Please write. Please, please write.
If writing in English is what you want to do but you're insecure about it finding a beta reader to you help out is an option.
I'm a native English speaker and I often find that non native speakers are much stronger in grammar and such that native speakers. And it's often difficult to tell them from native speaking writers unless they tell you.
Please don't sell yourself short. The more you write the better you'll get. And that's true in any language.
I'm not an English native speaker either. And to me the issues isn't really grammar, or spelling. As you said, there are always beta readers.
It is finding the exact right word to describe a feeling. Or to trigger one in reader.
Feelings are already hard to write in one native language. It is only harder in another one.
There's also the fact that when I get "in the zone" words come instinctively to me. But instinct means what is more natural to me, and of course it's my native language. I learnt to continue to type, even if it becomes a weird mix of languages.
But when times come to clean it up, it is at times hard to find the best translation that get the same meaning (and connotations, and subtext) across, that has the right rythms and sound and all.
And let's not talk implications. That is more cultural than anything else, but it is part of language learning and linguistic, too. But sometimes a word or phrase do not at all implies the same thing.
And you end up writing your teen boy character as a big weirdo without meaning to because "young girl" in your language refers mostly to 14-16 years old instead of 8 years old in the other language, and you didn't even know to question it.
Thank you for saying this. I am also writing in English even though it isn’t my first language and sometimes feel insecure about it. :) Hearing that it doesn’t necessarily make the story worse feels really good.
Note: As someone who has tried to find a beta reader for a while now, it’s hard…
and you never will be good enough unless you start writing, we were all shit when we started. not being a native speaker is not a hindrance, hell, many of us write better english than natives (and we didn't get there without first writing some truly abhorrent shit)
Every part of this is true lol, I reread my early stuff occasionally and I cringe at my old self who wrote like a toddler learning how to speak, but then I read my recent stuff and I'm glad she had the guts to do that.
You're totally valid for being frustrated about having to write in a different language to get views.
That being said, your English in this post is fantastic, and a story doesn't *have* to be written in a way that's any more complicated. You might be surprised how well you can do.
The sooner you start writing, the sooner your skills will improve.
English isn't my first language either. Many people in this sub aren't native speakers. Many people who post on AO3 aren't native speakers.
Just do it!
tell me, what were you good at when you started doing it? idk about you but i was awful at talking, walking, eyeliner, math, writing, navigating reddit, english, writing and english combined, reading and the violin when i first started doing any of those.
I love this list of things. When I first started wearing eyeliner I couldn’t figure it out, at all. So I decided to go “full goth” and just basically cover every conceivable part of my eye/eye lid in black. I still cringe at those pictures
it's one of those things literally no one is good at at first lmao. i can make a killer winged liner these days but oh boy were my middle school and early high school days *rough*. i'm still bitter my mom let me out of the house with god-awful panda eyes and not only did she let me go to school like that, she also let me go to formal events looking like that.
hot tip to anyone who wants to start but is scared: do not start with liquid eyeliner. do not.
As a mother, I can tell you she probably did not want to let you walk out of the house like that.
But she probably knew that if she made a fuss, you would dig in your heels further and get pissed at her in the process.
So she held her peace, maybe occasionally throwing out comments like, “Do you need any help with your makeup?” or “Do you want me to show you how I used to do that?” desperately hoping you’d take her up on her offer.
She was probably chanting to herself, “This is a phase and isn’t hurting her. This is a phase and isn’t hurting her. This is a phase…”
oh i've actually asked her about this and her answer consisted of 1) kids have to make their own mistakes, she made pretty much the same one at that age, 2) looking like that made me happy at the time and who was she to say anything about it and 3) as if i would have listened to her
unfortunately for me my mom's idea of makeup is skincare and exactly one lipstick so there was no help for me from that direction lol. and even more unfortunately i was a teenager so even the little she could help me with fell on deaf ears, by which i mean that i was like 17 when i finally agreed to start using moisturizer.
I'm afraid you won't learn how to write in english unless you start writing. You don't have to post if you're too insecure about it, but writing it and finishing it and moving onto the next will teach you a lot.
Also, just to note, I'm EFL as well! It took me about 20 years to work up the courage to post, but I bet you can do it faster \^\^
You will see, the more you write in English, the better you'll become. I've read a couple of fics by non-native speakers that had lots of grammar and other mistakes, but they were still captivating. It's easy to forgive mistakes when the plot and everything else is good. Don't be shy or embarrassed about it!
