English
As you might have noticed, my English is quite limited. Truly speaking, I don't feel prepared to write a novel in English--maybe not even one in Spanish. But Spanish is at least my native language, and it could be easier--it is already very difficult to write a novel.
Nevertheless, I like the challenge of writing in English. I also learn a lot of vocabulary and grammar every time I go to the dictionary or to an English grammar site--blessed is the World Wide Web. And besides, Monteleone's Guide is in English. So, the main language of this blog will still be English--with some posts translated into Spanish--even though the novel will be in Spanish.
Español
Como se habrán dado cuenta, mi inglés está muy limitado. A decir verdad, no me siento preparado para escribir una novela en inglés (a lo mejor ni siquiera una en español). Pero, por lo menos, el español es mi lengua materna y podría ser más fácil (ya de por sí es harto complicado escribir una novela).
De cualquier forma, me gusta el desafío de escribir en inglés. Además, aprendo mucho vocabulario y gramática cada vez que voy al diccionario o a un sitio de gramática del inglés (Dios bendiga la World Wide Web). Además, la Guía de Monteleone viene en inglés. Así que el idioma principal de este blog va a seguir siendo el inglés (voy a traducir algunas entradas, claro) aunque la novela va a ser en español.
5.31.2010
Mega-Cities are Merging into Mega-Regions
When I was a kid, we used to spend our week-ends in Cuernavaca. I will always remember our coming back home, at the highway, looking in amazement and awe at the Mexico City lights, the city that is always sprawling. My scared father used to tell us: "One day, Mexico City and Cuernavaca will be only one city." This forecast has still to be fulfilled for the south of the city--which is a somewhat protected natural environment--but not for the north, and north-west, where the old little towns are becoming suburbs of Mexico City.
Maybe one day, Mexico City, Queretaro, and the Bajío cities will become one huge mega-region.
I found an article in The Guardian about how mega-cities are becoming urban mega-regions.
UN report: World's biggest cities merging into 'mega-regions'
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/22/un-cities-mega-regions
"The world's mega-cities are merging to form vast 'mega-regions' which may stretch hundreds of kilometres across countries and be home to more than 100 million people, according to a major new UN report."
"The largest of this... is the Hong Kong-Shenhzen-Guangzhou region in China, home to about 120 million people. Other mega-regions have formed in Japan and Brazil and are developing in India, west Africa and elsewhere."
Another example (not mentioned in the article) is the area from Tijuana in Mexico to Los Angeles in the United States. A few years ago, I drove from Tijuana to LA on I-5 and found very few places where you didn't see an urban area.
I also took the train from Washington, DC to New Jersey. It was the same landscape: urban area after urban area with some "natural" zones here and there. You can even take the subway in Philadelphia all the way to Manhattan. Amazing.
If we think about it, many trends can be found--education, crime, opportunities, supplies, water, crops, politics, religion, unbalance, economy, and so on--and the big question remains: if everybody migrates to the cities, who will plant our fields? Who will feed us?
Other issues: Will there be enough water? Will people have the same opportunities or will there be a sharper gap between the rich and the poor?
The article says the forecast is good: these regions are the most productive, the richest, and most of technological innovation takes place there.
I'd like to know if an SF writer has already foreseen this scenario.
Reforma, a Mexican journal, published an article about the same UN report.
Reforma's article:
Predicen un futuro con megarregiones
En 2050, la población urbana será el 70 por ciento del total
Ángel Villarino / Corresponsal
Beijing, China (31 mayo 2010).- Cientos y cientos de kilómetros cuadrados de asfalto; recorrer la distancia que separa el Distrito Federal de Acapulco sin abandonar nunca la ciudad; regiones enteras sin más verde que el de los parques públicos y sin más animales que los de las tiendas de mascotas, y áreas del tamaño de toda Holanda completamente urbanizadas.
Es el futuro que pronostica la ONU para zonas enteras del planeta, en las que se están formando "megarregiones", expresión acuñada por la agencia de asentamientos humanos de Naciones Unidas (HABITAT) en su informe "Estado de las Ciudades del Mundo 2010-2011: Reduciendo las Divisiones Urbanas".
El "hormiguero" más grande, situado en el sur de China, ya puede verse claramente en las fotos por satélite. Allí, en el eje que forman Guangzhou, Shenzhen y Hong Kong, metrópolis con más de 10 millones de habitantes cada una, conviven 120 millones de personas y la mayor concentración de fábricas del mundo. En su interior cabría la población de todo México y Guatemala juntos.
Por primera vez en la historia, el año pasado había ya más gente viviendo en las ciudades que en el campo. En 2050, la población urbana será el 70 por ciento del total.
La transformación se gesta sobre todo en los países en vías de desarrollo, donde se viven éxodos rurales -como en China, Brasil o India- ante los que palidecen las migraciones de la Revolución Industrial inglesa.
En total, 5 millones de personas dejan cada mes sus cultivos en un país pobre y se aprietan en una gran ciudad. Cada 9 meses, el equivalente a la población total de España engrosa las filas del proletariado urbano.
Se trata de un desafío con muchas variables, como por ejemplo el hecho de que 10 de las principales metrópolis de Asia, incluidas Shanghai, Bangkok o Yakarta, corren el riesgo de inundarse o ser destruidas por un tifón o un tsunami antes de 10 años.
HABITAT considera que el fenómeno de las megarregiones es "imparable" y que puede convertirse en uno de los principales problemas para la humanidad en los próximos 50 años.
El hormigón se expande por casi todo el planeta, siendo Asia la región donde más prolifera el hongo urbano.
Entre Nagoya, Osaka, Kyoto y Kobe se espera formar una ciudad de más de 60 millones, equivalente a la población de Italia, antes de 2015.
Por esas fechas, las periferias de Río de Janeiro y Sao Paulo podrían estar ya conectadas, al igual que el corredor transnacional del oeste de África: 600 kilómetros de ciudad que unirán Nigeria, Benín, Togo y Ghana.
En India, el país con más problemas de sobrepoblación del mundo, podrían acabar uniéndose en un solo monstruo Mumbai y Nueva Delhi.
Las megarregiones, sin embargo, generan mucha más riqueza y avance tecnológico que el resto del planeta. Las 40 áreas urbanas más grandes apelmazan "sólo" 18 por ciento de la población mundial, pero generan 66 por ciento de la actividad económica y 85 por ciento del avance tecnológico y científico.
En una escala menor, las 25 ciudades más grandes producen la mitad de la riqueza planetaria. En China e India la cifra se dispara al 50 por ciento.
Es más, según HABITAT, la mayor parte del dinero que llega a las zonas rurales procede de lo que se envía desde los "hormigueros de neón".
Maybe one day, Mexico City, Queretaro, and the Bajío cities will become one huge mega-region.
I found an article in The Guardian about how mega-cities are becoming urban mega-regions.
UN report: World's biggest cities merging into 'mega-regions'
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/22/un-cities-mega-regions
"The world's mega-cities are merging to form vast 'mega-regions' which may stretch hundreds of kilometres across countries and be home to more than 100 million people, according to a major new UN report."
"The largest of this... is the Hong Kong-Shenhzen-Guangzhou region in China, home to about 120 million people. Other mega-regions have formed in Japan and Brazil and are developing in India, west Africa and elsewhere."
Another example (not mentioned in the article) is the area from Tijuana in Mexico to Los Angeles in the United States. A few years ago, I drove from Tijuana to LA on I-5 and found very few places where you didn't see an urban area.
I also took the train from Washington, DC to New Jersey. It was the same landscape: urban area after urban area with some "natural" zones here and there. You can even take the subway in Philadelphia all the way to Manhattan. Amazing.
If we think about it, many trends can be found--education, crime, opportunities, supplies, water, crops, politics, religion, unbalance, economy, and so on--and the big question remains: if everybody migrates to the cities, who will plant our fields? Who will feed us?
