Hi there everybody I decided to check out this forum because Iv've recently switched to writing in English, hoping that doing so will open up a much bigger potential market for my stories. - And well, frankly speaking, the english language just works better for me, even though it's not my native tongue. However, that means I'll be making mistakes sometimes with grammar and spelling, so please bear with me. I wrote my first book when I was 16 and haven't stopped since. I'm not published though, because life happened and so on... I am sure many of you know what I mean. Also, I'm scared senseless that nobody will like my books, so it's going to take some time for me to get there. But I'm trying! So watch out world... I write mostly fantasy, but will give every genre a go if the opportunity presents itself. Allthough, it'll be hard to make me stay away from magic or something mysterious. Hope to talk to all of you soon - Let's rock this Nanowrimo! Marie
One of my dearest friends hails from Denmark aka potato nation, haha. Welcome to the forum, hope you enjoy your time here.
Thanks! Sure thing, i would really like to get some feedback... Also, i need to find someone to proofread it at some point ;-) Is this a good forum to fine beta-readers btw? I have considered finding someone well versed in the genre, and having him or her read through it before sending it to any publishers.
Actually, the story I'm working on right now is all about old scandinavian folklore-magic, including some danish myths. Allthough, the story is set in Norway. - I know, we do pastries well... (imagine a drooling smily, couldn't find one) Why do you think we are one of the happiest nations on earth? Oh wait no... That's the antidepressants...
Hello, 'London Calling'.. How are you? Where in Denmark are you? Ever been to Copenhagen yet? - I've got so many questions; I've never been to Denmark, yet; I've flown over Greenland... Erm... Ever left Denmark? If you have, where have you been? And; How's Denmark (how's life in Denmark)? One of my favourite streets in all of London is called Denmark Street, and that's no lie/that's the truth. IMO, it's also one of the coolest streets in London; Denmark Street. .. I've got a lot of old famous ancestors and relatives in my family, and one of them was half Danish, but when I asked, turned out (which made a lot more sense to me) we were the English half of this one and, I'm not Danish, but because of her and Wikipedia, I thought I was part Danish once.
Oh my, yeah, that's a lot of questions! Well, I live in Jutland, pretty much right in the middle of nowhere. Iv've lived in Copenhagen for 4 years, untill we moved 5 years ago. I miss it horribly. But we had to go back here, because of work. Iv've been to Norway and Sweden a bunch of times. We three scandinavian countries don't require passports from each others people, and you can freely travel and even go live in any of the three places, no matter your birthplace. I adore Norway for the nature! It's beautiful in both summer and winter. We all understand each other fairly well, if one is concentrating, even though it is three distinct languages. Also, Iv've travelled to some places in Europe and gone for hollidays in Greece, Turkey and The Canarie islands. Most danes travel at least ones a year... Life here is much like anywhere els, i suspect... If you are wondering about something specific I might be able to answer, but otherwise I really don't know what to tell you
Nope. That's a lie or a danish superpower. Swedes don't understand a lick of Danish and nor do most want to. I work with a lot of Danish suppliers and they sometimes tries to write to us in Danish, but we strictly communicated with them in English.
Really? I have never had any dificulty understanding either language! The words are actually the same, just said differently, some time spelled in another way. Don't you think it's a matter of willingness to understand? No offence intended
I'd say it's some sort of pride stuff. I felt slightly ashamed watching the Norwegian show Grenseland and actually understood some things. Not that I could watch it without subtitles, of course. When it comes to Denmark it's partly a in-joke. My boyfriend is at a constant war with the French and Denmark became my France... so we're shaking a lot of fists in your countries general direction
Well... the never-ending shaking of fists between DK and Sweden is legendary! But then, we were at war for the better part of the century... No matter what, we love to hate each other. Except for Eurovision time of course... If we don't give each other top points, something is really wrong
Hello there, welcome. I'll be playing the third position in this linguistic debate. I understand Swedish just fine, at least most dialects I've encountered. Danish is trickier, takes some effort, but it's doable if the Dane doesn't rush and is kind enough to refrain from talking about numbers.
Thanks Year, we are a bit wierd about our numbers i know.. Danish is also influenced by german to a degree... I actually grew up in Hirtshals, so for me, norweegian is far easier... Can I ask you something actually? I'm working on a story right now, where I'm trying to incorporate a lot of the folklore of Scandinavia. The story is set in Norway, so I'm hesitant to bring danish myths in play to strongly. But writing in english is making it a bit hard to translate the concepts just right. I want elves, but in the nordic sense. I believe you would call them either ellefolk or Hulder? You think it would make sense to make up my own word? Like... "the hulder-people" Do you know any webpages with a list of the most known norweegian myths? Do you have Hel-hesten in Norway? (That's the three-legged horse omen of death you know) And what about Valravnen? Sorry for asking so much, but i would appreciate the help very much
Unfortunately, my knowledge of local folk belief largely ends where Norse Mythology does. I'm only just aware of Valravnen and Helhesten; those seem to be specifically Danish. I know a thing or two about the Hulder, though. My rather superstitious grandfather claimed to have met them, though I suspect he was having a bit of fun at my expense. We call them Huldrefolket, so Hulder-People or similar won't be far off. That sounds a bit stiff to me, though. You could use just Hulder for the whole group, even if that traditionally only refers to the female Huldra (males are typically called Huldremann/Huldrekall when mentioned at all). May I suggest "The Hidden Folk" as a sort of nickname? Apparently, Hulder comes from an old word meaning "hidden", and skulking is a big part of what they do... Alternatively, you could do something with De underjordiske, which is more of a catch-all term for spooky things found in woods and caverns and such, I'm sure you know it. I'd translate that as The Underworldly, I think, which has a decent, somewhat infernal ring to it. Or you could use Huldr, the Hulder Folk, Huldran, or any variation you like. I think it's fine to take liberties even when you base your Fantasy on myths. I hope it's fine, at least; I take so many creative freedoms with Norse mythology (and other things) in the novel I'm currently working on. Lastly, a few pieces of trivia about Huldra. She's supposed to have a weakness for iron, according to my grandfather, but I can't quite remember how that worked. I think it straight-up repelled her. I don't suppose she'd enjoy a stabbing with an iron dagger either. Also, it's not unheard of for a Hulder to live among humans, in which case she will lose her tail and presumably stop kidnapping men in the mountains. There you go, hope you find something useful in my ramblings. EDIT: No, I don't know of any particular website for this sort of thing, but I'm sure you can get a decent overview on Wikipedia.
Hello Well that'll do it. Now we have all the Nordic countries gathered! Who are we naming as King of the North? Oh hang on... I'll find an icelandic person for us... Iv've settled on The Underworldly Folk for now, but I might change it later It has to stay true to the real lore, while still conveying what kind of creatures they are.. I just really don't wan't to call them elves, you know? A "Huldra" and an elven maid is just not the same thing... well, it might be in real life! But with all the pre-excisting litterature about elves, it'll just call up wrong ideas. You know? ;-)
