Tuesday, July 31, 2012

61 ~on books

FRAGMENTS



Photo Credit: Amazon

There are some tiring sayings and topics about blondes:
Blondes are dumb.
Blondes have no brains.
Gentlemen prefer blondes, but marry brunettes.
Blah, blah, blah…

Perhaps Marilyn Monroe was the sex symbol par excellence, and just for that, I believe she was easily judged. ‘Fragments’ shows a sensitive and thoughtful woman who behind doors was keen on literature, and conveyed her own world writing poems, intimates notes and letters.

Here a sneak peek:

Only parts of us will ever
Touch only parts of others
One’s own truth is just that really—one’s own truth.
We can only share the part that is understood by within
Another’s knowing acceptable to
The other—therefore so one
Is for most part alone.
As it meant to be in
Evidently in nature—at best though perhaps it could make
Our understanding seek
Another’s lonelynes out.”

Fragments: Poems, Intimate Notes, Letters, by Marilyn Monroe. 



***Check out the new reviews of ‘DeconstructingINFATUATION 

Copyright © 2012 by THE PYTHAGOREAN STORYTELLER. All rights reserved.

Monday, July 30, 2012

60 ~on creativity

THE WHITE BOX


Photo credit: Makoto Yabuki






Watch this video, 
and let your imagination fly:



White Box from makoto yabuki on Vimeo.



Copyright © 2012 by THE PYTHAGOREAN STORYTELLER. All rights reserved.

Friday, July 27, 2012

59 ~on writing


CHOOSING A BOOK TITLE

[first lines]
Photo Credit: IMDb
NARRATOR: “Vicky and Cristina decided to spend the summer in Barcelona. Vicky was completing her master’s in Catalan Identity, which she had become interested in through her great affection for the architecture of Gaudí. Cristina, who spent the last six months writing, directing, and acting in a 12-minute film which she then hated, had just broken up with yet another boyfriend and longed for a change of scenery. Everything feel into place when a distant relative of Vicky’s family who lived in Barcelona offered to put both girls up for July and August. The two best friends had been close since college and shared the same tastes and opinions on most matters, yet when it came to the subject of love, it would be hard to find two more dissimilar viewpoints. Vicky had no tolerance for pain and no lust for combat. She was grounded and realistic. Her requirements in a man were seriousness and stability. She had become engaged to Doug because he was decent and successful and understood the beauty of commitment.”

Tittle (a+b+x)=y:
—Vicky Cristina Barcelona, 20o8, Woody Allen.


Titles

They say titles should be short. So I laughed out loud when I came across this title ‘No matter how much you promise to cook or pay the rent you blew it cauze Bill Bailey ain’t never coming home again.’ For those who like to carry things to extremes, the shortest title I have in mind is ‘S.

Short? Long? Who cares?! I truly think writers don’t have to obsess about the length of the title. There are no rules written in stone. Said that, titles should explain the climax, be revealing, and create a half-open door for the readers to stick their heads inside the book.

How can I create a snappy title?
  
By elimination:

The old man and the sea, Ernest Hemingway.
Magic Tip: Soon after Hemingway finished writing ‘The old man and the sea,’ he made a list of titles—a hundred. Then, he discarded them one by one, until his list was reduced to one title.

By picking it up from real life:

Misery, Stephen King.
Magic Tip: Stephen king explains in his autobiography that he wrote this title because it’s what best conveyed his situation—he was a heavy drug addict and alcoholic.

By analogy:

Deconstructing INFATUATION, Merce Cardus.
Magic Tip: The theme of my novel is infatuation. So the first title I had in mind was—wait for it—Infatuation. I was not happy a hundred per cent with this because it lacked movement, so I had to add a verb. One day I was reading ‘Ferran’ by Colman Andrews, and I realized I was deconstructing infatuation the way Ferran deconstructed food.

By stealing it:

The sound and the fury, William Faulkner.
Magic Tip: He ‘stole’ it from the play 'McBeth', Act 5, Scene 5 ‘Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury.




 ***For more Magic Writing, click the topic 'Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry' on the right side. 


Copyright © 2012 by THE PYTHAGOREAN STORYTELLER. All rights reserved.

Thursday, July 26, 2012

58 ~summer reads

THURSDAY LINKS: SUMMER READS

Photo credit: Ryan Kozie.
Creative Commons License.



And you can definitely read my books at the beach:


Happy Summer, and enjoy the reading!


Copyright © 2012 by THE PYTHAGOREAN STORYTELLER. All rights reserved.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

57 ~on books

STEAL LIKE AN ARTIST


The artist and writer, Austin Kleon, articulated an intelligent message in 
Photo credits: Workman Publishing Co.
Photo credit: Workman Publishing Co.



Copyright © 2012 by THE PYTHAGOREAN STORYTELLER. All rights reserved.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

56 ~on feelings


LET YOURSELF FEEL


 





Watch this video, and let yourself feel:




Ljósið (previously known as Let Yourself Feel) from Esteban Diácono on Vimeo.


