Nate Philbrick's Blog

Since I don’t live in the United States, I won’t be celebrating Thanksgiving until tomorrow, but social convention demands I wish a fine day of gratitude, family, and faith to all my Stateside readers!

By now, you’ve probably heard about the Antihero-themed anthology that my colleagues at Phoenix Fiction Writers and I released last weekend. I just wanted to give you a quick run-down on one the stories from the collection, The Word Thrower by Beth Wangler.

Beth quickly became one of my all-time...

Hey there! I’ve got a little something for you. I know, I know, it’s only been a few days since the last post, but hey, it’s the end of October, which means it’s practically NaNoWriMo, which means it’s practically Christmas, which means it’s practically 2019, which means— *breathes into paper bag*

Long story short, it’s time to start sharing some goodies as we build up toward the release of the trilogy’s first installment. It’s with no shortage of giddiness (I promise I’m an adult) that I publ...

As many of you know, the Phoenix Fiction Writers team is releasing an antihero-themed anthology, which will feature seven (if I’m not mistaken) short stories by our talented members. In October’s newsletter, sent out at the beginning of the month, subscribers got an exclusive first look at the title and blurb for my short story, and now I’m bringing the goodies to the world!

Brace yourselves for…

The Astoundingly Mortal Peril of Denna Dorwen

Two years ago, Denna Dorwen burned down Candlewick Spi...

"I come sadly to the end of this journey, aware of the impossibility of commenting so objectively on a work which has absorbed me so long and so personally."

- Lloyd Alexander, The High King (author's note)

"Well, Fat Cat, we've done it, and you were no help whatsoever." With that heartfelt touch of finality, I shut my laptop. Endings always catch us off guard. We like to call them bittersweet, but sometimes the bitter seems to outweigh the sweet, at least for a time.

The Broken City of Crows is...

I set aside this corner of my website for updates related to my work and life inasmuch as it's relevant to you, my readers and community, rather than regular blog posts. I seem to have neglected it until now. I still send out a structured newsletter at the beginning of each month, so when I post here, I'll keep my thoughts as brief and conversational as possible. I imagine many of these posts will be spontaneous, as is this one.

As I write, I find myself in the most difficult stretch of story-...

This is just a quick announcement to tell you that the newsletter feature is now available. You can subscribe from the 'newsletter' page. Brilliant, I know. All it takes is an email address! Newsletters, which will be sent out monthly, include the following content:

Important announcementsNew launchesUpdates on works-in-progressExclusive snippets and previews

I promise to keep the newsletters relevant and concise. I know how valuable your time is, and I wouldn't want to waste it. I hope you con...

Hello, faithful readers and visitors. I haven’t posted here since October 2017. Why? Because blogging just isn’t for me. I had a good run here, but I don’t want the pressure of creating new content every week/month. So this will be the final post on this blog–but it’s good news!

My new, permanent, and static website has been recently launched. You may now find me at www.natephilbrick.com, and I won’t be going anywhere, believe me. The website is bigger and better than anything WordPress ever afforded me.

The website will be my author platform and product hub from here on out. You’ll find all my books, artwork, and services there. I must say I’m surprised at how many hits this blog gets every single day despite being inactive for so long, and I’m sure even better times await us all in the new place!

I’ll see you all there!

Hello, friend!

If you've been following me for a while, you may know I've hopped from blog to blog over the past handful of years. I've garnered a moderate following on both Blogger and WordPress, but now I've opted for a permanent, static website instead. This will be the hub for all my books, artwork, paid services, and contact with the public, granting me a professional-looking platform without the pressures of regular blog posts.

The website is brand new, so don't be surprised if the galler...

I’m fluently multilingual (English, Spanish, and Catalan). Even though I read almost exclusively in English, I’m a big fan of seeing other languages incorporated into a story through dialog and cultural immersion.

