Jena mentioned one author in particular that she drew much inspiration from, one Haruki Murakami (see minute 2:46 in the video posted below). I, previously had never heard of the author or his work but after some searching found him of particular interest. His works of fiction and non-fiction have granted him critical acclaim becoming the sixth recipient of the Franz Kafka Prize. His novels include such works as the Trilogy of the Rat and Kafka on the Shore and tend to be surreal and humorous. Many of his short stories, while simple, highlight key issues in our postmodern society. Things like alienation and isolation come up often and there are even interpretations of his works into short youtube movies. His focus on the fantasy of real life has earned him a lot of notice. Below is one of the interpretations of his short story 100% Perfect Girl, pay notice to the simplicity of the language but the power of the story’s theme and elements. The animation and music are somewhat “meh,” but I hope you enjoy this small snapshot of Murakami’s work. A lecture he gave to some MIT students can be found here but is of poor quality, nevertheless if you are interested I would definitely check it out. Murakami discusses the music of words and the art of writing like a composer. This lyrical process is widely practiced by many authors but as I mentioned before, Murakami is one of critical acclaim and his discussion of the process is interesting.

1) Given a choice between being a pirate or a ninja, Jena would opt to be a pirate.

2) Her ship’s name would be Firenze

3) Her first mate would be anyone except Patrick McLendon

Enjoy the interview!

Steamed milk and a vacant gaze await a familiar gait
All I want is more,
And I wait hopeful for it to come

The summer’s blush was cast aside by the northern wind
Into bleak February
The setting sun
Silhouettes of inclinations prance in cherished passing moments

Fragments are all I receive, complete with receipt
A longing stare
A sorrowful sigh
I fumble, stumble, crumble at the cadence of my name from your lips

Realization rains and weaves,
Lifting my eyes toward the truth
Fly away Eros,
This Dido has wrenched out your arrow

Fifty-five cents and a lukewarm seat reside in a corner
It’s not enough for me to live by,
So go if you can give no more

Me

inhale and
take the plunge, dare
to light the
fuse

sketched in black and white- colours splashed wildly
across the page
following her own beat, her heart
swaying gracefully in worn converse
or three inch heals

a rocker, a bohemian, a Spartan woman
unchained, armed with
a vicious tongue
and painted
lips

contagious smirk and
shimmering eyes- taunting-
head back, laughing
loudly as change attempts
to batter her
fighting spirit

passionate and searching,
always searching,
for it (it is you)
holding her loves tightly till nails puncture
skin, never abandon

voicing her wishes to the stars
then sprinting
after evasive dreams,
always knowing what she wants

drift, escalate, blaze, jump
twist, snatch
keep up?

Whatever your writing persuasion, Writer’s Market will surely provide you an outlet for your creative abilities, and if nothing else at least a good starting point for beginning a career and establishing a portfolio of works. Normally I would not stoop to shamelessly promote a commercial product, but if you follow the Amazon link, I think you’ll find this resource only costs about twenty dollars and while there is quite a good bit of information elsewhere on the internet, I find having an encyclopedia of sorts beats digging through google searches for a few hours till you find all the information you’re looking for. Best of luck!

What is difficult is not the writing but the creation of a character, a believable fiction that a reader can genuinely care about. If one were to watch a clip of Batman Begins and see Batman fighting to save someone, it might very well be interesting but it would not inspire one to care. This is motion. However if one knows why Batman is fighting to save this person, perhaps that they have a romantic relationship or perhaps this person is Batman’s enemy and he fights to save them anyway, this reveals something more. This is action, this has the elements of a story. It is frequently harped upon that writing should be the process of showing and not telling the reader something, as important as this is, it is difficult not to get carried away with showing things simply because they might be interesting. If scenes are not relevant they fail to engage the reader. Just some of my own realizations from this past week as I’ve been editing some projects, hope it helps!

CLS

It’s easy to say that you’ve already done all the writing and it’s all “there” in your story, but consider how many minor plotpoints, details and histories there are to each character and each relatonship between characters. It’s best to take such notes as you move through the story — not only to save time when you decide to work on a particular piece but also to keep you from contradicting yourself within the story. Just a random thing that seems so common-sensical but I somehow forgot. In case you forget your common sense too I thought I’d mention that note taking is pretty important, as much as it can seem like class it can making working on your stories less of a task, almost like a bookmark for your ongoing story.

However, one of the biggest complaints about stories which focus a great deal on Milieu is that they can often be painstakingly detailed. It’s therefore important for the writer to walk that fine line between too much detail and too little. It is critical to paint a picture with words, but it’s important to be careful what you focus on and how often a certain aspect of the environment is highlighted. What’s pointed out should be central to the theme of the story. This can be done through analogy, can be done to emphasize characters or grant some foreshadowing. It’s all about the careful application of it, and what you want it to say about your characters and the story you’re trying to tell. But it’s also important to know that if the story is purely a Milieu story, the less focus you put on the characters the more effective it will be.

There are some good supplemental articles online but also you might find some books at a local library or at amazon about how to make stories more authentic, there’s the Writer’s Guide to Places and Careers for Your Characters . I’ve personally found these to both be very useful for quick reference. Also, I’ve recently picked up Frank Herbert’s Dune series and begun reading it again. If you are looking for a great example of science fiction Milieu I can think of no better place to start.

Scheduled Writing
-This involves scheduling a specific time of day to write and writing during that period, regardless of whether or not you feel inspired to do so, or whether or not you feel that what’s been created is worthwhile.

Creative Excercises
-This involves utilizing third party questions that prompt you to develop, describe or destroy any characters or ideas you happen to be working with, leaving you with your essential story. There are many excercises to be found around the internet, the University of Iowa has one such handout dedicated to such excercises. Here is the link http://www.uiowa.edu/~writingc/handouts/fictionexercises.htm

Free Writing
-This involves writing whatever comes to mind, however irreverent, silly, nonsensical, serious, disturbing or absurd that might be. This can also be done in conjunction with other people, I have a friend who, after not being able to come up with any new ideas for his story went to hang out with his friends and had each of them suggest something for him to write about for five minutes. Whatever topic they chose, he would write about it and from this he was able to generate some ideas to fill in the voids in his plot.

Whatever happens, remember not to give up, and being a part of a community of writers can also help you draw inspiration from those around you. I also find that getting outside or excercising can help me come back to the drawing board with fresh ideas. Best of luck, I should be finishing up one of my short stories by the end of the week!