Hi everyone!
I’m a long-time fan writer with about 12 years of experience in the Russian-speaking fandom scene. I’ve recently head-over-heels into the TGCF fandom after watching the donghua, and I’m deeply inspired.
The thing is, while I’m a seasoned author in my native language, my written English is quite poor. I’ve written a story (which I hope is at least a bit better than HC’s calligraphy!), and I’m considering sharing it on AO3.
Since I can't write in English from scratch, I’m thinking about using a high-end neural network (like Claude) for the translation, then doing my best to polish it.
I’d love to get the community's perspective on a few things:
- AI Quality vs. Experience: Does a neural network translation kill the "soul" of a writing? I’m worried that my style, which I’ve spent over a decade refining, will become generic and flat.
- Reader Expectations: If you saw a fic tagged as "AI-assisted translation" from an experienced foreign author, would you give it a chance? I plan to post the original Russian text alongside it.
- The "Danmei" Nuance: My writing style is quite poetic and relies on specific metaphors. Can AI actually handle the delicacy of these themes, or am I better off looking for a human beta-reader/translator?
I really want to contribute to the global HuaLian community, but my pride as an author makes me hesitate to post something that doesn't live up to my usual standards.
Any advice or "vibe checks" from AO3 readers and writers would be amazing!
P.S. Just so you know, this post was also translated by an AI. I can read your comments and I’ll do my best to reply (hopefully!) with a little help from my digital assistant.