However, it’s frustrating to see foreign languages get butchered by native-English writers. So…I guess I’ll offer a few tips? Just a few, very broad brush strokes, at least. Definitely not trying to be pretentious. But I this is one of the few areas where I feel I have some small say in the matter.

I’ll be using Spanish to give made-up examples, since it’s one of my languages of fluency as well as a frequent victim of misuse. 

Try not to…
#1. Rely on stereotypical catch-phrases

“Well, amigos. It’s time for my siesta. Buenas noches!”

I don’t mean to be harsh, but this is lazy writing. Your seventh-grade Spanish class notes aren’t enough. 

#2. Insert translated phrases/vocab at random

“Say, that party at Jacob’s was muy divertido! Such a huge casa!”

Unless you’re writing Dora the Explorer fan-fiction, don’t. Bilinguals don’t talk like this. If we don’t know a certain word or phrase in our second language, we use a synonym. Or we find another way to say what we want to say, even if it means making mistakes. OR we just gesture wildly and say “the thing” until someone understands us.

Mixing languages is fine. Multilinguals do it all the time when we speak. But when we mix languages, we do so chaotically and messily. Not this neat, organized, one-word-per-sentence method of substitution.

#3. Use Google translate

Google translate (usually) works fine for single words or short phrases, though even then you can get some funky results. But for anything longer, don’t even bother. Besides, Google translate gives you a stale version of your text. Spoken language rarely mimics such results.

#4. Comment/highlight how difficult English is for the character

“Today I have to go to…how do you say? English is not my language. Oh, yes. The doctor!”

This comes across as really condescending. And again, we don’t talk like this.

Instead, try to…
#1. Be willing to learn

Invest the time and energy it takes to understand how bilinguals think and speak in their second language. What’s their level? How long have they been learning/speaking it? If they struggle with vocabulary/grammar/expression, how are they most likely to compensate?

If you have bilingual friends, ask them questions. Second-language speech is complex, and it rarely fits the mold your Spanish/French/German 101 textbook taught you.

#2. Treat foreign language dialog the same way you’d treat English dialog

When I speak Spanish or Catalan, it’s imperfect. It’s messy and full of idioms, incomplete thoughts, fragments, subtext, implications, etc, just like when I speak English. The same is true for anyone who speaks any language.

Yes, that probably makes it frustratingly hard to write foreign dialog (or mixed dialog), because it means you have to understand the language well enough to be able to break its formal rules naturally. 

But a lack of effort almost inevitably leads to The Things You Should Not Do, as laid out above.

#4. Understand cultural/regional influences

When your bilingual character DOES fall back on their native language, remember that language is heavily influenced by region, culture, social upbringing, etc.

For example, the Spanish I speak here in Barcelona differs (mildly) from the Spanish they speak in Madrid because of the strong Catalan (regional language) influence in Barcelona. Furthermore, there are vast differences between the Spanish spoken in Spain and the Spanish spoken in, for example, Chile.

Idioms, expressions, forms, and even basic vocabulary can all depend on where your character is from in a very specific sense of the word. 

And maybe Spanish is one of the more extreme examples, since it’s such a widespread language, but the principle still applies to bilingual characters of any native language.

Here’s an image I found on Pinterest that captures the essence of what I’m getting at. I took the liberty to black out some unsavory language, but honestly, these snippets are about as accurate as it gets.

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To sum things up, bilingual characters go through thought and speech processes far more complex than many writers realize. If you’re not fluently bilingual, get help from someone who is. We don’t mind imparting our knowledge! If you put in the time and effort, your readers will enjoy the authenticity of your diverse dialog.

It’s worth it for us and for you!

 

Hi, all!
This post is just a quick announcement/request:
In anticipation of reaching four thousand followers on Twitter (getting close!), I’m planning a Q&A video to celebrate! If you’re curious about my writing process, The Broken City of Crows, other work, my personal life, or anything else, comment below or shoot me a message on Twitter @NatePhilbrick!

I want the video to be ready to post when we hit 4k, so I’m getting a head start. Help me make this a fun project!