The Truth About Truth & Cliche, J Krueger

by Jacob Krueger

Cliché. If you’re a writer, you’ve probably experienced the terror this word implies about your writing:  boring, tired, overused, uninspired, uncreative, or just plain not good enough.

If you’ve ever been part of a writing class, you’ve probably had the dangers of cliché burned into your brain like a mark of shame.

 

And detecting it like a bad smell lurking in your pages despite all your attempts to avoid it, you’ve probably found yourself questioning if you really have what it takes to be a writer.
So here’s a little bit of truth for you to chew on:

 

All Writers Write Clichés.  All The Time.

Screenplays are just like people.  At first glance, they seem like they fit into certain types, but if you look at them closely, you come to realize that they are all filled with complexities and contradictions.
People are weird and strange and surprising, and absolutely nobody is normal if you’re looking at them closely.  The same is true of every character, every line of dialogue, every image and every scene of your script.

 

 

Writing a first draft of a screenplay is like going on a first date. 

Based on a very little bit of information, you extrapolate an entire story of who your characters are, and what your journey together might look like.  And as well observed as you may try to make it, this story is naturally full of clichés, because you haven’t really gotten the chance to know the character or the story deeply.
As you spend more time with your characters and your story, you start to discover all the things that make them special.  The qualities about them that you never could have seen coming on that “first date.”  Just like a relationship, this takes time, meditation and exploration… and involves going through some tough times together.

 

Clichés Are Necessary For Survival

If you were bombarded with all the complexities and contradictions of a person the first time you sat down to sip a Margarita, the chances are you’d never get to a second date with anyone.  Yet this is the mistake writers often make with their screenplays, trying to discover every layer of detail before they even have a sense of who their characters are or what their story is.

As cliché as they might be, it’s those early assumptions, that early sense of the scene, the character, or the story, that allows you to hang in long enough to decide which ones you want to explore more deeply.  And which ones you want to get the heck out of!

 

Your job as a writer is not to avoid cliché, to fear cliché, or beat yourself up over being cliché. 

When you’re feeling that desperate need to impress people as a writer, it’s hard to just sit down and be real with your characters.  So instead of worrying about how people are going to perceive your writing, put your focus on learning to step into the worlds of your characters, so you can capture them as truthfully as you possibly can.
Your job is to allow yourself the clichés you need in early phases of your writing, and then to look more closely at them, so you can uncover the truth, and turn them into more specific, more exciting or more closely observed writing.



Nobody is normal.  And no scene is normal either.  So next time you feel your writing is cliché, just sit with it awhile, and ask yourself what you’re missing.  What’s that extra detail that would make it special, and compelling?  What would be slightly cooler, slightly more exciting, or slightly more complex about the truth?
Capture that detail, and you’ll no longer have a cliché.
In fact, you may even find you have a screenplay worthy of a second date.

 

Connect to the Truth of Your Characters With Meditative Writing

 

If you’d like to discover a new way of moving beyond your clichés, connecting to your characters, developing your voice as a writer, and capturing the compelling heart of every moment of your story, I invite you to check out our new 6 Week Meditative Writing class with Jessica Hinds, starting soon.
Each class begins with a guided meditation, and then segues into a series of mind opening writing exercises designed to set free your voice as a writer and connect you to your characters, your story, and the truth of each moment in your writing.  Over several weeks, you’ll develop a meditative writing practice that you can use every time you sit down to write to get to your best writing faster, and find the inspiration you need every time you sit down to write.
I’m so excited about this class that I’m taking it as a student!  And hope that you will join me either in our NYC Studio, or through our Live Online Video Stream.

Do you really want to be a Screenwriter? ISA

By Michael Hauge

Almost every writer and every serious film fan at one time or another has at least considered writing a screenplay. Lured by the power of the big (or small) screen, and by stories of all the fame, success, awards and big, big money that other screenwriters have achieved, they get seduced by the fantasy of Hollywood.
Now no doubt some of you reading these words have already achieved a career in the industry. But my guess is that most of you are still at the 'breaking in' stage and are wondering if writing for movies or television is a silly pipe dream -- or is truly worth considering. I'd like to help you answer that question by discussing some of the realities of the movie and television business and offering both the right and the wrong motives for pursuing Hollywood.

Do You Have What It Takes To Be A Screenwriter?

