Writing novels in multiple languages

How challenging is it for you to think in two different languages? Each language has its own nuances and cultural contexts. How do you navigate between the two?

To hear my answer to Dave’s question, tune in to episode 458 of the podcast Living the Next Chapter. I share my thoughts on this from 15:10-21:30.

Direct link to the podcast session:

https://pod.link/1607392975/episode/7d35acf28ff2b47132a258f6025c5d50

You can also read a summary of my answer here.

You have an ability that many other authors lack: you can write in more than one language. To you, this is normal. To everyone else, they think, I can't write in Swedish. There's no way I can do that. So, let's discuss this. How challenging is it for you to think in two different languages? Each language has its own nuances and cultural contexts. How do you navigate between the two?

I started out writing only in Swedish. Back then, I had a Scottish colleague who told me: 

“Annika, you should write in English. The Swedish market is too small.”

I laughed and told him I was glad he thought my English was good enough—but the language we used at work was nothing like the language used in writing fiction. So, I tucked the thought away.

Years later, I began to wonder if I could make it happen after all. I even asked a few people about translating my book, but it turned out to be far too expensive for me at the time. Writing was still more of a passion than a livelihood.

That’s when I thought: How hard can it be?

Well… it turned out to be quite hard. Translating Jenny, Jenny into To Love, Guilt and Motorcycles was one of the toughest writing challenges I’ve taken on. I wanted it to read naturally in English, not like a translation. So I worked with beta readers and found a wonderful editor who helped me ensure native speakers wouldn’t stumble over the language.

But of course, it wasn’t only about the words

My editor once flagged a scene where I described a summer night that never really got dark. She thought it was a mistake. I explained that in Sweden, in June, the sun hardly sets at all.

That moment made me realise how much cultural context was woven into my writing.

To help bridge those gaps, I added a short introduction to Love, Guilt and Motorcycles, pointing out some of the quirks that Swedish readers take for granted.

So yes—it’s never just about translation. It’s about carrying the culture, the atmosphere, and the unspoken things too.