A must for readers and writers of thrillers:
“A group of researchers at the Center for Applied Criminology at
Birmingham City University in the U.K. has recently analyzed newspaper
articles, court records, and a series of “off-the-record” interviews
with informants “who have, or who had, direct knowledge of contract
killings” in order to construct what they term a “typology” of British
hitmen.” …
“The main thrust of the paper, which will be published in the Howard
Journal of Criminal Justice, is that hitmen do not operate with the
drama, professionalism, or glamour that mob films and spy novels afford
them. In actuality, the majority of killers select jejune settings for
their crimes, have occasionally bumbling performances, and are often
hired by contractors with lame motivations.”
“Here’s the profile of an average British hitman, who seems more
confined by the boxy restraints of reality than the undulating arcs of
fiction:”
“He kills on the cheap. The average asking price was £15,180. It was
£100,000 at the highest level, and a teenager was shafted with £200 at
the low end.” …
“The weapon of choice was a firearm.” …
“Most of the killers were working on first-time contracts, meaning
there weren’t many long-distance snipers taking shots from towers.” …
READ MORE: http://www.psmag.com/navigation/politics-and-law/how-hitmen-operate-73430/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+miller-mccune%2Fmain_feed+%28Pacific+Standard+-+Main+Feed%29
Showing posts with label Fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fiction. Show all posts
24/11/2013
Read fiction to build personal wealth
There “is money in books.” …
“Don’t expect, however, to find explicit tips on spending, saving, and investing baked into the texts like messages in fortune cookies. Novelists and dramatists seem suspicious if not disdainful of those who dole out advice about money — which is perhaps why, when they do offer worthwhile personal-finance counsel, the words tend to be put into the mouths of imbeciles.” …
“So if literature offers no pecuniary prescriptions and might send overzealous readers off tilting at windmills, why should seekers of financial advice invest any time in it? Based on my own quixotic reading, and after putting the question to both financial pros and professors of literature, there are at least two reasons, I think:”
“First: Novels demonstrate the power the almighty dollar wields over our emotions, thoughts and behavior — and reveal the ripple effect our dealings with money can have on those around us. “
“Second: Fiction is great fun. As much as I enjoy reading psychologists or behavioral economists like Daniel Kahneman and Nassim Taleb, or even the latest Malcolm Gladwell bestseller, no account of psychological experimentation or discourse on the human mind and its failings has ever wedged itself in my memory like the foibles of Micawber and Quixote.”
Continue for advice from these financial gurus: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/want-to-get-rich-read-fiction-2013-11-22
Fiction key to understanding the real life
“People do not read fiction or watch films as observers. Rather they are drawn to participate in the story, making it reality. This has several benefits. It lets them experience how others deal with problems – how their dilemmas confuse them, engage them rationally and emotionally, challenge their values, and force them to balance competing issues. Reading fiction nurtures skills in observation, analysis, diagnosis, empathy, and self-reflection – capacities essential for good customer experiences, for caring about others, and for promoting good leadership practices. Fiction helps its readers to develop insights about people who are different from themselves. As they ponder what they might have done if confronted with a character’s situation, fiction helps its readers to gain insight about themselves as well.”
“Literary fiction, in contrast to popular fiction, focuses on the psychology of their characters and their interrelationships in the story. The authors of literary fiction reveal their character’s minds only vaguely, leaving out important details. The omission requires the reader to fill in the gaps if the character’s motives are to be understood. Literary fiction is rarely explicit about the internal dialog running inside each character’s mind, which consequently forces the reader to imagine it. This is the way the real world works.”
From: patriotpost.us
09/11/2013
Why fiction is irresistible
"How come so many people in the world are drawn towards stories and plots that never even occurred!”
"If we explore this dynamic we will see that each reader is compelled to this genre for different reasons, but of course there are always similarities. It is widely believed that reading fiction is an escapist hobby and this is quite true. The world we live in, the world we adapt to and the life we are bound to may not seem fascinating all the time. We get bored by our daily routines and the repetitive process starts looking like a trap. Now to vent out and feel fabulous many of us choose to pick out a more fantasy version of life. A place where everything is possible, where even for a short time you can live someone else’s life! This doesn’t mean that the person doesn’t have grip on the realities of life. It just shows that all of us are humans and that some magical phenomenon always seems appealing."