I've been teaching screenwriting classes and seminars for more than fifteen years, and I've worked with thousands of movie and television writers at various stages of their careers. But, whenever I'm with a group of would-be filmmakers hoping to launch their careers, I encounter two different myths about the Hollywood obstacle course that both lead to disappointment.
The first misconception is that Hollywood is an easy path to fame and fortune. Perhaps a writer watches some brainless TV show and concludes that anybody with the I.Q. of corn could write drivel like that. Then she reads about how Joe Esterhasz sold a spec script for slightly more than the gross national product of Portugal, while she's wondering how long she can get by on her $25 check from 'Big Rig Monthly' for her article on mud flaps. And then some polite, but chicken-hearted, publisher tries to let her down easy by saying that her 873-page manuscript about the Millard Fillmore White House years would be much better as a movie. So before you know it, she's typing 'FADE IN.'
She has fallen victim to the erroneous belief that writing a movie is no harder than watching one. She thinks that everybody who sells a script will be a millionaire and that because movies and TV shows are plentiful, relatively short and frequently mediocre, there really are no rules, standards or professional skills to worry about. In other words, that screenwriting is easy.

Not True.

The other, more destructive, myth about screenwriting is just the opposite: a writer hears about the thousands of unproduced, unsold, unoptioned, unread and unopened screenplays floating around Hollywood and decides that his dream is absurd. Friends, loved ones and failed screenwriters will be happy to reinforce this belief with loads of anecdotes and statistics: everybody in Los Angeles is working on a script; it's not what you know, it's who you know; every writer in Hollywood gets ripped off; you have to live in Southern California; you have to be a young white male; and even if you could break in, writing movies is obviously a ridiculous, pointless, demeaning and hopeless pursuit for any serious writer to consider. In other words, screenwriting is impossible.

Not True Either.

The first myth described above ignores the years of pain, struggle and failure that precedes (and sometimes precludes) success for most working screenwriters. But, the second myth ignores the fact that about a hundred and fifty feature films, plus more than fifty TV movies and seventy weekly series are produced each year by the major studios and networks. And, for every film produced, an average of at least five scripts are developed and paid for. And these figures don't include non-primetime and cable television or the numerous markets for independent, educational, industrial, religious and adult movies and TV. Somebody must be writing all those stories.
Screenwriting, like any other form of professional writing, is a specific, learnable craft that requires study, talent, training, practice and an immense level of commitment. It is at various times frustrating, exciting, fulfilling, exhausting, lucrative, unfair, depressing, ego- gratifying and fun. And, it has a clearly defined set of standards, rules, parameters and methods for achieving both artistic and commercial success.
So, to decide if you want to commit your life to this particular path, ignore both the fantasies of wealth and fame and the prophets of doom and, instead, ask yourself exactly why you want to write movies or television.

The Wrong Reasons to Want to Be a Screenwriter

Screenwriting is not a wise career path if you're choosing it for any of these reasons:

1. The Money

Pursuing screenwriting because an occasional spec script sells for a million dollars is like studying hotel/motel management because Donald Trump has a big yacht. Starving screenwriters are no happier than starving poets, and if the big bucks are your only goal, by the time (if ever) you get there, the trip won't have been worth it.

2. You Want to Weave Magic With Words

If your love of writing is based on the beauty, texture, breadth and majesty of the English language, you'll be much happier as a poet, novelist or essayist. Screenwriting 'style' is much closer to that of ad copy, comic books and the sports pages than it is to great literature.

3. You Want the Respect that Comes with Being an Acclaimed Artist

Dream on. Once you sell your screenplay, it probably will be re-written by someone else (often several others) until it's unrecognizable. You're usually persona non grata while the movie is being shot, and neither the status nor the financial reward given the average screenwriter is anywhere close to proportionate to his or her contribution to the film. If you want real respect in Hollywood, become a maitre d'.

4. You Have a Strong Visual Sense

I'm not even sure what this means, but I hear it all the time, and, if anything, I think it's detrimental to successful screenwriting. Sure you want to picture what is going on on the screen, but the important talent is the ability to turn action into words. If you think only in pictures and are very right-brained, pursuing a career in production design, cinematography or directing might make more sense.

5. You Want to Adapt Your Own Novel (or Play or Life Story)

This is hard to accept, I know, but trust me: if your novel or play wasn't published or produced in its original form, it's extremely unlikely it's going to work as a movie. And, by now, you're much too emotionally attached to your original story. You will never be objective enough about it to make the numerous changes necessary for it to become a commercial script.
The same holds true for your own life experiences (or those of your grandparents). Yes, your life has been thrilling, painful, passionate, moving and glorious for you. But, I'm afraid the mass audience really isn't interested.
(It's fine to draw on your own experiences, but only to provide an arena for a fictional story. And if you want to be both a novelist and screenwriter, choose separate stories that are best suited to each medium. Just don't mix the two until someone offers you money to adapt your work into script form.)

6. You Want to Improve the Quality of Movies

If you don't like the stuff that's coming out of Hollywood nowadays, and you find yourself gravitating to foreign films and Fred Astaire festivals at the local Cineplex, or if you don't see at least one current American movie a month, then screenwriting probably isn't for you.
I don't think you'll ever be very happy pursuing a career in an industry you don't like. And you won't be able to change Hollywood. The most you can hope for is to write the best screenplays you can within the parameters of the system. Or else blaze your own trail outside the mainstream arena with low budget, independent films. But success there, which is even tougher to achieve, still requires a basic love for the movies.

