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Jonathan Franzen

1 The reader is a friend, not an adversary, not a spectator.

2 Fiction that isn’t an author’s personal adventure into the frightening or the unknown isn’t worth writing for anything but money.

3 Never use the word “then” as a ­conjunction – we have “and” for this purpose. Substituting “then” is the lazy or tone-deaf writer’s non-solution to the problem of too many “ands” on the page.

4 Write in the third person unless a ­really distinctive first-person voice ­offers itself irresistibly.

5 When information becomes free and universally accessible, voluminous research for a novel is devalued along with it.

6 The most purely autobiographical ­fiction requires pure invention. Nobody ever wrote a more auto­biographical story than “The Meta­morphosis”.

7 You see more sitting still than chasing after.

8 It’s doubtful that anyone with an internet connection at his workplace is writing good fiction.

9 Interesting verbs are seldom very interesting.

10 You have to love before you can be relentless.

death metal, originally uploaded by jean_lorin.

miercuri, incepind cu ora 20

la miercurea lejera

Poate ca v-ati intrebat de ce ultimele volume dintr-o serie (sa zicem Harry Potter) au mai multe pagini decit primele. De obicei, primul volum e o brosura de 100 de pagini, iar cel de-al cincilea cintareste trei kilograme. La americani si englezi, scriitorii si jurnalistii sint platiti la cuvint. Cu cit articolul/cartea are mai multe cuvinte, cu atit cistiga mai mult. Pentru jurnalistii cu statut de freelancer, acest sistem se dovedeste a fi foarte stimulativ. Ii determina sa acopere cit mai complet un subiect, iar pe editori sa taie cit mai mult. |ntrucit traiesc din scris si in ultimii cinci ani n-am mai calcat intr-o redactie decit in vizita simt nevoia unui alt sistem de retribuire. Nu ca pateul vegetal n-ar fi bun (chiar daca nu sint vegetarian) dar orice exces dauneaza. Acest sistem se bazeaza pe jocul de Scrabble, acel joc care le permite copiilor sa-i ridiculizeze pe adulti atunci cind reusesc sa formeze cuvintul “urechelnita”. Astfel, anumite litere ca J, H, K, Q, W, Z, mai putin intilnite in limba romana, folosite cu larghete, ar putea ridica sensibil valoarea articolelor. Cuvinte ca zarzare, quadrant, kilogram, xilofon quaker, kerosen, haltera, aflate vesnic intr-un con de umbra, ar ar capata, in sfirsit vizibilitate. Cred cu tarie ca, intr-o democratie adevarata, toate literele ar trebui sa aiba aceeasi importanta. De exemplu, cei mai multi romani nu folosesc deloc litera W. Mi-ar placea ca in orice articol pe care il voi scrie de acum inainte sa folosesc cuvintul wolfram, chiar daca fac cronica unui western sau recenzez o carte de poezie. Daca un autor reuseste ca intr-un articol sa foloseasca toate literele rare, va primi un bonus. Secretarul general de redactie va avea instalat un program special de calculat. In incheiere, pentru cei care se plictisesc acum intr-un bar, iata un exercitiu practic: puteti calcula cit as putea obtine pe acest articol, iata valorile literelor: A 1, G9, N1, U1, B9, H10, C1, I1, P2 1, X10, D2, J10, R1, Z10, E1, L1, S1 2 Jo F8, M4, T1, W- 10 lei. Cecul sa fie trimis pe adresa redactiei.

Richard Ford

1 Marry somebody you love and who thinks you being a writer’s a good idea.
2 Don’t have children.
3 Don’t read your reviews.
4 Don’t write reviews. (Your judgment’s always tainted.)
5 Don’t have arguments with your wife in the morning, or late at night.
6 Don’t drink and write at the same time.
7 Don’t write letters to the editor. (No one cares.)
8 Don’t wish ill on your colleagues.
9 Try to think of others’ good luck as encouragement to yourself.
10 Don’t take any shit if you can ­possibly help it.

Helen Dunmore

1 Finish the day’s writing when you still want to continue.
2 Listen to what you have written. A dud rhythm in a passage of dialogue may show that you don’t yet understand the characters well enough to write in their voices.
3 Read Keats’s letters.
4 Reread, rewrite, reread, rewrite. If it still doesn’t work, throw it away. It’s a nice feeling, and you don’t want to be cluttered with the corpses of poems and stories which have everything in them except the life they need.
5 Learn poems by heart.
6 Join professional organisations which advance the collective rights of authors.
7 A problem with a piece of writing often clarifies itself if you go for a long walk.
8 If you fear that taking care of your children and household will damage your writing, think of JG Ballard.
9 Don’t worry about posterity – as Larkin (no sentimentalist) observed “What will survive of us is love”.

carti

1. Noapte buna, blindul meu print – Pierre Charras
2. Cintec de leagan – Chuck Palahniuk
3. Between Theater and Anthropology – Richard Schechner
4. Catedrala – Raymond Carver

filme

1. Dark Horse (Dagut Kari, 2005)
2. The Hurt Locker (Kathlin Biggelow, 2009)
3. Tokyo! (Gondry, Joon ho-Bong, Leos Carax, 2008)
4. I Shot Andy Warhole (Mary Harron, 2006)
5. Tout Une Vie (Lelouch, 1974)
6. The Man Who Stare at Goats (Grant Heslow, 2009)
7. Persona (Bergman, 1966)
8. Sin Nombre (Cary Fukunaga, 2009)
9. You The Living (Du Levande) (Roy Andersson, 2007)
10. The Fountain (Aronofsky, 2006)
11. Mauvais Sang (Leos Carax, 1986)
12. Age of Consent (Michael Powell, 1969)
13. Drumul Pasarilor (Klara Trencsenyi & Vlad Naumescu, 2009) - doc
14. The Dirty Dozen (Robert Aldritch, 1967)
15. Aliosa (Meelis Muhu, 2008) – doc
16 Faces (Cassavetes)
17. The Dirty Dozen (Robert Aldritch, 1967)
18. Gandhi (Richard Attenborough, 1982)
19. Crocodile (Kim Ki-duk, 1996)
20. Up in the Air (Jason Reitman, 2009)

