mercoledì 31 ottobre 2018
"I live in intensity."
“I live in intensity.”
- Virginia Woolf, from a diary entry featured in “A Writer’s Diary,” publ. c. 1953 (via violentwavesofemotion)
- Virginia Woolf, from a diary entry featured in “A Writer’s Diary,” publ. c. 1953 (via violentwavesofemotion)
strawberryspaceship: Writing Tip: Get To The End Honestly this is something I don’t think gets said...
Writing Tip: Get To The End
Honestly this is something I don’t think gets said enough. Stuck on a hard scene? Write a summary or description of it for now. Not sure where things are going? Write whatever comes to your head. Let your brain take you wherever it decides to go. Just get to the end. You hear all the time that first drafts are supposed to suck, because they are. Because you can fill in those hard scenes later, you can rewrite the story a million times to make it better, but you can’t rewrite or fill in what doesn’t already exist. So, yes. Skip the hard parts for now. Don’t let them drag you down. Get to the end. There’s something so powerful about finishing a draft, even if its rudimentary. Get to the end.
zdmotion: RESTING The days go byand the seasons too.The...
books-n-quotes: “Life is what we make of it. Travel is the traveler. What we see isn’t what we see...
“Life is what we make of it. Travel is the traveler. What we see isn’t what we see but what we are.”— Fernando Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet
"Believe in a love that is being stored up for you like an inheritance, and have faith that in this..."
“Believe in a love that is being stored up for you like an inheritance, and have faith that in this love there is a strength and a blessing so large that you can travel as far as you wish without having to step outside it.”
- Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet
(via bookmania)
- Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet
(via bookmania)
martedì 30 ottobre 2018
muccamuffa: Ti custodisco come si custodisce l’assenza con passione doverosa come il ramo spacca il...
Ti custodisco
come si custodisce l’assenza
con passione doverosa
come il ramo spacca il legno
e fa uscire il fiore
come da una porta faticosa,
come da un funerale
una farfalla, ti custodisco
e certi giorni all’improvviso
questo cibo
sfama gli uccelli più belli
quasi gli dipinge le piume
le piume assenza
le piume sole sole,
allora io
ringrazio.
Chandra Livia Candiani
alexaroth77: “Qualsiasi felicità è un capolavoro: il minimo errore la falsa, la minima esitazione la...
“Qualsiasi felicità è un capolavoro: il minimo errore la falsa, la minima esitazione la incrina, la minima grossolanità la deturpa, la minima insulsaggine la degrada.”
Marguerite Yourcenar
ilsoffiodellabrezzamarina: “Abbiamo tutti una vita interiore. Tutti sentiamo di far parte del mondo...
“Abbiamo tutti una vita interiore. Tutti sentiamo di far parte del mondo e nello stesso tempo di esserne esiliati. Bruciamo tutti nel fuoco delle nostre esistenze. Abbiamo bisogno delle parole per esprimere ciò che abbiamo dentro”.
Paul Auster
"The path of tenderness is endless."
“The path of tenderness is endless.”
- Rainer Maria Rilke, tr. by Paul Batchelor, from “Orchard,” wr. c. June 1917 (via violentwavesofemotion)
- Rainer Maria Rilke, tr. by Paul Batchelor, from “Orchard,” wr. c. June 1917 (via violentwavesofemotion)
lunedì 29 ottobre 2018
"Nothing is better for the soul than to make another soul less sad."
“Nothing is better for the soul than to make another soul less sad.”
- Paul Verlaine, tr. by C. F. MacIntyre, from 101 Poems; “Sagesses,”
(via violentwavesofemotion)
- Paul Verlaine, tr. by C. F. MacIntyre, from 101 Poems; “Sagesses,”
(via violentwavesofemotion)
un-belmorir: Che mastice tiene insiemequesti quattro...
