Sophie Novak

Visualize Your Writing

portrait, photography, photography and writing

Are you using photographs as a tool in your writing? No matter how good your imagination may be, looking at the setting, the character or the mood you’re describing can only enhance the task at hand. A nicely taken portrait can reveal much about the character – his/her vulnerabilities, moralities, moods and feelings, origins – and suggest a story behind it. By looking into the eyes of a photographed subject, you’re looking into this person’s soul. You, as a writer, are to catch this and put it into your art: words.

The Immobilized Man in Noir Fiction

by Sophie Novak | 41 Comments

It seems that Noir fiction has penetrated literature, even though nobody is really sure what it represents. It’s become a buzzword, used for a stylish touch. Coined in France, the term Roman Noir (Black Novel), signified the Gothic literature of the 18th century originating mainly from England – ‘Frankestein’ by Mary Shelley and ‘Les Miserables’ by Victor Hugo, for example. The meaning and use of the word in fiction has, obviously, shifted over the years.

Whereas Noir can denote various fictive genres – starting from crime, detective and thriller genres to hard-boiled fiction, Gothic and terror novels – and takes many forms, one feature of Noir stands out: the one of the immobilized man.

Writers and Places: Does Location Matter?

by Sophie Novak | 43 Comments

Paris, writers and cities, writers and location

Does it matter where a writer lives: a big city or the countryside; a two-story house or a basement; a culturally diverse or monotonous neighborhood? Yes, it does. Why is this? There’s a romanticized notion that in the past, writers were generally poor, struggling to get by in attics.

Environments affect all people; this has been confirmed in sociological studies of human life, and urban studies in particular. What surrounds us affects how we feel, what we do, what we think and how we channel these thoughts and emotions.

What Murakami’s 1Q84 Teaches Us

by Sophie Novak | 43 Comments

I recently finished reading Haruki Murakami’s trilogy 1Q84, and it left me with mixed feelings. If you’re to compare any of his previous novels to 1Q84, you’ll be quite surprised. It’s different from the familiar Murakami topics, and his tone and voice have changed in this work too.

Avoiding a description of the content and putting personal preferences aside, there is much to be learned from the Japanese master’s latest work (even though he lost the Nobel race). So here are the lessons I’ve pulled out:

Do You Write from Experience or Imagination?

by Sophie Novak | 36 Comments

Is your writing fuelled by everyday life and experiences or by imagination? Of course, these two are often mixed together; yet, you probably draw more from one than the other. You may be the type of person who eavesdrops in coffee shops and later writers stories.

You may be shut down at home, pulled into a parallel world of other planets, creatures and sixth and seventh senses.

What is the Emotional Investment in Your Stories?

by Sophie Novak | 63 Comments

emotional investment, pouring your heart in writing

When you’re only just starting out as a writer, there are so many questions to be considered before you even begin: what to write about, the genre, the style, how often you should practice, and many technical ones that keep piling up the more you actually involve in the craft of writing.

Those are things that inevitably hit everyone sooner or later, so the proliferation of writing tips and advice shouldn’t be surprising at all. Most of the literary masters have offered invaluable counsel on the matters. This wide range of writing tips is good because it means there’s a bigger chance that somebody will find another person to relate to.

Do You Have a Purpose? The Absurd in Literature

by Sophie Novak | 62 Comments

Have you ever felt purposeless? Most people do at some point in life (e.g. teenage years, teenage wandering, mid-life crisis), and as a rule, it is generally considered to be a down point. But what if there’s good to be drawn out of purposelessness?

Modern Avant-Gardism: Expansion of Anti-Genres

by Sophie Novak | 8 Comments

avant-garde, modern, breaking loose, creativity

As a writer, genre is the first consideration you make before embarking on a new project. It’s more of a personal tendency, and rarely more than that. The categories are few, long-established and seldom expanded.

How is creativity to thrive in such confinement? It seems like this question has been posed by many in this modern age, resulting in experimentations in all directions.

Literature sufficiently matured to break free not only from taboos in subjects, but also in format, setup, position and the like. Today’s reader should be ready for surprise.

Are You Capturing Your Zeitgeist?

by Sophie Novak | 87 Comments

It’s interesting to note that past and overexplored themes keep coming up in new writing, like: world wars, civil wars, racial discrimination, idealized love affairs, and romanticized train journeys etc. etc.
All the mentioned topics are interesting and it seems they have a bigger appeal because they happened in the past, a time marked in literature, history, film. Yet, only because those times seem far away and something not personally witnessed it doesn’t mean the present should be annulled. You own the present, and living it should consequentially shape up majority of the stories you write. What seems boring to you now may sound intriguing to the future generations.

Writing Goals for 2013

by Sophie Novak | 42 Comments

It’s inescapable to think of goals or resolutions as the New Year is knocking at the door. Don’t be intimidated even if you’re not a goal-setting person. Looking at it as a new beginning or another chance might help. Imagine all your previous failures erased, and focus on what’s ahead. Every year, you’re given the opportunity to make a fresh start.