Writing

Sorry, no posts matched your criteria.

Latest Topics

1

How "me" originates?

How "me" that experiences and interacts with the world originates at first place. Is not "me" simply a language driven phenomena alone? Could the process how digital identities on the internet are created, lead to some insights on how "me" originates. Or, could the motivations behind creating a pseudo identity as an author be insightful on this origin of "me".

  • You're gonna need a lot of Psychoanalysis here, specifically the Imaginary, Symbolic, and Real Orders. The theory goes that a small child who has not yet learned language thinks in the Imaginary realm. There are no others from which she must distinguish herself. Everything serves her, and everything is, therefore, an extension of herself. When the child realizes that other people are living, thinking, feeling beings that exist outside of her own consciousness and have their own consciousnesses, she much use the "I" signifier to distinguish herself from them. At this point, she has moved into the Symbolic realm: the realm of language. At this point, the Imaginary still exists, but only barely. The child still experiences the world via the Imaginary, but her communications about it - even her personal thoughts - exist in the Symbolic. – Kristian Wilson 9 years ago
    0
  • This question has fascinated me for over a decade; researched and discovered the intersections of language, awareness and experience in #HowMÆOriginates; Psychoanalysis is more recent phenomena; answer probably is embedded in the thousands of years of human experience and knowledge; needs a documentary -;) to spread this knowledge about #HowMÆOriginates; Try replacing "I" with "eye" for a quick perspective shuffling; with the discovery of #gravitationalwaves "I" imaginary will probably shift to "L" listening for a experience -Charan – charanoshawa 6 years ago
    0
5

The Keys to Writing from the Opposition Gender

Writing from the perspective of the opposite gender can be difficult and often frustrating. What are tips and tricks for mastering the art of writing from a different gender view point?

  • I think maybe reading as much as you can from characters in the opposite gender is a good way to get a handle on it. – chocmalt 9 years ago
    1
  • I think this is more of a problem for men than for women, which would be something to touch on. From a very young age, women are taught to empathize with male characters, but men are not expected to identify with female protagonists. – Kristian Wilson 9 years ago
    1
6

Breaking the Fourth Wall: How to Use it Effectively

Breaking the fourth wall refers to when a character addresses the audience directly. Comics, Films, and even books use this technique for a variety of reasons. Sometimes its used for humor purposes. Other times its used to comment on the work itself. Still, there are instances when this can be distracting to the audience and it prevents the story from moving forward.

How can a balance be maintained?

  • Some interesting sources might be: Annie Hall, House of Cards, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Fight Club, Amélie, and The Wolf of Wall Street (film-wise). – Nicole Wethington 9 years ago
    9
  • I think the character Deadpool from Marvel has been an effective mode of breaking the 4th wall, and they have certainly used that for some great story arcs. Plus I think this is what made a show like the Office work so well. The 4th wall never even existed. It was a fictional reality show about a fake-real life company. I think they mastered the 4th wall without having to break it. – G Anderson Lake 9 years ago
    6
  • There are other more subtle examples like Bitter Rice, at the beginning of the film, or Back to the Future, with Doc. It'd be interesting to look at the different ways you can break the fourth wall, how far you can go and how does it contribute to the whole effect of the film on the audience. Charlie Chaplin is also a good shout – Rachel Elfassy Bitoun 9 years ago
    6
  • A play that has a good example in breaking the fourth wall is Hamlet. There are several times throughout the play that Hamlet addresses the audience mid-scene. – ChelseaOtis 9 years ago
    17
0

Does Travel Writing Have A Place In Literature?

Just as the questions states, answer whether you believe travel writing deserves a place among literature. Also provide insight on what makes travel writing good and/or not so good.

  • A major work to look at that is a kind of travelogue (in addition to being various other things) is Gao Xingjian's Soul Mountain, which won the Nobel Prize for literature. – CriticalOtaku 9 years ago
    0
  • One can learn a lot about life through the experiences of others. The documented travels of others are important to include amongst other literary works. Like other fictional or nonfictional books, there are stories to be told and lessons to be learned. – Nicole Wethington 9 years ago
    1
  • Actually travel writing is quite helpful for the first time visitors to a particular destination. They get to know regarding the place, things to do, and much more. – Jennifer 9 years ago
    0
  • Bruce Chatwin and his novel The Songlines is to my mind the most powerful demonstration of travel writing as a literary form. While undoubtedly informative, travel writing is meant to transport you to a place mentally, the same way a fictitious novel does. However, the traveller is also attempting to escort you into a drop of time from his/her reality. This realistic aspect, combined with narrative power and descriptive attributes, is what makes travel writing essential to the category of literature. – ellierae 9 years ago
    1
  • You might also look at children's literature or the postcard or even de Certeau's work on the street level walker or Walter Benjamin's childhood in Berlin or his Paris and Moscow writings. Not all of these obviously but definitely a history to draw from that perhaps with effort links could be drawn to contemporary travel writing. – ayrotstein 9 years ago
    0
  • I like travelogue that gives sound historical, as well as interesting, informative social and cultural background of the places visited. My friends and colleagues want me to write a travelogue of my time spent in Yemen and Sudan, but I'm finding it difficult to put together. Can anyone give me some advice. mickymoo15 – mickymoo15 9 years ago
    0
  • It may be wrong-headed, but I have the idea that subtle, exalted travel-writing is what Joseph Conrad did, is it not? Surely that counts as literature? – wrytrguy 9 years ago
    0
3

Creator and Fan Relationships

The internet age allows fan to have direct conversations with the creators of their favorite television shows, comic books, or films. Is this a good thing? Should creators have a good relationship with their fans?

    0

    The Writer's block

    Analyse what the writer's block, or 'blank page' syndrome, is. How can we avoid it or surpass it? Look at when the expression was used for the first time and the history behind it. Talk about some famous writers who shared their experience about it.

    • I feel that this topic might benefit from the writer doing a kind of study on his or her own process as well as mixing it in with the history of the term. This way, if nothing else, the writer will become better aware of himself or herself, and the audience will have an idea how to proceed with writer's block, should they ever encounter it. – BethanyS 9 years ago
      0
    1

    Getting to Know Your Editor

    The balance/dynamic between writer and editor is central a publication's success. How can writers learn to get along/share with their editors effectively?

    • Possibly explore the idea that writers should, essentially, listen to their editors? (which, from my understanding, is something that doesn't happen as often as you'd think). – NuclearAlligator 9 years ago
      0
    1

    Opinion Piece Writing: Writers Guide

    How to write opinion pieces to A. communicate to a wide audience, connect to the core issue, and find a new angle.