"Apart from that, reading fiction is always a treat for your brain. Encouraging you to think beyond the boundaries of society, creatively and filling you with new ideas. So to all those parents who are always chasing their kids to read more of the academic books than fiction, should remember that your kids are doing mind exercises. So instead of scolding, encourage them to read and introduce them to the world of ‘The Books’.”
Sarwat Amin Rattani, in thefrontierpost.com
13/03/2013
Read fiction to combat insomnia
"Insomnia seems to be becoming increasingly common, and good sleep hygiene ... plus a basic understanding of the nature of sleep ... can help us to return to a good regular sleep pattern...
The trick is to slip from the real world to the dream one, so lying there rigid with anxiety to achieve unconsciousness is never going to work.
Reading fiction, on the other hand, acts as a first breakaway from reality and gives the mind a first hold on the suppressed state of dream that is so firmly denied all day.
... steer clear of non-fiction books. Read to go into another world, and raise no resistance. Dream actually comes before sleep, and is the way in."
From: http://m.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2013/mar/13/cognitive-behaviour-therapy-suzanne-moore
SpyWriter Jack King, the author of:
Agents of Change, WikiJustice, The Black Vault, and The Fifth Internationale.
A new Pope. A new Church. A new world:
www.SpyWriter.com
The trick is to slip from the real world to the dream one, so lying there rigid with anxiety to achieve unconsciousness is never going to work.
Reading fiction, on the other hand, acts as a first breakaway from reality and gives the mind a first hold on the suppressed state of dream that is so firmly denied all day.
... steer clear of non-fiction books. Read to go into another world, and raise no resistance. Dream actually comes before sleep, and is the way in."
From: http://m.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2013/mar/13/cognitive-behaviour-therapy-suzanne-moore
SpyWriter Jack King, the author of:
Agents of Change, WikiJustice, The Black Vault, and The Fifth Internationale.
A new Pope. A new Church. A new world:
www.SpyWriter.com
01/03/2013
Escapist Literature
"literature is not isolated from the social and cultural framework in which it is set, but takes an active part in constructing it. Literature has a socializing, acculturating function. It can topple regimes and spark changes in ways of thinking that reverberate down generations. ...
I think that escapism is probably the most important literary development in recent times. It is properly not an end unto itself, it is a mode, a hook, a literary device to draw readers in. Literary fiction has always seemed unapproachable because it often deals with heavy topics: the human condition, war, slavery, inequality, the like – all within the confines of mundane existence; a mirror unto the imperfections of our own reality. Many people don’t like that. Escapism replaces that reality with one in which we actually want to live in, and thus makes literature accessible. Escapism is not incompatible with literature-as-mirror or literature-as-agent-of-change. In fact, far from being the great enemy of traditional affective literature, it may be its greatest emerging ally, combating the evil forces of reality TV, celebrity gossip and the always-on camera recording the lives of the Kardashians. That is because escapist fiction can, at its best, act as a cradle for good stories and good literature. If the thought of escaping to a world where you can ride broomsticks and cast spells introduces kids to the wonders of reading and good storytelling (and a life of literacy afterward), more power to escapism."
FROM: http://www.cornellsun.com/section/arts/content/2013/03/01/escaping-through-fiction
SpyWriter Jack King, author of Agents of Change, WikiJustice, The Black Vault and The Fifth Internationale
I think that escapism is probably the most important literary development in recent times. It is properly not an end unto itself, it is a mode, a hook, a literary device to draw readers in. Literary fiction has always seemed unapproachable because it often deals with heavy topics: the human condition, war, slavery, inequality, the like – all within the confines of mundane existence; a mirror unto the imperfections of our own reality. Many people don’t like that. Escapism replaces that reality with one in which we actually want to live in, and thus makes literature accessible. Escapism is not incompatible with literature-as-mirror or literature-as-agent-of-change. In fact, far from being the great enemy of traditional affective literature, it may be its greatest emerging ally, combating the evil forces of reality TV, celebrity gossip and the always-on camera recording the lives of the Kardashians. That is because escapist fiction can, at its best, act as a cradle for good stories and good literature. If the thought of escaping to a world where you can ride broomsticks and cast spells introduces kids to the wonders of reading and good storytelling (and a life of literacy afterward), more power to escapism."
