53. “Do You Think You’re Brave?”

In response to The New York Times article “650 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing” 53. “Do You Think You’re Brave?”   This question changes meaning depending on how you pronounce the emphatic last word.   Do I think I’m brave? Yes. I take risks, I meet challenges, and I […]

Continue reading

La Albiceleste — part(e) 4

ivanBRAVE_La Albiceleste4_2000   “My family and I moved back to our country, so my parents could finalize their divorce. And everyone blames someone else for it, except me. I blame myself.”

Continue reading

Write to reflect on action

Writer of many home-study courses for Time-Life Educational systems, Ron Bradley, was the English learning trainer who helped certify me to teach others. He has this to say about reflection:   “[Use] reflective practice to improve your teaching and professional growth: ‘If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll […]

Continue reading

10. “What Are You Afraid Of?”

In response to The New York Times article “650 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing” 10. What Are You Afraid Of?   I am afraid of answering this question. I am afraid of answering any of the “Overcoming Adversity” questions. I am afraid of uploading my answer to this blog. […]

Continue reading

Mario Levrero — 5 August 22:28

marioLEVRERO_5august2228_ivanBRAVE   D’Arienzo was one of the foremost tango conductors/composers of the last century.   Here is a clip at his best: (notice the strength of the down beat, BUM BUM BUM)

Continue reading

Twentysometing — the end

ivanBRAVE_twentysomething_ending   I’ve ridden miles and miles on Greyhound. Once, on the way back to Austin, I met a man who had been in Huntsville Prison for twenty years.   He had left an impression on me, to such a degree, that I tried to capture as much of our […]

Continue reading

Write ten Forbidden Joys (from The Artist’s Way)

Writers, does writing come easy, or is it hard? Either way, I’m sure you’d prefer it to come naturally. … Today’s writing exercise comes from Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, a book with 12-weeks of exercises to get yourself unblocked, and write (/be creative) naturally. She calls the exercise “Forbidden […]

Continue reading

Does Santa Cry?

ivanBRAVE_DoesSantaCry_900words Deep in the heart of downtown Hanoi, I walked down to the hostel lounge for some cheap breakfast. There, among a handful of hungover backpackers, I turned to what I thought would be the next empty page in my moleskin notebook. What I found, at the top left corner […]

Continue reading

La Albiceleste — part(e) 1

ivanBRAVE_La Albiceleste1_1300 The beginning. Will there be redemption? Follow failed soccer star Semis, and teenage dreamer Zulema, on their journey to fulfill their destiny.   El principio. ¿Habrá redención? Sigue a Semis, un excampeón de futbol, y a Zulema, una adolecente soñadora, en sus caminos a cumplir sus destinos.  

Continue reading

Write to gain perspective (from “The Artful Edit”)

Click here for PDF –_Practice Perspective   This semester I enrolled in Susan Bell’s Fiction Workshop. It runs like most MFA workshops–write material, present it to a classroom of peers, and then a week later listen to their comments/critiques. Bell’s class however, unlike other workshops, has two twists: the first […]

Continue reading

Mario Levrero — 5 August 03:13

Click here for PDF –_5august0313   This reading is best enjoyed after reading Levrero’s Preface. So please check out last week’s translation post first.   Hope you enjoy.   Have you read the original? How do you remember it? I am very interested in Translation in theory and in practice, […]

Continue reading