I'm editing a book by an author who lives outside the US. Most of the novel takes place in locations I've never seen except in pictures. Sometimes there are words I don't understand The book has a strangeness I find captivating. Since working on it, I started to wonder if I could write something outside of my own cultural tradition.
We like stories that feel a little foreign.
Except for his histories, Shakespeare wrote plays that took place in exotic locations like Florence and Scotland. Nearly all of Hemingway's novels took place outside of the US, usually in Europe or the Caribbean.
Photo by Sukanto Debnath
My Plan to Write A Foreign Short Story
So here's my rough plan to write a foreign story. Tell me what you think.
1. Pick the country I'm most familiar with.
Fortunately, I've spent quite a lot of time travelling abroad. I'm most familiar with Kenya, since I spent two months there in 2009.
2. Brush up on foreign phrases.
When you're writing a story that takes place in a country with another language, it's good to pepper your writing with foreign words in italics. It makes it feel more authentic, and it's more confusing, in a fun sort of way.
So I googled “useful phrases in Swahili,” and came up with this. Now I just need an excused to say karibou. I also wanted a little slang, so I searched for “Swahili slang” and found this. Finally, I needed some authentic names, so I searched for “Swahili names” and found this.
3. Pick a protagonist.
When I start a story, I try to pick someone that intrigues me, someone whose life I want to better understand but haven't figured out yet. Personally, they have to be noble and unique, yet complicated and enigmatic.
So I'm going to choose a street kid—I met a lot of glue sniffing, street kids when I was in Kenya—but rather than your average street kid, run aways from home whose single-mother couldn't feed them, my protagonist is going to be from a wealthy, political family who were all killed in the election violence in 2007.
4. Create an inciting incident.
Every story needs to have its basis in conflict and discovery. To satisfy my curiosity about who this street kid really is, I want to see what he'll do under duress, how he'll handle something crazy and out of the ordinary.
Here's my problem though. What's out of the ordinary for a kid who sleeps with blankets made out of cardboard, gets most of his food out of the trash, and survives it all with the help of his brain numbing bottle of glue?
Here are some options I'm thinking through:
- Go to opposite extreme. How will he handle wealth if suddenly he's found by his relatives or wins the lottery?
- Romance? Could he fall in love with a girl? Would she be a street girl (there aren't many and their lives are much worse than the boys) or a girl of modest circumstances (compared to us, not him) or a rich girl? What if she was American or European? A missionary's daughter?
- Or fully immerse him in his world. Maybe he finds a dead person. Maybe it's a police officer and then he's discovered next to it, is charged with the murder, and has to run away. Maybe he discovers who actually killed the police officer. Could he prove it to the authorities or would he have to flee?
Any suggestions? Which do you think sounds the most interesting?
I'm actually leaning toward romance. The street is very much a boys world. I'm interested in what would happen if women were inserted into the mix.
5. Write!
I don't want to figure everything out perfectly, just some core details. So the next step is just to write and see where this little tike leads me.
How would you plan out writing a foreign story? What would you do differently?
PRACTICE
Write out your plan for a foreign story. Or, if you abhor planning, just get started writing something.
Share your plan / story in comments section so you can teach us all your ways!
Have fun!
This is a very interesting post. But here’s a laugh for you, I already live in Israel so traditional to me is foreign for you. Also, I think I’ve been acting on what you wrote here all this time. Most of my characters are Americans and Britts. The novel I’m currently working on takes place in Michigan.
Your story directions sounds promising. I hope we get to read it. It’s a good call to go with the romance theme. I was thrilled by the idea that he might discover a dead police officer. That way you’ll have suspence. I prefer science fiction and fantasy so if you mentioned Kenya to me I’d probably research the idea of shapeshifting. Have the boy run into jungles and leard to transform into a lion cub. That’s just my opinion, anyway.
Best of luck with the short story.
Btw, I see Behind The Name as my main source for name searching.
Hey Annie. That is funny. I spent time in Israel, too, and thought about making that the setting of my story. Maybe for the next one 🙂
I like fantasy / sci fi, but I don’t write it. Still, shapeshifting would be fun. Thanks!
Haha! If you chose Israel then you’d definitely have politics involved. If you need references, I’m your gal (thumbs up).