Other issues: Will there be enough water? Will people have the same opportunities or will there be a sharper gap between the rich and the poor?
The article says the forecast is good: these regions are the most productive, the richest, and most of technological innovation takes place there.
I'd like to know if an SF writer has already foreseen this scenario.
Reforma, a Mexican journal, published an article about the same UN report.
Reforma's article:
Predicen un futuro con megarregiones
En 2050, la población urbana será el 70 por ciento del total
Ángel Villarino / Corresponsal
Beijing, China (31 mayo 2010).- Cientos y cientos de kilómetros cuadrados de asfalto; recorrer la distancia que separa el Distrito Federal de Acapulco sin abandonar nunca la ciudad; regiones enteras sin más verde que el de los parques públicos y sin más animales que los de las tiendas de mascotas, y áreas del tamaño de toda Holanda completamente urbanizadas.
Es el futuro que pronostica la ONU para zonas enteras del planeta, en las que se están formando "megarregiones", expresión acuñada por la agencia de asentamientos humanos de Naciones Unidas (HABITAT) en su informe "Estado de las Ciudades del Mundo 2010-2011: Reduciendo las Divisiones Urbanas".
El "hormiguero" más grande, situado en el sur de China, ya puede verse claramente en las fotos por satélite. Allí, en el eje que forman Guangzhou, Shenzhen y Hong Kong, metrópolis con más de 10 millones de habitantes cada una, conviven 120 millones de personas y la mayor concentración de fábricas del mundo. En su interior cabría la población de todo México y Guatemala juntos.
Por primera vez en la historia, el año pasado había ya más gente viviendo en las ciudades que en el campo. En 2050, la población urbana será el 70 por ciento del total.
La transformación se gesta sobre todo en los países en vías de desarrollo, donde se viven éxodos rurales -como en China, Brasil o India- ante los que palidecen las migraciones de la Revolución Industrial inglesa.
En total, 5 millones de personas dejan cada mes sus cultivos en un país pobre y se aprietan en una gran ciudad. Cada 9 meses, el equivalente a la población total de España engrosa las filas del proletariado urbano.
Se trata de un desafío con muchas variables, como por ejemplo el hecho de que 10 de las principales metrópolis de Asia, incluidas Shanghai, Bangkok o Yakarta, corren el riesgo de inundarse o ser destruidas por un tifón o un tsunami antes de 10 años.
HABITAT considera que el fenómeno de las megarregiones es "imparable" y que puede convertirse en uno de los principales problemas para la humanidad en los próximos 50 años.
El hormigón se expande por casi todo el planeta, siendo Asia la región donde más prolifera el hongo urbano.
Entre Nagoya, Osaka, Kyoto y Kobe se espera formar una ciudad de más de 60 millones, equivalente a la población de Italia, antes de 2015.
Por esas fechas, las periferias de Río de Janeiro y Sao Paulo podrían estar ya conectadas, al igual que el corredor transnacional del oeste de África: 600 kilómetros de ciudad que unirán Nigeria, Benín, Togo y Ghana.
En India, el país con más problemas de sobrepoblación del mundo, podrían acabar uniéndose en un solo monstruo Mumbai y Nueva Delhi.
Las megarregiones, sin embargo, generan mucha más riqueza y avance tecnológico que el resto del planeta. Las 40 áreas urbanas más grandes apelmazan "sólo" 18 por ciento de la población mundial, pero generan 66 por ciento de la actividad económica y 85 por ciento del avance tecnológico y científico.
En una escala menor, las 25 ciudades más grandes producen la mitad de la riqueza planetaria. En China e India la cifra se dispara al 50 por ciento.
Es más, según HABITAT, la mayor parte del dinero que llega a las zonas rurales procede de lo que se envía desde los "hormigueros de neón".
5.29.2010
Sketching a plot
I went to my shrink and told him that I had an issue with plotting, and then, suddenly, as I was talking I began to see that indeed I had a plot in a rough way:
1. The President (Rigoberto, or Aniv de la Rev or whatever)
2. War on drugs
3. The President's daughter (Ana) is abducted
4. The kidnappers want the president to tell the truth
5. The president does not tell the truth
6. The kidnappers release the daughter who will hate her father from now on and tell the world the truth about him.
And I have a plot for a second novel:
1. A college teacher (Tania) is seduced by a student (Leonardo), who is 15 years younger
2. He moves to her house
3. She is crazy and his life becomes unbearable
4. He runs away
Maybe I can find a way of merging both stories. What if Ana was Tania's student, and Leonardo's classmate? And Leonardo--a progressive-minded student-- becomes a scapegoat of the Mexican corrupt police: they make him testify that he is a member of the gang who abducted Ana.
Tania teaches politics, and there are discussions among her students about the government. Tania is conservative, catholic, and a status-quo supporter. She tries to avoid that her students criticize the government in her class. But they continue arguing after class.
And what about the gang that really abducted Ana? Where do they come from? Who finances them? What is their ideology? What is their main goal?
To go on with the novel, they must be idealists, very uncommon people who have nothing to loose. But that is not part of the plot: I can find later a good reason for them doing what they do.
1. The President (Rigoberto, or Aniv de la Rev or whatever)
2. War on drugs
3. The President's daughter (Ana) is abducted
4. The kidnappers want the president to tell the truth
5. The president does not tell the truth
6. The kidnappers release the daughter who will hate her father from now on and tell the world the truth about him.
And I have a plot for a second novel:
1. A college teacher (Tania) is seduced by a student (Leonardo), who is 15 years younger
2. He moves to her house
3. She is crazy and his life becomes unbearable
4. He runs away
Maybe I can find a way of merging both stories. What if Ana was Tania's student, and Leonardo's classmate? And Leonardo--a progressive-minded student-- becomes a scapegoat of the Mexican corrupt police: they make him testify that he is a member of the gang who abducted Ana.
Tania teaches politics, and there are discussions among her students about the government. Tania is conservative, catholic, and a status-quo supporter. She tries to avoid that her students criticize the government in her class. But they continue arguing after class.
And what about the gang that really abducted Ana? Where do they come from? Who finances them? What is their ideology? What is their main goal?
To go on with the novel, they must be idealists, very uncommon people who have nothing to loose. But that is not part of the plot: I can find later a good reason for them doing what they do.
Monteleone's Guide Chapter 6: the Plot
I must confess the idea of plotting, planning, scheduling taunts me. I find myself teetering, doubting, faltering in an unknown mysterious fog where my myopic eyes cannot see anything.
The first small novel--or long short-story--I wrote had not plot at all. I was living by myself in Tijuana. I had no friends, no money, and a not so demanding small job. I just came back from work and wrote 1 or 2 pages about my professional experiences, with a character which was humorous--that's what I thought, at least. And I just kept writing and writing until I completed more than a hundred pages. I never stopped to think about the plot, and so at the end I had a lot of loosely related stories, which I called "my book".
Monteleone says about this kind of literature: "Please, if you were trying to write that particular 'story,' don't. These are written thousands of times a year..."
Some of them manage to get published, and get mentions for their " 'dazzling prose' or 'iconoclastic style,' but rarely (try never) for their riveting storytelling."
Now I have to see my psychoanalyst, and will tell him about my issues with plotting.
The first small novel--or long short-story--I wrote had not plot at all. I was living by myself in Tijuana. I had no friends, no money, and a not so demanding small job. I just came back from work and wrote 1 or 2 pages about my professional experiences, with a character which was humorous--that's what I thought, at least. And I just kept writing and writing until I completed more than a hundred pages. I never stopped to think about the plot, and so at the end I had a lot of loosely related stories, which I called "my book".
Monteleone says about this kind of literature: "Please, if you were trying to write that particular 'story,' don't. These are written thousands of times a year..."
Some of them manage to get published, and get mentions for their " 'dazzling prose' or 'iconoclastic style,' but rarely (try never) for their riveting storytelling."
