Category Archives: About Writing

Happy endings

happy_endings“If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story.” Orson Welles

Sometimes when I write I think too much. I worry about things I shouldn’t worry about, and I write as if I’ve got something to prove to someone. That’s a mistake. Over thinking, trying to outsmart the reader only to outsmart yourself.

When I wrote Jazz I wanted for the ending to the story to deliver a certain message. Throughout the novel there’s some talk about happy endings, about what we want to get from life, and stuff like that. Of course, those characters are mistaken in their belief that happiness is a destination, but nevertheless… they want and try to reach for something, and they’re not even sure what that something is. Continue reading →

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Interview with Karen Robiscoe

graphic insert 1Every once in a while I feel like doing things differently on this blog. And so I decided to interview Karen Robiscoe, an avid blogger and author I’ve come to know through the WordPress Blog-o-sphere. *looks worriedly toward crashing sounds emanating from the kitchen*

Of course, I wasn’t really expecting to find the lady on my doorstep this morning, but I have to admire her get-up-and-go. She certainly got up and went *winces at the sound of shattering glass * and who knew she even had a passport? Continue reading →

The little things…

thingsWe’ve been told (and we keep on telling ourselves on a regular basis) that life finds a way, that somehow things turn out for the better. That if you want it, you can have it.

Sadly, that’s not true.

Do you know what keeps me up some nights? It’s the fear that somehow I won’t be able to write anymore. That somehow life’s going to take that away from me. And that I won’t be able to find a way, that life just won’t want to present me with a solution. Continue reading →

A lonely job…

lonely“An artist is always alone – if he is an artist.” – Henry Miller

Writing is a lonely job, no doubt about it. And no matter how successful you might become, you’re still alone. It’s the inexorable truth of the writer’s condition: you sit at your desk, in an empty room or in the most crowded McDonald’s, and you’re alone. You just do your thing.

Of course, this poses a rather interesting question: if you spend that much time alone, how do you find stuff to write about? Continue reading →

A bunch of thanks

First of all (and most importantly) I’d like to thank seidosan, John Jaksich, whataheartcanhold, Nathan Blixt, Karen Robiscoe, and all the others who contributed to my Indiegogo campaign.

Now for that nasty part: we’re currently somewhere between 30% and 31%, with $305 raised out of a goal of $1,000. It can be done. There are still lots of perks available, going for as low as $5.

Remember: any contribution or like or share counts. And the sooner we raise the money, the better.

You can help out here.

Let’s keep this blog alive (and well…),

Cristian

Movies about writers

I’m not trying to write a top of the best movies about writers. I’m just making a list of the ones that I really enjoyed – for various reasons of course.

Finding Forrester (2000)

In a way, I just couldn’t start with any other  movie, simply because Finding Forrester was so cute and sweet and sincere that I almost cried at the end.

Starring Sean Connery and his manly voice in the role of William Forrester, a very successful and yet reclusive writer, this movie actually has some pretty good advice on writing. Continue reading →

One word at a time

one_wordWhen asked, ‘How do you write?’ I invariably answer, ‘one word at a time.’ – Stephen King

Sometimes I catch a glimpse of the future. Whether is just a scene from a chapter I have yet to write, or the ending line, or just a few lines of dialogue. That’s magic. That’s power. I know something that no one else knows, and it’s entirely up to me to bring it to life. I’m unique, in the way that I’m the only one who can write that scene or chapter, I’m the only one who can write my story. Continue reading →

Famous Rejection Letters

letterFor any aspiring writer, a rejection letter, regardless of the provenience of said letter, is one of the most dreaded of objects. In this line of work getting rejected is considered a sort of literary murder – people are knowingly destroying something you’ve spent time on, and a lot of it. But the thing is everyone got rejected, more or less. I can think of very few instances when writers found publishers/agents from the first try. Or the second, or the tenth. Continue reading →

To all the teachers

A lot of people got offended by a recent post of mine. Or, well, they thought the first sentence was offensive. And even though I wrote a disclaimer later on, I still got plenty of angry comments and stuff. And even though I’m used to people missing the point, I fear that too many have missed the point here.

So, let me explain. The post, or the first sentence (which is actually from George Bernard Shaw’s Man and Superman) is not about teachers, as in high-school teachers. So if you teach Physics or Maths or whatever, you’ve got no reason to be offended. I have the utmost respect for teachers of any kind, and I believe education is the only way we can truly become human. We gain knowledge and culture and understanding of what it means to be a human being. So, yeah, that wasn’t the point. Continue reading →

Rules, rules, rules

Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.*

Sometimes I feel there are more writers teaching others how to write, passing down rules, than there are writers who actually write.

It’s easier to teach than to do, and it feels like a nice shortcut towards fame, success, money, whatever.

I do my best not to teach anyone how to write. I want to believe I’m just writing about my own process. If someone finds motivation, or inspiration, or something else worth applying in their own process, that’s cool. If not, it’s still cool.

So, yeah, there are a lot of rules being passed down. Most of them won’t apply to everyone.

Continue reading →