A man's life

A little child's much delight
A teenager is explorer
An adolesent is defiance
Twenty five's full of life
Thirty six is thirsty bit
Forty two does envy youth
Fifty one's a settled one
Sixty eight is outdated
Seventy four is greying bore
Eighty nine is eventide
Ninety five is deaf and blind
One hundred years of solitude

Check out - Godawful Poetry Fortnight

Writing Seminar - Day 3

The session opened with the comments and feedback from Markus on the text that we submitted to the seminar forum at itsagreatstory.net and was participated by every one with interest.

The points of interest in the art of story telling came out in the discussions that followed. They are:

1. The opening of the story, especially with a striking first sentence, in order to hook the reader and set the tone for what follows.

2. The inciting incident that happens early in the story that drives the rest of it. This location of this incident in the story need not always be at the beginning (In Lion King it occurs quite late in the story).

3. The story follows the classical path (in most cases) where the protagonist goes through several obstacles and conflicts before coming to a conclusion.

4. There needs to be a progression in the conflict and the obstacles such that the conflict intensifies and the nature of the obstacles varies and becomes increasingly difficult for the hero to surmount.

5. There must be a dramatic need for the hero which must be established early on and that will work as the motivation for him to forge ahead in achieving the end he desires.

6. In the flow of events in the life of the main character it is important to show that there is a gap between the expectation and the result - this forces the reader to take interest since there is a turn in the situation as a result of unexpected consequence. It is this gap that propels the reader forward. It is the way once scene moves to the next - at least in the classical style where the story progresses in a linear fashion.

We have also discussed ways of tackling the story from different view points. There are essentially three view points, and each has its own benefits and disadvantages.

1. First Person - the personal point of view, cannot delve into the motivations of other characters

2. Third Person - a person in the story reveals the story and therefore may not be reliable; also it cannot go into the character's mind

3. Omniscient - the presiding intelligence that can play god, but needs to keep out so as not to interfere with the flow of the narrative

The resolution and ending of the story plays an important role in the whole drama. It must leave the reader satisfied and not leave a bad taste. The story may have raised the expectations and has not fulfilled them in a satisfactory way. It is in this context that we talked about the "Fading" of the story.

The session ended with the viewing of the last act of The Lion King. The scene opens with Simba returning to the land of his birth and what was once promised to be his kingdom. He finds desolation everywhere and it saddens him a great deal. "Show, don't tell" has been aptly used here.

As he nears the cave he witnesses the altercation between Scar and his old mother and reveals himself dramatically to his arch enemy. Scar humbles him by reminding that Simba was responsible for his father's death and in pushes him to the edge of the cliff - a scene that the viewer once again witnesses ("the mirroring").

Hamartia - the tragic flaw in Scar's character - goads him to reveal his evil design in pushing Mufasa to death. Simba hauls himself up and charges at Scar, thus reversing the roles.

The Lion King progresses linearly, as it should for a children's story, but has in it all the elements that make up a classic story of trust, betrayal, guilt, call of duty, return of the hero, overcoming the challenge and re-establishing righteousness.

Seminar - Day 2

Markus and I exchanged a friendly and superficial insight into each other as we waited for other participants to join us. The two young college going girls apparently felt the subject rather hard and not to their level and so left the seminar. Markus spoke of a rough time table which he followed which he said helped him to focus on writing and taking his second novel forward. I told him that I lacked the discipline to follow a regimen, but I have been toying with the idea of planning my day and stick to it.
We discussed the first session's assignments, what each person wrote, which Markus had studied carefully and commented, and then went over it again patiently. We then continued with the second part of the movie The Lion King. Oh, before that we talked a great deal about Syg Field's video on screenplay. Markus pointed out how the movie was structured according to the classical story-telling model and used plot devices such as -
Characterization
Emotional colorwheel
Turn in the story, change in the character
Rising intensity of conflict
Four types -
Inner conflict
Conflict with another
Conflict with the world at large
Conflict on a spiritual level
The Lion King used these devices to a powerful effect, Markus says, even in a story written for the children. Then he gave us assignment for home work, which included presenting a 3-page storyline for discussion. The session ended in smiles and eager expectations.

