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Palazzo Daniele, Puglia | Photo by Adrian Gaut

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Sergiu Ciochină

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Tom | @tom_juenemann 

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Country Home Collection, 1992

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Compagnie Française des Chocolats et des Thès. 1895. Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen.

23 x 31 ½ in./58.4 x 80.2 cm

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1932 - Charles C. Ebbets photographing the construction of a skyscraper

https://www.instagram.com/oldnewyorkcity

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@augustnoire

original photo aesthetic. ||  by zhenya minaeva. ISABELLA

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Useful writing advice (short story edition)

Here’s some useful writing advice I picked up from a writing workshop with a creative writing director and author: General Advice

Ø  Originality is everything: the best thing you can bring to writing is something you have to say, and the aim is to convey this as clearly and powerfully as possible Ø  The more personal something is the more universal Ø  Sensory detail is key to stories Ø  Get rid of all unnecessary words in a sentence. In short stories every sentence is more important than in a novel Ø  Don’t “paint a picture” with words. Create a moment for your reader to be in with your character; take a moment from a character’s life and render it with precision. You want your reader to encounter a significant moment within your character’s life (not about tying up the story neatly) Ø  Mine past memories for material, even if not autobiographical Except in rare circumstances, set it in a place you have inside knowledge of o Landscape is vital - it shapes behaviour, community etc. If it is closely linked to characters, descriptions of landscape will mean a lot to the reader and tell you about the characters without even sharing their emotion Ø  Expect to rework the first sentence when you have an overview of the story, after you’ve finished Ø  Kurt Vonnegut: stories can often start a third of the way from what you think (because you spend the first third of writing ‘getting into’ the story) Ø  Allow for a reworked endings – don’t fall into fade-out endings! Ø  Editing usually takes longer than the actual writing Ø  Make every word have a purpose 

What annoys judges of writing competitions Ø  Too many adverbs – the right verbs don’t need adverbs (one judge threw out a story after reading the first line ‘she strode quickly across the park’ because strode implies a fast pace) Ø  ‘Helping’ the reader too much o   Hilary Mantel: “I always assume my reader is at least as intelligent as me” o   Trust your reader to understand what you’re saying – show don’t tell (e.g. don’t say ‘Her cheeks flushed red. She was embarrassed’) Ø Overuse of exclamation marks o   Emotion and impact should convey enough Ø  Overuse of “ “ to emphasise a word – if it’s necessary then italicise the word instead Ø  Your characters don’t have to be loveable but the reader has to care about them/what happens to them o   You read fiction to encounter the characters Ø  Read stories that inspire you – not to write like them but to write short stories like you.  Kurt Vonnegut’s advice Ø  Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted. Ø  Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for. Ø  Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water. Ø  Every sentence must do one of two things-reveal character or advance the action. Ø  Start as close to the end as possible. Ø  Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them-in order that the reader may see what they are made of. Ø  Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia. Ø  Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

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Christophe Jacrot (French, b. 1960, Paris, France) - En Dessous de Zéro (Below Zero) series, Norilsk, Siberia, Russia, Photography

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“One wants to tell a story, like Scheherezade, in order not to die. It’s one of the oldest urges in mankind. It’s a way of stalling death.”

— Carlos Fuentes (via lovedly)

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Speaking Voice vs Character Voice

It sounds like folks whose first language is something other than English may be struggling with the concept of character voice, perhaps simply because of the dual-meaning of the word “voice.”

Of course the primary meaning of the word “voice” refers to “speaking voice” or the sound produced in our throats when we speak, but when we talk about “character voice,” we’re talking about the character’s “vocal personality.” It includes things like:

whether they talk a lot or very little

whether they speak loudly or softly

whether they talk fast or slow

whether they interrupt a lot or wait their turn

whether they use a lot of slang or have a catch phrase

whether they use poor grammar or proper grammar

whether they use a lot of foul language

whether they have any verbal or vocal tics

whether they have any speech impediments

whether they speak with a “foreign” accent and how strong it is

facial expressions, mannerisms, and gestures used while speaking

and yes, things like tone, quality, and pitch of their speaking voice

All of those things are affected by a character’s personality. A person who is shy might speak softly, infrequently, and formally. Someone who is very outgoing might speak fast, often, say a lot, and speak loud. It’s up to you to consider how your character’s personality would affect their “vocal personality” or “character voice.” I hope that clears things up a bit! ♥

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“If God has made your cup sweet, drink it with grace; or even if He has made it bitter, drink it in communion with Him. If the providential will of God means a hard and difficult time for you, go through it.”

— My Utmost - Oswald Chambers (via toknowyourname)