Tinta Viva – What I might have been
Building characters: The best antagonists let us see their weaknesses. Trying this with Dr Frankestein’s creature.
Creative Writing
Tinta Viva – Charms
A magical realist rewriting of a passage from Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” (1966)
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… Read More »Tinta Viva – La Enredadera Doble / The Double Vine
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… Read More »Tinta Viva – El Camino Naraja / The Orange Path
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… Read More »Tinta Viva – Conflict
Tinta Viva – The Logic of the Absurd
This time we imagine we are talking to Time, but not in an abstract way, as a character.
Tinta Viva – Psychology and Disillusionment
This week, we talked about Flaubert and Mme Bovary. The task this time was to “reveal a character’s psychology and disillusionment through the contrast between their expectations and their reality”
Tinta Viva – Monologue
Here we go, first task for the Tinta Viva workshop . Take one of the phrases taken from the Odyssey and use it to create a monologue.
Tinta Viva: Writing Between Two Languages
Tinta Viva: Writing Between Two Languages. A writing workshop to explore language(s).
What Does It Take to Fly? – A Children’s Book
On writing for children, the four forces of flight, and why understanding something never makes it smaller. My book “What Does It Take to Fly?” is out now on Apple Books in English and Spanish… Read More »What Does It Take to Fly? – A Children’s Book