Hey Joe, you know my characters are shapeshifters? Well I just discovered while doing some research over the weekend that the Maori believed in this also. Their belief went along the lines of the ancestors taking whatever animal shape they wanted. I didn’t know that when I started my story! But I’ve shelved that information, and may use it in a future book!!
I really like Behind the Name too because it sorts names by cultural group and it’s got a lot of options. There’s a Behind the Surname site too.
Katie
Enjoyed this post. I agree with your process. For your story, I feel that while romance sounds good, I keep harking back to his history. He’s kind of a political refuge, hiding from the powers that be. Finding the dead police officer and then having to choose between doing the “right” thing and doing the “safe” thing would create a lot of conflict. You could throw in a little romance by having a girl from the stree or even the policeman’s daughter be known to or become known to him. Just some thoughts. Thanks so much for posting!
Denise Golinowski/Author
Mmm… I like that, Denise. Thanks 🙂
Ok, here’s my dilemma about writing others’ stories and writing about another culture: what gives me the authority to tell this story? Couldn’t I just help someone from this culture/situation tell this story? (Yay ghostwriting). Why don’t I just let them write about their own cultures? For example, in the comment below me Annie said she lives in Israel. Well, if she write a story set in Michigan, Michiganers will find something that wasn’t realistic and they might be annoyed because an Israelite (are people in Israel still called that?) misrepresented their way of life. If she wrote a story set in Israel, I bet it would more realisitic. (I don’t say that to discourage you, Annie, I believe you can write a phenomenal story set in MI). It’s that whole “Write what you know” idea. I also think it came when I was entertaining the idea of writing about Deaf culture. Even though my protagonist was hearing, I envisioned Deaf people rallying up and attacking me, “Why did you write this? Do you think we’re incapable of writing about ourselves so we needed a hearing person to write about Deafness?” I never had the nerve to ask a Deaf person what he/she thought about a hearing person writing a story about Deaf culture because I didn’t want to hear (ok, see) the answer. It was easier just to leave the piece unwritten. I don’t know… I’m just thinking outloud here.
I do know I like the police officer idea. Or that he falls in love with the missionary’s daughter but I’m not a sappy romance type.
I also know I’d love to write about other cultures. Mostly because mine is boring because it’s commonplace.
Katie
yeah i kind of feel the same way. you would research it, but you wouldn’t get the depth of living a LIFE there even if you’ve visited there. i guess if you’ve lived there then you would be a better “expert” or whatever. whatever you write, you want it to be believable, even if its some crazy fantasy story. well you know what i mean. and what if you can’t write a believable story if you dont’ know enough about it?
People are pretty much motivated by the same things. Under the skin, we’re all children of God. The difficulties are the backdrop and voice, the cultural baggage. The crux of the matter though is that we all have to write the stories that we must … and if you’re moved to write one about Deaf Culture, then don’t let “not knowing” stop you. Just go hang out with them and immerse yourself in the culture through books/movies/poems. The voice will come.
Great questions, Katie. It’s always a wrestling match between realism and story. Historically, different authors have done different things. Shakespeare basically transplanted English society into Italy with a few Italian stereotypes. His authority came not from accuracy but his skill with language and storytelling. I imagine an Italian reading Shakespeare wouldn’t be very impressed. Hemingway went and lived in all the countries he wrote about. His authority came from his intimate knowledge of the culture. I think both approaches are legitimate. It depends on audience. If you’re writing a story for Spaniards, you’d better get Spain right. If you’re writing a story for English, it’s less important.
Also, you can always get a Spaniard friend to come fact check it for you later.
Hi Joe,
I must say this is a pretty interesting post. You piqued my attention with your options. Since you asked for suggestions from a lady, here’s mine: I think you should fuse options two and three and build the plot from there, with a little bit of option one to flavor it. This is how it goes in my head: Street kid whose only aim in life is survivor. Meets missionary’s daughter, finds her ways and personality very captivating. He’s drawn to her and starts to believe there is more to life than ‘existing’. Somewhere down the story, he does find a dead person (and knows who the killer is). He’s caught between choosing to go back to his old ways i.e. the street way, where it’s simply the rule of survivor (i.e. saving his own skin), or to continue down the new road where he has learned that he could contribute to decent society, and fight to keep his new love. Maybe later he learns that the murder is a setup and is connected to his relatives who recently discovered him, but want him out of the way so they can keep the wealth? Sorry Joe! My head is swirling with ideas, it’s starting to spin. Haha! Would love to hear what you think about this.
