Cuando el oficio de escribir es poesía

¡Qué privilegio leer este libro! Sentí que me sentaba a escuchar a Brandbury sus reflexiones sobre el oficio de escribir. Lo recomiendo totalmente, no como un manual (como tantos otros) sino como un libro para enamorarnos más del trabajo que hacemos como escritores.

Short version: This is the best writing book I have ever read.
Long version: This isn't going to be a very eloquent review. Good books on writing are difficult to find. For several of my classes, professors have assigned books about writing techniques, and all of them have been terrible. Some of them have graphs, others have ways of mapping out character development, but generally these books try to break writing down to its skeletal form and make a biology lesson of it. It ends up being overly technical and discouraging for new writers.
Bradbury's book, on the other hand, deals more with how your imagination can work for you. He starts off Zen by stating that you only need two things in writing: "zest and gusto." According to him, once you lose your zest for writing, your stories will fall apart. He insists on writing what you're passionate about, and suggests ways of keeping your passion going. This may seem like common sense, but it's the most helpful advice I've ever received from a How-To writing book.

(One piece of advice he offers is to put your nightmares in your stories. He says that if you're writing suspense, what scares you will scare your readers. He gives examples of how he drew on his fears and translated them into his novels. I tried it, and it definitely worked for me.)

I spent my college years reading Ray Bradbury, but probably haven't read anything of his since. My loss. Reading Bradbury again, in this case his writing memoir, Zen in the Art of Writing, reminds me both of that time – and also gives me a peak at his views on creativity and his writing process.

What's his process? He sums it up as:

WORK.
That’s the first one.
RELAXATION.
That’s the second. Followed by two final ones:
DON’T THINK! (p. 103)

Bradbury worked hard, day in and day out. He is credited with 27 novels and 600 short stories – as well as plays and screenplays. The man was prolific.

Bradbury was also passionate and excited, relaxed and mindful in his writing. As he said,

If you are writing without zest, without gusto, without love, without fun, you are only half a writer. It means you are so busy keeping one eye on the commercial market, or one ear peeled for the avant-garde coterie, that you are not being yourself. You don’t even know yourself. For the first thing a writer should be is — excited. He should be a thing of fevers and enthusiasms. Without such vigor, he might as well be out picking peaches or digging ditches; God knows it’d be better for his health. (p. 2)

Bradbury's excitement is infectious – I chose to read Zen in the Art of Writing at bedtime rather than the novel I was reading. When that happens, it says something.

I finished Zen in the Art of Writing during the middle of the night and was thinking about a friend's dislike of science fiction (which I think she conflates with space opera). Her loss. As Bradbury observed:

All science fiction is an attempt to solve problems by pretending to look the other way....Science fiction pretends at futures in order to cure sick dogs lying in today’s road. Indirection is everything. Metaphor is the medicine. (pp. 77-78)

Science fiction helps us see doors rather than only walls.

An observation. Many of the reviews of Zen in the Art of Writing are in Arabic, where he seems to be resonating with readers and writers. I'm not sure what this means, but it's interesting. I'm not surprised he resonates there, but Zen in the Art of Writing deserves to resonate to the same degree here.

n  "It is a great age to live in, and if need be, die in and for, any magician worth his salt would tell you the same - 1961" n

If you are a Bradbury fan, This is a book you will like. Perhaps this book was written for aspiring writers, maybe they can extract what they want to learn from a master storyteller! It is written in the form of short essays on various themes. But for me, as a reader, this book was no less than a wonderful dive into the mind of a creative genius. I have loved the author's short stories, and this month I also read his Farenheit 451, So curious enough to know what he will say, I got into it.

The book was good enough to keep my interest in it as a general reader, He talked about how the idea of a story hit his mind and how he got rejected by a publisher and then turned around his stories to get it published with even bigger names. If you have read On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by King, I would compare the first 100 pages of King's book were written on the same line this book is written.
Not only about the craft of writing but also about the process, personal stories, and intuitive decision-making by the author.

A good book!

بعد قراءة لراي برادبيري لمرة الثالثة شعر بأن نظرتي للكتابة قد أختلفت ،لأن الغالبية العظمى من الناس لديهم ثلاث اعتقادات بشأنها :

١-بعض الناس يعتقدون بأن أي قارئ من الممكن أن يكون كاتبًا حتى لو كانت مداخلته سيئة جدًا وهذا صحيح لأن الكتب التي يقرأها المرء تأثر في لغته وكتاباته وربما حتى طريقة تفكيره -أنا منهم - .

