1

I want to say something like:

“This is the farthest I’ve gotten in my writing,” in the sense of never having written so much before this point in time.

The context here is that I’m currently trying my hand at writing a book. I’ve attempted this in the past, only to lose interest and abandon the project. So this time, I’m actually getting pretty far; farther along than I’ve ever gotten before.

My attempt:

  • C’est le plus éloigné auquel je suis arrivé dans l’écriture.
Improve this question
5
  • 2
    If you would provide a very specific context the task would be reduced: many possibilities are open. Writing is considered from what point of view? Copy from a first draft? Plain copying of a text ? Intellectual exercice that consists in couching ideas and/or theories to paper? What question might suggests the sentence as an answer? etc; everything you can think of that might be useful to situate the context can help.
    – LPH
    Jun 9 '19 at 8:55
  • Excellent point, I’ll update right away.
    – tssmith2425
    Jun 9 '19 at 11:35
  • 1
    I hope I get your meaning right, now. I suppose that you've picked up the work where you had left it and went on making improvements; so you are talking in the context of a planned project of which the main lines were known to you and this time you've accomplished a lot of the work that this "program" imposed on you and it's the most important chunck so far ; but then the idea is not that of "how far you went" but that of "how much more you did".
    – LPH
    Jun 9 '19 at 12:11
  • 1
    It would be then "The most I've accomplished" then, if I am not mistaken. But it seems that you have something else in mind.
    – LPH
    Jun 9 '19 at 12:23
  • Actually, you’re spot on. “The most I’ve (ever) accomplished” is what I’m trying to convey here, including “ever” to insinuate that I gave up early on in every other attempt. I want to convey that I’m proud of my progress this time.
    – tssmith2425
    Jun 9 '19 at 19:26
2

There are various ways to say that, as usual, and I can't pretend those below will be the best for all tastes but they express essentially want you have in mind. As you'll understand probably easily you can combine the elements differently (combine "progrès" with "composition" for instance in a given form)

  • Ça/cela a été mon plus grand effort de composition. or in the present tense C'est mon plus …

  • Cela/Ça a été l'avancée la plus grande dans ma composition. or … dans l'écriture de mon ouvrage/livre,

  • C'est le progrès le plus important que j'ai jamais fait dans l'écriture de ce/mon livre.

  • Cela a été le travail le plus important jusqu'à présent dans l'écriture de mon livre.

Improve this answer
1
  • Vos suggestions toutes transmettent justement ce que je voulais exprimer. Parfait, merci mille fois.
    – tssmith2425
    Jun 9 '19 at 19:54
2

You can say:

C'est ce que j'ai écrit de plus long jusqu'ici.

or

C'est ce que j'ai jamais écrit de plus long.

or

C'est le plus long texte que j'aie jamais écrit.

Improve this answer
2
  • Why is it “de plus long” instead of “le plus long”?
    – tssmith2425
    Jun 9 '19 at 8:15
  • 1
    Because your aren't talking about a specific long text. Answer updated with a sentence using le plus long.
    – jlliagre
    Jun 9 '19 at 9:34
1

If you're only referring to/interested in the word count/quantity of your latest attempt, you could, along with the other response, perhaps also consider something like:

Je n'ai jamais autant écrit que maintenant/jusqu'à présent/de ma vie.

(please note that using "autant" probably requires "que [something]" [as in the "que maintenant" in my suggestion], to complete/balance the comparison, but IF the "que [something]" can be omitted in this case, I'd go with either "...jusqu'à présent" or "... de ma vie")

If you are concerned with the overall quality (and not just the quantity) of your latest endeavor/accomplishment, however, you could perhaps consider something like the following:

Je ne m'etais jamais avancé [aus]si loin comme écrivant [que maintenant/qu'avec ma dernière tentative d'écrire].

(although it's probably obvious, please note that I'm not a native speaker of French, so please take my suggestions with an ample hit of salt)

Improve this answer
2
  • 1
    I actually had no idea you weren’t a native speaker, but it seems that your suggestions are well-formed and I appreciate the help. Also, I like your HRC avatar.
    – tssmith2425
    Jun 9 '19 at 19:29
  • 1
    Thanks for the encouraging words for my ideas and ideals.
    – Papa Poule
    Jun 9 '19 at 20:27

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.