new round of five questions
Nov. 2nd, 2018 05:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
howsmyenglishSince I played five questions with eller I thought that this is a very good and fun way to get to know new people, so I was very happy to get five new questions from hamletta. Thank you, I enjoyed answering them!
Everyone is welcome to five questions from me!
1. What brought you to Dreamwidth?
What brought me here was the sudden fear that my English isn't good enough for writing in it: hence the username. The thing is that English is not only not my mother tongue, it's not even my second language. I have been reading almost exclusively in English for years and I don't remember when I last watched something in another language; I quite often use English in daily life, but as a writer one does need a certain level, a certain ability to make words do what you want, to play, to paint... It should be more than just being able to express your thoughts. And when I suddenly felt that I have no proof that am able to treat English as a writer, I opened this account - to write in English, to talk to people, to practice.
That I then started to meet real writers and talk to them was pure accident: I really didn't expect to find you all here! And I've decided to see this as a good sign :)
2. What do you like to write?
The longer I think about it, the more I come to the conclusion that I am mostly interested in people. How they react in different situations, how they think and feel, what makes them tick. Theoretically, this leaves every genre open for me, but I don't think that genre fiction (including science fiction/fantasy) is the way I should go. All the writing I've done before was mostly realism, maybe with a little magic... I don't really know how to call it: I do allow things to exist that don't necessarily exist in the real world, but they mostly are not significant enough for the whole piece to be called fantasy, for example. The book that I want to write is going to be pure realism - I think.
3. Favourite place?
My favorite place is a wide windowsill below a big window in a (partly wooden) house that is standing on a hill overlooking neighboring hills and woods they're covered in; ideally there should be some kind of a water source nearby - a river down in the valley, a stream behind the house or even a sea not too far away.
4. Your current hobby?
Wow, I racked my brains about this one. I have disliked the word "hobby" since I first heard it in grade 2 or 3, so I've never defined anything I did as a hobby. This question gave me an opportunity to, first, try and understand, why I dislike the word so much, second, what (if anything) I would call a hobby, a third, whether or not I have one.
It turns out that I dislike the word, because I don't see any reason for it's existence, no clear etymology, no logical reason behind it's coming into existence. I've googled it! Still, I don't see any explanation. It really looks like a totally random silly word that was suddenly picked up by the whole world just in order to give a name to the very nice and understandable "pastime" that exists in every language I know. Still, I agree that today, the word hobby might mean more than a pastime...
I'm not sure that I have one, though. I mean, I read books, yes, but reading is just part of my life, it has been since I learned to read, and I do think that I will continue reading until I die. So, hobby? I don't think so. Hobby sounds way less permanent. Same goes for yoga. It's been part of my life for years, it's not something I pursue, it's the way I live. What else? Well, I like baking bread and cooking, but I really only do it, because we need to eat, so it's more of a necessity that I enjoy. There is one thing that I thought I might call a hobby: I'm interested in alternative medicine, herbs, healing mushrooms, propolis and stuff like that. But this, too, I only pursue when someone gets sick and I feel that something like that might help - then I do look for information, find the stuff, prepare something, if need be, try it out, etc. I like to feel like a witch. But I'm afraid, this, too, is not really a hobby.
I've tried talking about this to members of my family and friends - in the end none of them was able to come up with a definition, the only thing that we could agree on was that my husband's hobby is tinkering. :)
So, what would you say is a hobby?
5. What's your comfort food?
Pasta. Almost any kind of pasta or noodles, the simplest one consists of thin noodles with pieces of sausages in it.
Who's next?
eller I thought that this is a very good and fun way to get to know new people, so I was very happy to get five new questions from hamletta. Thank you, I enjoyed answering them!Everyone is welcome to five questions from me!
1. What brought you to Dreamwidth?
What brought me here was the sudden fear that my English isn't good enough for writing in it: hence the username. The thing is that English is not only not my mother tongue, it's not even my second language. I have been reading almost exclusively in English for years and I don't remember when I last watched something in another language; I quite often use English in daily life, but as a writer one does need a certain level, a certain ability to make words do what you want, to play, to paint... It should be more than just being able to express your thoughts. And when I suddenly felt that I have no proof that am able to treat English as a writer, I opened this account - to write in English, to talk to people, to practice.
