# Hello from Brazil



## elite (Feb 2, 2011)

Hello, there!

I'm not a native English speaker, but my dream is to _someday _(not now) become published with a novel written in this language. The reason: I hate Spanish, and love the simplicity and elegance of the English language.

Here's a bit of my _really strange_ history, for those that want to know:

I'm a native Spanish speaker, now living in Brazil (I'm getting the hang of Portuguese, little by little) who loves the English language. Truth be told, I've been learning since I was a little kid. I'm 19 now, but four years ago I could barely write a decent sentence.

Much of what I learned from then on was in a video game message board, namely GameFaqs, and a clan I joined to play some games online. From that point onwards, my English became decent, and like the average person, stopped caring about learning any further.

I became a fan of Japanese anime, and this is what led me to study English seriously. No, really, if it wasn't because I got into that stuff, I might have never gotten into writing. That was because I came across a Japanese media called "Visual Novel". Visual Novels are... well, _novels_ usually written in first person, with text and music. To me it was the perfect introduction to literary works; I was never much into reading. The catch is that I knew no Japanese, so I had to find English translations for whatever I wanted to read. These English translations were mostly done by fans, or some importing companies such as MangaGamer. The sheer amount of content I read made better with English, and made me carve for increasingly better stories.

I kept on reading, and reading, and reading. I loved it, I craved for it, I yearned for it. I waited for months (still do) until the latest fan translations came out. I learned the piano to play the songs from my favorite Visual Novels.

But what I loved the most about it was how intricate the stories were, compared to what an anime TV show or movie could provide. I came to the realization that only written works could develop a character or plot to a point where I was completely satisfied with it. I began reading western works as well; I became addicted to reading.

By then (two years ago) my English was quite developed, I could read and write faster and better than Spanish, which I had neglected. I began to think: "maybe I could write something myself," and English became the obvious choice. It's been a hard and rocky road since then; I've written a lot, but most of it feels like rubbish nowadays.

I'm currently writing the first draft for a romance novel, and I'm surprised at how much my writing style has changed. It has been really hard, and I've got no one to support my dream of getting published, but I feel like I am ready to join a writing group. I want to share what little I know, and learn lots from the pros!

Treat me well!


----------



## Olly Buckle (Feb 3, 2011)

Hello and welcome to the site.
Your English is excellent, though I can tell the influence in a couple of places, for example, "and I got no one to support my dream" should really be "I have got no one ... ", making it a form of present tense, and you should note the difference between crave and carve, however this is nit picking, I see English speakers who do worse things. Most of us here are amateur writers, there are a few professionals, but hopefully we can still help you. Good to see you here, enjoy the site, Olly


----------



## elite (Feb 3, 2011)

Thanks, I didn't notice that at all. I just looked up "crave" and "carve" on google, I have been writing the wrong word for years!

I think I'll enjoy my time here, nice to meet you, Olly.


----------



## Elderheymn (Feb 3, 2011)

Greetings and welcome to the forum.

It´s nice to see a fellow Brazilian here, and yes, I am here to improve my english as well.

By the way, if you are into RPing, I got a thread going called "Four inches". Feel free to stop by and write along.

Cheers from Porto Alegre - RS


----------



## elite (Feb 3, 2011)

Elderheymn said:


> Greetings and welcome to the forum.
> 
> It´s nice to see a fellow Brazilian here, and yes, I am here to improve my english as well.
> 
> ...



What a coincidence, I'm currently living in Sao Jeronimo. It's an hour and a half from there, and I'll be doing Computer Science on PUCRS, starting on march 1st. I'm native from Venezuela, but my mom is Brazilian and we just moved here last month. We might bump onto each other some time!


----------



## Gumby (Feb 3, 2011)

Welcome to the site, elite. I've never before heard anyone say that English was simple and elegant.  So glad you've joined us, your English is excellent.


----------



## elite (Feb 3, 2011)

Gumby said:


> Welcome to the site, elite. I've never before heard anyone say that English was simple and elegant.  So glad you've joined us, your English is excellent.



Well, being someone who speaks three languages, I can say with confidence that English is the best out of those three!

Thanks for the compliment, I hope we'll get along!


----------



## Nickie (Feb 3, 2011)

Welcome to the forums, Elite! I'm not a native English speaker either, but I write in English and am publisher with an American publisher. So you see it can be done!


Nickie


----------



## elite (Feb 3, 2011)

That's good to know! How did you get published while being in another country? did you travel to the US to find a publisher?


----------



## Elderheymn (Feb 4, 2011)

Sure thing Elite, when do your classes start? I will PM you my msn.


----------