FROM: http://www.cornellsun.com/section/arts/content/2013/03/01/escaping-through-fiction
SpyWriter Jack King, author of Agents of Change, WikiJustice, The Black Vault and The Fifth Internationale
01/02/2013
Reading fiction aloud is therapeutic
The "Liverpool-based charity The Reader Organisation ... seeks to bring about a "reading revolution" by encouraging people to read poetry and novels aloud to each other.
The Swiss linguist and thinker Ferdinand de Saussure describes language as a form of treasure that is shared with others when we speak. Treasure is also something that can be hoarded. If you keep all the good words – the rich, descriptive, wild long words – to yourself then you retain their high value. Share them with the masses and you end up ... with the linguistic means to create a society of equals, which is exactly what the hoarders of social and cultural capital don't want.
...the benefits of reading in company as described by one woman: "Doctors and stuff aren't always what you need. Other people can help too.
"The accumulated experience of peers and equals, all of whom have been in the same boat at one point or other, is shared to the benefit of everyone. It's hard to think of a more powerful, not to mention empowering, sentiment."
More: http://m.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/01/reading-fiction-friends-therapeutic
SpyWriter Jack King, the author of:
Agents of Change, WikiJustice, The Black Vault, and The Fifth Internationale.
Coming soon:
www.SpyWriter.com
The Swiss linguist and thinker Ferdinand de Saussure describes language as a form of treasure that is shared with others when we speak. Treasure is also something that can be hoarded. If you keep all the good words – the rich, descriptive, wild long words – to yourself then you retain their high value. Share them with the masses and you end up ... with the linguistic means to create a society of equals, which is exactly what the hoarders of social and cultural capital don't want.
...the benefits of reading in company as described by one woman: "Doctors and stuff aren't always what you need. Other people can help too.
"The accumulated experience of peers and equals, all of whom have been in the same boat at one point or other, is shared to the benefit of everyone. It's hard to think of a more powerful, not to mention empowering, sentiment."
More: http://m.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/01/reading-fiction-friends-therapeutic
SpyWriter Jack King, the author of:
Agents of Change, WikiJustice, The Black Vault, and The Fifth Internationale.
Coming soon:
www.SpyWriter.com
31/01/2013
Read fiction to be a good person
Yet another study finds reading fiction makes us better persons:
"During the act of reading engaging fiction, we can lose all sense of time. By the final chapter of the right book, we feel changed in our own lives, even if what we've read is entirely made up.
Research says that’s because while you’re engaged in fiction — unlike nonfiction — you’re given a safe arena to experience emotions without the need for self-protection. Since the events you’re reading about do not follow you into your own life, you can feel strong emotions freely.
The Dutch study found that good fiction—the kind that sucks you in with characters you can identify with—can have a lasting effect on a person’s expression of empathy. Bad fiction, the kind you can’t really get into, has exactly the opposite effect."
More: http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/healthline-connects/reading-fiction-increases-empathy-013013
SpyWriter Jack King, the author of:
Agents of Change, WikiJustice, The Black Vault, and The Fifth Internationale.
Coming soon:
www.SpyWriter.com
"During the act of reading engaging fiction, we can lose all sense of time. By the final chapter of the right book, we feel changed in our own lives, even if what we've read is entirely made up.
Research says that’s because while you’re engaged in fiction — unlike nonfiction — you’re given a safe arena to experience emotions without the need for self-protection. Since the events you’re reading about do not follow you into your own life, you can feel strong emotions freely.
The Dutch study found that good fiction—the kind that sucks you in with characters you can identify with—can have a lasting effect on a person’s expression of empathy. Bad fiction, the kind you can’t really get into, has exactly the opposite effect."
More: http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/healthline-connects/reading-fiction-increases-empathy-013013
SpyWriter Jack King, the author of:
Agents of Change, WikiJustice, The Black Vault, and The Fifth Internationale.
Coming soon:
www.SpyWriter.com
15/01/2013
Truth or Myth: Politics and Novels don't mix
Interviewer: The question of combining politics and fiction has engaged a good many critics, often drawing from them the notion that it's very difficult to mix the two.
