Thread: Writing in English in a French setting.

That's basically what I am trying to do. I oddly can't write easily in French, probably due to the fact that I read more in English than in French. But since I lived in France more than anywhere else (22 years out of 26 =D>), I'm having a hard time imagining any other "setting" where my story could take place.
Would you, as a reader, find it strange, annoying, absolutely amazing or just as logical as a fish with no bicycle?

English readers would not think anything of it.

Whereas French would, I know...
It seems to me that what I need to do is to find cross-cultural names for the characters, not denoting anything about origins. Then comes the translation of some weird habits French characters would have that couldn't be translated in English. But that's up to me in the end.

Would it help if you pretended to write your story in French with French characters speaking French to each other and doing French things and then have your story translated into English for an English speaking audience? Your characters are still saying and doing the same things, it's just appearing in English on the printed page. The other possibility is to make your characters British or American tourists in France who speak English to each other and only speak French when they interact with the locals. I suppose you could have one of your characters be a French native but who wishes to become bi-lingual so they always speak English for the practice.

I think I could have it translated in French afterwards. That would even be an obligation for me if I ever get published.

But no, the main problem comes from me. When I write in French, I find myself mainly uninteresting, with a style that is way too old-fashioned to even get me into the story after I read what I just wrote. when I write in English, the pen on the paper, or the fingers on the keyboards get a better flow, and even if it is not 100% grammatically correct, it is ten thousand times more satisfying.

What I get is a writer's block even if I actually have things to write, because my native language does not reflect the way I think about writing any more. It probably because I spent more time studying English litterature, mostly listened to English bands and for four years, have been living in an environment that requires English or another language (Icelandic, in which I'll never write I'm pretty sure), and almost never French.

Some might think I'm in denial of my language, culture and what not, but no, I still enjoy reading and speaking French, there's no doubt about it.

The only problem that I am confronted to is whether it would sound awkward to English readers to read about a plot that takes place in a 100% French environment (my home town actually), with French characters and French culture surrounding everything.

I agree with Alan. Write it in English with French characters and setting. Some French elements of the story might seem a little strange to English-speaking audiences, but people expect to encounter the local culture whenever they read a story with a foreign setting. The local culture might seem strange, but that is the whole point to reading a story like that. My problem is just the reverse. I write in a historical setting that I have never lived in, and I struggle to capture the flavor of the period. Do not be afraid to put a few Frenchisms in a story that is set in France. Your readers will expect Frenchisms in your story.

True enough. Guess I'll get back to it now anyway. Strange how I just got more confidence by writing a few words on a forum. The main problem is now grammar. But it's supposed to be my field of study.
Thanks anyway guys