Sent from Nokia Smartphone

Writing Seminar by Markus Vattulainen

After waiting eagerly for Saturday to come, I was excited to attend the seminar by Markus V, a would-be author from Finland. Markus posted the details of the seminar and invited participants to join him for a whole year in learning the craft of writing. A session would be held for three hours every Saturday morning to discuss not only the personal approaches to writing, especially fiction, but also to learn and analyze the time-honored techniques employed by published authors. I was hoping to be able to be part of a group of aspiring writers for a long time. Markus's offer came like a soothing balm to my aching heart.
The first session was introductory and began with three men and three women apart from Markus who headed the session and drove it skillfully forward with the tools of the trade, beginning with a short introduction on the purpose of the seminar and ending the session with a film clip. Markus has a pleasing personality with a jovial face and a friendly demeanor. He greeted all of us with warmth and introduced us gently to the writing process. Everyone participated in the discussions that followed. The session held promise for more interesting and useful interactions in the future.
Markus made it clear at the very outset that he had made a choice between writing and not writing. The decision must necessarily be irreversible, leaving no scope for dilly-dallying. He decided to write, quit his job and settled down to writing full time. It was clear I am sure to everyone who did not take as seriously to writing as he did that it ws important to decide NOW, which is what Markus told us to do before going ahead with the seminar. It remains to be seen how many will go through with it and with how much hard work and enthusiasm.
The first session began with the screening of The Lion King, pausing the flow often to make a point or deliberate on some aspects of story-telling. Markus is articulate, clear in exposition and often invited the opinions of his eager listeners before offering his own. He gave an assignment which involved analyzing a scene from the film and posting answers to queries he posed in a hand-out. He expected everyone to join the forum on the seminar's website and participate in the discussions. The days of enjoyment are over, Markus announced; it is time to be analytical whenever we watch a movie or read a story.

Burqa ban

Burqa, the face veil of the devout Muslim woman, has come under debate across the world, especially in Europe after Belgium and France banned it while other nations are expected to follow. Fifteen years ago no one questioned it, the use of burqa in public places by Muslim women; at any rate no Muslim nation ever raised a voice against it. On the contrary, its use was mandatory and enforced with efficieny. When I was in Iran in 1994, I was walking the streets of Azerbaijan with my wife. An elderly woman stopped my wife and asked her to adjust her headscarf so that it covered her hair completely. It was a helpful gesture on the part of the lady who did not want to see a foreigner getting into trouble with the clerics and probably the police?
Today I read that even Muslim nations like Syria and Egypt have banned the burqa, the former completely and the latter in select places. It surprised me, considering the inflexible nature of the Muslim idea of the propriety of a woman's dress, and the equally inflexible clerical mind in upholding it.
This issue will not stop here, for the many nations that have a sizeable Muslim population will have to confront it sooner or later. India is one such country, where it is already grappling with the idea of a Uniform Civil Code. Whatever maybe the case with a particular nation, but the idea of questioning the deep-rooted fundamental notions of a society, chalked out and maintained by men since centuries, is clearly the winner. What else is being modern?

Sent from my Nokia phone

Nature vs. mind-made

At an informal meetup whose members are grandiloquently called Immortals, I read a piece that I had blogged here. It was on rain and as a member I read it to a small gathering of about six people, both ladies and gentleman.
One of the expressions I used in my writing happened to be about a flash of lightning which I said was like a flash from a mighty camera. A member took exception and said I ought not to compare natural phenomena with man-made things, rather it is best if it were other way around. Commenting on this peculiar trait he gave an example of a computer professional who upon looking at the blue sky had compared the spectacle to the background wallpaper on a Windows desktop.
While one may lament the degrading implication of such a comparison, it is nevertheless a useful, albeit a quick and shallow device, in expressing one's feelings. For nature and its phenomena are incomparable and any attempt to describe them must necessarily run the risk of providing a subjective experience as a simile.
In one of the readings from Tagore the power of the written word came out forcefully as the poet creates a rich experience in which all the five senses were alive to participate in every nuance evoked and the feelings empathized. It was a humbling experience too.

It's raining

I love rain, especially when it comes crashing down on the rooftops and through the leaves and branches of trees. The sound of falling water, it changes in pitch, tone and volume depending on where it is falling. All that water falling and flowing in tiny streams and gathering into pools - ah, all that chatter of falling rain and gurgling water, the rising and falling tempo, its tingle on the skin and the heady smell it evokes from dry earth. It is a treat from the gods, a heavenly invite to rejoice.
Tropical rain is sudden, rushing and copious. It nourishes the earth and cools the air. It fills the ponds and lakes, and raises the water table. It washes the trees and the streets. It clears the air of pollutants. Water-washed leaves glisten in the light and in the night they reflect the street light like a thousand light bulbs. You see the trees festooned with lights. Thunder adds to the feeling of being among the primordial elements of the earth. Lightning appears like intense flashlight from a mighty camera.
Everything is wet and dripping, like the earth is ensconced within its own tears, sometimes of joy or sadness, depending on the mood of the observer. Rain is always rain, it is never good rain or bad rain, never a pouring or a trickle; it is the receiver who uses the adjectives to describe it to suit his or her mood or situation.
Thunder rumbles in the sky, like the earth that trembles under a quake. It sends currents of fear in the heart. It is the living spirit that is afraid, the fear of the elemental fury of nature, a fear as old as life itself. When lightning strikes something - a tree or a living thing - it burns, shrivels and dies. When water floods and overflows the banks, it washes away everything in its flow - humans, cattle and trees. When the wind blows with gale force, it uproots trees, razes shacks and throws everything in its path helter-skelter - be it man or beast. We call it the fury of nature, but is it? When a volcano erupts it is not the wrath of the gods, but we say it is. Fear has its own vocabulary. Nature sustains itself in myriad ways; rain or sunshine, flood or drought, quake or volcano, it is nature living, breathing in and breathing out life.