John Dos Passos: Well, I don't know. Recently, I've been calling my novels contemporary chronicles, which seems to fit them rather better. They have a strong political bent because after all—although it isn't the only thing—politics in our time has pushed people around more than anything else. I don't see why dealing with politics should harm a writer at all. Despite what he said about politics in the novel being “the pistol shot at the opera,” Stendhal also wrote contemporary chronicles. Or look at Thucydides. I don't think his history was at all damaged by the fact that he was a political writer. A lot of very good writing has been more or less involved in politics, although it's always a dangerous territory. It's better for some people to keep out unless they're willing to learn how to observe. It is the occupation of a special kind of writer. His investigation—using blocks of raw experience—must be balanced. Sartre in his straight, plain reporting was wonderful. I can't read him now. A writer in this field should be both engaged and disengaged. He must have passion and concern and anger—but he must keep his emotions at arm's length in his work. If he doesn't, he's simply a propagandist, and what he offers is a “preachment."
More: http://www.ibna.ir/vdciv3azwt1awz2.ilct.html
SpyWriter Jack King || "A new King of thrillers on the horizon" || Author of Political Thrillers || www.SpyWriter.com
John Dos Passos: Well, I don't know. Recently, I've been calling my novels contemporary chronicles, which seems to fit them rather better. They have a strong political bent because after all—although it isn't the only thing—politics in our time has pushed people around more than anything else. I don't see why dealing with politics should harm a writer at all. Despite what he said about politics in the novel being “the pistol shot at the opera,” Stendhal also wrote contemporary chronicles. Or look at Thucydides. I don't think his history was at all damaged by the fact that he was a political writer. A lot of very good writing has been more or less involved in politics, although it's always a dangerous territory. It's better for some people to keep out unless they're willing to learn how to observe. It is the occupation of a special kind of writer. His investigation—using blocks of raw experience—must be balanced. Sartre in his straight, plain reporting was wonderful. I can't read him now. A writer in this field should be both engaged and disengaged. He must have passion and concern and anger—but he must keep his emotions at arm's length in his work. If he doesn't, he's simply a propagandist, and what he offers is a “preachment."
More: http://www.ibna.ir/vdciv3azwt1awz2.ilct.html
SpyWriter Jack King || "A new King of thrillers on the horizon" || Author of Political Thrillers || www.SpyWriter.com
14/01/2013
Why we read fiction
"One of the attractions readers often cite as their explanation for their passion for books is the opportunity for escapism they offer. But sometimes ... the new realities we encounter bear little or no relatoin to the realities we're leaving behind.
The question of why we read is a huge one, but the classic (if often armchair) argument of fiction as escapism does in fact hanker after an element of truth. These are other realities, other layers of experience we dip into, and we dip for a reason or reasons
Fiction and fact are the other worlds we can immerse ourselves into, the virtual reality headsets we can don to evade being unable to deal with the absolute horror of our universe - of time having moved inexorably on, of being unable to go back, without losing our minds."
More: http://www.foyles.co.uk/Public/Biblio/Detail.aspx?blogId=1156
SpyWriter Jack King "A new King of thrillers on the horizon" www.SpyWriter.com
The question of why we read is a huge one, but the classic (if often armchair) argument of fiction as escapism does in fact hanker after an element of truth. These are other realities, other layers of experience we dip into, and we dip for a reason or reasons
Fiction and fact are the other worlds we can immerse ourselves into, the virtual reality headsets we can don to evade being unable to deal with the absolute horror of our universe - of time having moved inexorably on, of being unable to go back, without losing our minds."
More: http://www.foyles.co.uk/Public/Biblio/Detail.aspx?blogId=1156
SpyWriter Jack King "A new King of thrillers on the horizon" www.SpyWriter.com
06/01/2013
Novels Influence the Young
"the popularity of a young adult novel ... satisfies a more covert, noble cause. It gets the twelve to eighteen year old crowd reading whether it an actual book or an e-reader. Reading leads to learning and learning creates a desire in the young adult to seek more knowledge in expanding vocabulary, improving comprehension and teaching them how to write effectively. They may even inspire to be the next great author to rise out of the ashes of what many consider today’s lost youth. The old adage “reading is fundamental” is a basic truth. The young adult that can read and comprehend has a much better chance at surviving the test of life and becoming a productive member of society than one that doesn’t read well."
