The new kid in class

[marianexpress]

Hi everybody!

I'm Mariana.
I'm a journalist, now going into freelancing. I'm Portuguese, but I'm currently living in the lovely city of Murcia, in Spain. I studied Journalism in Lisbon, where I used to write for magazines, mainly about music. I'm fluent in Portuguese, English, Spanish and French, and I feel that the biggest challenge in this stage of my life, more than constantly improving my writing skills, is to overcome the prejudice of not being a native English writer/speaker.

So, I just move on querying, submitting articles and other texts, and try really hard to make my voice heard across the jungle that sometimes the Internet can be.

I'm pretty sure my first articles will be rejected - seems I've got to read the rules before I submit...sorry, a bit impacient here! - but I'm willing to make the effort and have my content published here.
I'm really happy to having signed up here, because this another opportunity for me to show my work, and perhaps, begin selling it.

Best regards everybody, and thanks for having me here,
Mariana

[JD]

Welcome Mariana

Wow! An impressive list of languages you're fluent in. I sometimes stuggle to be fluent in English (my first and only language!).

I envy your living in Murcia, if it's anything like the Spain I've seen when I've visited.

Good luck at CC.

Jane

[grouchy]

Good grief - you sound like someone the rest of us can learn from. Can't wait for your work to appear. And welcome - you did come to the right place!

grouchy (not really, usually)

[marianexpress]

Hey!

Thanks for your welcoming replies, but don't make me blush now :-P
I'm surely going to learn a whole lot more from you than you think. I'm starting right now!

Well, JD, Murcia is a really cool city. It's actually the capital of the region that goes by the same name, stuck between Andalucia and the Valencian Community. Due to the real estate boom these past years, the Murcians have gone from farmers to golf resort owners, something which is a bit...well, does a region this small really need like 20 golf resorts?
Of course, with a global crisis happening, investing so much in real estate is sinking the region: companies going into bankrupcy, massive lay-offs, the whole economy here is in contraction...

I'd like to write a piece about what to visit in Spain, and namely about Murcia, because it's a small region, practically unknown, and with a lot of nice things to see. Besides, here you can find the most authentic and most friendly people in Spain - although all Spanish are extremely friendly, I must say!

I'm going to read the rules now, with extra attention, and if everything goes well, I'm looking to submit 2 - 3 articles a week. I mean, I'm home, and writing is like exercising a muscle, right?

Best regards,
Mariana

[jak]

Good luck Mariana. Looking forward to seeing your first piece about Spain.

[marianexpress]

Well, as I thought... one down, another to go.
Thanks for you reply, Jak. I'm thinking about doing something like an express travel article about Spain, for starters; I was thinking that it might be interesting to list cities worth visiting in Spain, from north to south, and describe them in 2-3 paragraphs.

Then maybe, I'd pick them up again and do a full-feature on each.

But first, let me have some articles accepted!

Regards,
Mariana

[jstevewhite]

Mariana -

I'm noticing you've got English sentence structure down amazingly well! Many times I see the latin roots in the sentence structure of those that come from the Romance languages, but not in your writing. Wish I could claim fluency in something other than English - that humans speak, anyway, rather than computers ( I speak C, Perl, PHP, etc... :D )

I had several rejections of the "You didn't read the rules" type, but Ed was kind and nursed me through 'em. So good luck with yours, and welcome!

Steve

[marianexpress]

Hi,

I think I've watched too many "american movies", ihihihihihihihih!
In Portugal, all foreign tv shows are subtitled, so people usually get a grasp of the language quite easily. Besides, my favorite writers are American or British, and instead of buying the translated books, I make a point of buying the original versions.
Unfortunately, in Spain, it's very difficult to find English paperback editions of books, because the opposite phenomenon happens here: everything is dubbed, and although the Spanish can write in English quite well, they have a hard time speaking the language. At the best scenario, they have a very thick accent.
I think it is something that comes from the times of the dictatorship: to preserve the language as much as possible from intrusions.
I still can't go to the movies here, and it's been two years I'm living here. I mean, I can't get used to listening to actors "speaking" spanish.

I'll review the rejected articles, and ask Ed if there is a problem if I send them back.

Cheers,
Mariana