Writers are born, not made

“The world goes on creating newer things. Literature is a creation, not theory. The law of nature is to create new things. To neglect creation is to go against nature. In literature a writer goes with an experiment in thought, subject, language, style and so on. Every creator should create new things in a way understandable to the readers whose nature of perceiving things and level of cognition changes in accordance with several social facets. Every creative change brings happiness to man."

"Literature is an endeavour of searching the space of sentiment and feeling. The feeling and sentiment connects one person with another. Science and technology can never and in no age can ignore the feeling and sensibility of the creator. The heartless science and technology can never challenge this truth of a creation."

Some people may argue that literary creation as an outcome of continual endeavour. Creation is essentially an outcome of inherent ingenuity. The living creation cannot be created by an endeavour. Inherent ingenuity is the must. A writer is born not made."

From: mediaforfreedom.com

Reading Fiction Leads to Sophisticated Thinking and Greater Creativity

"Are you uncomfortable with ambiguity? It’s a common condition, but a highly problematic one. The compulsion to quell that unease can inspire snap judgments, rigid thinking, and bad decision-making.Fortunately, new research suggests a simple anecdote for this affliction: Read more literary fiction."

"So how does literature induce this ease with the unknown?"

Researchers have the answer:

“Exposure to literature,” the researchers write in the Creativity Research Journal,“may offer a (way for people) to become more likely to open their minds."

“The thinking a person engages in while reading fiction does not necessarily lead him or her to a decision,” they note. This, they observe, decreases the reader’s need to come to a definitive conclusion.

“Furthermore,” they add, “while reading, the reader can stimulate the thinking styles even of people he or she might personally dislike. One can think along and even feel along with Humbert Humbert in Lolita, no matter how offensive one finds this character.

"This double release—of thinking through events without concerns for urgency and permanence, and thinking in ways that are different than one’s own—may produce effects of opening the mind."

From: http://www.psmag.com/blogs/news-blog/reading-literature-opens-minds-60021/



SpyWriter Jack King, the author of:
Agents of Change, WikiJustice, The Black Vault, and The Fifth Internationale.
Books by Jack King:


www.SpyWriter.com

Find a boring job, write a novel

"Being bored at work can have a positive effect because daydreaming can increase creativity, according to a new study."

"Boredom at work has always been seen as something to be eliminated, but perhaps we should be embracing it in order to enhance our creativity."

"We want to see what the practical implications of this finding are. Do people who are bored at work become more creative in other areas of their job, or do they go home and write novels?"

More: http://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/bored-at-work-great--youll-be-more-creative-says-study-8443540.html



SpyWriter Jack King "A new King of thrillers on the horizon" www.SpyWriter.com

Inherited Creativity

So you want to write a novel? You must be born with it:

"Researchers from Yale in the US and Moscow State University in Russia launched the study to see whether there was a scientific reason why well-known writers have produced other writers. ...

"This work is unique in its objective to investigate the familiality and heritability of the trait of creative writing," the researchers write, "while controlling for general cognitive ability and for the general level of family functioning. Despite the lack of systematic research on the aetiology of writing in general and creative writing in particular, it is rather difficult not to acknowledge the familiality of creativity in writing, given the families of writers who have entertained and educated us over the years. These findings constitute the tip of an interesting iceberg, indicating that there may be some components of creative writing that are familial and heritable.

"It may be worth further studies to confirm that creative writers are indeed born, as well as made. When writers capitalise on these inborn propensities and expose these propensities to rich experiences, we, as readers, can enjoy books that not only form the foundation of cultural life but also impact the biology of the human brain."

More: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/want-to-be-a-writer-have-a-literary-parent-8200777.html



The Election. The Coup. The Black Vault. www.SPYWRITER.com

The 7 Reasons to Read Fiction

"If you’re anything like me, then you’ve been searching for justification for your fiction reading habit. So, I decided to create that justification instead of waiting around for someone else to do it!

1. Fiction increases your creativity.
2. Fiction sharpens your writing skills and boosts your vocabulary.
3. Fiction reduces stress and provides a safe haven through escapism.
4. Fiction provides insights into the human condition.
5. Fiction improves your focus.
6. Fiction polishes your analytical abilities.
7. Fiction gives you something to talk about.

You see, there’s no need to feel guilty about picking up that novel. ... The fiction genre is brimming with vast knowledge just waiting to be tapped."