More: http://www.melodika.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=548461&Itemid=50
SpyWriter Jack King "A new King of thrillers on the horizon" www.SpyWriter.com
More: http://www.melodika.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=548461&Itemid=50
SpyWriter Jack King "A new King of thrillers on the horizon" www.SpyWriter.com
02/01/2013
Politics and religion divide, literature unites
"Politics or religion cannot unite, they only divide people. Only literature can act as a binding force... language may be regional but literature is universal. Language is not a barrier, it is our strength" ... Books are "treasure houses of words ... literature ignites culture. A writer begins the book and the reader finishes it. I think all books are left incomplete, as a writer takes the reader into the subject and leaves him to draw his own conclusion"...
... whereas politics and religion offer divisive demagoguery.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Vijayawada/only-literature-unites-people-pratibha-ray/article4265211.ece
SpyWriter Jack King Official WebPage, Facebook, and Twitter
... whereas politics and religion offer divisive demagoguery.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Vijayawada/only-literature-unites-people-pratibha-ray/article4265211.ece
SpyWriter Jack King Official WebPage, Facebook, and Twitter
25/12/2012
Books expand the world
"I have been told that many schools have changed their core reading curriculum to include more modern commercial novels...
I believe there are serious consequences to the exchange of commercial writing to classic literature in curriculum. We are graduating students from American high schools, some on their way to four-year universities, with a limited and vapid literary foundation of vampires, werewolves, and wizards. This ignorance means that they will neither be able to complete a New York Times crossword puzzle or receive mercy from an English professor who's been teaching before Stephenie Meyers was even an idea in her parent's heads. At its worst, this American generation will go forth in a world with a great dearth of general knowledge, undoubtedly inferior to their contemporaries overseas who have had a more meaningful education, that will detract from many aspects of their lives.
Literature is not just an exercise in creative expression, it reveals and resolves, it engenders compassion and understanding, it expands our world far beyond the borders of the written page."
From: http://blogcritics.org/books/article/fantasyland-the-limited-world-of-todays/
SpyWriter Jack King "A new King of thrillers on the horizon" www.SpyWriter.com
I believe there are serious consequences to the exchange of commercial writing to classic literature in curriculum. We are graduating students from American high schools, some on their way to four-year universities, with a limited and vapid literary foundation of vampires, werewolves, and wizards. This ignorance means that they will neither be able to complete a New York Times crossword puzzle or receive mercy from an English professor who's been teaching before Stephenie Meyers was even an idea in her parent's heads. At its worst, this American generation will go forth in a world with a great dearth of general knowledge, undoubtedly inferior to their contemporaries overseas who have had a more meaningful education, that will detract from many aspects of their lives.
Literature is not just an exercise in creative expression, it reveals and resolves, it engenders compassion and understanding, it expands our world far beyond the borders of the written page."
From: http://blogcritics.org/books/article/fantasyland-the-limited-world-of-todays/
SpyWriter Jack King "A new King of thrillers on the horizon" www.SpyWriter.com
18/12/2012
Sick society without literature
Can reading fiction cut selfishness, stop growth of mass-shooting psychopaths? One thing appears certain: reading fiction gives rise to empathy, and empathy leads to a more compassionate society.
From: http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/335520/goodbye-liberal-arts-betsy-woodruff?pg=1
From: http://news.blogs.wlu.edu/2012/02/21/washington-and-lee-professor-finds-that-reading-fiction-leads-to-empathy-helpful-behavior/
SpyWriter Jack King: SpyWriter.com | Facebook | Twitter
"Schools don’t exist as job-training camps. They exist to educate students. To be truly educated, students need to graduate with more imagination, not less. They need to face questions about what it means to be a human being — they need to stop sleepwalking, if they’ve started it already — and they need to start learning how to love strangers. We all know that becoming properly educated is a lifelong endeavor. But Washington gives students a huge disadvantage if it leads them to think that memorizing data and processing facts is 70 percent of living well."