Copyright © 2012 by THE PYTHAGOREAN STORYTELLER. All rights reserved.

Monday, July 23, 2012

55 ~on creativity


THE 5 FACTORS THAT YOU CAN ARRANGE TO MAKE YOUR LIFE MORE CREATIVE

John Cleese, English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer gave a lecture on creativity. He outlined the 5 factors to make your life more creative:

1. SPACE: “You can’t become playful, and therefore creative, if you’re under your usual pressures.
2. TIME: “It’s not enough to create space; you have to create your space for a specific period of time.”
3. TIME: “Giving your mind as long as possible to come up with something original, and learning to tolerate the discomfort of indecision.”
4. CONFIDENCE: “Nothing will stop you being creative so effectively as the fear of making a mistake.”
5. HUMOR: “The main evolutionary significance of humor is that it gets us from the closed mode to the open mode quicker than anything else.”


Watch the video:



Copyright © 2012 by THE PYTHAGOREAN STORYTELLER. All rights reserved.

Friday, July 20, 2012

54 ~on writing


A CITY WHERE THE STORY TAKES PLACE


ADRIANA: “I can’t never decide whether Paris is more beautiful by day or by night.”
GIL: “No, you can’t, you couldn’t pick one. I mean I can give you a checkmate argument for each side. You know, I sometimes think, how is anyone ever gonna come up with a book, or a painting, or a symphony, or a sculpture that can compete with a great city. You can’t. Because you look around and every street, every boulevard, is its own special art form and when you think that in the cold, violent, meaningless universe that Paris exists, these lights, I mean, come on, there’s nothing happening on Jupiter or Neptune, but from way out in space you can see these lights, the cafés, people drinking and singing. For all we know, Paris is the hottest spot in the universe.”

—Midnight in Paris, 2011, Woody Allen.



Setting: Cityscape

Setting is one of the fundamental elements of the story.

Most creative fiction books recommend young writers to start writing about what they already know. For instance, hometowns, or cities they have lived for a while. Sure enough, one is on safe ground. But I consider you can venture to write about a city you’ve never been to.

As if you were a journalist, why don’t you visit a new place? Try to collect details, interview some natives, and get some background information. And for those who can’t afford to travel, you can always browse the Internet, check Google Earth, question people by e-mail, and so on.

The key is to research the details of the place where you want to set the story. But you don’t have to use them all. Do you remember The Iceberg Theory? Hemingway stated,

If a writer of prose knows enough of what he is writing about, he may omit things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. The dignity of movement of an ice-berg is due to only one-eight of it being above water. A writer who omits things because he does not know them only makes hollow places in his writing.”


Why should I use a particular place?

Settings help us to describe the story, reveal character treats, strengthen actions, create dynamism, convey emotions and feelings, and give credibility to the story. And ultimately they pull the readers in so that they can also experience them.

Some authors keep cities’ real names, showing them through their own perspective:

§       Brooklyn Foolies, Paul Auster è Brooklyn (NY).

§      I say Who, What, and Where!, Merce Cardus è Miami Beach, New York, Barcelona.

§       Death in Venice, Thomas Mann è Venice.


Others create a particular space, a Universe to anchor their story, but don’t reveal an exact location (mainly because it doesn’t exist).

§  Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, J.K. Rowling. è Somewhere in Scotland.


Now, it’s your turn. Stroll an unfamiliar hood and afterward write a short story.

Magic Tip: Remember to use all your senses—listen to the noises, perceive smells, take some pictures… You can also draw a map afterward.

Enjoy your writing!


 ***For more Magic Writing, click on the topic 'Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry' on the right side. 

Copyright © 2012 by THE PYTHAGOREAN STORYTELLER. All rights reserved.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

53 ~on heroes


THURSDAY LINKS: ALL ABOUT HEROES



  • Five books on the role fathers play in children’s lives. THE BROWSER
  • Reflections on a career writing made-for-TV movies. SLATE



Copyright © 2012 by THE PYTHAGOREAN STORYTELLER. All rights reserved.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

52 ~on books

THE JOY OF BOOKS


TYPE BOOKS

Sean Ohlenkamp & Lisa Blonder spent many sleepless nights moving, stacking, and animating books at Type bookstore in Toronto.

Watch this video, and let the magic begin:





Copyright © 2012 by THE PYTHAGOREAN STORYTELLER. All rights reserved.


Tuesday, July 17, 2012

51~ on bad circumstances: zen story


MAYBE


There is a Taoist story of an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away.

Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically.

Maybe,” the farmer replied.

The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. “How wonderful,” the neighbors exclaimed.

Maybe,” replied the old man.

The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.

Maybe,” answered the farmer.

The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratualed the farmer on how well things had turned out.”

Maybe,” said the farmer.


—Zen stories to tell your neighbors, John R Suler.



Copyright © 2012 by THE PYTHAGOREAN STORYTELLER. All rights reserved.