Now I have to see my psychoanalyst, and will tell him about my issues with plotting.
5.27.2010
We reached the future
We reached the future.
At least, the time science fiction speaks about.
Many things that were predicted never happened: there are no flying cars--flying is still expensive, only the rich own a helicopter, and planes have evolved but work almost the same.
There are no robots that want to replace their metal parts with real organs. Robots have not replaced humans, and most of them are simply sophisticated computers; there are no evil androids--nor replicants--planning to destroy life on earth; computers cannot make importante decisions--like killing the crew of a spaceship, for example--without human beings they are just stupid machines.
There are lots of cameras watching us everyday, everywhere, but no big brother--although some dictators have tried to be like George Orwell's.
Planets with living beings have not yet been discovered--as far as today, humans are the only intelligent species in the whole universe; there are no space stations on Mars, nor interplanetary trips, nor tele-transportation, nor star wars, nor ETs; there are more satellites, and some space stations used for scientific projects--some rich tycoons do make trips there, though.
Nuclear wars, climate change, armaggedon, or the apocalipsis riders have not finished with life on earth; we have managed to survive famine, wars, dictatorships, pollution, climate change, global infections, web blackouts, hackers, pornography, the war on drugs, the rise of criminality, democracy, communism, and capitalism.
We still have lots of animals and flora--no need for robotic pets; we still eat much the same--industrial foods, farm edibles, fast food, meat, etc.--but not capsules.
There are no test-tube babies, and most are born the same way: from their mom's belly, and are raised in a regular family--although monoparental, gay, and even transexual families are more common nowadays; people get married, and divorced almost at the same rate as in the past.
Jails are packed with criminals, but the worst criminals live almost normal lives, without ever being prosecuted, as usual...
We reached the future, but not the future foreseen by those great SF authors that I love to read: Jules Verne, Ray Bradbury, George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, Isaac Assimov, and many more.
At least, the time science fiction speaks about.
Many things that were predicted never happened: there are no flying cars--flying is still expensive, only the rich own a helicopter, and planes have evolved but work almost the same.
There are no robots that want to replace their metal parts with real organs. Robots have not replaced humans, and most of them are simply sophisticated computers; there are no evil androids--nor replicants--planning to destroy life on earth; computers cannot make importante decisions--like killing the crew of a spaceship, for example--without human beings they are just stupid machines.
There are lots of cameras watching us everyday, everywhere, but no big brother--although some dictators have tried to be like George Orwell's.
Planets with living beings have not yet been discovered--as far as today, humans are the only intelligent species in the whole universe; there are no space stations on Mars, nor interplanetary trips, nor tele-transportation, nor star wars, nor ETs; there are more satellites, and some space stations used for scientific projects--some rich tycoons do make trips there, though.
Nuclear wars, climate change, armaggedon, or the apocalipsis riders have not finished with life on earth; we have managed to survive famine, wars, dictatorships, pollution, climate change, global infections, web blackouts, hackers, pornography, the war on drugs, the rise of criminality, democracy, communism, and capitalism.
We still have lots of animals and flora--no need for robotic pets; we still eat much the same--industrial foods, farm edibles, fast food, meat, etc.--but not capsules.
There are no test-tube babies, and most are born the same way: from their mom's belly, and are raised in a regular family--although monoparental, gay, and even transexual families are more common nowadays; people get married, and divorced almost at the same rate as in the past.
Jails are packed with criminals, but the worst criminals live almost normal lives, without ever being prosecuted, as usual...
We reached the future, but not the future foreseen by those great SF authors that I love to read: Jules Verne, Ray Bradbury, George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, Isaac Assimov, and many more.
Mexican Animal Farm
What if my characters are animals? A kind of animal that loves eating something that becomes forbidden by law—mushrooms, for example. Or a society made up of different animals, like Animal Farm, but with dark humor and a happy ending.
It could be a farm...
The problem is George Orwell already wrote that. I would have to get as far as possible from Animal Farm. I began reading it again, and it is a flaberggasting tale.
Or maybe not that far from Orwell…
"Mexican Animal Farm"?
All politicians are pigs… Dogs, better. Orwell already chose the pigs (hogs, boars) as politicians.
Bad guys, outlaws are wolves or foxes.
Or maybe "American Animal Farm" (about the Bush administration), which would appeal a lot more to the American mind.
This changes everything, it is a completely different book. Or maybe not.
It could be a farm...
The problem is George Orwell already wrote that. I would have to get as far as possible from Animal Farm. I began reading it again, and it is a flaberggasting tale.
Or maybe not that far from Orwell…
"Mexican Animal Farm"?
All politicians are pigs… Dogs, better. Orwell already chose the pigs (hogs, boars) as politicians.
Bad guys, outlaws are wolves or foxes.
Or maybe "American Animal Farm" (about the Bush administration), which would appeal a lot more to the American mind.
This changes everything, it is a completely different book. Or maybe not.
5.26.2010
Los Justisieros
Ana, the President's daughter, is kidnapped by Juan, the chauffeur, who happens to be an undercover guerrilla fighter.
The guerrilla is called “Los Justisieros” (the Righteous, with a slight misspelling, like saying “Righteouz”). (They are righteous but not very good with spelling).
They want rescue money, of course, but just to be able to bring righteousness to the country, to be able to survive. They are drug dealers, but only with the same purpose. Otherwise, they will fight any kind of corruption, and corrupt people whether they belong to the Church, politics, big business, or whatever. They belong neither to the right nor the left, they belong to justice.
Above the money, they want the truth to be exposed. They hang signboards from the bridges at the main highways in the country, demanding that the President himself address the Nation, and expose the truth, which is that he is an alcoholic, a drug addict, that he cheated to become President, that he has friends who are drug lords, and that his war on drugs is directed only towards the enemies of his drug lord friends. He must expose the corrupt big business, the corrupt Church, the corrupt calls for bidding, etc.
They want him to bring democracy to his own party, and then resign. He shall call for democratic elections, which must be crystal clear.
Otherwise, he will never see his daughter again.
The irony is that Anne never left the President’s house. She is kept in the chauffeur’s room, where she went at night, with nobody noticing.
The guerrilla is called “Los Justisieros” (the Righteous, with a slight misspelling, like saying “Righteouz”). (They are righteous but not very good with spelling).
They want rescue money, of course, but just to be able to bring righteousness to the country, to be able to survive. They are drug dealers, but only with the same purpose. Otherwise, they will fight any kind of corruption, and corrupt people whether they belong to the Church, politics, big business, or whatever. They belong neither to the right nor the left, they belong to justice.
Above the money, they want the truth to be exposed. They hang signboards from the bridges at the main highways in the country, demanding that the President himself address the Nation, and expose the truth, which is that he is an alcoholic, a drug addict, that he cheated to become President, that he has friends who are drug lords, and that his war on drugs is directed only towards the enemies of his drug lord friends. He must expose the corrupt big business, the corrupt Church, the corrupt calls for bidding, etc.
They want him to bring democracy to his own party, and then resign. He shall call for democratic elections, which must be crystal clear.
Otherwise, he will never see his daughter again.
The irony is that Anne never left the President’s house. She is kept in the chauffeur’s room, where she went at night, with nobody noticing.
5.24.2010
The President is a phoney
He drinks, takes cocaine, has friends who are drug lords but he initiates the war on drugs.
He calls the opponent a cheater and a danger for the country, but cheats to get the presidency. Then, he talks about democracy, and urges to fight corruption.
A cheater against cheating, a corrupt against corruption, an addict against addiction, a lier against lying, our President is a little phoney beast.
He calls the opponent a cheater and a danger for the country, but cheats to get the presidency. Then, he talks about democracy, and urges to fight corruption.
A cheater against cheating, a corrupt against corruption, an addict against addiction, a lier against lying, our President is a little phoney beast.
