La Albiceleste — part(e) 5
ivanBRAVE_La Albiceleste5_1000 How do you pronounce your name? Would you spell it the same in another language?
Author Archive: Iván Brave
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Cultivate a Rich Bank of Physical Description for your Characters
When pressed to describe a person, most admit to noticing the “eyes,” the “hair,” a “smile.” This works in conversation, but in writing, where readers thirst for deeper introspections, a new charter will need more than: “Big blue eyes,” “long, red hair,” with “a smile that stretched from ear to […]
Mario Levrero — 6 August 17:20
marioLEVRERO_6august1720_ivanBRAVE Chl is introduced in this chapter. Notice how her character develops. Her relationship with Levrero will form the emotional core of the diary.
53. “Do You Think You’re Brave?”
In response to The New York Times article “650 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing” 53. “Do You Think You’re Brave?” This question changes meaning depending on how you pronounce the emphatic last word. Do I think I’m brave? Yes. I take risks, I meet challenges, and I […]
La Albiceleste — part(e) 4
ivanBRAVE_La Albiceleste4_2000 “My family and I moved back to our country, so my parents could finalize their divorce. And everyone blames someone else for it, except me. I blame myself.”
Write to reflect on action
Writer of many home-study courses for Time-Life Educational systems, Ron Bradley, was the English learning trainer who helped certify me to teach others. He has this to say about reflection: “[Use] reflective practice to improve your teaching and professional growth: ‘If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll […]
Mario Levrero — 6 August 00:09
marioLEVRERO_6august0009_ivanBRAVE What do gazebos symbolize in dreams? What’s the last dream you had about your childhood?
10. “What Are You Afraid Of?”
In response to The New York Times article “650 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing” 10. What Are You Afraid Of? I am afraid of answering this question. I am afraid of answering any of the “Overcoming Adversity” questions. I am afraid of uploading my answer to this blog. […]
La Albiceleste — part(e) 3
ivanBRAVE_La Albiceleste3_1200 ¿Será Semis un renovado héroe, un nuevo cosmos, un hombre redentor?
Find two lines from a book on your shelf and write a short story
Today’s exercise comes from a Writer’s Digest article by Brian Klems, where he gives 12-days of writing exercises. This is day-6’s exercise: “Select a book on your shelf and pick two chapters at random. Take the first line of one chapter and the last line of the other chapter and […]
Mario Levrero — 5 August 22:28
marioLEVRERO_5august2228_ivanBRAVE D’Arienzo was one of the foremost tango conductors/composers of the last century. Here is a clip at his best: (notice the strength of the down beat, BUM BUM BUM)
Twentysometing — the end
ivanBRAVE_twentysomething_ending I’ve ridden miles and miles on Greyhound. Once, on the way back to Austin, I met a man who had been in Huntsville Prison for twenty years. He had left an impression on me, to such a degree, that I tried to capture as much of our […]
La Albiceleste — part(e) 2
ivanBRAVE_La Albiceleste2_500 What do you think will happen next to these two fulanos?
Write ten Forbidden Joys (from The Artist’s Way)
Writers, does writing come easy, or is it hard? Either way, I’m sure you’d prefer it to come naturally. … Today’s writing exercise comes from Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, a book with 12-weeks of exercises to get yourself unblocked, and write (/be creative) naturally. She calls the exercise “Forbidden […]
Mario Levrero — 5 August 18:02
marioLEVRERO_5august1802_ivanBRAVE To paraphrase Levrero, pay attention to the time of the entry: it is important. Hint, he usually woke up in the afternoon.
Does Santa Cry?
ivanBRAVE_DoesSantaCry_900words Deep in the heart of downtown Hanoi, I walked down to the hostel lounge for some cheap breakfast. There, among a handful of hungover backpackers, I turned to what I thought would be the next empty page in my moleskin notebook. What I found, at the top left corner […]
La Albiceleste — part(e) 1
ivanBRAVE_La Albiceleste1_1300 The beginning. Will there be redemption? Follow failed soccer star Semis, and teenage dreamer Zulema, on their journey to fulfill their destiny. El principio. ¿Habrá redención? Sigue a Semis, un excampeón de futbol, y a Zulema, una adolecente soñadora, en sus caminos a cumplir sus destinos.
Write to gain perspective (from “The Artful Edit”)
Click here for PDF –_Practice Perspective This semester I enrolled in Susan Bell’s Fiction Workshop. It runs like most MFA workshops–write material, present it to a classroom of peers, and then a week later listen to their comments/critiques. Bell’s class however, unlike other workshops, has two twists: the first […]
Mario Levrero — 5 August 03:13
Click here for PDF –_5august0313 This reading is best enjoyed after reading Levrero’s Preface. So please check out last week’s translation post first. Hope you enjoy. Have you read the original? How do you remember it? I am very interested in Translation in theory and in practice, […]
Tongue Twister (Little Friar Lawrence)
(“rare” “literally” “literary”) Little rare gems, gladly listening to lore, glisten literally to scripture, wiping Friar Lawrence clean of literary literature.