AboutBobbie Christmas Expertise As the author of the triple-award-winning book on creative writing, Write In Style (Union Square Publishing), I help writers power up their prose, edit and revise their manuscripts, and increase their chances of selling to a publisher. I also help writers polish manuscripts for self-publishing and sometimes assist in the process.
Experience Experience: I have more than 30 years of experience in all aspects of the publishing and communications industry and have run my own book-editing company since 1992
Organizations:
Board of Advisors, Georgia Writers Association (past president)
South Carolina Writers Workshop (past vice president)
Florida Writers Association (charter/lifelong member)
Atlanta Writers Club
Society for the Preservation of English Language and Literature (SPELL)
International Guild of Professional Consultants
Publications:
Write in Style (Union Square Publishing), A Cup of Comfort (Adams Media Corporation), A Cup of Comfort for Friends (Adams Media), A Cup of Comfort for Mothers and Sons (Adams Media), Haunted Engounters (Atriad Press), Remembering Woolworth's (St. Martin's Press), First-Time Home Buyer magazine, HomeBusiness Journal, Apparel Industry Magazine, Edge Magazine, Atlanta Jewish Times, Time Travel Australia, American Writers Review, Points North, That's Entertainment, Atlanta Parent, Agnes Scott Alumnae Magazine, and several dozen other places
Education/Credentials:
Journalism: University of South Carolina
Three decades of on-the-job training in publishing, marketing, communications, advertising, newspaper and magazine production/writing/editing, book publishing, etc
Awards and Honors:
First Place, nonfiction, Georgia Writers Annual Contest, 2005
First Place, education, Royal Palm Literary Award, 2004
Best in Division, Georgia Author of the Year Awards, 2005
Finalist, Best Books 2005, USA BookNews
Third Place, nonfiction, Georgia Writers, 1999
Nominated for Georgia Author of the Year, 1998
Many other awards
Past/Present clients:
Olin Frederick (publisher), The Writer's Machine (publisher), Russell Dean & Company (publisher), Keith Harrell (author of books for John Wiley & Sons and Hay House), Dale Butler (member of the Parliament, Bermuda) and hundreds of writers. I also edit books for print-on-demand companies that help authors self publish.
Question i'm working on a novel in which the characters travel to a country where they do not speak the language, so they hire a guide/translator. i want to show the experience through the eyes of a foreigner and have it ring true, but obviously i don't want the reader to get bored by constantly describing an action or tone of a speaker then having it translated by the guide/translator character.
i feel like i'm finding a good balance and keeping it readable, but i would really love any advice on how best to handle this.
also, do you know of any novels that have done this well?
thanks for your time!
Answer You're on the right track to think in terms of moderation and balance. An occasional foreign word or phrase that the translator explains would be interesting, but giving the foreign sentence and English translation every time would bore readers. I like the idea of the native performing the action and the translator explaining. I would be captured, for example if a scene showed a native waving his hands and pointing, and the translator saying, “He says we can't catch a taxi here; we have to walk down to the next corner.” As a creative writer, though, I would not use the same method of showing the speaker's action and telling the translation every time. Always avoid patterns. Sometimes the foreigner can try to guess what the speaker is trying to say. Sometimes the translation can be given in narrative. Sometimes it should be word for word and at other times paraphrased, as in my example. Vary the techniques, and the content will stay interesting to readers.
Offhand no specific novels come to mind as outstanding examples, but The Broker by John Grisham does a fairly good job with the use of foreign words.
Be sure to go to www.zebraeditor.com and sign up for my free newsletter for writers. I wish you much success with your novel.
