Mysteries to be unfolded

"Human beings are not issues to be fixed; they are mysteries to be unfolded."

 I came across this quote last week. I can't remember the name of the person who wrote it, but it motivated me to write this post.
 In this technological era it is easy to forget that human beings are not like computers. The intellect is not enough to understand them. Human beings have feelings and emotions. They are not iPads and iPhones. (Paradoxically, those who belittle other people because of their weaknesses are blind to their own foibles).
 It is tempting to believe that a magic pill or something similar will "fix" their issues.
 I love listening to people. When I do, I pay attention to every word they say. I don't ask too much. I just listen with an open attitude, providing support and reassurance. That's when people dare to expose their life stories.
 That's when I encounter questions that have no answers.

Mi mind is focused on  the energy of new projects.
I hope your mind is also brimming with energy. Have a good week.

Everness

  One thing does not exist: Oblivion
  God saves the metal and he saves the dross,
  And his prophetic memory guards from loss
  The moons to come, and those of evenings gone.

   Everything is: the shadows in the glass
   Which, in between the day's two twilights, you
   Have scattered by the thousands, or shall strew
   Henceforward in the mirrors that you pass.
   And everything is part of that diverse
   Crystalline memory, the universe;
   Whoever through its endless mazes wanders
   Hears door on door click shut behind his stride,
   And only from the sunset's farther side
   Shall view at last the Archetypes and the Splendors.

    Jorge Luis Borges. Translated by Richard Wilbur
     

Online resources for writers

I've gathered a few websites for writers. I’m sure every writer will find something of value on this blog post.

Have fun navigating the sites!

https://blog.reedsy.com/

http://writingcareer.com

Freelance writing This site offers job listings, literary contests and interesting articles.

mediabistro 

www.oncewritten.com This site gives you tips on how to publish and promote your book, opportunities and contests.

copyright.gov   All you need to know about copyright issues, rules and regulations is here.

Critique Circle   If you need feedback on your work this online literary group is the one I recommend.  In the past I tried different literary groups and I settled for this one. Their system is wonderful and easy to use.  It is password protected, so the work you share is only available to cc members.

http://startbloggingonline.com/  This website if for those who want to learn more about the art of blogging. 

Spring

Spring is here. Do you like to contemplate the transformation of nature?

Creating characters for a story

"The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves." Carl Jung

  There is something enigmatic about the art of crafting a character. Once the characters become vivid to us, they acquire a life of their own. We no longer control their experiences.
  Last year I wrote a blog entry that said that characters don't need to be likable, but they do need to feel real. However, I also have to admit that it is easier to seduce your readers when they root for one of your characters. In other words, when readers identify with one of your characters in some way, they feel more motivated to read the story because they imagine themselves in the character’s situation. They are eager to know what would happen to them if they did what the character is doing.

  As a writer you dare to explore emotional situations that make others feel embarrassed, scared or threatened. Being a fiction writer involves the challenging task of being in somebody else’s shoes because you need to see the world from your character’s perspective.

     This is an invitation to open your mind to possibilities you've never imagined before. You experience a new life, forging your way through a labyrinth you are not entirely familiar with. It means stepping out of your comfort zone. You need to be bold.

    When you embark on this challenge, you are behaving like an actor or actress. You bring your characters to life by exposing your own shame, frustration, love, passion, insecurities, fears, anger or whatever emotions are needed. 

   This experience can be very profound and it needs an open mind and heart. It requires compassion and patience. Otherwise, the story will not sound real. It will sound judgmental and shallow. Even if you don't agree with your character, you make every attempt to understand him/her.
   A part of you needs to love the character, and while you write your story you become the character, but you are not the character.

     So, as a reader, do you like to identify with at least one of the characters in a story? 
   As a writer, what is your relationship with your characters like? 

Pablo Picasso's Guernica

“Inspiration exists, but it has to find us working.” Pablo Picasso

  A couple of weeks ago I attended an exhibition of Picasso’s work. It motivated me to read about his life and it helped me to understand how his art is connected to the social issues of his time and to the turmoil of his personal experiences.

 The reasons I found this exhibition fascinating are the following:

-Picasso was daring. He was not afraid of innovating and he pioneered an art movement called cubism (more on this on a future post).