٢- موهبة من رب السماء ، أنا أحيانا أشعر بأنها صحيحة وفي نفس خطأ ،صحيحة بمعنى هناك القليل من الأدباء يستطيعون جعل الناس يتأثروا ،على مدى الزمان ،مثل شاعر هو المتنبي فحتى العوام الذين أكتفوا فقط بالتعليم النظامي يعرفونه وبعضهم قد يحبه ،ومن الكتّاب في العصر الحديث أمثال علي الطنطاوي ومصطفى صادق الرافعي وهؤلاء الأدباء من الذين يعتقدون بأن ا��كتابة موهبة ؛ وخطأ لأن هناك أدباء اشتهروا بسبب كونهم قراء يقرأون كثيرًا فأنعكس هذا إيجابًا على كتاباتهم .

٣- كأي عمل فني مثل الرسم والنحت والموسيقى ، يتحسن مع مرور الوقت والممارسة وهذا مايراه راي برادبيري في أغلب كلامه المكتوب .

على العموم راي برادبيري أول كاتب أجنبي يربط الكتابة بكونها شيء لطيف وجميل وممتع عكس باقي الكتّاب الأجانب .

وبالمناسبة الترجمات لذيذة وجيدة ولكن شعرت في بعض المواضع بأنها آلية .

Dear uncle Ray!

I am once again bewitched by the magic of your words, which you left for me and millions of other readers.

Thank you for combining all your essays and creating such an inspiring speech not only for future writers, but for any person who wants to do something in this world. Most of all I liked these ideas:
- You don't complain about the hardships of writing, but stress that one should have fun with anything one does. If you're not having fun and if you're not joyful when you create something and express your thoughts in words, nothing good will come out of it.
- Don't wait for inspiration with folded hands. You should do everything you like, get inspired and moved by other people, participate in everything and LIVE. And then ideas and inspiration will come running to you themselves.
- Stay true to yourself. If your friends and close ones don't support your passions, make fun of you and don't take your aspirations seriously, it means those are not your people. Look for others and leave these ones behind. Following other peoples' wishes will always make you unhappy.

Thank you for sharing your poems about art. Shame on me, but before reading this book I never knew you were good at poetry as well. Thank you for your love of fantasy and imagination. There aren't many people who realize the full value of these for each one of us. Thank you for your Zen.

Your devoted reader,
Victoria

عالم راي برادبيري الإبداعي بعيد عن مجال إهتمامتي كقاريء،وبما أنه أطال في الحديث عن تجربته الذاتية في الكتابة فلم يكن للكتاب صدي متميز بالنسبة لي،

لكن الأهم هو الجهد المتميز لمشروع تكوين الواعدالرائع والقائمين عليه من كتاب ومترجمين عرب شباب،فتجربتهم تستحق كل دعم وتشجيع إضافة إلى أن ثاني إصدارات المشروع"كتاب لماذا نكتب الذي أقرؤه حاليا" أعجبني وأمتعني كثيرا إذا ما قورن بالكتاب الأول الذي بين أيدينا،،،

كل التوفيق للمشروع والقائمين عليه وفي إنتظار الجديد والجميل من عائلة تكوين الطموحة والمثابرة.

Дзен в изкуството да пишеш, дзен в изкуството да живееш: http://knigolandia.info/book-review/z...

Какво има в този сборник с есета? Има емоция, толкова емоция за писането, част от която съм уловил в текстовете на корицата, където сметнах, че сам Бредбъри ще си каже по-добре какво е за него творчеството. Какво да добавиш към тия думи: “Πъpвoтo нeщo, ĸoeтo eдин пиcaтeл тpябвa дa бъдe, e дa e въoдyшeвeн. Toй тpябвa дa e ĸълбo oт eнтycиaзъм и тpecĸaвa eнepгия. Бeз тaзи cтpacт пиcaтeлят мoжe пpocтo дa бepe пpacĸoви или дa ĸoпae ĸaнaвĸи. Бoг ми e cвидeтeл, чe тoвa би билo пo-пoлeзнo зa здpaвeтo мy.” Ето това е нужно, прякото общуване с белия лист, който трябва да бъде запълнен със съдържимото в един уникален ум – и чак после идват всички други етапи до издаването на една книга, но ако началото не е достатъчно изпълнено с талант и магия, които не подлежат на изследване и измерване, то всичко след това ще е осакатено – или осакатяващо.