o parte din weekend mi-am petrecut-o la standul povestirilor fara filtru de la MTR.
vreme cam morocanoasa, aglomeratie (duminica) destui cunoscuti.
dintotdeauna mi-a placut ideea de a sta in spatele unei tejghele. linga mine se vindeau jucarii, hirtie manuala, turta dulce si, desigur, martisoare.
e misto sa ai discutii de “taraba” cu ceilalti despre cum le-am mers ziua, ce s-a dat mai bine si tot asa.
miercuri la ora 7 va fi lansarea oficiala a proiectului in ceainaria ramayana.
pe linga (poate) niste lecturi rapide, o parte dintre scriitorii prezenti cu proze se vor folosi, in functie de talent si de pricepere, de instrumente muzicale, asa ca va fi si ceva muzica la plic.

Roddy Doyle

1 Do not place a photograph of your ­favourite author on your desk, especially if the author is one of the famous ones who committed suicide.

2 Do be kind to yourself. Fill pages as quickly as possible; double space, or write on every second line. Regard every new page as a small triumph ­–

3 Until you get to Page 50. Then calm down, and start worrying about the quality. Do feel anxiety – it’s the job.

4 Do give the work a name as quickly as possible. Own it, and see it. Dickens knew Bleak House was going to be called Bleak House before he started writing it. The rest must have been easy.

5 Do restrict your browsing to a few websites a day. Don’t go near the online bookies – unless it’s research.

6 Do keep a thesaurus, but in the shed at the back of the garden or behind the fridge, somewhere that demands travel or effort. Chances are the words that come into your head will do fine, eg “horse”, “ran”, “said”.

7 Do, occasionally, give in to temptation. Wash the kitchen floor, hang out the washing. It’s research.

8 Do change your mind. Good ideas are often murdered by better ones. I was working on a novel about a band called the Partitions. Then I decided to call them the Commitments.

9 Do not search amazon.co.uk for the book you haven’t written yet.

10 Do spend a few minutes a day working on the cover biog – “He divides his time between Kabul and Tierra del Fuego.” But then get back to work.

sapte scriitori, publicati si nepublicati, si-au pus prozele in plicuri.
plicurile se afla intr-o cutie.
cutia se afla in ceainaria ramayana si in curind in alte ceainarii si cafenele.
puteti cere povestiri cind comandati ceaiul sau cafeaua.
se asorteaza cu ceasca, zaharul brun si lingurita.
titlurile povestirile si numele autorilor se afla intr-un meniu separat.
in acest moment, o cutie doldora de proze se afla la tirgul de martisor de la MTR, chiar la intrarea in cafenea.
cred ca e un cadou misto pentru cineva care n-ar citi o carte intreaga.

nici nu stii cind ti se face chef sa citesti!

De cite ori vad un baiat cu floare in mina ma induiosez. Se afla intr-un moment important al vietii: la prima intilnire, dupa o cearta care a pus in pericol viitorul relatiei, sau e Valentine’s Day. Oricare ar fi situatia, baiatul cu floarea in mina crede ca tija terminata in petale ii va intari demersul romantic. |ntr-un fel, baiatul cu floarea in mina se foloseste de floare, asa cum un batrin se foloseste de un toiag. |l ajuta sa mearga inainte. Dintr-un alt punct de vedere, planta rupta de care o stringe in palma transpirata e o unealta de vrajire. Daca samanul foloseste plantele in fierturi, baiatul cu floarea in mina o foloseste intreaga, ca pe o bagheta magica. In ambele cazuri rezultatul e nesigur, dar ambele imagini, ale baiatului cu floarea in mina indreptindu-se increzator spre o intilnire si cea a batrinului care arunca frunze sau tulpini intr-un ceaun au intrat in imaginarul colectiv. La citeva secunde dupa intilnire, baiatul cu floarea in mina redevine un simplu baiat, iar fata se transforma in fata cu floarea in mina. |ntre o fata simpla si o fata cu o floare in mina exista mari diferente. |n primul rind, cind se va intoarce acasa, toata lumea va sti ca a fost la o intilnire. Dar pina la acest fericit moment, fata cu floarea in mina va avea miinile blocate pe toata perioada cit dureaza intilnirea. Fata cu floarea in mina va plimba tot timpul intilnirii floarea dintr-o mina in alta. Nu se va simti in largul ei decit in momentul cind o va lasa pe masa ca sa se refugieze in toaleta. Gradul de stinjeneala e direct proportional cu marimea florii. Se cunosc cazuri in care au facut cale intoarsa cind si-au zarit partenerul tinindu-se de o gladiola. Un sondaj facut printre fete a relevat ca ghiocelul pare cea mai potrivita floare pentru primele intilniri. Poate fi purtat cu usurinta, pierdut prin buzunar, mascat de telefon, ascuns in tocul de ochelari. Dar ghiocelul e o floare de sezon. E cazul ca florariile sa se adapteze la cerintele contemporane si sa ofere sortimente noi de flori, care sa le reduca forma intr-atit incit sa ramina doar un simbol: floarea pliabila, floarea comestibila, floarea telescopica, floarea gonflabila si, minunea tehnologiei, floarea-holograma.