Great plot Miranda! Looks like you’ve got your own story going now. Can’t wait to hear the rest.
Thanks a lot!
I love it, Miranda. Enough for a novel! How would you fit it into a short story though? Any ideas?
Questions:
Is your protagonist in hiding? Is he unable to escape his circumstances due to addiction? Shame? Danger – to himself or someone he is protecting? Is anyone looking for him? If he is from a prominent family, why not? If he is an addict, how does he muster the resources to overcome his situation? If he is an addict, why? To cope with hunger, cold, abuse, etc? Was he before? Or, what if he isn’t?
The romance could work if you avoid a minefield of cliches. Make them complex and real. Keep your protagonist empowered.
If he finds a dead body, where does he run away to? What is he running from? What if he can’t run away – what does he face?
Sounds fun – good luck – hope you’ll share! Your prompt triggered an idea of my own which I hope to have time to post later.
Waiting.
I had to smile a little when I read your post. I live in New Zealand and regularly confuse my American editors with “New Zealand speak”.
I’ve written books set in many countries including US and UK and of course New Zealand. I’ve found a good trick is to have one of your characters come from your home country. That can help readers accept any errors that get through. 🙂
Agreed, Shelley. I was thinking the same.
A good way to get foreign exposure is through the BBC world service. They do lots of radio plays written by international authors. I think there’s a good African representation. Also, many of the books on the Commonwealth Writing Price shortlist are African.
This plot sounds good Joe.
Like the other commentators, I’d opt for romance (a foreigner … there’s more of a reason for the English reading public to buy it then). The policeman is corrupt/or a zealot and kills her father (a UN aid offier? A missionary?) That gets the hero in trouble with the policeman.
Happy writing.
So… foreign story. Here goes. Does this have enough of a hook?
It’s 1989. The Berlin Wall is down. The super powers are re-aligning. Vietnam’s become strategically interesting again. That’s hy Thong’s employers don’t fire him when they uncover his links to the spy-master Mr. Trung. He’s offered a lucrative contract to represent them over there instead. It’s an offer Thong, the reluctant spy, can’t refuse.
But there’s Nina, Thong’s American-born wife and the daughter of a fervent anti-Communist from the defeated South. Nina won’t go with Thong; at least not until she’s had time to understand the enemy she’s been sleeping with unawares for a decade.
Full disclosure that’s what she wants, she tells him; so she can see him whole.
Full disclosure? Born to a Viet Cong commander, brought up by a government employee, a practitioner of deceit of the same blood as Mr. Trung, … where does Thong start? And if all is told … the machine he built that wasn’t intended to kill, the American woman journalist who was more than she seemed, the man on the island … can Nina still love him? With the mountain of collateral damage he’s inflicted, can they actually live happily after? Can Thong outrun karma? And at what cost?
I would read that book, Oddznns! You have it all – a plot embedded in a setting of conflict, mysterious characters, and interesting questions.
Thanx for the encouragement Steph!
Apparently, I’m not the only one brewing with ideas. Very excellent plot!
Oddzns…you had me hooked from 1989 the Berlin wall is down. ‘Foreign’ is interesting!! This sounds like a WIP… how long have you been conjugating ideas? One writer I studied with over here said she takes up to three or four years gathering ideas for each book….
It is May, 1998, in Jakarta, Indonesia. Violence is sweeping the country in response to mounting food costs, massive unemployment, and political upheaval. Communities of ethnic Chinese are especially targeted.
Joey Yosieto’s family owns a restaurant. The restaurant’s name is displayed on a bright yellow board held in the gloved hand of a life-sized boy cut out of a sheet of metal. Every year before the rainy season, Joey’s grandmother repaints the metal boy. He is always the same: rosy-cheeked, blonde haired, and dressed in a tailored riding jacket and ascot. Joey has always been told that the sign is a tribute to the child of a Dutch family that assisted his family in resettlement when they had fled Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution in China.