The Right Reasons to Want to Be a Screenwriter

1. The Money

Yes, I know I just said that untold wealth is the wrong reason for pursuing screenwriting. But if money isn't your only motive, and you know you want to write, then you can probably make more as a steadily working screenwriter than with any other form of writing. Just remember that it's a package deal, and all of the other rules and obstacles are included.

2. You Get to Tell Stories

If creating unique, captivating characters and taking them over seemingly insurmountable obstacles to achieve visible, bigger-than-life goals is the kind of writing that thrills you, then you should consider movie writing.

3. You Love the Movies (and/or Television)

You not only love seeing them, you relish the challenge of staying within a rigid formula and creating a visual story that is original, thoughtful and emotionally captivating.

4. You'll Reach a Huge Audience

More people saw last week's episode of 'The West Wing' than have read 'Gone With the Wind'. Makes you stop and think, doesn't it?

5. You Love to Write

Screenwriting may not employ all the big words in the dictionary, but you still get to spend your day lost in the power of language.

In summary, if you're wondering whether to begin (or continue) your pursuit of screenwriting, forget both the defeatist statistics and the dreams of glory and riches. And omit the word 'easy' from your vocabulary entirely; there is NO form of professional writing or filmmaking worth pursuing because it's easy. Instead, ask yourself if your joy will come from within the process of sitting every day at your computer and creating a story for the big or small screen.

If the answer is truly 'yes' and your motives match those listed above, then close the door, fire up your computer and start writing.

What is your Character's Wish-Song? Jacob Krueger!

http://www.writeyourscreenplay.com

I recently saw a trailer for the upcoming film version of Les Miserables—a series of evocative images from the film, underscored by Fantine’s tear-inducing musical theme:  I Dreamed a Dream.

Yeah, I found myself emotionally moved by a promotional trailer.
 
But more importantly, I found myself thinking about the power of a wish-song to provide an emotional structure for your character’s journey, even if you’re not writing a musical.
 
In musicals, it’s easy to connect with a character’s wish-song, because they tend to sing it right at us:
 
In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy sings of escaping to a better place, “Somewhere Over The Rainbow.”
 
In Fiddler on The Roof, Tevya sings his dream of an easier life, “If I Were A Rich Man.”
 
In the prologue of Into The Woods the entire cast sings of the things they wish for “more than life… more than anything”.
 
And in the most twisted wish-song of all, Sweeney Todd and the Judge sing their dark longings for love and revenge in Pretty Women.
 
These wish-songs not only become the musical themes for these characters, they also provide a powerful drive to their journeys, and a way for the writer to attack them at their most vulnerable places.

As writers, we discover the wishes to grant our characters, and the wishes to take away, in order to force them to undergo profound changes.
 
In Dorothy’s case, she gets exactly what she wished for, only to discover that “there’s no place like home.
 
Tevya will not only lose the opportunity for an easier life, but also his daughters, his family’s traditions, and the town he calls home.
 
Each character in Into The Woods will gain and lose their one true wish.
 
And Sweeney Todd’s revenge against the Judge will ultimately cost him both his daughter and the one woman he truly loved.
 
In musicals, characters sing their wish songs in music and lyrics.  But in traditional narrative films, characters have wish songs as well.  They sing them through their actions, their interactions with other characters, the ways they pursue what they so desperately want.

Every character has a wish-song.  They just sing them in different ways.

In There Will Be Blood, Daniel Plainview “sings” his desperate wish for financial success in a silent opening sequence in which he mines first for silver and then for oil against impossible odds.
 
In The Godfather, Vito Corleone “sings” his hopes for a different life for his son Michael:  “I always thought that when it was your time, that you would be the one to hold the strings. Senator Corleone, Governor Corleone, something.”
 
In Black Swan, the main character “sings” her desire for perfection by destroying her white swan veneer in pursuit of the black swan underneath.
 
Even a ridiculous character like Zoolander gets a powerful wish song:  The Center For Kids Who Can’t Read Good And Wanna Learn To Do Other Stuff Good Too.   
 
When you know your character’s wish song, you know their expectations, their dreams, their hopes, the tangible and intangible things they are pursuing.
 
That means you not only have an opportunity to dramatize their pursuit of these things, but you also have the chance to make it hurt when you take them away.

So take a moment to think about your character’s wish song.

What would they be singing if they could sing it?  And how can they sing it in your movie, through the choices they make in every scene?

Is The Audience Listening to your Dialogue?