From: http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/335520/goodbye-liberal-arts-betsy-woodruff?pg=1
"Based on the results of the post-reading exercises, Johnson concluded that the more immersed the readers were in the story, the more empathy they felt for the characters. In addition, he found that the heightened empathy led to an enhanced ability to perceive subtle emotional expressions such as fear or happiness. Individuals who experienced higher levels of empathy were also nearly twice as likely to engage in pro-social, or helpful, behavior as individuals experiencing low levels of empathy."
From: http://news.blogs.wlu.edu/2012/02/21/washington-and-lee-professor-finds-that-reading-fiction-leads-to-empathy-helpful-behavior/
SpyWriter Jack King: SpyWriter.com | Facebook | Twitter
06/12/2012
Fiction vs Non-Fiction
"The major problem with the new Common Core State Standards is that they further diminish something that is greatly undermined from the moment we enter school: our creativity.
School essentially limits innovation. The best way to succeed in school is to repeat exactly what the teacher says. But the most effective way to express one’s creativity in school has always been through the reading of fiction.
Through fiction, we are able to let our imaginations run wild, assign meaning to complex passages and have a chance to attack certain situations and moral dilemmas without living them. Reading fiction is an active, involved process."
From: http://m.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2012/12/05/ac2f6df2-3e2e-11e2-8a5c-473797be602c_story.html
SpyWriter Jack King "A new King of thrillers on the horizon" www.SpyWriter.com
School essentially limits innovation. The best way to succeed in school is to repeat exactly what the teacher says. But the most effective way to express one’s creativity in school has always been through the reading of fiction.
Through fiction, we are able to let our imaginations run wild, assign meaning to complex passages and have a chance to attack certain situations and moral dilemmas without living them. Reading fiction is an active, involved process."
From: http://m.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2012/12/05/ac2f6df2-3e2e-11e2-8a5c-473797be602c_story.html
SpyWriter Jack King "A new King of thrillers on the horizon" www.SpyWriter.com
03/12/2012
Reading fiction affects perception
"Can people change their minds by reading fiction?
There's not a lot of systematic research on how reading fiction changes people's opinions or behavior, but one study found that a majority of serious readers reported that one or more books had in some way helped them or made a big difference in their lives. Another study found that people's ratings of their own personalities changed more after reading a Chekhov story than after reading the same information presented as if it were a real court transcript. The fictional version also generated a greater emotional response, even though it wasn't judged any more interesting than the non-fiction version. ...
But what about the content of what you read in literature? The arguments? Can they change your mind about something important?
Not that much is known ... especially about what you might consider to be 'something important.' But we do know that people partially compartmentalize what they read in fiction, keeping it separate from what they believe is true of the real world. But at the same time we know that there can be some leakage. For example, if you read a story in which a character mentions, in passing, that most mental illness has been shown to be contagious, you'll have a harder time rejecting the idea later on, at least for the few minutes after reading the story. You can also pick up 'misinformation' without later realizing that it comes from the story."
More: http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2012/12/03/166362989/learning-facts-through-fiction-an-imagined-encounter
SpyWriter Jack King "A new King of thrillers on the horizon" www.SpyWriter.com
There's not a lot of systematic research on how reading fiction changes people's opinions or behavior, but one study found that a majority of serious readers reported that one or more books had in some way helped them or made a big difference in their lives. Another study found that people's ratings of their own personalities changed more after reading a Chekhov story than after reading the same information presented as if it were a real court transcript. The fictional version also generated a greater emotional response, even though it wasn't judged any more interesting than the non-fiction version. ...
But what about the content of what you read in literature? The arguments? Can they change your mind about something important?
Not that much is known ... especially about what you might consider to be 'something important.' But we do know that people partially compartmentalize what they read in fiction, keeping it separate from what they believe is true of the real world. But at the same time we know that there can be some leakage. For example, if you read a story in which a character mentions, in passing, that most mental illness has been shown to be contagious, you'll have a harder time rejecting the idea later on, at least for the few minutes after reading the story. You can also pick up 'misinformation' without later realizing that it comes from the story."