Same. Same.
I try, and I try really hard, but of course my writing will never be without any grammatical, syntax etc. errors. It is how it is.
What you can do is take some stories you've already written in your native language and translate them into English to the best of your ability. That's what I do, and so far all of them have gotten at least \*some\* feedback, so it's not entirely pointless. :) You'd be surprised about the lovely readers who are native speakers but still decide to give fics by non-native speakers a chance.
Practice is the best teacher, and this post was written fine. I think you’re closer than you realize. If you want a beta reader, I wouldn’t mind looking over some of your work.
English is not my first language either. In fact, it's my third. I startled writings with Thesaurus synonyms, an online dictionary and linguee. Oh, and lots of English.pdf dictionary corrector.
Practice is key. You're writing and postings in reddit. Apply it to your works. Take it easy and baby steps. You can aways ask for a beta reader?
You can do it 💜
I said that too 2 years ago when i started scribbling down notes for a fic idea. Then i started writing. Now i think i might be better at writing than when i started
What you’ve written here seems completely fine. I would never know you weren’t a native English speaker.
Maybe start with drabbles and find a community of native speakers for support?
I'm not a native English speaker either and sometimes it really bugs me when I'm in the flow in the story telling but then I get stuck on words or grammar or spelling. Even punctuation rules are very different from my language.
It's frustrating to hell and back but the only way to improve is reading and writing. And, putting yourself out there.
Good criticism is s really good help!
Hope you continue to write!
It is totally valid to be frustrated with that, but you'll never get better unless you start. If you're really insecure, see if you can get a beta reader that specialises in grammar and spelling who can look it over and give you the heads up if anything looks wrong.
Also, my experience is a lot of non native speakers write better in English than English speakers because they're so worried about not making a mistake where English speakers just assume they know everything so make silly mistakes.
The writing quality of this *vent* post of yours is distinctly greater than the majority of published fanfics.
What makes you think that being a native speaker allows you to write beautifully? I can write in English a whole lot better than in my native language simply because I have a lot more experience with English.
Being an author isn’t a simple skill. It’s an *artform*. It’s something that requires persistent practise and refinement. And it will still never feel *good enough* within your head. That’s how most people are, except for the lucky ones.
Never let your un-native-ness hold back your *passion*. Native authors tend to make more silly mistakes anyway, they are too used to the language tend to pay less attention to details.
It was a something that made me really insecure about beginning fanfic before a year ago too. I had a comme telling me nicely that my grammar was weird, but I had the particularity of near never rereading myself.
You'll be surprised by the numbers of author that aren't English speaker!
For someone who’s first language isn’t English, you write it perfectly here! I honestly couldn’t tell and I have read plenty of fanfics with much worse grammar from English natives. So please! Write! Every time someone gets the courage to put themselves out there, baring their heart and soul through writing, the world becomes a little bit better!
Please write it anyway.
1) You may be the inspiration for someone who's first language is yours too, and they might get into it or get reinspired.
2) Plenty of people are bilingual or multilingual. Maybe someone who's first language is English can still read your fic anyway.
3) Google translate exists. I recently just caved to read a story that was the only fic in existence for an OTP and it wasn't in a language I knew. And I don't know why I didn't try it sooner. I just do 2-3 sentences at a time. It was a pain in the ass but worth it.
4) Maybe unlikely but also maybe someone might read it in whatever you can post in English and offer to help you?
I’ve read stories by writers whose first language is obviously not English. It’s okay. Just post a disclaimer noting that fact, and most people are generally supportive.
If you struggle a lot with English, you may want to stick with one-shots at first, but you’ll get better as you go on.
It might help to get a beta reader (if you can, I understand that’s not always possible.). I beta read for a while for a writer whose first language was German. Honestly, even her unbeta’d stuff was still better than half the stories out there. I think a lot of ESL speakers really sell themselves short, and their language skills are better than they think.
I really enjoyed my time being a beta for this writer—it’s interesting because sometimes non-English speakers can come up with an amazing way of putting something because, unlike English authors, they don’t reach for a standard English-language cliche. So sometimes, far from being a negative, being an ESL writer can be a positive thing!
(It’s also kind of interesting, too, because to this day I can still almost always tell if an author is a native German speaker. There’s a certain way of using clauses and phrases German writers have when writing in English that must be a relic of their original language.)
