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Two-Body Problems: Romance as a Genre
In classical mechanics, the two-body problem has a clean, exact solution. Add a third body and the system turns chaotic, which any writer of love triangles could have told Newton for free.
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Tinta Viva – Charms
A magical realist rewriting of a passage from Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” (1966)
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Something Is Wrong: Horror, Structure and a Very Large Ape
Week 2 – Analysing the Horror Genre – From the journey to the chase and the role of the unheimlich.
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Order, Chaos and a Box of Chocolates: Notes from Week One of Writing in Different Genres
Notes from Week 1 at Birckbeck – Writing in Different Genres. Looking at genre, layers, tones and plot.
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Tinta Viva – La Enredadera Doble / The Double Vine
This time we are looking at a short allegorical writing exercise in three steps: It was then revised by cutting about 40% (stripping adjectives and explanations so the symbol carries the meaning), expanded back to around 160 words with a stronger ending, and translated into English for essence rather than word for word. La enredadera doble En mi planeta el sol sale cuarenta y dos veces al día. Nunca sé si llego tarde a…
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Tinta Viva – El Camino Naraja / The Orange Path
This week in the Tinta Viva workshop we talked about The Perfume by Patrick Süskind and saw how the sense of smell is a powerful tool but now one that is exploited a lot in literature. This is partly because we may lack the language to do so; well utilised it evokes deep emotions and intense memories in the reader. The exercise this week was to place ourselves as children and call up a memory, then use the tools described in the workshop to bring the memory to life using smells and scents. Mi abuela vuelve por el…
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Tinta Viva – Conflict
The task for this week was to build a short story in seven stages, moving from setting the scene and building expectation, through tension, suspense, conflict and intrigue, to an ending that resolves the conflict fully, partly or unexpectedly, as long as it stays consistent with the plot. Here we go Dentro de la espesa selva tropical del Amazonas, Oliver se ha ido adentrando cada vez más. La vegetación se ha ido haciendo más…