Ask YC : do you write your own blog? or you get help from someone else? | Hacker News Reader

Ask YC : do you write your own blog? or you get help from someone else?

6 pointsideas10114 comments

I want to know from all those bloggers whose first language is not english or from those who take help (from a pro or family/friend) for some other good reasons. I'm still not able to start my own blog due to various reasons but one of the most is (and may be few of you might have already noticed) that my english grammar is not that good - i make silly mistakes and sometime it is really embarrassing, though that doesn't mean that i dont have good/valid ideas or thoughts to share and sometime it makes me uncomfortable because i know i can write on variety of topics from IT to movies to art to culture & society to current trends in business etc. so PLEASE HELP by sharing your views and experience. thanks.

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(A), your English won't improve unless you make a lot of mistakes and correct them. So just write!

(B), There are quite a few native speakers of English whose writing is superb but who can't spell worth a damn. I have often wished that these folks would give edit permission on their blog to a fan or two who could sneak in and edit the grammar. If you can find (or hire, cheap) a person who will do this for you, there's nothing wrong with it. Pro writers all have editors... usually several editors.

But you'll find that it's easier to want cheap or free editorial help than it is to find it. So don't worry too much about it. See Step A.

(D) Why not blog in your native language occasionally, as well as in English? There's nothing wrong with having more than one blog.

One big point of blogs is to wrangle over your own ideas by writing them down. You might as well do that in a language which you are comfortable using.

There may be other native speakers of your language who would be ecstatic if a tech blogger showed up and started writing things that they could read comfortably.

Not that I don't understand why you'd prefer to use English for a lot of things, just as many people prefer to do their writing on news.yc and live in a startup hub.

Your English doesn't read that poorly to me :)

If you are so self conscious about it, why don't you just put a disclaimer at the top of every post, e.g. something short like "Please note: English is not my first language."

I agree with the other comments posted. Your English seems fine to me. I have a similar problem in that though I am in the US, I was raised speaking the Queen's English (for e.g. I refer to the boot of a car as the bonnet :D). I normally ask a friend to review an email/proposal that I have drafted and thats my way of ensuring that everything is kosher.

I guess you could start by putting a disclaimer on your blog stating that English is not your first language, and probably asking a friend/colleague to review your post prior to posting it. But I do think that this should not stop you from sharing your ideas or thoughts. Someone's fluency with English would (IMO) not stop people from reading what you have to say.

Good luck. Hope this helps.

Yeah. Just do it, certainly the experience will only improve your written English.

Your written English is better than many British teenagers. I had no idea that English wasn't your first language. You'd be absolutely fine blogging in English.

One of my favorite web-design blogs is Antonio Lupetti's "woork" (http://woork.blogspot.com). English isn't his first language, and his grammar is sometimes a little quirky, but I read all of his posts because they're usually quite informative and entertaining despite the occasional grammatical or spelling error.

So I guess I agree with everybody else - just write your blog. If it's informative and fun to read, people will read it.

yeah, seriously, just start writing, its not like your blog will get a lot of attention right away and you will be embarrassed. You start posting something regularly, and as your written English gets better and you get some readers, you will feel much better about it all. Besides, you can always go back and edit the post when you identify silly mistakes.

I copied a technique from PG: if I write an essay, I'll send it aroud to a few of my friends, who I can trust to be critical if they don't find it particularly good. If they're not especially impressed, or if they don't have anything to say about it, I'll rewrite sections or keep it as a draft, waiting to finish it up later.

I guess ur english is just fine for writing blog. Blog is an expression not somekind of grammer test. Its your opinion,thoughts,ideas etc. People dont care about the grammer, they care about the content. So just go and write that first blog, rest will taken care.

I write my own blog. My readership is minuscule but it takes to my idiosyncrasies. And often challenges my opinions. What more could I ask!

Language should be the last reason why one does not communicate. An idea holds itself regardless of which language its written in and with what finesse.

And like you I guess I too shift from philosophy to poetry to tech without missing a beat. It does restrict your reader base a lot but again, if your style can accommodate all these perspectives, I dont see why you could not talk about all that catches your fancy.

Generally if you have solid material to discuss people will overlook a lot of grammar and usage problems.

So if you stick to solid stuff and stay away from gossip and other nonsense you'll be fine.

You've gotta work with what you got. If you don't try to hide the fact that it's a foreign written blog then people will be a lot more forgiving in regards to the grammar.

you can get help writing a blog? :P

I know a lot of native english speakers whos english on their blog is crap. I wouldn't worry about it.

after posting this for 3 hours - i'm delighted by your motivational responses - thanks to all and i welcome more users to share their views and ideas so that not only me but many others like me can also get valuable tips ..

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