writing abilities developed with my speaking abilities, which developed from my reading abilities. (But eventually my writing abilities overtook my speaking abilities as speaking at length takes a lot of planning, memory, and concentration.) This is expected as t here has to be sufficient input (reading, listening) for there to be appreciable output (writing, speaking). One can expect output to be much less than input at first. Therefore, read more of what you want to produce.

[tooironic]

Demonic_Duck is right, the sentence should read 這個故事講的是... Or if you really want to use 關於 you could say 這個故事是關於... (關於 is a preposition not a verb) but the former structure with 講的是 is much more common.

 

tijana93, I recommend you write what you're passionate about. That's the best way to stay motivated. Lang-8 is great because you can get valuable feedback re grammar, word choice, style, etc. But it's always better to hand-write first so you get the chance to practice your handwriting. This is especially important for beginning learners like yourself who still may not have mastered basic writing skills.