That I then started to meet real writers and talk to them was pure accident: I really didn't expect to find you all here! And I've decided to see this as a good sign :)
2. What do you like to write?
The longer I think about it, the more I come to the conclusion that I am mostly interested in people. How they react in different situations, how they think and feel, what makes them tick. Theoretically, this leaves every genre open for me, but I don't think that genre fiction (including science fiction/fantasy) is the way I should go. All the writing I've done before was mostly realism, maybe with a little magic... I don't really know how to call it: I do allow things to exist that don't necessarily exist in the real world, but they mostly are not significant enough for the whole piece to be called fantasy, for example. The book that I want to write is going to be pure realism - I think.
3. Favourite place?
My favorite place is a wide windowsill below a big window in a (partly wooden) house that is standing on a hill overlooking neighboring hills and woods they're covered in; ideally there should be some kind of a water source nearby - a river down in the valley, a stream behind the house or even a sea not too far away.
4. Your current hobby?
Wow, I racked my brains about this one. I have disliked the word "hobby" since I first heard it in grade 2 or 3, so I've never defined anything I did as a hobby. This question gave me an opportunity to, first, try and understand, why I dislike the word so much, second, what (if anything) I would call a hobby, a third, whether or not I have one.
It turns out that I dislike the word, because I don't see any reason for it's existence, no clear etymology, no logical reason behind it's coming into existence. I've googled it! Still, I don't see any explanation. It really looks like a totally random silly word that was suddenly picked up by the whole world just in order to give a name to the very nice and understandable "pastime" that exists in every language I know. Still, I agree that today, the word hobby might mean more than a pastime...
I'm not sure that I have one, though. I mean, I read books, yes, but reading is just part of my life, it has been since I learned to read, and I do think that I will continue reading until I die. So, hobby? I don't think so. Hobby sounds way less permanent. Same goes for yoga. It's been part of my life for years, it's not something I pursue, it's the way I live. What else? Well, I like baking bread and cooking, but I really only do it, because we need to eat, so it's more of a necessity that I enjoy. There is one thing that I thought I might call a hobby: I'm interested in alternative medicine, herbs, healing mushrooms, propolis and stuff like that. But this, too, I only pursue when someone gets sick and I feel that something like that might help - then I do look for information, find the stuff, prepare something, if need be, try it out, etc. I like to feel like a witch. But I'm afraid, this, too, is not really a hobby.
I've tried talking about this to members of my family and friends - in the end none of them was able to come up with a definition, the only thing that we could agree on was that my husband's hobby is tinkering. :)
So, what would you say is a hobby?
5. What's your comfort food?
Pasta. Almost any kind of pasta or noodles, the simplest one consists of thin noodles with pieces of sausages in it.
Who's next?
no subject
Date: 2018-11-04 06:09 pm (UTC)My favorite place is a wide windowsill below a big window...
Are you a cat??? :D
So, what would you say is a hobby?
For me, a hobby is something I enjoy doing but that is not 1) defining me as a person, 2) I would miss, but can live without, and 3) something I do for fun rather than specific outcome.
For instance, I love fencing and really enjoy doing it, but I'm not trying to become a competition fencer (no chance anyway, lol). If I had to stop it, I would be VERY disappointed, but it wouldn't ruin my life. In the same way, I love fountain pens and enjoy collecting some vintage ones, but I'm not aspiring to be either a expert or someone with an impressive collection.
On the other hand, writing for me is not a hobby, even it brings very little money, if at all. But I write with a purpose of becoming an established novelist, and if I had to stop, my life would be changed. Does that make sense?
BTW, in case you haven't noticed, English is not my first language either...
no subject
Date: 2018-11-05 12:08 pm (UTC)Well, actually... it's been some years since I've started telling people that I'm doing my best to become a cat... XD I don't mean the windowsill, though, I mean the thing when people say that if a cat gets sick, you can let it out in the wood and it will find the herbs it needs to get better. I've no idea whether this is true, but I sure would like to be able to heal myself like that - to feel what is the right medicine rather going to a doctors etc. So, I'm really happy you thought I might be a cat! :D
Yes! It does! It actually helped me understand that I do have some hobbies! OK, so, one of my hobbies is ayurveda: I don't know much about it (hardly anything), but I really enjoy learning things about it and trying new recipes from time to time. Another might be listening to audio books, but I'm not sure whether this counts (I mean, is it not rather close to watching TV?).
And I did notice that English is not your mother tongue - I mean, I read about it in your journal. The difference between us is that I don't live in an English speaking country and have not written and published (right?) books in English already... So... you probably have more reasons to be sure of your grasp of English than I do ;)
BTW, this was one of the reasons for my being so exited about the writers' retreat you wrote about: it's an expat writers' retreat for people writing in English! I had no idea things like that existed!
no subject
Date: 2018-12-05 07:26 pm (UTC)1. What brought you to Dreamwidth? I broke my leg last summer and was bored. My girlfriend has a dreamwidth and, since I was stuck inside, I started one for something to do. I'm still working on getting it to stick as a habit.
