About writing in a foreign language

   For about a couple of years ago I've started writing in English, in an effort to have my work reach a much larger audience than it ever would in my native language, Greek. However this had several unforeseen difficulties.
   Why am I writing this? Well, I guess because a blog is a place to write one's thoughts, and maybe my text will be useful to other writers who face the same dilemma: should I continue writing in my native language and hope for a translation opportunity, or should I start writing in English and reach a wider audience easier?

   One of the first things you notice is the fact that writing in a language that isn't your native is extremely difficult, and makes the "easier" part of the above sentence seem laughable. Writing a few sentences, or perhaps a small text, correctly, isn't so hard, although a couple of mistakes can always slip in. On the other hand, writing a literary work is much harder. We're "forced" to think in our native language, but different languages don't have the same structure and rules. Personally I've often found myself realizing that I'm writing in Greek and simply using English words; something I took notice when I re-read my first attempt of translating my book in English at the age of 19; I still have this first attempt, just in case I one day become a best-selling author and want to publish a few copies, just because I love a good joke!
    However the errors in the texts per se aren't the main problem; they're but the cause of it. What I at least faced was doubting my talent. It took me quite some time to realize that the few rejections from agents and publishers were due to the fact that my novel needed extreme editing, which is why I've for the time being stopped querying about it. But up until I finally realized what the problem really was, (where I went through translating the novel all over again and I'm now working with a professional editor to finally make it read like an actual English-written novel) I often caught myself thinking whether I should give up writing altogether.
    Of course I never did, because I don't think I'm capable of stop writing, however I did have a year-long writer's block (what a lovely fella this bastard is!). Fortunately I got over it, and actually wrote a novel based upon it.
   
   I guess it's about time to put an end to this long text, and maybe I should do so with a moral, no matter how cliche it may be: Never stop doing what you really love, for there's nothing better than finding success in what you love to do.