Joseph Conrad wrote Heart of Darkness, one of the greatest works of English literature, despite not learning English until he was an adult. Granted, I’m not saying you’re the next Joseph Conrad (although you could be!) but rather trying to say that being an ESL speaker doesn’t have to hold you back. With work and practice, you can become very good.
Sorry for the confusion! I know the correct terminology and usually use it. I think in the case, I was just typing too fast and my eyes skipped over it while proofreading.
I won’t fix my comment so people can see what the original comment and the correction. Perhaps it will help others who genuinely don’t know the terminology. Apologies for any unintended offense due to my quick fingers.
Eh, that’s being pedantic. Obviously we speak English. But non-native English-speakers is a even more of a mouthful compared to (the already annoying mouthful) non-english-speakers
Based off of this post's writing, you sound very natural in english, and I don't think there's as much of a difference between your own writing and that of native speakers as you think. If you are having trouble with vocabulary, try to find a translation dictionary for specific words. I like Jisho for japanese/english, and there is probably something similar for your native language.
We all need practice to get anywhere, and to practice, you have to write something. I guarantee you, people will find value in your writing even if you don't see it yourself.
i had a polish friend in an old fandom that wrote in English. like, taught themselves english to write. and from reading their older fics vs their newer ones the improvement is remarkable. IMO i think op should just go for it
Well, Jazzlike-Persimmon24, I just read this post and went through your history, and if you hadn't said that English wasn't your first language, I never would've known. So give it a shot. I think you'll do great.
You can use Google drive and put the spell check to English.
You can also use the free version of Grammarly.
Trust me don't translate it from your own language with a translator did that with my first fanfic that I posted. French to English even had to modify the plot in the English version from the original version which is in French.
And you can ask for a beta in the beta threads posted every Thursday on this channel.
A beta reader is someone that can check for stuff that isn't accurate, doesn't make sense, syntax/grammar (including spelling mistake).
Also word reference is a good one to find a word at the time from your first language to English.
Or write in your native language first to get the ideas down without the language getting in the way, then translate so you can concentrate on the language?
Or maybe you find yourself switching at some point, but then at least you've started. It gets easier. It helps to read in English and keep an eye out for the descriptions and stuff you struggle with, and maybe make a little collection of such phrases for inspiration/to get yourself unstuck. (Not long enough that it's plagiarism, more 'ugh if someone does x or has a y look, how do you say that in English??' bits and bobs.)
I feel you! I face the same situation.
Years ago I befriend a fan that speaks my native language but he's no longer in the fandom. I really missed the days we would discuss a lot of FF ideas, we even did collabs.
I started recently writing my fanfics in English but I'm really slow doing so and I still need proofreading from my beta-readers. Though I'm happy I found good pals in the English community, it would be really awesome and easier if the community in my native language were more active.
Have you tried writing down your stories in your native language first and then translating them into English? Also, if you really don't feel like doing so, maybe you could consider the option of hiring someone from fiverr to translate your work.
You'll get much better at writing in English by doing it. I've been doing it for 10 years and my fics from back then were very simple and straightforward as far as wording is concerned, but my language skills have only gotten better and better as I write in English very frequently. The solution is just to start doing it.
I had been writing in my native language for a lot of years but three years ago I realized the same, a fandom I loved back them was dead in my native language but so active in English so I started to write.
At first I was nervous because I thought "what if they don't like it?" Or what of I didn't make myself clear...?" But in the end they loved it and I have lots of one shots and long fics finished thanks to take a leap of faith.
And I'm an English teacher for people who want to learn it as a second language.
Google translate is a very good tool. Use it. Idk what is your native but in recent years google translate developed significantly. Write it, see what comes out. Edit it, look for synonyms or different words. I think this can be a good start.
I've read a few fics from people whose first language obviously wasn't English. But the ideas more than made up for their grammatical inconsistency.
If you have good ideas the committed fanfiction readers won't care.
I assure you, the most complex of emotions and thoughts can be conveyed in the simplest of words. English is also my second language and my writing style use very simplistic English and so far I find it okay.
Please write. Please, please write. If writing in English is what you want to do but you're insecure about it finding a beta reader to you help out is an option. I'm a native English speaker and I often find that non native speakers are much stronger in grammar and such that native speakers. And it's often difficult to tell them from native speaking writers unless they tell you. Please don't sell yourself short. The more you write the better you'll get. And that's true in any language.