From: http://www.business2community.com/marketing/7-ways-your-fiction-addiction-makes-you-a-sharper-marketer-0244129



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Writers are obligated to live for themselves

"And yet I had not been wrong, perhaps, after all, in sacrificing not only the vain pleasures of the world but the real pleasure of friendship to that of spending the whole day in this green garden.  People who enjoy the capacity—it is true that such people are artists, and I had long been convinced that I should never be that—are also under an obligation to live for themselves. And friendship is a dispensation from this duty, an abdication of self.  Even conversation, which is the mode of expression of friendship, is a superficial digression which gives us no new acquisition. We may talk for a lifetime without doing more than indefinitely repeat the vacuity of a minute, whereas the march of thought in the solitary travail of artistic creation proceeds downwards, into the depths, in the only direction that is not closed to us, along which we are free to advance—though with more effort, it is true—towards a goal of truth.  And friendship is not merely devoid of virtue, like conversation, it is fatal to us as well. For the sense of boredom which it is impossible not to feel in a friend's company (when, that is to say, we must remain exposed on the surface of our consciousness, instead of pursuing our voyage of discovery into the depths) for those of us in whom the law of development is purely internal—that first impression of boredom our friendship impels us to correct when we are alone again, to recall with emotion the words uttered by our friend, to look upon them as a valuable addition to our substance, albeit we are not like buildings to which stones can be added from without, but like trees which draw from their own sap the knot that duly appears on their trunks, the spreading roof of their foliage."
Marcel Proust, Within a Budding Grove

Reading literature helps you understand life

Feeling foggy about the world around you? Read literature:

"Literary works are portrayals of the thinking patterns and social norms prevalent in society. They are a depiction of the different facets of common man's life. Classical literary works serve as a food for thought and a tonic for imagination, creativity and national integration. Exposing an individual to good literary works is equivalent to providing people with the finest of educational opportunity". source

Surroundings vs Creativity

"The future poet laureate revealed his private reservations in a series of letters to Olwyn Hughes after moving to Massachusetts with his first wife, the American poet Sylvia Plath, in 1957.

In one letter, penned shortly after the move, he said that he would rather “eat mud” than continue to be exposed to American consumerism.

[...] in one letter to his sister, written in 1957, the poet complained that he felt stifled by being surrounded by fast food chains, stores and branding which he felt were all aimed at the “average man”.

He wrote: “Luxury is stuffed down your throat – a mass-produced luxury – till you feel you’d rather be rolling in the mud and eating that.”

MORE

Artists working for the predatory animal

In between challenging books, or after a book that had a profound impact on me, I like to pick up something neutral, or something that I already know and enjoy reading, such as Turgenev's or Chekhov's short stories. I read the latter last weekend, to cracking freeze, and an inch of snow:

"Science and art, when they are true, are directed not to temporary or private purposes, but to the eternal and the general--they seek the truth and the meaning of life, they seek God, the soul, and when they are harnessed to passing needs and activities, then they only complicate and encumber life. All our intellectual and spiritual energy is wasted on temporary passing needs.... Scientists, writers, painters work and work, and thanks to them the comforts of life grow greater every day, the demands of the body multiply, but we are still a long way from the truth and man still remains the most rapacious and unseemly of animals, and everything tends to make the majority of mankind degenerate and more and more lacking in vitality. Under such conditions the life of an artist has no meaning and the more talented he is, the more strange and incomprehensible his position is, since it only amounts to his working for the amusement of the predatory, disgusting animal, man, and supporting the existing state of things." Anton Chekhov, in "The House with the Mezzanine."

The photograph shows Chekhov's grave.

Advice for a young writer

"Do not trust the dominant ideologies and the princes. Stay away from the princes. Do not contaminate your language with language of ideology. Believe that you are stronger than generals, but do not measure against them. Do not believe that you are weaker than generals, but do not measure against them. Do not believe in utopian projects, except in those that you create yourself. Be equally proud in front of the princes and the people. Have a clear conscience of the privileges a writing profession bestows on you. Do not confuse the curse of your choice with that of class oppression. Do not be swept by the tides of history, and do not believe in the metaphor of a train of history. Do not jump on the train of history, it's just a silly metaphor. Always remember that he who reaches the target misses the point. Do not write reports from countries that you've visited as a tourist. Do not write reports at all, you're not a journalist. Do not believe statistics, numbers, and public statements; the reality is that which cannot be seen with the naked eye. Do not visit factories, collective farms, or businesses; progress is that which cannot be seen with the naked eye. Do not get involved in economy, sociology, or psychoanalysis. Do not occupy your mind with Eastern philosophy, or teachings such as Buddhism, or Zen, you have a smarter job. Be aware that imagination is a sister of lies, so it is dangerous. Do not get involved with anyone, a writer is alone."
Danilo Kiš

