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11/30/2010

3 Books in 30 Minutes!!!

The challenge: come up with three concepts for books. Include a very short explanation of the basic idea and add a title. You have 30 minutes.

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The first title I chose is Snuggles no more! a marital tragedy. Why not write about things I know? No, seriously, this could be a great title for a funny companion type of book with all sorts of backwards tips regarding marriage, explaining for example, how the silent treatment really is effective against.... not being noticed... Following the approved How-not-to book tradition.

The second one Tracksuit legends I sort of came up with spontaneously. I just loved the basic idea: the hero is a tracksuit wearing slacker, carved in my image and inspired by Wanja, the nut-eating, ever-sleeping son of a farmer, whose laziness is to become his greatest asset in the turn of events. Maybe the protagonist could even be a virtual hero.

The third one is Cancer’s got nothing on me – stories of a hypochondriac. Well, what can I tell you, this is my cathartic air gate. I am a world-class hypochondriac myself. The maladies I have come up with over the years are creative, highly entertaining to the outside eye, and yet, pure torture for me. Describing my daily struggle for survival could be moving, insightful and fun. So there’s some potential for “dramedy” right there!

11/25/2010

The Inventive Mind - Inception

 Inception Blu-ray

I like to believe that there's a story somewhere in me. My story, to be precise. Second nature to my first. A good one, yet untold. It has many interesting layers to it, multidimensional characters, an inventive plot and intriguing secrets to be revealed.

I am always amazed at screenwriters. There are some highly talented people out there. More power to them! To move a person's perspective in a two hour period is nothing short of brilliant. Take the movie Inception for example. A whole new universe, a multidimensional dreamworld, with its own set of physical rules, it's sc-ifi, but not too far ahead in the future, it's fanta-sci, but not remote, because the world(s) are largely coherent.

Yes, there are some logical pitfalls in the plot but the writers seem to safely navigate around them and not tap into them themselves, so I just have minor complaints regarding the overall logical consistency. My main criticism is the somewhat arbitrary portrayal of top-down cause and effect from one dream layer to the next. But that's really a minor thing compared to other "idiot plots" I had to suffer through.

So speaking of a convincing plot idea and a strong delivery, why didn't I come up with that idea? I know, it sounds ridiculous and a little condescending, but I always ask myself that question when I am blown away by intense writing, translated onto screen, a natural evolution and an uncoerced creation of something magical. Why didn't I come up with that? Why is there a lack of ingenuity in the things I create? Or wouldn't I recognize originality if it hit me in the head?

I wish someone creative would invade my mind and plant an idea there, the best one anyone ever came up with, a powerful meme for me to put down in writing. Yes, please :)

Inception on Blu-ray

11/13/2010

Eureka, I got nothing!

Arrrwwwh, there's a real problem.
I want to write something, in fact, I would love to, but I don't have any half-decent idea what to write about. Every time this happens I always fear that maybe I am all written out, like a squeezed orange, with no more creative juice left in me. (Even this allegory is disgustingly uninspired. Great.)

See, for a short story you need to come up with an interesting scenario, engaging characters and some sort of challenge those characters have to face - and it's always good when it leads up to a surprising turn towards the end, changing the reader's point of view.
I think with a Greater Plan, some of it worked out, but all in all it lacked in structure and dialogue - not so much the idea department. I need to come up with something great and then deliver like intended. My own golden egg.

11/09/2010

A Greater Plan

Here's another short story called A Greater Plan
It's really short. Super-short. Teensy weensy.
But the content, of course, is great.
That's why it's called A Greater Plan.
Just so you know.