Gaby, Beto`s wife
Gaby is a yoga teacher.
She is Beto’s wife. They have 2 children.
She gets a scholarship from an international yoga school to take a one-week training with the best yoga teacher (Karl) in the Mayan Riviera.
Karl and Gaby (and the group of yoga teachers) visit Coba, the underground cenotes, Chichen-Itza, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, and the Sian-Kan reserve.
Karl tries to seduce Gaby. He talks a lot about tantra. But Gaby knows more about the spiritual side of tantra. A hurricane gets them stuck in the Mayan Riviera for an extra week.
Meanwhile, Beto is taking care of his children. There is a fire in the children’s day care center. They both have to be taken to the hospital at the nearest city. Their lives are endangered. Beto tries to contact Gaby at her hotel but she never picks up the phone.
Many children die, and journals start talking about the fire. Journalists interview the parents. Beto tries to avoid publicity as much as he can but paparazzi’s are good at their job and his pictures are shown on newspapers. The mafia recognizes him. He knows he has to run away but he is stuck, he cannot leave his children alone.
+++
Too much drama?
The moment Gaby visits the Mayan Riviera has to be very well chosen because there is a very slight chance of hurricanes during the summer. She would have to be there in September.
I have to find the cause of the fire in the day care center.
She was hot, not only because of the weather outside…
Many faces, many men came to her mind while she touched herself. It was early in the morning. She could hear her dad snoring loudly. Some early birds and a distant old rooster were greeting the dawn. The soldiers were already preparing to hoist the National Flag. She could hear them marching, saluting, and blowing their trumpets. An alarm clock went off somewhere in the big house. Maybe a housemaid or the gardener or even… She sighed, and whispered his name “Juan.”
She couldn’t help thinking of the new chauffeur. She had tried but his image always came back. “Why Juan?” she kept asking herself. She knew lots of men who were more attractive, younger, even more educated, and rich. But Juan had something they didn’t: he made her laugh, he had experience treating young ladies, and he exuded a charm and a self-confidence that she had rarely seen. She loved when he drove her to school and spoke about his mistresses, his adventures with ladies of all ages and classes, all the children he had and were scattered all around the country. There was something innocent, and at the same time obscene in those stories.
She was fantasizing now with being one of her lovers: the rich girl seducing the chauffeur. She took off the silk sheets and the transparent top of her baby-doll. She gently squeezed her big breasts. Her scars were almost gone, and she loved those new huge tits she had always dreamt of.
She saw herself going to his room at night, wearing her robe but nothing else beneath…
She saw herself knocking at his door, and she heard him asking “Who is this?”
She would reply in a whisper “Anne.”
He would almost shout in astonishment “Anne?”
She would whisper “Hush, Juan, can you open the door?”
“Give me one minute,” he would reply in a whisper.
Her fantasy went on, and on. She tried to imagine all the details as much as she could: how he would open the door, how the hinges would squeak faintly, how he would look wearing his pajamas, how he would tell her to go back to her room.“I am afraid all alone in my room,” she would say. “Can I come in just five minutes? I promise I’ll leave soon.”
Many faces, many men came to her mind while she touched herself. It was early in the morning. She could hear her dad snoring loudly. Some early birds and a distant old rooster were greeting the dawn. The soldiers were already preparing to hoist the National Flag. She could hear them marching, saluting, and blowing their trumpets. An alarm clock went off somewhere in the big house. Maybe a housemaid or the gardener or even… She sighed, and whispered his name “Juan.”
She couldn’t help thinking of the new chauffeur. She had tried but his image always came back. “Why Juan?” she kept asking herself. She knew lots of men who were more attractive, younger, even more educated, and rich. But Juan had something they didn’t: he made her laugh, he had experience treating young ladies, and he exuded a charm and a self-confidence that she had rarely seen. She loved when he drove her to school and spoke about his mistresses, his adventures with ladies of all ages and classes, all the children he had and were scattered all around the country. There was something innocent, and at the same time obscene in those stories.
She was fantasizing now with being one of her lovers: the rich girl seducing the chauffeur. She took off the silk sheets and the transparent top of her baby-doll. She gently squeezed her big breasts. Her scars were almost gone, and she loved those new huge tits she had always dreamt of.
She saw herself going to his room at night, wearing her robe but nothing else beneath…
She saw herself knocking at his door, and she heard him asking “Who is this?”
She would reply in a whisper “Anne.”
He would almost shout in astonishment “Anne?”
She would whisper “Hush, Juan, can you open the door?”
“Give me one minute,” he would reply in a whisper.
Her fantasy went on, and on. She tried to imagine all the details as much as she could: how he would open the door, how the hinges would squeak faintly, how he would look wearing his pajamas, how he would tell her to go back to her room.“I am afraid all alone in my room,” she would say. “Can I come in just five minutes? I promise I’ll leave soon.”
The President’s Nightmare
He was sweating when he woke up. An awful nightmare:
He was speaking to the Congress totally naked. Everybody could see he was naked. Even worse, he could not find the manuscript he was supposed to read. He had to improvise, and he knew he was very bad at improvising. But he could do nothing about it. He had to keep speaking. The opposition leader stood up and shouted: “Wake up, Mr. President! You have to fight the drug lords!”
He was seating, he could not go back to sleep. He raised, and walked directly to his booze. A glass of scotch was all he needed.
He was speaking to the Congress totally naked. Everybody could see he was naked. Even worse, he could not find the manuscript he was supposed to read. He had to improvise, and he knew he was very bad at improvising. But he could do nothing about it. He had to keep speaking. The opposition leader stood up and shouted: “Wake up, Mr. President! You have to fight the drug lords!”
He was seating, he could not go back to sleep. He raised, and walked directly to his booze. A glass of scotch was all he needed.
Beto
What is Beto's story?Does he have an education or was he raised in the street? Was he an important drug dealer or just a small one?How did he start in the drug traffic business?Why did he run away and changed his life 180 degrees?How did he get to his hiding place in Bernal?What does he do for a living now?Is he a comical, a tragic, a romantic character?Is he strong or weak?Does he have family?Are the police and the mafia really looking for him or was it all a trick of the mind?
All I know is that he didn't know how to cook, and he didn't know anything about house chores, and now he is married, has a family, and he is hiding from some really mean guys. His story could be fun or a tragic one.
Beto and Rocky
Beto admires Rocky.But he is a Rocky housekeeper rather feminine, which can be ridiculous.Of course, he eats the regular Rocky breakfast: especially the raw eggs part.But instead of the regular Rocky work out he does the house chores with the Rocky approach, singing in his head the Rocky songs.
All I know is that he didn't know how to cook, and he didn't know anything about house chores, and now he is married, has a family, and he is hiding from some really mean guys. His story could be fun or a tragic one.
Beto and Rocky
Beto admires Rocky.But he is a Rocky housekeeper rather feminine, which can be ridiculous.Of course, he eats the regular Rocky breakfast: especially the raw eggs part.But instead of the regular Rocky work out he does the house chores with the Rocky approach, singing in his head the Rocky songs.
Conversation with my Guru, Part I
Guru: "Do you really want to write fiction? Do you really want to live with all these conflicts in your head? You are making up these issues and other people will read and think about them. Do you really want to put these things in other people's minds? Do you really want to play God and create lives, people, issues, dramas, scenarios, and things that do not exist just to entertain?"
5.19.2010
Cooking
Beto never thought he would be one day cooking for his family, just the way his mother used to cook for him and his siblings. The most astonishing of it all was that he was actually enjoying it.
Before starting to chop the onion he was feeling a little down, with this hot and dry weather, and all these gloomy thoughts about the end of his life. He hoped it would start raining soon.
“These people are looking for me. One day, they will find my whereabouts. There is no doubt they will, it is just a matter of time.” All day long these bleak words had been turning around his head.