THE SOCIAL NETWORK: Is The Audience Listening To Your Dialogue?
By, Jacob Krueger 

Remember the first scene of The Social Network? Aaron Sorkin’s spitfire banter ricocheting at high velocity between Mark Zuckerberg and his girlfriend Erica.

The scene is so brilliantly written, you probably barely noticed that you didn’t understand half of what these characters were saying to each other!

With characters talking faster than the ear can hear or the mind can process, there’s no way an audience can keep up with Sorkin’s dialogue. Heck, even Erica keeps losing the thread of Mark’s obsessively tortuous conversation, and she’s a smart cookie.

Like Erika, you probably found yourself breathlessly “dating a stairmaster” as you tried to keep up with even half of Mark’s relentless onslaught of words.

But here’s what you probably remember:
•    Mark is mind numbingly obsessed with getting into a final club.
•    Erica desperately wants to talk about ANYTHING else.
•    These characters are both REALLY smart, but even Erika can’t keep up with Mark’s overactive mind.
•    Mark pushes things too far and Erica breaks up with him.
•    Erica furiously puts Mark in his place with this zinger: “You’re going to go through life thinking girls don’t like you because you’re a tech geek. And I want you to know…that won’t be true. It’ll be because you’re an asshole”

As writers, we all love words. And nobody loves words more than Aaron Sorkin. But for all the subtle nuances of his language, Sorkin knows a secret that most young writers forget.

The Audience Isn’t Listening To Your Dialogue
 
It’s nice to think of your enraptured audience, hanging on your every word, lingering on your thematic motifs, and preparing treatises on the finer points of your arguments.

But the truth of the matter is that movie dialogue, just like real life conversation, usually happens way too quickly for that.

Audiences hear dialogue… but they pay attention to action. And that doesn’t just mean car chases and exploding buildings.

It means the things characters are doing with their dialogue: the powerful needs and dramatic conflicts between them that force them to say what they say in the way that only they could say it.

Get these underlying desires right, and you can get away with just about anything in your dialogue.

Why The Social Network Works
 
Let’s face it, if you heard a someone was planning to start a movie with an eight page conversation full of information about Harvard University final clubs, SAT scores and IQ percentages in China, you probably expected the most boring script in history.

Yet, despite the fact that the rather unlikeable main character spends the whole scene talking about stuff that most people (including his girlfriend) don’t have a shred of interest in, Sorkin’s scene is unmistakably compelling.

It’s Mark’s desperate desire to be appreciated and accepted for his superior intellect that fuels every word he utters. And ironically, it’s that same need that drives Erica away over the course of the scene. That is the drama that we are watching over these eight pages. Not the dialogue itself, but the pressure that dialogue creates between two characters who can’t get what they need from each other.

This allows the audience to connect to the story of the scene, and while we may lose some of the specific words within Sorkin’s complex verbal gymnastics, no one can escape the power of the scene, or the meaning that those words contain.

We learn that meaning not through the words themselves. But through the way those words are spoken, and the powerful needs that drive the characters to say them.

What The Heck is Dialogue Anyway?
 
Many young writers are terrified of dialogue, thinking of the character’s words as something they add to a script after they’ve figured out the story, and worrying about “getting it right” and making it sound “realistic”.

Others think of dialogue as a way of explaining things to the audience, and spend their time trying to “sneak in” exposition, without ever thinking about what their character wants, or why they are saying it in the first place.

Still, others love writing dialogue, but nevertheless find their scripts filled with “talking heads” scenes of characters sitting in a room, exchanging brilliant ideas without ever getting their stories started.

That’s why it’s so important to understand what dialogue actually is and what it does within a screenplay.

Just Another Way of Getting What You Want
 
If you want to write great dialogue, the first step is letting go of the conception that dialogue is something characters SAY to one another.

Instead, I want to encourage you to think of dialogue as something characters DO to one another.

Whether your characters are talking about a glass of milk (Quentin Tarantino’s first scene of Inglorious Basterds), or the very nature of dreams and reality (Christopher Nolan’s Inception), whether your dialogue is naturalistic as David Mamet’s (American Buffalo) or as heightened as David Milch’s (Deadwood), if the motivations underneath your dialogue are powerful enough, your audience will connect to them, and to the story of your scene.

Αστερόσκονη. Στίχοι: Μενέλαος Γκίκας!