Ego, a writer's engine

In the course of 40 years, Spanish journalist and editor Juan Cruz has found that “passion and vocation” move writers, but what “moves them most of all are their egos,” the theme of his new book “Egos Revueltos” (Scrambled Egos), because “envy is one of the great defects of the literary world.”

In his role as editor, Juan Cruz has encountered egos of every kind, but perhaps “the biggest” he found was that of Cela, Nobel laureate for literature, “because he had no one to put him down, everyone around him constantly flattered him, he would laugh a thank-you in reply and loved every minute of it.”

Nonetheless, the author of “La Colmena” (The Hive) was “a very lonely man and much more sentimental and vulnerable than he appeared. He was timid and overcame his timidity with arrogance. But it wasn’t a vacuum-packed arrogance, because he was a great writer,” Cruz said.

Another who had “a very abundant ego” was Octavio Paz. “Paz was not a humble man, nor did he think it appropriate to hide his greatness behind false modesty.” He spoke “with the confidence of an authority” and his immense culture and wisdom were undeniable, but “he had a decided tendency to believe that there were few like him in the history of the 20th century.”

Uruguayan writer Mario Benedetti was thought of as modest, but he had “an irritable ego: it remained suspended until some spark made it blaze.” MORE

Boost your creativity, naturally

University of Rochester looked at the relationship between creativity and the nearly subliminal presentation of color. The researchers thought that since the color red is commonly associated with a sense of danger and error (red traffic lights and teachers' red pens) whereas green is associated with positivity and relaxation (green traffic lights and nature), the merest suggestion of such colors might hinder or help creativity. They presented participants with a booklet in either red or green ink. They asked the participants to check that the number on each page was correct and then told them to work through the booklet. Remarkably, even though everyone saw the code numbers for just a few seconds, those who were exposed to the green ink solved around 30% more anagrams than those who saw the red ink. The evidence suggest that for creativity you are better off going green.

In other studies it was proven that even small amounts of greenery can boost creative thoughts. As simple tactic as replacing a magazine rack with a potted plant can enhance your creativity.

To inspire creative thoughts, place plants and flowers in a room, and, if possible, ensure that windows look out on trees and grass, not concrete and steel. Don't try to fake it. Pictures of waterfalls do not aid innovation, and even high-definition screens showing live camera feeds from natural scenes do not make people feel more relaxed.

Sources:

Color and psychological functioning: The effect of red on performance in achievement contexts, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.

A plasma display window: The shifting baseline problem in a technologically mediated natural world, Journal of Environmental Psychology

Find out more solutions to enhancing your creative output in: 59 Seconds.

Creative stimulants

Witkacy, one of my favorite artists used to fortify his creativity with various stimulants. Whenever he painted or wrote he added a short note on the substance he used in his work. His paintings are particularly interesting for they bear witness to the artist's work. Underneath his signature one finds interesting information, such as date, followed by: "two beers, a shot of vodka and a cigar"; or, "peyote, two bottles of wine, 6 cigarettes", etc.

Well, sometimes I use creative stimulants in my work too, most frequently red wine. I find wine a happy serum that helps deliver satisfying results; yexy written under the influence of wine seems optimistic, as though in a mist. Inspired by Witkacy I tried something more potent and turned to vodka, alas it turned out most unreliable. The next day I opened the text I created to a pint of vodka and found it, well… too creative. Some 80% of words are badly misspelled and to the point that they are quite unintelligible; what makes the text even wackier are the auto-corrections performed by word-processing software. First that comes to mind is that its a classic from the canon of the Klingon Empire, but seeing as I cannot understand it it is probably better that I stick to red wine.

see Witkacy's notes in the corner

My first book ever

I received an invitation to fill out a questionnaire for writers. It's really long, well over 100 questions, and I will not have time to do it. But, I can answer some questions here.