He chopped the tomatoes while the onion was cooking, and began to feel almost happy; it was stimulating to smell his own cooking. Cobi, his poodle, must have been thinking the same, because he showed up, and sat down, patiently waiting for a bit of tomato.
The huge monolith could be seen from the kitchen. He wondered how many stories and legends this big rock had seen: Indians, conquistadores, mestizos, maybe even dinosaurs… (He didn’t know about dinosaurs, he would have to ask his wife about that.) Many battles, many dead. And now the stone was a silent witness of his own story. “For how long?” he asked himself.
He mixed the cooked onions with the chopped tomatoes and added hot chile pepper –which he had always called chile piquín, a variety of paprika--, salt and pepper. He now knew that the more you cook tomatoes the better, and he liked this knowledge. He started chopping the zucchini.
“Tell me big rock, do you know when my story will end? When will they find me?” He didn’t ask the question in a gloomy mood, he had already been stimulated with the cooking. He asked it with acceptance, knowing that we cannot escape our destiny.
He mixed the zucchini with the cooked tomatoes, and added more spices. Then, he opened a tuna can, knowing that Luna, the cat, would be very soon around asking for her share.
A gray cloud covered the tip of the monolith, the wind started to blow and he saw birds flying low. “At least,” he thought, “the rain is coming.”
Before starting to chop the onion he was feeling a little down, with this hot and dry weather, and all these gloomy thoughts about the end of his life. He hoped it would start raining soon.
“These people are looking for me. One day, they will find my whereabouts. There is no doubt they will, it is just a matter of time.” All day long these bleak words had been turning around his head.
He chopped the tomatoes while the onion was cooking, and began to feel almost happy; it was stimulating to smell his own cooking. Cobi, his poodle, must have been thinking the same, because he showed up, and sat down, patiently waiting for a bit of tomato.
The huge monolith could be seen from the kitchen. He wondered how many stories and legends this big rock had seen: Indians, conquistadores, mestizos, maybe even dinosaurs… (He didn’t know about dinosaurs, he would have to ask his wife about that.) Many battles, many dead. And now the stone was a silent witness of his own story. “For how long?” he asked himself.
He mixed the cooked onions with the chopped tomatoes and added hot chile pepper –which he had always called chile piquín, a variety of paprika--, salt and pepper. He now knew that the more you cook tomatoes the better, and he liked this knowledge. He started chopping the zucchini.
“Tell me big rock, do you know when my story will end? When will they find me?” He didn’t ask the question in a gloomy mood, he had already been stimulated with the cooking. He asked it with acceptance, knowing that we cannot escape our destiny.
He mixed the zucchini with the cooked tomatoes, and added more spices. Then, he opened a tuna can, knowing that Luna, the cat, would be very soon around asking for her share.
A gray cloud covered the tip of the monolith, the wind started to blow and he saw birds flying low. “At least,” he thought, “the rain is coming.”
5.08.2010
Chapter 5, Reading to Write
Monteleone’s advice: read, read, and read. Anything can be inspiring. Maintain also a bookshelf with the books you are planning to read. The “To Read Next” stack.
- “You must be a voracious reader to be a writer.”
Once, Monteleone had a job that required visiting customers in their houses, and sometimes he had a chance to see the whole house. He discovered that most of the houses he visited lacked one thing in particular: books. “It’s always been an axiom of the publishing industry that 10 percent of the population buys 90 percent of the books.”
- “You should read in your chosen genre.”
Well, the story I want to tell is adventure/action, which I used to read a lot in junior high and high school but not now. I’ll visit Amazon.com, and see if I can find something interesting. I also read the first 2 chapters of Jeff Long’s The Descent, and then just dropped it one year ago. I should finish it.
- “You should read nonfiction.”
I like Oliver Sacks’ books –medicine, science, travels, and he is also a great story-teller. Plus, Sacks books are like 2 books in one --the second one is hidden in the footnotes. I also like cookbooks, sports, grammar, yoga, history, the newspaper, etc. Plus all the reading I do everyday at work --trucks, buses, law, official letters, Wikipedia. So, no problem with nonfiction.
- “Reading teaches technique and builds your vocabulary.”
I indeed agree, Mr. Monteleone! I am a big fan of dictionaries and encyclopedias.
I went to Amazon.com and downloaded the Kindle application for PC: this is going to be my “To Read Next” stack.
I bought online two of the books Monteleone recommends: Stephen King’s Misery, and Jack London’s Martin Eden. They were immediately downloaded to my PC, it was amazing.
But of course, my priority right now is Monteleone’s Guide. So, now I’ve got plenty to keep me busy… and happy.
- “You must be a voracious reader to be a writer.”
Once, Monteleone had a job that required visiting customers in their houses, and sometimes he had a chance to see the whole house. He discovered that most of the houses he visited lacked one thing in particular: books. “It’s always been an axiom of the publishing industry that 10 percent of the population buys 90 percent of the books.”
- “You should read in your chosen genre.”
Well, the story I want to tell is adventure/action, which I used to read a lot in junior high and high school but not now. I’ll visit Amazon.com, and see if I can find something interesting. I also read the first 2 chapters of Jeff Long’s The Descent, and then just dropped it one year ago. I should finish it.
- “You should read nonfiction.”
I like Oliver Sacks’ books –medicine, science, travels, and he is also a great story-teller. Plus, Sacks books are like 2 books in one --the second one is hidden in the footnotes. I also like cookbooks, sports, grammar, yoga, history, the newspaper, etc. Plus all the reading I do everyday at work --trucks, buses, law, official letters, Wikipedia. So, no problem with nonfiction.
- “Reading teaches technique and builds your vocabulary.”
I indeed agree, Mr. Monteleone! I am a big fan of dictionaries and encyclopedias.
I went to Amazon.com and downloaded the Kindle application for PC: this is going to be my “To Read Next” stack.
I bought online two of the books Monteleone recommends: Stephen King’s Misery, and Jack London’s Martin Eden. They were immediately downloaded to my PC, it was amazing.
But of course, my priority right now is Monteleone’s Guide. So, now I’ve got plenty to keep me busy… and happy.
5.06.2010
Chapter 4, Again
One more thing about Chapter 4 of Monteleone’s Guide: one of the stories I’ve been thinking about fits comfortably in the Action/Adventure type.
The story basically goes like this:
A corrupt president wants to fight drug lords, but just the ones who are not his friends. A special paramilitary squad is trained to combat those gangsters –we will see the special training they endure, of course. Some of their adventures involve their victorious battles against organized crime. Nevertheless, the squad leader is not stupid, and begins to understand that some drug lords are never fought. He, and his squad, do some research, and find out that indeed the president himself is involved in drug crime, and they have been the president’s –and some of the drug lords’— puppets. They swear revenge, draft an elaborate plan, and at the end are able to uncover the corruption net.
End of the story (there might be a sequel, of course).
What is important here is a basic question: will I be able to write novel after novel on the same subject? Do I want to be typecast as an adventure/action writer?
The thing I like about the subject is the wide array of topics linked to the main plot. For example, during the squad training, I will be able to study survival techniques –which I love since my boy-scout years—, martial arts and meditation, strategy, weapons, and all those things I like but have never really studied.
The characters’ background can also be interesting: they come from different social, economic, educational strata. This can be the sociological part of the story, and can be done when presenting all the characters, including mobsters, politicians, their wives, their employees, and so on.
Of course, other main topics can be politics, economics, and the like.
It doesn’t have to be the typical action novel. It can be told from different perspectives, with different narrators.
Humor? This is not the best genre for expressing it but some circumstances can be found, why not? Maybe one of the characters can be funny.
