-
Beauty Is Born In The Mind
Do you like music? I do, very much so. I am a huge admirer of great singing voices. My favourite singers can fill halls, maybe not with people, but with beautiful sounds, even without a microphone. They may not have large audiences. No, they do not attract millions of fans to the big stages with impressive dance performances, high tech sound systems, short dresses and a ton of make-up. Admittedly, some of them may not even be able to win a beauty contest, if they were the only ones participating. However, when I close my eyes while listening to their voices, they turn beautiful in my mind as if I…
-
GENRE 101 – Family Saga
“We are all dying of life.” John Jakes, North and South There is a long lasting debate about the term Family Saga. Originally the term Saga referred to the old Icelandic family and hero chronicles that had a lot in common with the modern literary fiction genre, but were considered historical records. The first family novels were probably inspired by the genealogical structure of the old Icelandic Sagas until Family Saga became a genre of its own. The term is also great for advertising the quality and importance of the literary work. Not unlike the term epic which is becoming synonymous with exciting, the term has been adjusted in its…
-
The Special Power Of The Vanilla Hero
The Dramatis Personae of your next novel may be one of the most important building blocks that immediately claim your attention and it is probably the one that is most influenced by gut feeling. Instinctively we may think that we need someone special to fill the position of the protagonist, a pretty strong and colourful hero to impress the readers and carry our story. A protagonist is by definition the most important figure of the story, hence the notion that the writer should put a lot of work into perfecting and detailing this character. This is not a silly idea. In many cases that is exactly what your novel needs:…
-
Vertigo or How To Break Your Narrative
While I was thinking about the problematic relationship between writers and protagonists, my mind kept wandering to that scene in the great Hitchcock movie Vertigo in which James Stewart frantically drags Kim Novak up the stairs of the bell tower. If you haven’t watched the movie yet, put it on your bucket list now. It is not only one of the best mystery thrillers out there it is also very interesting for those who want to understand that bitter feud between the creator and the creation. As it were, if you have not watched it yet, this commentary may contain some serious spoilers. Let me recap the most important parts…
-
Fan Fiction = Love Letters
Fan Fiction is a great way to practice writing, to enhance your skills, expand your vocabulary and discipline yourself in a writing routine. You can share your work with other fans and receive a decent amount of praise for it. However, it is completely different from true original work, as in working with your own characters. Many if not most writers and creative writing experts seem to agree that the characters are much more important than the story. That is easily explained. It is the characters that drive a stake into a dysfunctional storyline, it is their refusal that will challenge the writer, it is their decisions that will engage…
-
Adventure Workshop
The Adventure Workshop is the collection of my essays and ideas about the topic of and the issues with Creative Writing. Since I’ve been working on MIRATHATON mostly, I have been adding to this section irregularly but you might find something interesting here after all, if you are an avid reader or an aspiring writer. There are certain topics and views that I attach a lot of importance to: Character development and cast analysis, logic and structure as well as the importance of research, regular practice and the understanding of concepts and definitions. I am an advocate of the notion that writing is a craft and that becoming a decent…