-The variety of his work amazed me. His art evolved through different phases that correlated with his life and his social setting.

-His long life-- he died at age 91 -- enabled him to create a massive amount of artwork. Interestingly, he lived in two different centuries.

Today I will focus on his most famous masterpiece: Guernica.

  When I was a child my mother gave me a book of famous paintings by different artists. It included riveting explanations about each of the masterpieces. One of them was Guernica. The emotional impact it had on me must have been strong, for I never forgot this painting.

   Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) was born in Spain, but he migrated to France. While he was living in Paris he was shocked by the news of the bombing of Guernica, a small Basque town in Northern Spain.

   On April 26, 1937, Nazi airplanes, backed by the extremist right wing forces of General Francisco Franco, bombed Guernica and 1,600 civilians were killed. The small town burned for three days. The attack took place on a Monday because many people who lived on the farms went to the market on that day of the week. Those who tried to escape were shot from airplane machine guns or were blown up with explosives.

  Pablo Picasso’s rage at this atrocity inspired him to paint "Guernica", which is described as "the most important work of art of the twentieth century". When he painted it, Picasso intended to expose the suffering and desperation that are inevitably attached to any war.

  Guernica is a mural-sized oil painting. It is 11 feet tall (3.5 m) and 25.6 feet long (7.8m). Most of the people in the painting express despair and terror. 

  If we go from left to right, the first figure  we see is that of a woman. You can almost hear her shrieking. She is holding her dead baby. Her eyes express profound anguish. Her naked bosom suggests that she might have been nursing her baby when the bombings struck the town.

  The next thing you see is a bull. The image of it is controversial. He is merely a witness of the woman’s grief. There are different interpretations about the bull. Some people believe that the bull could be somebody who, like Picasso, watches these calamities as an outsider: he is not physically wounded, but he is emotionally touched. Picasso refused to attribute a meaning to it, but bulls are a recurrent element in his artwork (the “minotauro" has the head of a bull and the body of a man) and he associated it with lust and behaviors or emotions that are out of control.

  There is a horse lying in agony. It symbolizes the suffering of the people of Spain, a country ravaged by war. There is chaos all around.

 A dead soldier is lying on the ground; his eyes express pain. His fight had no influence on the outcome of the bombings of Guernica. His arm is grasping a sword and a bunch of flowers. The flowers may represent his ideals, or they may be a symbol of  hope. On the right side of the painting there is a woman on fire.

  The painting is done in black, white and different shades of gray, most likely to depict a gloomy atmosphere. It may also be a symbol of the fact that the news of the war spread through newspapers.

    Guernica was first exhibited at the 1937 World’s Fair held in Paris as part of a display of Spanish art. After this exhibition it traveled to England, Spain and Scandinavian countries. Then it toured the United States of America. It is now exhibited in the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid, Spain.
 Had it not been for Picasso, the bombing of Guernica might have been forgotten by the world. Yet the theme of this painting is timeless and powerful. 

      

To the Arctic

  "As mothers, the greatest gift we can pass on to our children is a healthy planet."

   Would you like to swim underwater close to polar bears?  Would you enjoy flying over the ocean? How about floating near huge masses of ice?  If you've been to an IMAX theater you know what I am talking about.
 

  "To the Arctic" is a captivating documentary about the Arctic. During the mid winter months the sun never rises in the Arctic and average temperatures are around -40 F; in the summer the sun never sets.
   Polar bears are mysterious, intriguing creatures. The Arctic is their home and there is no other place on earth where they can live and thrive.
   This white universe, the Arctic, is warming twice as fast as any other region of the planet. If the sea ice continues to melt at the current speed there will be no sea ice by the year 2,050.

  Due to these changes, polar bears are struggling to survive and new challenges arise. It is getting hard for them to catch seals, and some male polar bears resort to cubs (baby polar bears) as a source of food.
  Mother polar bears take two years to raise their cubs. During this time they nurture them and train them to become independent. These mothers are determined to protect their cubs from the hungry male polar bears, and they do so at the expense of their own lives. They are ready to sacrifice themselves to protect their offspring.
 There is a scene in which a mother deters a male bear from catching her offspring. Her courage and tenacity win the battle.
  Let's hope this motherly love will inspire mankind to save the Arctic...

Have a peaceful week.