The story basically goes like this:
A corrupt president wants to fight drug lords, but just the ones who are not his friends. A special paramilitary squad is trained to combat those gangsters –we will see the special training they endure, of course. Some of their adventures involve their victorious battles against organized crime. Nevertheless, the squad leader is not stupid, and begins to understand that some drug lords are never fought. He, and his squad, do some research, and find out that indeed the president himself is involved in drug crime, and they have been the president’s –and some of the drug lords’— puppets. They swear revenge, draft an elaborate plan, and at the end are able to uncover the corruption net.
End of the story (there might be a sequel, of course).
What is important here is a basic question: will I be able to write novel after novel on the same subject? Do I want to be typecast as an adventure/action writer?
The thing I like about the subject is the wide array of topics linked to the main plot. For example, during the squad training, I will be able to study survival techniques –which I love since my boy-scout years—, martial arts and meditation, strategy, weapons, and all those things I like but have never really studied.
The characters’ background can also be interesting: they come from different social, economic, educational strata. This can be the sociological part of the story, and can be done when presenting all the characters, including mobsters, politicians, their wives, their employees, and so on.
Of course, other main topics can be politics, economics, and the like.
It doesn’t have to be the typical action novel. It can be told from different perspectives, with different narrators.
Humor? This is not the best genre for expressing it but some circumstances can be found, why not? Maybe one of the characters can be funny.
5.04.2010
Chapter 4, Genres
My energy is low tonight. There was maybe too much pollution today. It was also hot and dry.
Maybe that is why I don’t feel so inspired to blog, or even write anything. Or maybe I found chapter 4 a little overwhelming, and somehow depressing –even though it is informative, and interesting. I have always known the business of writing must be difficult, I just was not as aware as I am after reading this chapter of Monteleone’s Guide to Writing a Novel.
Chapter 4, Genres & the Mainstream
Here is the summary of this chapter:
- The backbone of the publishing industry is the vast array of genre titles published every month.
- Each genre has a loyal and dependable core audience.
- Many genre novels are published as paperback originals (often called “mass market editions”).
- Successful genre authors are also enthusiastic readers of the categories in which they write.
Maybe I am down because I had a romantic idea about writing a novel. I thought I could just write whatever I liked without paying attention to the kind of genre. Maybe I don’t like the idea of writing for people who will be as demanding as Monteleone depicts them (“a loyal and dependable core audience”). Do I really want to be a Paperback Writer?
I knew there was a market and market rules. I just weren’t aware of it.
And, besides, I am not an enthusiastic reader of any category, and readers –if I ever have readers—will notice.
One of my favorite novels of all times was Mario Vargas Llosa’s La tía Julia y el escribidor (Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter), which makes fun of genre literature, especially the romance genre, although writer is not a novel writer but a radio scriptwriter. But Vargas Llosa’s novel has also romance: the young writer who falls in love with his aunt –7 years older than him.
What about Proust, where would his novels fall in these categories: nowhere.
Would Flaubert’s Madame Bovary be romance or anti-romance?
And Cervantes’ Don Quixote? What about García Márquez’ 100 Years of Solitude?
I think all the novels I like the most make fun of genre novels. Don Quixote got nuts because he read too many adventure/fantasy novels. Emma Bovary got mad because she read too many romance novels.
A difficult early choice on my future carrier. But maybe I am still thinking as my high-school literature teachers, and will have to see things differently.
Maybe that is why I don’t feel so inspired to blog, or even write anything. Or maybe I found chapter 4 a little overwhelming, and somehow depressing –even though it is informative, and interesting. I have always known the business of writing must be difficult, I just was not as aware as I am after reading this chapter of Monteleone’s Guide to Writing a Novel.
Chapter 4, Genres & the Mainstream
Here is the summary of this chapter:
- The backbone of the publishing industry is the vast array of genre titles published every month.
- Each genre has a loyal and dependable core audience.
- Many genre novels are published as paperback originals (often called “mass market editions”).
- Successful genre authors are also enthusiastic readers of the categories in which they write.
Maybe I am down because I had a romantic idea about writing a novel. I thought I could just write whatever I liked without paying attention to the kind of genre. Maybe I don’t like the idea of writing for people who will be as demanding as Monteleone depicts them (“a loyal and dependable core audience”). Do I really want to be a Paperback Writer?
I knew there was a market and market rules. I just weren’t aware of it.
And, besides, I am not an enthusiastic reader of any category, and readers –if I ever have readers—will notice.
One of my favorite novels of all times was Mario Vargas Llosa’s La tía Julia y el escribidor (Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter), which makes fun of genre literature, especially the romance genre, although writer is not a novel writer but a radio scriptwriter. But Vargas Llosa’s novel has also romance: the young writer who falls in love with his aunt –7 years older than him.
What about Proust, where would his novels fall in these categories: nowhere.
Would Flaubert’s Madame Bovary be romance or anti-romance?
And Cervantes’ Don Quixote? What about García Márquez’ 100 Years of Solitude?
I think all the novels I like the most make fun of genre novels. Don Quixote got nuts because he read too many adventure/fantasy novels. Emma Bovary got mad because she read too many romance novels.
A difficult early choice on my future carrier. But maybe I am still thinking as my high-school literature teachers, and will have to see things differently.
5.03.2010
My Ideas for a Novel
One of Tom Monteleone’s tips on his Guide to Writing a Novel is: “… my best advice is to think ‘High Concept’.”
I don’t know exactly if that means a ‘complicated’ idea, or a ‘difficult’ one, or whatever. I don’t know if I’ve ever had a ‘high concept’, but I have quite a lot of ideas.
First Idea
War on Drugs
My country has a ridiculous little president who thinks that the war on drugs will put an end to drug trafficking. This is not the most idiot idea of our pathetic, corrupt governor –who, by the way, is on power because he cheated on the ballot—but the most relevant –at least to me. Besides, there are many who claim that the war on drugs is favoring some drug lords over the others.
A lot can be written about the subject. I would like to make a noir comedy out of it… or maybe a political thriller with some humor and some tragedy.
Second Idea
The life and deeds of a very human super hero
One that eats, shits, has gastritis, and goes to the doctor. He divorces, and has problems getting the custody of his children. He has to pay a mortgage, credit cards, and goes to the shrink.
This would also be a comedy, not necessarily a noir one. Science fiction very close to reality.
Third Idea
The Redeemed Mobster
A mean gangster who wants to redeem himself after a meditation experience.
Of course, I have no plot, I have nothing, and everything has to be created from scratch. There is a lot of thinking involved. And there are so many possibilities for the frame, the environment surrounding the main story!
These stories can be set in the past, present, or future. They can be erotic, or romantic, or thrillers without any romance. It’s fascinating taking a look at the span of possibilities… and also frightening!
I don’t know exactly if that means a ‘complicated’ idea, or a ‘difficult’ one, or whatever. I don’t know if I’ve ever had a ‘high concept’, but I have quite a lot of ideas.
First Idea
War on Drugs
My country has a ridiculous little president who thinks that the war on drugs will put an end to drug trafficking. This is not the most idiot idea of our pathetic, corrupt governor –who, by the way, is on power because he cheated on the ballot—but the most relevant –at least to me. Besides, there are many who claim that the war on drugs is favoring some drug lords over the others.
A lot can be written about the subject. I would like to make a noir comedy out of it… or maybe a political thriller with some humor and some tragedy.
Second Idea
The life and deeds of a very human super hero
One that eats, shits, has gastritis, and goes to the doctor. He divorces, and has problems getting the custody of his children. He has to pay a mortgage, credit cards, and goes to the shrink.
This would also be a comedy, not necessarily a noir one. Science fiction very close to reality.
Third Idea
The Redeemed Mobster
A mean gangster who wants to redeem himself after a meditation experience.
Of course, I have no plot, I have nothing, and everything has to be created from scratch. There is a lot of thinking involved. And there are so many possibilities for the frame, the environment surrounding the main story!
These stories can be set in the past, present, or future. They can be erotic, or romantic, or thrillers without any romance. It’s fascinating taking a look at the span of possibilities… and also frightening!