More: http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2012/12/03/166362989/learning-facts-through-fiction-an-imagined-encounter
SpyWriter Jack King "A new King of thrillers on the horizon" www.SpyWriter.com
29/11/2012
Literary vs. Genre
"Many critics, art aficionados and artists try to convince their audiences of the difference between the great works of literary import and the dismissible works of genre — to which they would be loathe to even call art. But for all their attempts to sever one from the other, I have never seen an adequate definition of literariness.
I can discern only a few qualities from the muck of their attempted definitions. First, that literary works of art should never fall into any genre, regardless of shape or form (it may be romantic, but never a romance). Second, that literary works should have the proper pretensions toward winning the Pulitzer (or Oscar, Tony, etc.).
As far as divisions of art go, this artificial definition seems horribly useless. It speaks less to the content of the art than to the ego of its creators and distributors. ...
Genre can be very, very low art indeed with a tendency to become too much of an in-joke. ...
Literary works can suffer the same ills, though. They too have their fanboys for pseudo-intellectual rambling."
More: http://www.dailyillini.com/opinion/columns/article_9084bbca-377b-11e2-9e85-001a4bcf6878.html
SpyWriter Jack King "A new King of Thrillers on the Horizon" www.SpyWriter.com
I can discern only a few qualities from the muck of their attempted definitions. First, that literary works of art should never fall into any genre, regardless of shape or form (it may be romantic, but never a romance). Second, that literary works should have the proper pretensions toward winning the Pulitzer (or Oscar, Tony, etc.).
As far as divisions of art go, this artificial definition seems horribly useless. It speaks less to the content of the art than to the ego of its creators and distributors. ...
Genre can be very, very low art indeed with a tendency to become too much of an in-joke. ...
Literary works can suffer the same ills, though. They too have their fanboys for pseudo-intellectual rambling."
More: http://www.dailyillini.com/opinion/columns/article_9084bbca-377b-11e2-9e85-001a4bcf6878.html
SpyWriter Jack King "A new King of Thrillers on the Horizon" www.SpyWriter.com
26/11/2012
Becoming a better person starts with a children's book
"Often, people discover reading at a young age. Beginning with colorful children's books, readers learn to appreciate stories and eventually, create their own. But beyond inspiring readers to become writers, books can actually help children to become better people." ...
"reading fiction improves relationship competency, as reading can create self-understanding. "Any novel adds to the reader's store of experience of how people feel, think, behave and react. Such experience is the currency of human interaction and understanding of self. Fiction offers a way into that world," ...
"reading and exposure to stories in all their forms helps children develop a wider understanding of the world, as well as decision-making skills." ...
"when children read, they are exposed to a pattern of conflict resolution." ...
"We need to remind ourselves that when writers and storytellers make up stories, they become exemplars of problem-solving using the imagination. The more stories the children absorb, the more they absorb the model,"...
"reading teaches children to experience more richly aspects of their own world. Reading ... is not just about literacy. "It's about people literacy. Through stories children develop a greater capacity for empathy. Through stories they develop a capacity to read and know others in their own lives,""
More:http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/283858/lifestyle/literature/the-magic-of-books-imagined-stories-real-life-lessons
Jack King "A new King of thrillers": www.SpyWriter.com
09/11/2012
The end of espionage thriller?
Can't find a decent espionage thriller these days? Don't blame it on Perestroika. Blame it on not reading SpyWriter Jack King:
"The end of the Cold War created a problem for espionage thriller writers and moviemakers. They faced loss of a built-in backstory needing no explanation, a whole set of strong but realistic motivations for extreme behavior, a pre-fab cast of bad guys, and weighty, global stakes underlying all the action. Perestroika left a generation of writers searching for new conflicts and settings and plot devices.
Today I think the growth of surveillance technology will increasingly create a similar problem for fiction writers. It’s a staple of thrillers and science fiction to have the hero on the run—hounded by the government, evading the police—either because the hero is mistaken as someone bad or because the government is evil. And the government baddies use every technology at their disposal to locate and track their target, while the hero uses tricks and hacks to escape detection.
But the whole cat and mouse game is starting to look kind of problematic, because it’s getting harder to sustain a plausible “man on the run” scenario in the face of surveillance technology.
I like a good airport thriller or science fiction read, and for several years I’ve noticed this problem cropping up: it’s the near future (or later), the hero or heroine is on the run, and I find myself thinking, oh please, if they really had all the advanced technologies featured in this story, they’d certainly have more impressive surveillance capability! We may have more than that ourselves in couple years the way things are going."