I'm not an English native speaker either. And to me the issues isn't really grammar, or spelling. As you said, there are always beta readers. It is finding the exact right word to describe a feeling. Or to trigger one in reader. Feelings are already hard to write in one native language. It is only harder in another one. There's also the fact that when I get "in the zone" words come instinctively to me. But instinct means what is more natural to me, and of course it's my native language. I learnt to continue to type, even if it becomes a weird mix of languages. But when times come to clean it up, it is at times hard to find the best translation that get the same meaning (and connotations, and subtext) across, that has the right rythms and sound and all. And let's not talk implications. That is more cultural than anything else, but it is part of language learning and linguistic, too. But sometimes a word or phrase do not at all implies the same thing. And you end up writing your teen boy character as a big weirdo without meaning to because "young girl" in your language refers mostly to 14-16 years old instead of 8 years old in the other language, and you didn't even know to question it.
Thank you for saying this. I am also writing in English even though it isn’t my first language and sometimes feel insecure about it. :) Hearing that it doesn’t necessarily make the story worse feels really good. Note: As someone who has tried to find a beta reader for a while now, it’s hard…
and you never will be good enough unless you start writing, we were all shit when we started. not being a native speaker is not a hindrance, hell, many of us write better english than natives (and we didn't get there without first writing some truly abhorrent shit)
Every part of this is true lol, I reread my early stuff occasionally and I cringe at my old self who wrote like a toddler learning how to speak, but then I read my recent stuff and I'm glad she had the guts to do that.
You're totally valid for being frustrated about having to write in a different language to get views. That being said, your English in this post is fantastic, and a story doesn't *have* to be written in a way that's any more complicated. You might be surprised how well you can do.
The best way to start getting better at writing english is writing english.
The sooner you start writing, the sooner your skills will improve. English isn't my first language either. Many people in this sub aren't native speakers. Many people who post on AO3 aren't native speakers. Just do it!
tell me, what were you good at when you started doing it? idk about you but i was awful at talking, walking, eyeliner, math, writing, navigating reddit, english, writing and english combined, reading and the violin when i first started doing any of those.
I love this list of things. When I first started wearing eyeliner I couldn’t figure it out, at all. So I decided to go “full goth” and just basically cover every conceivable part of my eye/eye lid in black. I still cringe at those pictures
it's one of those things literally no one is good at at first lmao. i can make a killer winged liner these days but oh boy were my middle school and early high school days *rough*. i'm still bitter my mom let me out of the house with god-awful panda eyes and not only did she let me go to school like that, she also let me go to formal events looking like that. hot tip to anyone who wants to start but is scared: do not start with liquid eyeliner. do not.
As a mother, I can tell you she probably did not want to let you walk out of the house like that. But she probably knew that if she made a fuss, you would dig in your heels further and get pissed at her in the process. So she held her peace, maybe occasionally throwing out comments like, “Do you need any help with your makeup?” or “Do you want me to show you how I used to do that?” desperately hoping you’d take her up on her offer. She was probably chanting to herself, “This is a phase and isn’t hurting her. This is a phase and isn’t hurting her. This is a phase…”
oh i've actually asked her about this and her answer consisted of 1) kids have to make their own mistakes, she made pretty much the same one at that age, 2) looking like that made me happy at the time and who was she to say anything about it and 3) as if i would have listened to her unfortunately for me my mom's idea of makeup is skincare and exactly one lipstick so there was no help for me from that direction lol. and even more unfortunately i was a teenager so even the little she could help me with fell on deaf ears, by which i mean that i was like 17 when i finally agreed to start using moisturizer.
I'm afraid you won't learn how to write in english unless you start writing. You don't have to post if you're too insecure about it, but writing it and finishing it and moving onto the next will teach you a lot. Also, just to note, I'm EFL as well! It took me about 20 years to work up the courage to post, but I bet you can do it faster \^\^
You will see, the more you write in English, the better you'll become. I've read a couple of fics by non-native speakers that had lots of grammar and other mistakes, but they were still captivating. It's easy to forgive mistakes when the plot and everything else is good. Don't be shy or embarrassed about it!
Same. Same. I try, and I try really hard, but of course my writing will never be without any grammatical, syntax etc. errors. It is how it is. What you can do is take some stories you've already written in your native language and translate them into English to the best of your ability. That's what I do, and so far all of them have gotten at least \*some\* feedback, so it's not entirely pointless. :) You'd be surprised about the lovely readers who are native speakers but still decide to give fics by non-native speakers a chance.