Blogging on Sunday, hmmmm!
I spent the whole Sunday with my kids and ex-wife, and just came back home, totally and absolutely tired. Plus, soccer Sunday –what a temptation to become a numb couch potato!
But reading The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Writing a Novel is so fun, and instructive, and writing has become such a wonderful experience… So, here I am.
Chapter 3 The List
The List is basically the bestselling list. Tom Monteleone recalls the history of the List, back to 1895.
Nowadays, things have changed, mainly because of the Web. But something is still the same: publishers need to have bestselling authors to keep the publishing business running.
Why do they bother to publish new high-risk writers?
Tom says: because of their potential to become bestselling writers one day.
Why does Tom talk about the List?
(My wife got home while I was writing the previous sentence. We did what adults do. So, that was it with my writing on Sunday).
All I can say about chapter 3 is that it is a good read. I am not going to transcribe here all of Tom Monteleone's Guide, so, this time I choose to give some advice to all the readers, fans and followers of this blog: get a copy of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing a Novel and read chapter 3!
But reading The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Writing a Novel is so fun, and instructive, and writing has become such a wonderful experience… So, here I am.
Chapter 3 The List
The List is basically the bestselling list. Tom Monteleone recalls the history of the List, back to 1895.
Nowadays, things have changed, mainly because of the Web. But something is still the same: publishers need to have bestselling authors to keep the publishing business running.
Why do they bother to publish new high-risk writers?
Tom says: because of their potential to become bestselling writers one day.
Why does Tom talk about the List?
(My wife got home while I was writing the previous sentence. We did what adults do. So, that was it with my writing on Sunday).
All I can say about chapter 3 is that it is a good read. I am not going to transcribe here all of Tom Monteleone's Guide, so, this time I choose to give some advice to all the readers, fans and followers of this blog: get a copy of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing a Novel and read chapter 3!
5.01.2010
Football or Blog
Today is a good day to show toughness. Right now, at this time, while the sun is bright and the weather is unbearably hot, soccer quarter finals are beginning. A difficult choice: football (as we call it here) or blog. It is not an easy one… Or, maybe, if I am fast enough to read Tom Monteleone’s Guide, and report my reading on the blog, maybe I could watch part of the first game. Perhaps.
Let’s go to Chapter 2.
Creativity & Talent
Before I read.
Do I have creativity? I think everybody does, although not everybody is conscious of it. For example, I am a translator. I usually get a document in English, authored by someone else who used a lot of creativity and talent. I just have to rewrite the same document in a different language. Do I need creativity for that? My personal answer is ‘Yes’. There are millions of translators, but each one of them would be able to produce a million different translations. Language is not mathematics, words in English don't have an exact correspondence –and only one correspondence—with just one word of the foreign language.
You always have many different ways of saying the same thing. Of course, there are dictionaries, translation software, glossaries, but choices are always there. And that’s where you need creativity.
No hay problema con la creatividad.
Do I have talent?
Did Proust have talent?
I haven’t read Proust for a long time, although I liked the two novels I read. Very much, oh, yes! But not everybody likes Proust: they find his writing snobbish, and difficult, and they can’t understand why there is so little action, and so many words to say easy things. Some people who were forced by teachers to read Proust really hate his novels.
The same applies to a variety of writers because talent is one of the most subjective things around.
Now, let’s read Monteleone’s Guide.
Fear is the Killer
Once, Tom met a Hungarian librarian who had written 26 novels, but never showed them to any publisher. “He admitted he’d always been afraid that the publishers wouldn’t like what he had done… His fear had paralyzed him.”
Creativity is all About Your Ideas
Some ways to develop your creativity:
1. Dreams
Why not? I sometimes have difficulty remembering my dreams but I can do it when I write them down, especially after waking up. They are usually crazy, it is like being in another world, or a movie, and they are comprehensive stories, with environment, feelings, and all the things you experience when seeing a movie or reading a novel.
Tom also mentions Freud, the subconscious, and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Interpreting Your Dreams.
Tom’s tips: keep a notebook, a pen, or even better, a digital mini-recorder on a nightstand near your bed.
2. Travel
I sometimes keep a travel diary. I find traveling one of the most inspiring activities. It is perfect because you are usually happy to go out, to be in a different environment, with different people, different customs, and different approaches to life.
Tom calls it ‘stimulating’.
3. Other novels
Definitely! I love reading, and my brain gets always activated. Once I read that Simenon, the Belgian thriller author, didn’t read other novels. It is also acceptable. After all, reading takes a lot of time. But I would never quit that enriching part of life, even if I decide I don’t want to write my own books.
4. Your own life
Very common, and always the same, but yes, I am no expert in anything but my life.
Tom says, ironically: “So many people think everyone else would be fascinated by reading their life stories.”
I personally think that it would be more interesting to write fiction, and enrich it with especial moments of your life.
5. Mythology and history
Definitely! I studied astrology for one year, and we saw a lot of mythology. I am a Gemini, which is the sign of Hermes/Mercury, and find that their features are somehow present in me. Mythology is not a dead thing told in death languages, it is very current, and an infinite source of stories: heroes, dreams of glory, deception, and murder. Not only Greco-Roman mythology but also the mythologies of other cultures are great sources of inspiration.
Tom says: “Many myths are instructive tales of morality or caution…”
History? Of course. One of the best novels I have read is Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City, a historical novel about the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, and a serial killer, who lived 16 blocks away from the fair.
What about Napoleon’s assassination? Who was the killer? Was it an assassination or Napoleon died of an ulcer?
What about all the unsolved mysteries of history? Many of them cannot be proven but that is good because we can fantasize, and make up our own theory.
Tom says: “In many cases, you’ll discover that truth is far stranger than fiction…”
(By the way, there is a typo in Tom’s Guide. The 1967 historical Pulitzer Prize winning novel by William Styron is not called Confessions of Matt Turner, but rather Confessions of Nat Turner. I must confess I haven’t read it, I just browsed the web to get the info.)
6. Brainstorms
Yes, other people can have interesting ideas they are not willing to develop. Why not develop them?
Tom used to be “part of a writers’ group that would meet on a fairly regular basis and brainstorm ideas for stories and books… it didn’t matter if 95% of the stuff everybody came up with was bilge… as long as the other 5% was pure gold.”
7. Try new things
Tom’s advice: “Read a book you never imagined reading. Try a new recipe. Talk to someone you would normally ignore.”
Incredibly enough, one of the most inspiring experiences I have had in recent years was taking an English-language class. There was a different topic of conversation every day, from politics, to the economy, to science-fiction, to TV series. We also had to give expositions, and for that you had to read. I discovered the books of Oliver Sacks –now one of my favorite writers—an extraordinary book by Mark Nelson and Sarah Hudson Bayliss, Exquisite Corpse: Surrealism and the Black Dahlia Murder (Bulfinch, 2006), and read classics like Brave New World and 1984 I always had wished I could read. Not to mention the grammar and vocabulary exercises, compositions, corrections, and tests.
I also have to mention yogic meditation. Even if the goal of meditation is getting away from thoughts, the mind will never stop thinking –and if it does, you will get a hell of an experience. This is my opportunity to say that my next novel will start with a meditation experience I had in a quiet ashram, many years ago. But instead of just talking about my life –who cares?—my novel character will get the experience, and then die.
Now I fear I will become crazy if I unleash all the ideas fluttering around my mind!
Talent: Putting Your Ideas to Work
Tom says: “Trust your instincts and see where they take you.”
“The good news is this: Your talent can be sharpened and improved… with practice, practice, practice.”
Erica Jong: “Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads.”
I say: It could also lead to enlightenment, uh?