From: http://www.aclu.org/blog/technology-and-liberty-national-security/will-increasing-surveillance-change-fiction
Presidents are chosen, but not elected. The Black Vault. www.SPYWRITER.com
"The end of the Cold War created a problem for espionage thriller writers and moviemakers. They faced loss of a built-in backstory needing no explanation, a whole set of strong but realistic motivations for extreme behavior, a pre-fab cast of bad guys, and weighty, global stakes underlying all the action. Perestroika left a generation of writers searching for new conflicts and settings and plot devices.
Today I think the growth of surveillance technology will increasingly create a similar problem for fiction writers. It’s a staple of thrillers and science fiction to have the hero on the run—hounded by the government, evading the police—either because the hero is mistaken as someone bad or because the government is evil. And the government baddies use every technology at their disposal to locate and track their target, while the hero uses tricks and hacks to escape detection.
But the whole cat and mouse game is starting to look kind of problematic, because it’s getting harder to sustain a plausible “man on the run” scenario in the face of surveillance technology.
I like a good airport thriller or science fiction read, and for several years I’ve noticed this problem cropping up: it’s the near future (or later), the hero or heroine is on the run, and I find myself thinking, oh please, if they really had all the advanced technologies featured in this story, they’d certainly have more impressive surveillance capability! We may have more than that ourselves in couple years the way things are going."
From: http://www.aclu.org/blog/technology-and-liberty-national-security/will-increasing-surveillance-change-fiction
Presidents are chosen, but not elected. The Black Vault. www.SPYWRITER.com
Be a better man by reading women
"If men read so little fiction, and so little of what they do read is written by women, does this account for some of what so many of us women see as emotional ignorance, and men's inability to express their feelings or to attempt to understand ours?
The men whom I most appreciate have high levels of emotional intelligence and sensibility, they listen, contribute and empathise, they embrace difference and are prepared for their own vulnerability. And they all read fiction written by and about women.
It's well known that in old age women fare better than men, and single women fare very much better than men who, either by choice or bereavement, live alone. Men suffer higher rates of depression, are more socially isolated, less able to ask for and accept help. Henry David Thoreau's observation that ''most men live lives of quiet desperation'' is never more true than in relation to ageing men.
As we age our individual circumstances affect the quality of our lives: health, wealth or the lack of it, housing, mobility and family background all play a part. But, as the recently released Australian study of ageing so clearly demonstrates, attitude is everything and so often men's social and emotional lives are paralysed in age while women's flourish.
So, could men benefit from reading women's fiction? I'd say without a doubt that men's relationships with women would benefit profoundly. And would they live more sociable, contented and emotionally rewarding lives in old age? I don't know the answer to that but I think it's a fascinating question."
More: http://m.brisbanetimes.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/what-men-want-is-available--if-they-read-more-womens-fiction-20121108-290me.html
Presidents are chosen, but not elected. The Black Vault. www.SPYWRITER.com
The men whom I most appreciate have high levels of emotional intelligence and sensibility, they listen, contribute and empathise, they embrace difference and are prepared for their own vulnerability. And they all read fiction written by and about women.
It's well known that in old age women fare better than men, and single women fare very much better than men who, either by choice or bereavement, live alone. Men suffer higher rates of depression, are more socially isolated, less able to ask for and accept help. Henry David Thoreau's observation that ''most men live lives of quiet desperation'' is never more true than in relation to ageing men.
As we age our individual circumstances affect the quality of our lives: health, wealth or the lack of it, housing, mobility and family background all play a part. But, as the recently released Australian study of ageing so clearly demonstrates, attitude is everything and so often men's social and emotional lives are paralysed in age while women's flourish.
So, could men benefit from reading women's fiction? I'd say without a doubt that men's relationships with women would benefit profoundly. And would they live more sociable, contented and emotionally rewarding lives in old age? I don't know the answer to that but I think it's a fascinating question."
More: http://m.brisbanetimes.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/what-men-want-is-available--if-they-read-more-womens-fiction-20121108-290me.html
Presidents are chosen, but not elected. The Black Vault. www.SPYWRITER.com
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