Monday, July 16, 2012

50 ~on creativity


WHEN DRIVING BECOMES WRITING











Two typographers (Pierre & Damien/ plmd.me ) and a pro pilot (Stef van Campenhoudt) collaborated to design a font with a car.
The car movements were tracked using a custom software, designed by interactive artist Zachary Lieberman. ( openframeworks.cc Watch the video:





Copyright © 2012 by THE PYTHAGOREAN STORYTELLER. All rights reserved.

Friday, July 13, 2012

49 ~on writing


YOUR OPENING SCENE


[first lines]
HUMBERT: “She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning standing four feet ten in one sock. She was Lola in slacks. She was Dolly at school. She was Dolores on the dotted line. But in my arms, she was always— Lolita. Light of live, fire of my loins. My sin. My soul.”
[whispered]
HUMBERT: “Lolita.”

—Lolita, 1997, Adrian Lyne.


How do I begin a novel?

First lines are quite tricky to write. Most likely the author will rewrite them several times until they show the pretended expectation to the reader: The promise.

What’s your promise?

Your promise can be emotional—I want the reader to laugh, to cry, to thrill…—  or an intellectual challenge—If you read this, you’ll see the world from a different perspective or you’ll confirm what you believe about this world.

So the writer must know what promise their novel makes, and write a killer opening line with the following traits:

1.     A character to care about.

2.  Conflict. The beginning should tell some indication that something isn’t going as expected. Of course, the development of the conflict comes later.

3.    Details. You should know what you are talking about. Details convey reality to the story.


Here are some examples.


“Somewhere in La Mancha, in a place whose name I do not care to remember, a gentleman lived not long ago, one of those who has a lance and ancient shield on a shelf and keeps a skinny nag and a greyhound for racing.”—Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes.

Magic’s Promise: Adventures of a knight errant. What?

“They found him in Ponta Porã, a pleasant little town in Brazil, on the border of Paraguay, in a land still known as the Frontier.” —The Partner, John Grisham.

Magic’s Promise: They found someone who’s missing. Who? Why?

“Helen opened the window to air the living room, for that Sunday they expected a crowd to come in and out. She eyed her watch and rushed out to the convenience store, while her roommate Marleen tried to jam her toilet kit into the suitcase.”—Deconstructing INFATUATION, Merce Cardus.

Magic’s Promise: Marleen’s departure and someone’s arrival. Who?

“It is the saddest night, for am I living and not coming back. Tomorrow morning, when the woman I have lived with for six years has gone to work on her bicycle, and our children have been taken to the park with their ball, I will pack some things in a suitcase, slip out of my house hoping that no one will see me, and take the tube to Victor’s place.”—Intimacy, Hanif Kureishi.

Magic’s promise: The narrator abandons his family. Why?


Now, it’s your turn. Write a bunch of opening lines quickly, with different ways to show the information. It may give you some surprises. Enjoy your writing!


Copyright © 2012 by THE PYTHAGOREAN STORYTELLER. All rights reserved.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

48 ~book news


THURSDAY LINKS: A DREADFUL ENDING

-An account of what happened with the Pulitzer Fiction this year. PAGE-TURNER, The New Yorker

-Gabriel García Márquez’s writing career ended by dementia. GUARDIAN.CO.UK

-Thank you for killing my novel. SALON.COM


Copyright © 2012 by THE PYTHAGOREAN STORYTELLER. All rights reserved.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

47 ~on books


A BOOKMARK THAT FOLLOWS YOUR READING


The Albatros is a new kind of bookmark that follows your reading. 
No need to remember the page number, each time you turn on, 
it inserts itself at the right place.









Copyright © 2012 by THE PYTHAGOREAN STORYTELLER. All rights reserved.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

46 ~on patience: zen story


WORKING VERY HARD



A martials arts student went to his teacher and said earnestly, “I am devoted to studying your martial system. How long it will take me to master it?”

The teacher’s reply was casual, “Ten years.

Impatiently, the student answered, “But I want to master it faster than that. I will work very hard. I will practice everyday, ten or more hours a day if I have to. How long will it take then?”

The teacher thought for a moment, “20 years.”


                                    —Zen stories to tell your neighbors, John R Suler.



Copyright © 2012 by THE PYTHAGOREAN STORYTELLER. All rights reserved.

Monday, July 9, 2012

45 ~on reading


TOP 10 MOST READ BOOKS IN THE WORLD 



Copyright © 2012 by THE PYTHAGOREAN STORYTELLER. All rights reserved.

Friday, July 6, 2012

44 ~on creativity

THE CURIOSITY OF NOT KNOWING

"Being the person that always knows and always has an answer, doesn’t leave a lot of room for learning. And for people to have the energy to teach yourself. The more I work, the closer I get to not knowing and to understanding that what matters is the responses, not the pre-determined ideas."

Enjoy this informal interview with filmmaker and photographer Andrew Zuckerman!






Copyright © 2012 by THE PYTHAGOREAN STORYTELLER. All rights reserved.