Ελλειπτικός, μεταφορικός, ποιητικός λόγος

Ένα παιδί που έλεγε πάντα σαγαπώ
μέσα στις σκέψεις του έδινε χρώμα και ομορφιά
δεν είχε σημασία αν ήταν πηγάδι ή άνθρωπος
μία μελωδία χορού ή αστερόσκονη
σημασία είχανε οι στιγμές, το αύριο
Έξαφνα μία νεράιδα συνάντησε το παιδί
θέλησε να του μάθει τη σημασία του καλού Αγώνα
αλήθειες που λέγονται αλλά και αποσιωπούνται
Το παιδί σταμάτησε να λέει πάντα σαγαπώ
έβαλε ένα περιστέρι στη θέση των λέξεων
Ένα περιστέρι λευκό, όμορφο και με μεγάλα φτερά
τι να σήμαινε τώρα το σαγαπώ?
Η νεράιδα έδωσε στο παιδί το περιστέρι
ένα πνεύμα συντροφικό και ευγενικό
το παιδί σταμάτησε να λέει πάντα σαγαπώ
Έξαφνα φοβήθηκε, αναστατώθηκε
πλησίασε τη νεράιδα αλλά δεν του μίλησε
κάτι του έκρυβε, μία μακρινή υπόσχεση
τι να σήμαινε τώρα το σαγαπώ?
Ένα πουλί, ένας αγγελιοφόρος
Το παιδί σταμάτησε να λέει σαγαπώ
και η αστερόσκονη γέμισε το χώρο
Η νεράιδα πέταξε ψηλά, μία μαγική ουρά
οι στίχοι ζωντάνεψαν, το δάσος ζωντάνεψε
η ιστορία ενός μεγάλου παραμυθά
Να υποσχεθείς ότι δεν θα πας ποτέ εκεί
τι να σήμαινε τώρα το σαγαπώ?

Μέσα από ένα αστρόπλοιο! Στίχοι: Μενέλαος Γκίκας.

Ελλειπτικός, μεταφορικός, ποιητικός λόγος

Τα άστρα φωτίζουν τους μύθους της νύχτας
σε ένα ταξίδι μαγείας και φαντασίας
μέσα στα χρώματα του ουρανού, στην αστερόσκονη
ένα μικρό παιδί ανακαλύπτει τον κόσμο
Τα πλάσματα της φύσης ξαπλώνουν δίπλα του
και σιγοτραγουδούν τις μελωδίες του Σύμπαντος
πόσο γλυκιά και φωτεινή γίνεται ξαφνικά η νύχτα
οι ιστορίες των άστρων φαντάζουν σαν κύμα
Κύμα που κατακλύζει τους ταξιδιώτες
κύμα που ταξιδεύει το μαγεμένο αστρόπλοιο
κάποιες καλά κρυμμένες νότες αφήνουν τη χροιά τους
και ξαφνικά το πλοίο γίνεται η πλάση
Τώρα τα άστρα νανουρίζουν το μικρό παιδί
οι μύθοι της πλάσης είναι τα όνειρά του
και σαν νεφέλωμα φαντάζει πια το δωμάτιό του
πέρα από τους γαλαξίες, πέρα από την ύλη
Πέρα από την πλάση, πιο μακριά από τα μάγια
εκεί θέλει να ταξιδέψει το μικρό παιδί
θέλει να φθάσει στον αρχέγονο μύθο
θέλει να λύσει τους γρίφους της Γένεσης!

Η Άγια Φλόγα. Στίχοι: Μενέλαος Γκίκας.

Ελλειπτικός, μεταφορικός, ποιητικός λόγος

Κοίταζα τη φωτιά
Άκουγα τους ήχους του ξύλου
Έβλεπα τη φλόγα να πολλαπλασιάζεται
άφηνα το μυαλό μου να ταξιδεύει
ήθελα να σηκωθώ, ήθελα να κάτσω
κοίταζα τη φωτιά
Σκέφτηκα να κάνω ότι δεν έκανα
σκέφτηκα να γράψω σε ένα χαρτί
σκέφτηκα να ανοίξω ένα βιβλίο
σκέφτηκα να φτιάξω ένα δικό μου
Κοίταζα τη φωτιά
είχε το χρώμα του φωτός και της
δύναμης, ένα οικείο χρώμα
μία μακρινή γενναία γλώσσα
Μία ιερή δύναμη
κοίταζα τη φωτιά
έφερα στο μυαλό μου το πυρ
το πυρ του Θεού, το πυρ το Άγιο
Το πυρ της βούλησης, της θρησκείας
κοίταζα τη φωτιά
και ξαφνικά βρέθηκα μέσα
η φωτιά ξεδιπλώθηκε
Οι εικόνες απόκτησαν χρώματα
βρέθηκα σε κάποιο άλλο μέρος
είδα ένα ταξιδιώτη, έναν άγγελο
κοίταζα τη φωτιά.

Ιθάκη.