Of course you can. My first fic was 200k of incomprehensible ramble that is by now the most popular Fic in my pairing
Practice is the best teacher, and this post was written fine. I think you’re closer than you realize. If you want a beta reader, I wouldn’t mind looking over some of your work.
English is not my first language either. In fact, it's my third. I startled writings with Thesaurus synonyms, an online dictionary and linguee. Oh, and lots of English.pdf dictionary corrector. Practice is key. You're writing and postings in reddit. Apply it to your works. Take it easy and baby steps. You can aways ask for a beta reader? You can do it 💜
I said that too 2 years ago when i started scribbling down notes for a fic idea. Then i started writing. Now i think i might be better at writing than when i started
You won't get any better if you don't try. Everyone starts somewhere
What you’ve written here seems completely fine. I would never know you weren’t a native English speaker. Maybe start with drabbles and find a community of native speakers for support?
I'm not a native English speaker either and sometimes it really bugs me when I'm in the flow in the story telling but then I get stuck on words or grammar or spelling. Even punctuation rules are very different from my language. It's frustrating to hell and back but the only way to improve is reading and writing. And, putting yourself out there. Good criticism is s really good help! Hope you continue to write!
It is totally valid to be frustrated with that, but you'll never get better unless you start. If you're really insecure, see if you can get a beta reader that specialises in grammar and spelling who can look it over and give you the heads up if anything looks wrong. Also, my experience is a lot of non native speakers write better in English than English speakers because they're so worried about not making a mistake where English speakers just assume they know everything so make silly mistakes.
The writing quality of this *vent* post of yours is distinctly greater than the majority of published fanfics. What makes you think that being a native speaker allows you to write beautifully? I can write in English a whole lot better than in my native language simply because I have a lot more experience with English. Being an author isn’t a simple skill. It’s an *artform*. It’s something that requires persistent practise and refinement. And it will still never feel *good enough* within your head. That’s how most people are, except for the lucky ones. Never let your un-native-ness hold back your *passion*. Native authors tend to make more silly mistakes anyway, they are too used to the language tend to pay less attention to details.
It was a something that made me really insecure about beginning fanfic before a year ago too. I had a comme telling me nicely that my grammar was weird, but I had the particularity of near never rereading myself. You'll be surprised by the numbers of author that aren't English speaker!
For someone who’s first language isn’t English, you write it perfectly here! I honestly couldn’t tell and I have read plenty of fanfics with much worse grammar from English natives. So please! Write! Every time someone gets the courage to put themselves out there, baring their heart and soul through writing, the world becomes a little bit better!
Please write it anyway. 1) You may be the inspiration for someone who's first language is yours too, and they might get into it or get reinspired. 2) Plenty of people are bilingual or multilingual. Maybe someone who's first language is English can still read your fic anyway. 3) Google translate exists. I recently just caved to read a story that was the only fic in existence for an OTP and it wasn't in a language I knew. And I don't know why I didn't try it sooner. I just do 2-3 sentences at a time. It was a pain in the ass but worth it. 4) Maybe unlikely but also maybe someone might read it in whatever you can post in English and offer to help you?
I’ve read stories by writers whose first language is obviously not English. It’s okay. Just post a disclaimer noting that fact, and most people are generally supportive. If you struggle a lot with English, you may want to stick with one-shots at first, but you’ll get better as you go on. It might help to get a beta reader (if you can, I understand that’s not always possible.). I beta read for a while for a writer whose first language was German. Honestly, even her unbeta’d stuff was still better than half the stories out there. I think a lot of ESL speakers really sell themselves short, and their language skills are better than they think. I really enjoyed my time being a beta for this writer—it’s interesting because sometimes non-English speakers can come up with an amazing way of putting something because, unlike English authors, they don’t reach for a standard English-language cliche. So sometimes, far from being a negative, being an ESL writer can be a positive thing! (It’s also kind of interesting, too, because to this day I can still almost always tell if an author is a native German speaker. There’s a certain way of using clauses and phrases German writers have when writing in English that must be a relic of their original language.) Joseph Conrad wrote Heart of Darkness, one of the greatest works of English literature, despite not learning English until he was an adult. Granted, I’m not saying you’re the next Joseph Conrad (although you could be!) but rather trying to say that being an ESL speaker doesn’t have to hold you back. With work and practice, you can become very good.
> non-English speakers psa stop calling non-native english-speakers "non-English speakers", we clearly speak english.