CIELA Books
http://knigolandia.info/book-review/z...

”The history of each story, then, should read almost like a weather report — hot today, cool tomorrow. This afternoon burn down the house, tomorrow pour cold, critical water upon the simmering coals. Time enough to think and cut and rewrite tomorrow, but today, explode! fly apart! disintegrate! The other six or seven drafts are going to be pure torture, so why not enjoy the first draft.”


Nearly every writer who talks about her craft mentions that dreaded question — “where do you get your ideas?” Every would be writer passionately demands the answer to this banal inquiry, and every writer dreads its posing. Everyone, that is, except Ray Bradbury. In this book’s second essay Bradbury goes into great detail about where his ideas come from, and reveals the exercise he employed for mining those ideas from his fertile imagination, and offers it up for his readers use.

This collection of essays, written at disparate times throughout Bradbury’s career (1961-1990) is more a memoir of his craft than anything approaching a “how to” manual. Rather than giving technical tips, Bradbury explores why he writes — its thrills and joys — writing because it is what his heart compels him do. He shares anecdotes of how he came to write various of his famous works. And he reveals how he found his success by channeling the playful and curious child within him, suggesting that others follow that lead.

”I don’t know if I believe in previous lives. I’m not sure I can live forever. But that young boy believed in both, and I have let him have his head. He has written my stories and books for me…I have trusted his passions, his fears, and his joys. He has, as a result, rarely failed me.”

These essays of Bradbury living his craft possess all the charm of his stories. Whether you are a writer seeking inspiration or a reader just looking for that Bradbury magic, this book fits the bill.

I have to start with a confession: this is my first book by Bradbury. It could seem strange to begin with this essay/memoir, but I wanted to see what he had to say about the writing process. Now, I want to read his novels even more, because he talks about creativity the same way I do. He seems touched by the same things I am.

My 3* rating may be difficult to understand. In fact, I had to skim through some less interesting parts... but there were also some treasures among those essays, so it was totally worth it! I discovered a very interesting person behind the words I read. And I'm sad knowing he passed away almost ten years ago... I feel like I just found someone I could have been friend with, but we're living in two different eras. I'm sure Bradbury could have turn this idea into a short story in a couple of hours!

There are a lot of reviews written about this short but excellent book written in the tradition of Stephen King's "On Writing", or the other way around, given that Bradbury wrote his tome first. Yet there is an energy in this book that is infectious and it points the finger to us as writers to say - "get serious about this art or get out." His prescriptions for writing are no less demanding:
1) Write one short story a week for 5 years. Perhaps after this rigour, some good stuff might come out (Bradbury wrote one short story a week for 10 years before writing "The Lake"). Quantity leads to quality.
2)Engage in word association games to provide plots
3) Let events simmer for years - 20 to 30 years is okay - before writing about them
4) Draw from childhood where most of the skeletons in the closet lie.

And yet there were lines of inspiration that I have memorized for use when I am at my lowest:
"We(writers) are trying to release the truth in all of us"
"Slanting for the commercial or literary markets are unhappy ways for writers to live in the world"
On writing - "you grow ravenous", "you run fevers".
"You must stay drunk on writing so reality does not destroy you"

He also lived at a time when he could sell his prodigious output to pulp magazines, even as an emerging writer at the age of 24, for $20-40 per story, way back in 1944 - enough to make a living off his work. I've seen going rates for stories these days as low as $10.00; sometimes reward is just the honour of being published - inflation seems to have gone in reverse in the publishing business, at least, where writer compensation is concerned.

This is certainly an inspiring book for today's aspiring writer to keep by his side as a testament to a great author who was totally dedicated to his craft and who consequently reaped the rewards of that total immersion.

It is always inspiring to read about the creative process and learn about how different writers work. Bradburys advice in this collection of essays is to follow your passion. What do you hate? What do you love? What are you afraid of? Use it. Explore it. Don't think about what people will say. Go with your gut.