Σα βγεις στον πηγαιμό για την Ιθάκη,
να εύχεσαι ναναι μακρύς ο δρόμος,
γεμάτος περιπέτειες, γεμάτος γνώσεις.
Τους Λαιστρυγόνας και τους Κύκλωπας,
τον θυμωμένο Ποσειδώνα μη φοβάσαι,
τέτοια στο δρόμο σου ποτέ σου δεν θα βρεις,
αν μεν η σκέψις σου υψηλή, αν εκλεκτή
συγκίνησις το πνεύμα και το σώμα σου αγγίζει.
Τους Λαιστρυγόνας και τους Κύκλωπας,
τον άγριο Ποσειδώνα δεν θα συναντήσεις,
αν δεν τους κουβανείς μες στην ψυχή σου,
αν η ψυχή σου δεν τους στήνει εμπρός σου.
Να εύχεσαι ναναι μακρύς ο δρόμος.
Πολλά τα καλοκαιρινά πρωϊα να είναι
που με τι ευχαρίστησι, με τι χαρά
θα μπαίνεις σε λιμένας πρωτοειδωμένους
να σταματήσεις σ'εμπορεία Φοινικικά,
και τες καλές πραγμάτειες ν'αποκτήσεις,
σεντέφια και κοράλλια, κεχριμπάρια κ'έβενους,
και ηδονικά μυρωδικά κάθε λογής
όσο μπορείς πιο άφθονα ηδονικά μυρωδικά
σε πόλεις Αιγυπτιακές πολλές να πας,
να μάθεις και να μάθεις απ'τους σπουδασμένους.
Πάντα στο νου σου ναχεις την Ιθάκη.
Το φθάσιμον εκεί είν' ο προορισμός σου.
Αλλά μη βιάζεις το ταξίδι διόλου.
Καλλίτερα χρόνια πολλά να διαρκέσει
και γέρος πια να αράξεις στο νησί,
πλούσιος με όσα κέρδισες στο δρόμο,
μη προσδωκόντας πλούτη να σε δώσει η Ιθάκη.
Η Ιθάκη σ'έδωσε τ' ωραίο ταξίδι.
Χωρίς αυτήν δεν θαβγαινες στον δρόμο.
Αλλά δεν έχει να σε δώσει πια.
Κι αν πτωχική την βρεις, η Ιθάκη δεν σε γέλασε.
Έτσι σοφός που έγινες, με τόση πείρα,
ήδη θα το κατάλαβες η Ιθάκες τι σημαίνουν

Από τα άπαντα του Καβάφη!

Victor Hugo's Passion for Greatness!

Some authors we love for the beauty of their texts. This is the purest sort of reader-writer relationship, the closest to perfection. Other writers leave their imprint on us because of their life stories, their passion for writing, or their place in history. For me, Victor Hugo belongs to that second group. In my youth i knew him as a novelist, as the author of Les Miserables. I loved him for the way he conveyed the chemistry of great cities, the high drama of their streets, and for the way he could show the logic by which two entirely unrelated things could happen in a city at the same time (as Parisians are attacking one another's barricades in 1832, we have the sound of billiards coming from two streets away). He influenced Dostoyevsky; when i was young, and wedded to a melodramatic vision of cities as dark and dirty places where the poor and defeated congregate, he influenced me too. When i grew a bit older, Hugo's voice began to annoy me; I found it pompous, affected, ostentatious, and artificial. In his historical novel Ninenty-Three, he spends a great many annoying pages describing a loose cannon rolling back and forth on a ship in a storm. When he took Faulkner to task for being influenced by Hugo, Nabokov offered a cruel example: "L'homme regardait le gibet, le gibet regardait l'homme." What has influenced me the most - and disturbed me most about Hugo's life - was his use of emotion (in the negative sense of this romantic world!) to confect greatness through rhetoric and high drama. All French intellectuals, from Zola to Sartre, owe a debt to Hugo and his passion for greatness; his concept of the politically engaged writer as champion of truth and justice has exerted a deep influence on world literature. Overly aware of his passion for greatness - and mindful of the fact that he had achieved it - Hugo became a living symbol of his ideal, thereby turning himself into a statue. His self-conscious moral and political gestures gave him an artificial air, and that cannot help but make a reader uneasy. In his discussion of "Shakespeare's genius," Hugo himself said that the enemy of greatness was falseness. In spite of all his posturing, Hugo's triumphant return from political exile endowed him with a certain authenticity, as did his flair for public speaking, and his heroes live on in Europe's - and the world's - imagination. Perhaps this is simply because France and French literature were for so long at the forefront of civilization. Once upon a time, and no matter how nationalistic they were, France's writers spoke not just to France but to all of humanity. But it's not that way today. Perhaps that is why France's continuing affection for this strangest of great authors speaks above all of nostalgia for her lost days of glory.

Orhan Pamuk: Others Colours, ESSAYS AND A STORY, Writings on Life, Art, Books and Cities.

Η Αποκάλυψη του Ιωάννη. Άλμπρεχτ Ντύρερ. Κεφάλαιο ΚΑ.