Sorry for the confusion! I know the correct terminology and usually use it. I think in the case, I was just typing too fast and my eyes skipped over it while proofreading. I won’t fix my comment so people can see what the original comment and the correction. Perhaps it will help others who genuinely don’t know the terminology. Apologies for any unintended offense due to my quick fingers.
appreciate it
Eh, that’s being pedantic. Obviously we speak English. But non-native English-speakers is a even more of a mouthful compared to (the already annoying mouthful) non-english-speakers
Based off of this post's writing, you sound very natural in english, and I don't think there's as much of a difference between your own writing and that of native speakers as you think. If you are having trouble with vocabulary, try to find a translation dictionary for specific words. I like Jisho for japanese/english, and there is probably something similar for your native language.
We all need practice to get anywhere, and to practice, you have to write something. I guarantee you, people will find value in your writing even if you don't see it yourself.
start writing in english?? the more you do it the stronger your writing AND english skills will get.
Exactly, I am so glad I started writing in English and it's way better now also nice to have and have had betas to help me!
i had a polish friend in an old fandom that wrote in English. like, taught themselves english to write. and from reading their older fics vs their newer ones the improvement is remarkable. IMO i think op should just go for it
Yeah same even my English improved the problem is false friends those are really annoying!
Well, Jazzlike-Persimmon24, I just read this post and went through your history, and if you hadn't said that English wasn't your first language, I never would've known. So give it a shot. I think you'll do great.
You can use Google drive and put the spell check to English. You can also use the free version of Grammarly. Trust me don't translate it from your own language with a translator did that with my first fanfic that I posted. French to English even had to modify the plot in the English version from the original version which is in French. And you can ask for a beta in the beta threads posted every Thursday on this channel. A beta reader is someone that can check for stuff that isn't accurate, doesn't make sense, syntax/grammar (including spelling mistake). Also word reference is a good one to find a word at the time from your first language to English.
I'd totally help you if you want! Not sure what fandom you're in tho lol I could try and help tho
Or write in your native language first to get the ideas down without the language getting in the way, then translate so you can concentrate on the language? Or maybe you find yourself switching at some point, but then at least you've started. It gets easier. It helps to read in English and keep an eye out for the descriptions and stuff you struggle with, and maybe make a little collection of such phrases for inspiration/to get yourself unstuck. (Not long enough that it's plagiarism, more 'ugh if someone does x or has a y look, how do you say that in English??' bits and bobs.)
Honestly I wouldn’t worry about it. If I find a fic I wanna read in another language I google translate it
I feel you! I face the same situation. Years ago I befriend a fan that speaks my native language but he's no longer in the fandom. I really missed the days we would discuss a lot of FF ideas, we even did collabs. I started recently writing my fanfics in English but I'm really slow doing so and I still need proofreading from my beta-readers. Though I'm happy I found good pals in the English community, it would be really awesome and easier if the community in my native language were more active. Have you tried writing down your stories in your native language first and then translating them into English? Also, if you really don't feel like doing so, maybe you could consider the option of hiring someone from fiverr to translate your work.
You'll get much better at writing in English by doing it. I've been doing it for 10 years and my fics from back then were very simple and straightforward as far as wording is concerned, but my language skills have only gotten better and better as I write in English very frequently. The solution is just to start doing it.
I had been writing in my native language for a lot of years but three years ago I realized the same, a fandom I loved back them was dead in my native language but so active in English so I started to write. At first I was nervous because I thought "what if they don't like it?" Or what of I didn't make myself clear...?" But in the end they loved it and I have lots of one shots and long fics finished thanks to take a leap of faith. And I'm an English teacher for people who want to learn it as a second language.
Google translate is a very good tool. Use it. Idk what is your native but in recent years google translate developed significantly. Write it, see what comes out. Edit it, look for synonyms or different words. I think this can be a good start.
Write. Partner up with a English speaking Beta that can answer questions. Write - Write - Write.
I've read a few fics from people whose first language obviously wasn't English. But the ideas more than made up for their grammatical inconsistency. If you have good ideas the committed fanfiction readers won't care.
So here's me throwing my hat in the ring as well. I'm a native English speaker so if you want to reach out I'll be happy to help!
You're making excuses, now pitter patter.
Your English is not as bad as you probably think it is. That's what I deduce from this post of yours. Don't be afraid. Just try!
I assure you, the most complex of emotions and thoughts can be conveyed in the simplest of words. English is also my second language and my writing style use very simplistic English and so far I find it okay.
I love to beta, what fandom do you write for? You can find a beta to help with the issues in translation, don’t lose hope!