1. First book you ever read.

That one is easy. First or not, the only book I can remember from early childhood is Bullerbyn, by Astrid Lindgren. It is amazing that I can see the cover so vividly to this day. I believe we had to read it in the first year at school, and I remember that we had homework - draw a scene from the book. I even remember the scene I took back to school and received the highest mark, although the scene was drawn by my mother...

2. How did you begin to write

Embarrassing story, but true. I knew very early on that I would write some day, though I never rushed to it. One day I read a short story by this very well known author. I did not like the story, so I decided to re-write it. And I did. I completely rewrote it. Then I showed both versions to my friends and asked for their verdict. They picked my version. To this day I remember their faces when they found out who wrote it. Of course, it wasn't really my story, it was plagiarism, but this experience (repeated several times with other short stories) allowed me to learn some basics, such as story structure. And the day came when I wrote my very own. I showed that one to my pals, but I was so embarrassed (not because I thought it was bad, but because of exposing my very own innermost thoughts that go into writing) that I wrote two versions of the story and presented one of them as the original, penned by a "real" writer. Although the story was liked, as were some others that followed, it was a very long time before I could admit that these were 100% mine.

Writer's block?

Work is not going well lately. Every word seems to come out slowly and painfully, like a kidney stone.

I don't know what to blame. Weather seems obvious. It's been really dark here for at least a couple of weeks now (with a short fart of a sunny break one morning). It's rather warm, considering the time of year, but man is it dark! It's depressing. Not in the least inspiring. Dark aura = darkness inside the head? I don't know what to make of it. I've never known the phenomenon others describe as a writer's block, so I don't know what I'm dealing with. I think it has to do with the type of work I'm doing. I am translating my own novel into another language. While at first it seemed every bit as creative (and thus - exciting), it lately became more of a chore, like working a line in a factory (believe - I know something about it, I worked in a factory).

Maybe the reason is altogether different. Maybe it comes from some subconscious fear that it's all worthless schlock. Some big name in literature once said that a part of being a writer is knowing when you're just spewing shit, and that uncertainty only drops a huge shadow on one's creative work. Am I creating crap? Eh, I don't think so. Someone publishes it, someone else is reads, so calling it crap would be insulting those readers who pick up every issue.

Hmm. Maybe it's that my head is already elsewhere. Our annual trip to the eternal spring is about to commence. I find myself watching the weather forecast for the location - it's sunny and warm down there everyday.

Or, maybe I just need a break. Been going like a rat on a wheel for the past two years, except that instead of my legs it's the brain that keeps running in circles. Can't sleep. Can't work. Must rest.

Elements of a novel

Folks often ask me: How to write a suspense novel?

Being an author of three novels (published and pending publication) I do not feel competent to answer this question definitively. I doubt I will have a definitive answer even with 10 books under my belt. As someone once said: When a writer begins to think that he knows how to write - he will never write anything worth reading again. I do not pretend to know how to write, however, being also an avid reader, I can at least attempt to describe my combined writer/reader observations.

When you pick up any novel, be it a thriller or a mainstream story, you will notice that it starts off with some sort of a crisis. To cut it short: the rest of the story deals with solving the crisis.

In more detail: the crisis is where something happens, and where the main characters are introduced. This must grab the readers' attention or else the novel is a bomb.

Next major step is required to keep the tension growing, and that step is called a twist. It involves some kind of trouble, or a turn in development of the plot that is surprising to the main character and readers.

Most authors of suspense and thriller novels will add a second twist, to keep the tension boiling, but also, and just as importantly so the reader doesn't think she already solved the mystery. This is where the protagonist's efforts at figuring out the first twist are shattered.

I think that readers are often way ahead of the writer in terms of figuring our where the story leads, and after the second twist they can usually tell the outcome, sometimes staying with the novel to the end, but often fingering through or outright dumping it. Yeah, I am that reader. So, as a writer I like to add a third twist, where any readers' notions of figuring out the plot are shattered into pieces. 

The twists should be constructed and presented in such a way that the buildup of tension leads to the climax, that point in the novel, not too far from- and not too close from the end where it is very difficult to put it down, whether or not one figured out what is about to happen.

Then the climax brings the resolution, that point where all the twists become clear, and lead to the only natural closing. The closing is the most difficult stage. It depends entirely on the previous stages. It is here that many authors fail their readers - where readers just shake their heads and say - It's ridiculous! Keep in mind that closing also means open end, if that is what comes as a natural result of everything that happened.

Of course the above treats the subject in the most shallow way -perhaps I will find the time to expand on it some day...