Che mastice tiene insieme
questi quattro sassi.Penso agli angeli
sparsi qua e là
inosservati
non pennuti non formati
neppure occhiuti
anzi ignari
della loro parvenza
e della nostra
anche se sono
un contrappeso più forte
del punto di Archimede
e se nessuno li vede
è perché occorrono altri occhi
che non ho
e non desidero.La verità è sulla terra
e questa non può saperla
non può volerla
a patto di distruggersi.Così bisogna fingere
che qualcosa sia qui
tra i piedi tra le mani
non atto né passato
né futuro
e meno ancora un muro
da varcare
bisogna fingere
che movimento e stasi
abbiano il senso
del nonsenso
per comprendere
che il punto fermo è un tutto
nientificato.(Eugenio Montale, Satura; Satura II)
cair–paravel:Gladstone’s Library in Hawarden, Wales. It was...
Gladstone’s Library in Hawarden, Wales. It was founded in 1894 by former Prime Minister William Gladstone and built by John Douglas in the late 1890s-early 1900s.
"Ecco un'altra delle nostre paure: che la Vita potesse rivelarsi diversa dalla Letteratura."
“Ecco un'altra delle nostre paure: che la Vita potesse rivelarsi diversa dalla Letteratura.”
- Julian Barnes, Il senso di una fine (via lelettere)
- Julian Barnes, Il senso di una fine (via lelettere)
domenica 28 ottobre 2018
zdmotion: LIGHTING UP Walking, holding hands.Talking with...
verschollentm: […] se nevrotico vuol dire desiderare contemporaneamente due cose che si escludono a...
[…] se nevrotico vuol dire desiderare contemporaneamente due cose che si escludono a vicenda, allora io sono nevrotica all'ennesima potenza.
- Sylvia Plath, La campana di vetro
"We grow. It hurts at first."
“We grow. It hurts at first.”
- Sylvia Plath, from The Collected Poems; “Witch Burning,” c. October 1961
(via violentwavesofemotion)
- Sylvia Plath, from The Collected Poems; “Witch Burning,” c. October 1961
(via violentwavesofemotion)
occhietti:Anche se la finestra è la stessa, non tutti quelli che...
Anche se la finestra è la stessa, non tutti quelli che vi si affacciano vedono le stesse cose: la veduta dipende dallo sguardo.
- Alda Merini
"I’m not doing awfully well but I’m trying very, very, very hard,"
“I’m not doing awfully well but I’m trying very, very, very hard,”
- Anne Sexton, from a letter to Florence Ehrhardt, c. February 1974
(via violentwavesofemotion)
- Anne Sexton, from a letter to Florence Ehrhardt, c. February 1974
(via violentwavesofemotion)
sabato 27 ottobre 2018
"I am both worse and better than you thought."
“I am both worse and better than you thought.”
- Sylvia Plath, The Unabridged Journals Of Sylvia Plath (via books-n-quotes)
- Sylvia Plath, The Unabridged Journals Of Sylvia Plath (via books-n-quotes)
giuliavaldi: «Sono abitata da un grido. Di notte esce svolazzando in cerca, con i suoi uncini, di...
«Sono abitata da un grido.
Di notte esce svolazzando
in cerca, con i suoi uncini, di qualcosa da amare.
Mi terrorizza questa cosa scura
che dorme in me;
tutto il giorno ne sento il tacito rivoltarsi piumato, la malignità.
Le nuvole passano e si disperdono.
Sono quelli i volti dell’amore, quelle pallide irrecuperabilità?
È per questo che agito il mio cuore?»
Sylvia Plath, nata oggi
Hey! Do you have any tips for people who've reached a block in their writing? I've been trying to plan out a plot for my book, but I've reached a point where I can't think of anything else
What to Do If You Get Stuck While Outlining Your Plot
Hi! Thanks for writing. Getting blocked can happen at all stages: Before writing, during writing, during outlining, in the idea stage, etc. But since you specifically said you’re reaching a block in your plot planning, I’ll address that :)
#1 Make sure your character’s motivation & conflict are “big” enough
If your character doesn’t have a book-length problem, you can get stuck trying to fill in empty space in the plot. In order to find more events to flesh out your story, you may need to make adjustments. Is their desire strong enough to fuel a book? Is the conflict big enough? Is their problem difficult to solve? If not, how can you make their problem harder? Or take longer to resolve?