2. What do you like to write? I am still figuring this out. I talk about my husband and girlfriend a lot, I talk about books and
3. Favourite place? It's a toss up between in the stands at Cardiff Arms Park, at the front of an attentive lecture hall, and curled up with my partners
4. Your current hobby? Right now, attempting to keep up with blogging. I also read fiction and non-fiction, bake, do yoga, watch TV, attend rugby matches and play board games
5. What's your comfort food? Either cupcakes, fudge or strawberries.
no subject
Date: 2018-12-06 12:24 pm (UTC)Answer to number 2 seems interrupted?
no subject
Date: 2018-12-07 11:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-12-06 03:20 am (UTC)ABOUT ME: Nostalgia for more innocent times, in which people sought real contacts through Livejournal. I made very good friends in Livejournal (from my country, and from other countries), many of which are still in my life. I am coming back in a turbulent time since there is much more movement than expected for the whole TUMBLRgate.
ABOUT YOU: What is your main language and/or your second language? I have not surfed through your DW yet, but did you participate in NaNoWriMo 2018?
2. What do you like to write?
ABOUT ME: Fanfiction - I've written bad fanfiction since 2006. It's not like my writings will ever see the light, so it's very relaxed and without pressure.
ABOUT YOU: Did you ever write in your language? Have you ever published a book? Who are your favourite authors? Do you have an author in particular that you identify as your role model?
3. Favourite place?
ABOUT ME: I live in a studio ... there are not many particularly beautiful places since everything is just one medium-size room. That said, the truth is that I'm always very comfortable at home.
ABOUT YOU: I'm really intrigued... does the place you describe exist for real, and can I book it on Booking.com? Sounds heavenly!
4. Your current hobby?
ABOUT ME: Writing, photography, music and research (any kind of research... I love to explore new data, whatever that data is about)
ABOUT YOU: Alternative medicine as in homoeopathy? Do you research on this subject by pure interest, or it is the kind of knowledge/tradition that is inherited by the family?
5. What's your comfort food?
ABOUT ME: I have a sweet tooth. You can call me cookie monster any time!
ABOUT YOU: Pasta
no subject
Date: 2018-12-06 01:23 pm (UTC)I'm trying to keep it a secret, just as the place I live or was born in ;) But I can say this much: languages that I use daily are Hebrew, Hindi, Russian and English, German is semi-daily.
NaNoWriMo - no, I actually only learned about it a couple of days ago.
Did you participate? What are your languages? Which of them do you write in?
2) Did you ever write in your language? Have you ever published a book? Who are your favourite authors? Do you have an author in particular that you identify as your role model?
Well... yes, as far as fiction goes, I only wrote it in my first language so far. I had an LJ account for that. Then I decided that I had to change a lot, including language, so this is why I'm here: to practice and check whether writing in English is something I can trust myself to do successfully.
I have published a book, but it's my MA thesis and I am rather ashamed of it than proud.
Authors... as I wrote to you on addme, Julio Cortazar is one of my all time favorites. I actually was in mourning, when I first discovered his books and found out that he had already died. I consider him a genius, he's very close to my heart. I have lots and lots of favorite authors, but if I'm speaking about special influences and my writing, then the next in line should be Nabokov, Terry Pratchett, Roald Dahl and... I don't know, I feel like the list continues, but then... it might never stop... :)
I do love Agatha Christie and Conan Doyle, but they're like my best friends, I know all their books by heart and I would never try to write a detective story, I just love spending time with them. There are many, many more...
How about you?
3) I'm really intrigued... does the place you describe exist for real, and can I book it on Booking.com? Sounds heavenly!
Oh yes, I've been in several places like this, one was in India (though without the window sill, but the room was so small that the bed looked like that was it) and you can book it, another was in the Czech Republic and I'm not sure that it still exists, the third is where I live :) I hope to find many more.
4) Alternative medicine as in homoeopathy? Do you research on this subject by pure interest, or it is the kind of knowledge/tradition that is inherited by the family?
No, I am actually very skeptic about homeopathy. I mean more things like herbs, ayurveda, physical exercises, healing mushrooms etc... My mother used to treat us with herbs and massages (acupressure) when we were small, so I guess this is where it started. But I wasn't interested in any of these things until I got older and interested in health (my own and other people's).
5) =D