Written by Nathaniel Postell Women are warriors! A fact that becomes abundantly clear by studying African legends and folklore. These fiercely independent women help shape the world, inspiring countless interpretations, even presenting themselves in recent pop-culture. The wildly successful Marvel Studios movie Black Panther features a group of gifted women warriors inspired by the Dahomey Amazons – an all-female military...
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Surreal Humor & Absurdist Comedy – Why Is It So Weird?
Written by Peter Manley When we think about comedy, there are so many different styles and “flavors” for us to choose from. For example, some of the most common forms of comedy – especially in the stand-up comedy realm – are anti-humor comedy (where a dry and otherwise unfunny statement is said out of indirect humor) and insult comedy, where...
Continue reading...Urmuz – the genius beneath the boffoon
Written by Andreea Padurean (Her Goodreads Profile – here) One of the most controversial figures of the Romanian Literature – Demetru Dem or Demetrescu-Buzău, known as Urmuz, a genius who left behind a literary work of 50 pages at most. His pen name (Urmuz) was interpreted in various ways, one of the attributed meanings being ‘I amuse’. And yes, he amused...
Continue reading...Interview with Sabina Gabrielli Carrara
I managed to grab a quick word with Sabina Gabrielli Carrara, author of the murder mystery novels ‘Field of lies’ & ‘Black Souls’, for a short interview… Q: Why do you write? What motivates you to write? Sabina: Simply because I like it, I always did. Q: What kind of books did you love growing up? Sabina: As a child, I liked fantasy....
Continue reading...Best horror books by Russian writers (19th century)
Everyone needs to experience Russian literature at some time… so why not now? 👻 #1 Nikolai Gogol and his awesome Viy – a horror novella, published in 1835. The title is also the name of the demonic creature, the main hero of the plot. Every summer, a large procession of students moving around the area as they travel home. However, the group...
Continue reading...“The Story Grid”, Shawn Coyne #takeawaykeys
What your characters say they are is NOT who they are… What they do is the key. Shawn Coyne 1. Think in 5 principles, the bricks for any successful story: TIME, SUBSTANCE, STYLE, STRUCTURE, CONTENT. 2. Learn your genre – there’s a great collection (with examples) of differences between each genre. I can’t mention them all (only some), but read...
Continue reading...The anatomy of a thriller
Dan Brown’s masterclass #takeawaykeys 1. The most important stones to build a perfect thriller are: world the sole dramatic question a hero a goal obstacles a moment when a hero concurred a villain 2. Think 3 C’s First C – The Contract That promise you are making with the reader (do NOT break it!) Second C – The crucible Something...
Continue reading...Book Review “Colder: A Collection of Poetry & Prose”, River Dixon
Winter. Somewhere in North Dakota. River: Do you know what I’d ask Santa if I’d ever met him? Dixon: Hot babe? River: I’d say “I want COLDER”… Dixon: Are you mad, it is already -16,6 F! Why do some young kids dislike poetry? Why do so many people unsatisfied with modern poetry? When Marianne Moore wrote a poem titled “Poetry,”...
Continue reading...“Write. Publish. Repeat.” by Sean Platt, Johnny B. Truant, David Wright #takeaways
A book read by a thousand different people is a thousand different books.”Andrei Tarkovsky In the book “Write. Publish. Repeat” authors Sean Platt, David Wright and Johnny B. Truant explained how to build a thriving international publishing empire with no luck required… In two words – you have to work your ass off, never give up and see your “writing” as...
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