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Writing and Memory: Why It Is Important for Authors

January 10, 2018

Fiction Writing Tips, Writing

experience, fiction, growing up, literature, nostalgia, time, writing

I have talked in the past about nostalgia and reminiscence, and in this article I will emphasize the role of writing and memory in the context of writing fiction.

Many people are under the impression fiction is a process where you just “come up with things”, as if from thin air. This is inaccurate. Deep down, writing fiction is about telling a truth (often a secret or unpleasant one) in a different way.

And so, experiencing becomes an operative element: before you write you must experience. Writing and memory, therefore, go hand-in-hand. The diagram below should give you a quick idea.

Writing and Memory
The Process of Writing Fiction
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Authorial Voice: How to Develop your Own Style in Fiction

January 3, 2018

Fiction Writing Tips, Writing

author, creativity, fiction, literature, writing

I am an author of fiction (I’m also an academic writer, but let’s leave that aside for now). I have been writing fiction for decades, and examining my own evolution as a writer is a very educational process. If I had to pick the single most important improvement in my writing, that would be the emergence of my authorial voice.

Trust me when I say this: No other element in your writing is as crucial as to develop your own authorial style. The reason is, naturally, that having your own narrative voice allows you to stand out from the crowd. Selling books might not interest you (yay!) but if you’re an artist, rising above mediocrity is likely something that does interest you.

But what is authorial voice (or authorial style) and how does one develop it?

developing your own authorial voice
Developing your own authorial voice is crucial for your work to stand out.
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Despair or Apognosis (excerpts from To Cross an Ocean)

January 1, 2018

Fiction

action, book, despair, experience, fiction, Greece, knowledge, trauma

“Apognosis” – besides forming part of the title of To Cross an Ocean: Apognosis – means something very unique. As you might guess, it is a Greek work (Απόγνωσις), fairly common in Greek. It basically means “despair”, but its etymology is revealing. Apognosis literally means to willingly abandon knowledge. Although I didn’t coin the original word, I would claim its first usage in the English language.

But what does the phrase “to willingly abandon knowledge” could possibly refer to? How can you pretend not to know something? Instead of offering a long philosophical diatribe on the matter, I’ll have two of the characters of the novel do the hard work. That’s one of the roles of fiction, anyway: to make complex issues accessible and relatable.

Despair, apognosis
Come home, all is forgiven…
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