Ways to Stay Ahead of the Curve
1. Keep a journal
It’s almost the only thing I have written –except for my translation work and school assignments. It is really enjoyable. I remember once, when I left my first wife and my children, and was living dreadful times, alone, in another city where I didn’t know anyone, feeling really depressed, my diary was my only therapy. It was magic: I used to write only a few words to describe my feelings, and suddenly the sadness, loneliness, depression, and stress where gone. Not to mention, this diary was the main source for my first, only, and never published novel.
2. Carry a notepad
I used to do that when I was a teenager, and decided to become a writer. But I just collected them, I never used them to create anything. As I said before, I have always been afraid of my own potential. I have been a paralyzed writer.
Nevertheless, it was a good practice, because the world changes when you start writing about it, and you get used to writing and describing your environment. My mother must have them somewhere in the bunch of papers she never throws away. I should ask her, and see if those notepads contain interesting ideas.
3. Idea boosters
Books, games, software, the web, movies, theater, poetry, songs. You name it.
4. Music
I used to sit alone in my parent’s house, and listen for long periods to Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, Brahms, Mahler, and I imagined stories. Music can be inspiring.
5. New stuff
Tom says: “Don’t let your life get into a rut. Make room for new experiences.”
6. Read more carefully
Tom says: “You need to learn how to read with writer’s eyes.”
Let’s go to Chapter 2.
Creativity & Talent
Before I read.
Do I have creativity? I think everybody does, although not everybody is conscious of it. For example, I am a translator. I usually get a document in English, authored by someone else who used a lot of creativity and talent. I just have to rewrite the same document in a different language. Do I need creativity for that? My personal answer is ‘Yes’. There are millions of translators, but each one of them would be able to produce a million different translations. Language is not mathematics, words in English don't have an exact correspondence –and only one correspondence—with just one word of the foreign language.
You always have many different ways of saying the same thing. Of course, there are dictionaries, translation software, glossaries, but choices are always there. And that’s where you need creativity.
No hay problema con la creatividad.
Do I have talent?
Did Proust have talent?
I haven’t read Proust for a long time, although I liked the two novels I read. Very much, oh, yes! But not everybody likes Proust: they find his writing snobbish, and difficult, and they can’t understand why there is so little action, and so many words to say easy things. Some people who were forced by teachers to read Proust really hate his novels.
The same applies to a variety of writers because talent is one of the most subjective things around.
Now, let’s read Monteleone’s Guide.
Fear is the Killer
Once, Tom met a Hungarian librarian who had written 26 novels, but never showed them to any publisher. “He admitted he’d always been afraid that the publishers wouldn’t like what he had done… His fear had paralyzed him.”
Creativity is all About Your Ideas
Some ways to develop your creativity:
1. Dreams
Why not? I sometimes have difficulty remembering my dreams but I can do it when I write them down, especially after waking up. They are usually crazy, it is like being in another world, or a movie, and they are comprehensive stories, with environment, feelings, and all the things you experience when seeing a movie or reading a novel.
Tom also mentions Freud, the subconscious, and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Interpreting Your Dreams.
Tom’s tips: keep a notebook, a pen, or even better, a digital mini-recorder on a nightstand near your bed.
2. Travel
I sometimes keep a travel diary. I find traveling one of the most inspiring activities. It is perfect because you are usually happy to go out, to be in a different environment, with different people, different customs, and different approaches to life.
Tom calls it ‘stimulating’.
3. Other novels
Definitely! I love reading, and my brain gets always activated. Once I read that Simenon, the Belgian thriller author, didn’t read other novels. It is also acceptable. After all, reading takes a lot of time. But I would never quit that enriching part of life, even if I decide I don’t want to write my own books.
4. Your own life
Very common, and always the same, but yes, I am no expert in anything but my life.
Tom says, ironically: “So many people think everyone else would be fascinated by reading their life stories.”
I personally think that it would be more interesting to write fiction, and enrich it with especial moments of your life.
5. Mythology and history
Definitely! I studied astrology for one year, and we saw a lot of mythology. I am a Gemini, which is the sign of Hermes/Mercury, and find that their features are somehow present in me. Mythology is not a dead thing told in death languages, it is very current, and an infinite source of stories: heroes, dreams of glory, deception, and murder. Not only Greco-Roman mythology but also the mythologies of other cultures are great sources of inspiration.
Tom says: “Many myths are instructive tales of morality or caution…”
History? Of course. One of the best novels I have read is Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City, a historical novel about the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, and a serial killer, who lived 16 blocks away from the fair.
What about Napoleon’s assassination? Who was the killer? Was it an assassination or Napoleon died of an ulcer?
What about all the unsolved mysteries of history? Many of them cannot be proven but that is good because we can fantasize, and make up our own theory.
Tom says: “In many cases, you’ll discover that truth is far stranger than fiction…”
(By the way, there is a typo in Tom’s Guide. The 1967 historical Pulitzer Prize winning novel by William Styron is not called Confessions of Matt Turner, but rather Confessions of Nat Turner. I must confess I haven’t read it, I just browsed the web to get the info.)
6. Brainstorms
Yes, other people can have interesting ideas they are not willing to develop. Why not develop them?
Tom used to be “part of a writers’ group that would meet on a fairly regular basis and brainstorm ideas for stories and books… it didn’t matter if 95% of the stuff everybody came up with was bilge… as long as the other 5% was pure gold.”
7. Try new things
Tom’s advice: “Read a book you never imagined reading. Try a new recipe. Talk to someone you would normally ignore.”
Incredibly enough, one of the most inspiring experiences I have had in recent years was taking an English-language class. There was a different topic of conversation every day, from politics, to the economy, to science-fiction, to TV series. We also had to give expositions, and for that you had to read. I discovered the books of Oliver Sacks –now one of my favorite writers—an extraordinary book by Mark Nelson and Sarah Hudson Bayliss, Exquisite Corpse: Surrealism and the Black Dahlia Murder (Bulfinch, 2006), and read classics like Brave New World and 1984 I always had wished I could read. Not to mention the grammar and vocabulary exercises, compositions, corrections, and tests.
I also have to mention yogic meditation. Even if the goal of meditation is getting away from thoughts, the mind will never stop thinking –and if it does, you will get a hell of an experience. This is my opportunity to say that my next novel will start with a meditation experience I had in a quiet ashram, many years ago. But instead of just talking about my life –who cares?—my novel character will get the experience, and then die.
Now I fear I will become crazy if I unleash all the ideas fluttering around my mind!
Talent: Putting Your Ideas to Work
Tom says: “Trust your instincts and see where they take you.”
“The good news is this: Your talent can be sharpened and improved… with practice, practice, practice.”
Erica Jong: “Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads.”
I say: It could also lead to enlightenment, uh?
Ways to Stay Ahead of the Curve
1. Keep a journal
It’s almost the only thing I have written –except for my translation work and school assignments. It is really enjoyable. I remember once, when I left my first wife and my children, and was living dreadful times, alone, in another city where I didn’t know anyone, feeling really depressed, my diary was my only therapy. It was magic: I used to write only a few words to describe my feelings, and suddenly the sadness, loneliness, depression, and stress where gone. Not to mention, this diary was the main source for my first, only, and never published novel.
2. Carry a notepad
I used to do that when I was a teenager, and decided to become a writer. But I just collected them, I never used them to create anything. As I said before, I have always been afraid of my own potential. I have been a paralyzed writer.
Nevertheless, it was a good practice, because the world changes when you start writing about it, and you get used to writing and describing your environment. My mother must have them somewhere in the bunch of papers she never throws away. I should ask her, and see if those notepads contain interesting ideas.
3. Idea boosters
Books, games, software, the web, movies, theater, poetry, songs. You name it.
4. Music
I used to sit alone in my parent’s house, and listen for long periods to Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, Brahms, Mahler, and I imagined stories. Music can be inspiring.
5. New stuff
Tom says: “Don’t let your life get into a rut. Make room for new experiences.”
6. Read more carefully
Tom says: “You need to learn how to read with writer’s eyes.”
Suscribirse a:
Comentarios (Atom)
