G James

Creative Writing in Other Languages

Language learners certainly need to make creative use of a rather limited amount of language at their disposal. An observation of how they do this may provide lessons for the writer, who also needs to work creatively. One language will not translate exactly into another. A translated text often offers the reader something more interesting. Working in another language, perhaps translating back to their own language later, can free up the writer to produce something simpler, less cliché-ridden, and richer in images and interesting idioms.

Professional liars and truthmongers

ABSTRACT Writers of fiction tell lies all the time. Yet somehow in the middle of all of these made-up scenarios some truths emerge. Fiction, with its habits and conventions that lead to shared understanding, is becoming a narrative style rather than remaining a genre and makes possible a different type of biography, a different way of describing history, and even a way of establishing what happened within the gaps that lie between the verifiable facts. This paper considers the process that takes place in creating this type of narrative, which tools are available for the writer and how these are used. This will be illustrated with excerpts from my own recently completed fictional biography. Some points from the current discussion of this type of practice will be explored and some new content will be introduced into that debate.