You might need a combination of a fiercer desire, a bigger problem, more problems, more obstacles, and/ or a more stubborn antagonist to reveal potential scenes and events. For help with your character’s motivation and conflict, check out the PDF “Creating Character Arcs” in my Free Resource Library.
#2 Plot your story backwards
This can help you make sure you have a strong enough ending and open up new possibilities you might not have noticed while plotting forward. I have a post about it here.
#3 Use the but/therefore method
The but/therefore method is a great way to fill holes. It tests the cause-effect connections between your plot and character and almost always reveals gaps that need to be addressed with new or stronger scenes. Use this template for each scene or chapter:
Main character wants ______, but _______, therefore ______.
What comes after “wants” is the motivation for that chapter or scene. After “but” goes the conflict or obstacle. After “therefore” is the result or action the character takes, which leads into the next goal, and so on, and so on.
Chapter-by-chapter it might look something like this:
Chapter 1: Julian wants to ask Matt to the dance, but he’s scared of being rejected, therefore he slips a cryptic note into Matt’s locker.
Chapter 2: Matt doesn’t see the note. Now Julian wants to get into his locker and retrieve it, but the principal sees him trying to jimmy open the lock, therefore Julian is given detention for a week.
You can also do this scene-by-scene. My suggestion would be to start with the chapter outline, see what it reveals, then move into the scenes if you still feel stuck.
#4 Ask questions
Classic un-sticking questions start with “what if” or “why”? Asking questions can unlock new story directions you might not have noticed were there before.
What if the main character’s ex-boyfriend came back to town? What if they didn’t achieve that small goal back in chapter 4? What if they were hiding something? etc.
Why are they avoiding their sister? Why is it so difficult for them to apologize? Why haven’t they quit their job if they hate it so much? etc.
#5 Consider creating a subplot (or two or three)
A book-length story usually needs a few side stories to flesh out the main one. Look for areas of your story that could be expanded, characters that might take the story down a related tangent, and conflicts that seem small but could be bigger with some digging.
#6 Take a break
Sometimes, you just need to give it a rest. Walk away from your outline for at least a week. When you come back, you may see things you didn’t see before and be able to breathe new life into it. In the meantime, let your mind wander. It’s amazing what creative solutions writers can come up with when they aren’t “trying.”
//////////////
The Literary Architect is a writing advice blog run by me, Bucket Siler. For more writing help, check out my Free Resource Library, peruse my post guide, or hire me to edit your novel or short story. xoxo
iosonorockmaballoiltango: Dopo l’ululato di un animale. Dopo il tuono. Dopo il corno. ...
Dopo l’ululato di un animale.
Dopo il tuono. Dopo il corno.
Dopo il canto di una donna di montagna
c’è il silenzio e l’aria vuota.
Poi ci sei tu.
Ascolti. Il tuono chiama.
Ascolti. Le onde parlano.
Rispondi. Ma nessuno mai
ti risponderà. E lo sai.
E questo vale anche per te
– poeta!
Eavan Boland
venerdì 26 ottobre 2018
"My soul is a hidden orchestra; I know not what instruments, what fiddle strings and harps, drums and..."
“My soul is a hidden orchestra; I know not what instruments, what fiddle strings and harps, drums and tambourines I sound and clash inside myself. All I hear is the symphony.”
- Fernando Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet
(via goodreadss)
- Fernando Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet
(via goodreadss)
"And it seems I must always write you letters that I can never send."
“And it seems I must always write you letters that I can never send.”
- Sylvia Plath (via sunsetquotes)
- Sylvia Plath (via sunsetquotes)
myjetpack: My postcard book ‘The Snooty Bookshop’ will be out...
My postcard book ‘The Snooty Bookshop’ will be out in the UK tomorrow from Canongate books.
Coming in October!
preorder at waterstones (UK)
preorder at amazon.co.uk (UK)
preorder at wordery (Worldwide)
preorder at amazon.com (US)
preorder at indiebound (US)
kxowledge: autumn-inspired moodboard for...
autumn-inspired moodboard for @dianadeclairmont
“The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science. Whoever does not know it and can no longer wonder, is as good as dead, and his eyes are dimmed.”
— Albert Einstein
giovedì 25 ottobre 2018
Iscriviti a:
Post
(
Atom
)