Και είδα νέο ουρανό και νέα γη (ο ουρανός και η γη, οι πριν, είχαν φύγει) και η θάλασσα άλλο δεν ήταν. Και την πόλη την άγια, την Ιερουσαλήμ, εγώ ο Ιωάννης, νέα την είδα, απ'τον ουρανό να κατέρχεται - απ'τον Θεό ορισμένη-στολισμένη και έτοιμη σαν νύφη για τον άντρα της.

Και άκουσα φωνή δυνατή απ΄τον θρόνο του ουρανού, που έλεγε "ιδού η σκηνή του Θεού και των ανθρώπων, και θα σκηνώσει μαζί τους και θα είναι αυτοί ο λαός του και θα'ναι Αυτός γι'αυτούς ο Θεός τους, και θα σκουπίσει ο Θεός κάθε τους δάκρυ και δε θα υπάρχει άλλο ο θάνατος, ούτε πένθος ούτε κραυγή, ούτε πόνος θα υπάρχει, διότι τα παλιά όλα πέρασαν".

Και είπε αυτός που καθόταν στο θρόνο: "Ιδού, νέα τα κάνω τα πάντα". Και λέει ξανά: "Γράψε ότι οι λόγοι αυτοί είναι πιστοί και αλήθεια".

Και μου είπε: "Έγιναν. Εγώ είμαι το Α και το Ω, η αρχή και το τέλος. Εγώ θα δώσω στον διψασμένο να πιεί νερό δωρεάν, απ'την πηγή της ζωής.

Ο νικητής θα τα κληρονομήσει αυτά, και θα είμαι γι'αυτόν ο Θεός, και αυτός θα είναι ο γιος μου.

Και οι δειλοί και άπιστοι, οι σιχαμένοι και οι φονιάδες, και οι πόρνοι, οι ειδωλολάτρες και οι μάγοι και οι ψεύτες, όλοι το μεράδι τους το έχουν στη λίμνη που μέσα της καίει φωτιά και θειάφι, που είναι ο δεύτερος θάνατος".

Και ήρθε ένας απ'τους επτά αγγέλους που κρατούσαν τις επτά κούπες γεμάτες με τις πληγές τις επτά και τις έσχατες, και μιλώντας μου είπε: "Ελα, θα σου δείξω τη νύφη, τη γυναίκα του Αρνιού".

Και με έφερε έμπνοο σε όρος ψηλό και μεγάλο, και μου έδειξε την πόλη τη μεγάλη, την Άγια Ιερουσαλήμ, να κατεβαίνει εξουρανού με θέληση θεία, λάμποντας μέσα στη δόξα του Θεού. Η λάμψη της ήταν ίδια με λάμψη πολύτιμου λίθου, φεγγοβόλημα ίασπη.

Και είχε τείχος ψηλό και μεγάλο, με δώδεκα πύλες, και στις πύλες ήταν δώδεκα άγγελοι, και ήταν γραμμένα και ονόματα δώδεκα και τα ονόματα ήταν των δώδεκα φυλών των υιών του Ισραήλ.

Στην Ανατολή πύλες τρεις, και τρεις στο Βοριά, τρεις στο Νοτιά και τρεις προς τη Δύση. Και το τείχος της πόλης με θεμέλια δώδεκα, και στα θεμέλια πάνω τα ονόματα των δώδεκα αποστόλων του Αρνιού.

Κι αυτός που μου μιλούσε κρατούσε για μέτρο καλάμι χρυσό να μετρήσει μ'αυτό την πόλη και τις πύλες και το τείχος.

Και η πόλη τετράγωνη κείται και το μήκος της είναι όσο το πλάτος. Και μέτρησε την πόλη με το καλάμι, δώδεκα χιλιάδες στάδια ήταν, μήκος και πλάτος και ύψος τα ίδια.

Και μέτρησε το τείχος της εκατόν σαράντα τέσσερις πήχεις το μήκος, κατά το μέτρο του ανθρώπου, δηλαδή του αγγέλου.

Και τα τείχη ήταν κτισμένα με ίασπη, και η πόλη με καθάριο χρυσό, σαν γυαλί ολοκάθαρο. Και τα θεμέλια του τείχους της πόλης στολισμένα με κάθε πολύτιμη πέτρα.

Το πρώτο θεμέλιο ήταν με ίασπη, το δεύτερο σάπφειρο, το τρίτο χαλκηδόνιο, το τέταρτο σμαράγδι, το πέμπτο σαρδόνυχας, σάρδιο το έκτο, το έβδομο χρυσόλιθος, το όγδοο βερύλιο, το ένατο τοπάζι, το δέκατο χρυσόπρασος, υάκινθος το ενδέκατο και το δωδέκατο αμέθυστος.

