Categoría: How to write fiction
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No GPS
«writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.» E. L. Doctorow. Quote found in Bird by bird. Anne Lamott Ahem. I need the ending. That’s like my GPS. True the bloody device urges to make U turns in forbidden places…
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Invisible?
The Hero’s Journey is a skeletal framework that should be fleshed out with the details and surprises of the individual story. The structure should not call attention to itself, nor should it be followed too precisely. THE WRITER’S JOURNEY ~ THIRD EDITION. Christopher Vogler. Published by Michael Wiese Productions …. The problem of using a recipe…
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Archetypes and again, the collective unconscious
The repeating characters of world myth such as the young hero, the wise old man or woman, the shapeshifter, and the shadowy antagonist are the same as the figures who appear repeatedly in our dreams and fantasies. That’s why myths and most stories constructed on the mythological model have the ring of psychological truth. THE…
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Of manners, food and social standing in children literature
As a specialized field of study, children’s literature has its own set of works and texts that address food (although these works often build upon theorists like Barthes). One of the first articles to specifically discuss food in children’s literature is Wendy R. Katz’s aptly titled “Some Uses of Food in Children’s Literature.” The article, though…
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Again, the truth
The very first thing I tell my new students on the first day of a workshop is that good writing is about telling the truth. We are a species that needs and wants to understand who we are. Sheep lice do not seem to share this longing, which is one reason they write so very…
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Fiction and debt
The writer of any book inevitably accrues debts, and when its theme is as interdisciplinary as this one those debts are particularly keenly felt. During the near-decade that it has taken to complete this work, I have received generous help from a wide range of people. I am conscious of the inadequacy of any acknowledgment…
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HEROPHOBIC CULTURES
Here and there in my travels I learned that some cultures are not entirely comfortable with the term «hero» to begin with. Australia and Germany are two cultures that seem slightly «herophobic.» THE WRITER’S JOURNEY ~ THIRD EDITION. Christopher Vogler. Published by Michael Wiese Productions More than societies being herophobic, I’d like to point out they…
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The big questions
Where do stories come from? How do they work? What do they tell us about ourselves? What do they mean? Why do we need them? How can we use them to improve the world? Above all, how do storytellers manage to make the story mean something? Good stories make you feel you’ve been through a…
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The easy way
“One thing I’ve learned, Calvin: people will always yearn for a simple solution to their complicated problems. It’s a lot easier to have faith in something you can’t see, can’t touch, can’t explain, and can’t change, rather than to have faith in something you actually can.” She sighed. “One’s self, I mean.” She tensed her…