Joey is accepted to enter university in the fall to study business, but his plans are jeopardized by the mounting political tensions. In addition, the police presence his family has always procured through bribes in the form of excessive taxation is gone. When his family’s restaurant is broken into and looted, he pieces together the broken placard of the blonde boy and decides to search for the rumored Dutch family to whom he belongs. Perhaps they will assist his family again.
His search unexpectedly takes him away from his family and back to China. He discovers the truth behind the blonde boy, who was not a Dutch child, but his grandmother’s own son who was born with albinism before her marriage to his grandfather. Joey’s discovery further links the family to communist ties in China. He has unwittingly freed secrets, that, while buried long ago, will destroy his family.
Joey finds himself in a race to stop the information from leaking to Jakarta, but in doing so, finds he must choose between protecting his family there and protecting the innocent people he has come to love in China who are also of his own flesh and blood.
I would like to read this too! When will it be done?
Thanks…but as to when it will be done, probably never. I was just playing around for the purpose of this exercise. Is yours part of a WIP?
I think it’s wonderful practice to try and write out of your comfort zone. However there is always the problem of authenticity. I am a Kenyan living in Kenya. Some of your plot elements are not realistic. For example no wealthy families in Kenya (from any tribe) were killed or effected by the violence.
Life on the streets is very harsh. Sex is a commodity that is either traded, most commonly for protection, or for drugs etc. There simply isn’t the luxury of “romance” per se on the streets. The chances of a bona fide street person (unless they were in an organised program) or approached on the street, having a relationship with a white woman would be very remote indeed.
But having said all of that, I am very impressed with your idea. I do like the suggestion posted below by Shelley, where she talks about having a character coming from your home country. I would be happy to help you with any information you would like about Kenya.
Hi Shaleen. Thanks for this information. It’s true. It’s not realistic. I don’t think Shakespeare’s stories were realistic of Italian society either. This story wouldn’t work for a Kenyan audience, but it might for an American audience.
Where in Kenya do you live?
Hi Joe, I live in Nairobi. Look forward to seeing your story! What were you doing in Kenya?
Yeah I agree with most of the other comments, that I was most drawn to the romantic element coming in, and also the murder discovery. However with romance you just have to be really careful, in my opinion, not to be predictable. It’s a real turn-off. Also, with the murder, I am really keen on any type of mystery story, so if you made the whole book a mystery and wove some way deeper threads from the beginning, of who got killed and why, then you’d be on to something. 🙂 Good start so far Joe.
I can’t wait to read your story set in Kenya – my country. For any swahili phrases, feel free to hit me up. 🙂
Thanks! Where in Kenya?
So who knew you had so many Kenyan readers Joe?! I like the police officer idea; I love a good mystery. Also, I think I’d prefer to read a story set in another culture written by an American. If it’s written by a non-English speaker I have a more difficult time understanding the nuances of the story. I also don’t like reading stories with a lot of dialogue or sentences in another language without any translation. It makes it feel like work to read.
I have always wanted to write a story set at the end of the 17th century in Scotland. My family came from Scotland about then and settled in South Carolina. I would love to imagine what their lives were like, what motivated them to immigrate, what challenges they faced, how they felt about their homeland compared to their new country. Maybe one day I’ll tackle that project.
This is actually really cool since I write a travel blog and I love to travel.
I planned this foreign story, though it’s more of a group of fresh university graduates going on a trip to Europe. It’s actually a bit hard to write since I’ve never been to Europe at all! So now it’s been sitting in my drafts folder, rotting away.
I guess choosing a place you really know well would work better when writing something because it keeps things closer to reality (unless it’s sci-fi or an alternate universe).
I will rethink my traveling story and maybe I can actually write it this time. 🙂
Thanks Joe!
I would do a lot of research before heading into this, especially if you’re planning to write about election violence. Sure, you could just make something up, but it would be more effective if based on an actual historical event. Writing “foreign stories” without falling into stereotypes or cultural appropriation can be tricky. Still, writing about another country and culture is a good way to better understand it.
Remember, though, your experience with Kenya was that of an outsider — culturally, racially, and economically. If this was a longer project like a book, I’d try and talk to someone from Kenya, get an advisor from the country, fact-check like nobody’s business. I’d liken the process to that of an Average Joe Writer writing a medical thriller. He might know nothing about medicine and how that world works, but he’d better be an expert on it (or have experts help him with it) if he wants to write a medical thriller.