Και οι δώδεκα πύλες, δώδεκα μαργαριτάρια, ένα η καθεμιά της. Και η πλατεία της πόλης ατόφιο χρυσάφι σαν γυαλί διαυγέστατο. Ναό δεν είδα στην πόλη. Ο Κύριος ο Θεός ο Παντοκράτωρ είναι ο ναός της, και το Αρνί.

Και δεν έχει ανάγκη η πόλη από ήλιο ούτε από φεγγάρι να φωτίζεται, γιατί τη φώτισε η δόξα του Θεού, και το Αρνί, το λυχνάρι της.

Και στης πολιτείας το φως θα βαδίσουν τα έθνη όσα σωθούν, και οι βασιλιάδες της γης θα της φέρουν τη δόξα.

(Και οι πύλες της πόλης δε θα κλείσουν ποτέ, γιατί νύχτα εκεί δε θα υπάρχει.)

Και θα της φέρνουν οι πύλες των εθνών την τιμή και τη δόξα. Και στην πόλη δε θα μπει τίποτα μολυσμένο, ούτε ψεύτης και σίχαμα, μόνο οι γραμμένοι στο βιβλίο ζωής του Αρνιού.

Candle in the Wind: Elton John.

Goodbye Norma Jean
Though i never knew you at all
You had the grace to hold yourself
While those around you crawled
They crawled out of the woodwork
And they whispered into your brain
They set you on the treadmill
And they made you change your name

And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind
Never knowing who to cling to
When the rain set it
And i would have liked to have known you
But i was just a kid
Your candle burned out long before
Your legend ever did

Loneliness was tough
The toughest role you ever played
Hollywood created a superstar
And pain was the price you paid
Even when you died
Oh the press still hounded you
All the papers had to say
Was that Marylin was found in the nude

Goodbye Norma Jean
From the young man in the 22nd row
Who sees you as something more than sexual
More than just our Marylin Monroe

Written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin.

Tiny Dancer: Elton John.

Blue jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band
Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you'll marry a music man
Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand
And now she's in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand

Jesus freaks out in the street
Handing tickets out for God
Turning back she just laughs
The boulevard is not that bad

Piano man he makes his stand
in the auditorium
Looking on she sings the songs
The words she knows, the tune she hums

But oh how it feels so real
Lying here with no one near
Only you and you can't hear me
When i say softly, slowly

Hold me closer tiny dancer
Count the headlights on the highway
Lay me down in sheets of linen
you had a busy day today

Blue jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band
Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you'll marry a music man
Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand
And now she's in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand

I guess that's why they call it the blues. Elton John.

Don't wish it away
Don't look at it like it's forever
Between you and me i could honestly say
That things can only get better

And while i'm away
Dust out the demons inside
And it won't be long before you and me run
To the place in our hearts where we hide

And i guess that's why they call it the blues
Time on my hands could be time spent with you
Laughing like children, living like lovers
Rolling like thunder under the covers
And i guess that's why they call it the blues

Just stare into space
Picture my face in your hands
Live for each second without hesitation
And never forget i'm your man

Wait on me girl
Cry in the night if it helps
But more than ever i simply love you
More than i love life itself

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: Elton John

When are you gonna come down
When are you going to land
I should have stayed on the farm
I should have listened to my old man

You know you can't hold me forever
I didn't sign up with you
I'm not a present for your friends to open
This boy's too young to be singing the blues

So goodbye yellow brick road
Where the dogs of society howl
You can't plant me in your penthouse
I'm going back to my plough

Back to the howling old owl in the woods
Hunting the horny back toad
Oh I've finally decided my future lies
Beyond the yellow brick road

What do you think you'll do then
I bet that'll shoot down your plane
It'll take you a couple of vodka and tonics
To set you on your feet again

Maybe you'll get a replacement
There's plenty like me to be found
Mongrels who ain't got a penny
Sniffing for titbits like you on the ground

Written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin!

Promise to try.

Το τραγούδι αυτό είναι της Μαντόνα. Είναι αρκετά παλιό, αλλά εξαιρετικό τόσο σε στίχο όσο και σε μουσική. Λέγεται "promise to try" και σας το παρουσιάζω:

Little girl, don't you forget her face
laughing away your tears
when she was the one
who felt all the pain
Little girl, never forget her eyes
keep them alive inside
I promise to try
but it's not the same

Keep your head held high
ride like the wind
never look behind
life isn't fair
that's what you said
so try not to care

Little girl, dont run away so fast
i think you forgot to kiss
kiss her goodbye
Will she see me cry
when i stumble and fall
does she hear my voice
in the night when i call
wipe away all your tears
it's gonna be allright

I fought to be so strong
i guess you knew
i was afraid
you'd go away too
Little girl, you've got to forget the past
and learn to forgive me
i promise to try
but it feels like a lie

Don't let memory play games with your mind
she's a faded smile frozen in time
i am still hanging on
but i am doing it wrong
Can't kiss her goodbye
but i promise to try