Jack SpyWriter King | Author of Suspense

Why do writers write?

spywriter — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:16:29 +0000

“I think that anyone who writes anything, imagines that someone will read it, even if he writes only for self. I ask myself this question: can you write, and not act out a role? A man wants to be a stranger to himself. Not in the role he plays, but in the subconscious decision that in whatever role he assigns to himself, lies his reality. At times I feel that a man comes through, out of what he wrote, like a snake from its skin. That’s it: you can not express yourself in writing, you can only lose your skin. But who is interested in this dead skin?! Does it matter whether the reader will ever be able to read anything from it, beyond what is himself? Writing is done not to communicate with readers, or with yourself, but to communicate with that, which can not be expressed otherwise.”
Max Frisch, in I am not Stiller (my quick, and imperfect translation from German). Get the English book here.

US intelligence community to brush up on literature

spywriter — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:46:14 +0000

Well, not exatly. They’re going to leave it up to computers, and the interest spans literature and spoken word, all in an effort to catch the meaning behind that, which is often elusive: metaphors.

“Researchers with the US Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity want to build a repository of metaphors. You read that right. Not just American/English metaphors mind you but those of Iranian Farsi, Mexican Spanish and Russian speakers.

In the end the program should produce a methodology, tools and techniques together with a prototype system that will identify metaphors that provide insight into cultural beliefs. It should also help build structured framework that organizes the metaphors associated with the various dimensions of an analytic problem and build a metaphor repository where all metaphors and related information are captured for future reference and access[...]

Stories exert a powerful influence on human thoughts and behavior. They consolidate memory, shape emotions, cue heuristics and biases in judgment, influence in-group/out-group distinctions, and may affect the fundamental contents of personal identity. It comes as no surprise that these influences make stories highly relevant to vexing security challenges such as radicalization, violent social mobilization, insurgency and terrorism, and conflict prevention and resolution. Therefore, understanding the role stories play in a security context is a matter of great import and some urgency”.

From: http://m.networkworld.com/community/blog/apple-my-eye-us-fancies-huge-metaphor-reposit

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How to help children fall in love with books

spywriter — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:29:46 +0000

“Get a library card and plan regular visits.

Turn off the television and have family reading time.

Buy books as gifts for birthdays and other special occasions.

Participate in your school’s book lending, book fair and book buying programs.

Encourage your child to participate in reading clubs at school and at the public library.

Attend special events where authors of your child’s favourite books are reading or signing books.”

More tips: http://www.cramahe-now.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2378:board-offers-reading-tips-for-families&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=61

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America reads

spywriter — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:25:04 +0000

“Poverty in no way stops anyone from being literate. You can see that in the immigrants who work they way up the ladder by reading books. Remember that author Ray Bradbury was too poor to go to college. So he sat most of the day in the public library and read as many books as time permitted.

And other authors in the literary world did the same. It doesn’t take a lot of money to create a world of literacy in your environment. Literacy is an enriching experience as far as life and experience because it opens doors and inspires imagination.”

Here are some of the most/least literate cities in America:

“The nation’s capital has scored top literacy honors for the second year in a row, ranking No. 1 as the “most literate” city in America. But when it comes to literacy, not many people in Congress read all those laws from first to last page, because many prefer action novels based on factual possibilities, it has been said.

New York city is not the most literate in spite of the publishing industry centered in NYC for decades. For example, if you want to meet writers and see ads for writers from agents and publishers, there are associations and societies in New York City with so many literary contacts regarding publishers, that New York has become a hub for publishers and writers to connect.

San Francisco has numerous book clubs made up of both authors and readers. And San Francisco is listed pretty high on the list of literacy as number 6, compared to Sacramento, a two-hour Amtrak train ride east, as Sacramento was listed low on the scale of literacy at 45. Who reads more Sacramentans or San Francisco residents? Observe the difference in numbers. Is it being near the ocean that helps people relax over books, newspapers, or magazines?”

More: http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/11385961-usa-cities-ranked-as-the-most-and-least-literate

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Read fiction to succeed in business

spywriter — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 17:42:03 +0000

“A lifelong habit of reading great novels exposes the mind to many more human dramas than are available in real life.

It enables a deeper understanding of the human animal and its subtle psychological nuances.

That understanding will help you deal with people much better – and in business these days, it’s the people that matter.

“It’s when we read fiction that we have the time and opportunity to think deeply about the feelings of others, really imagining the shape and flavour of alternate worlds of experience.”

Truly great novelists have a very sharp eye when it comes to watching the way people live, relate and interact. They are able to weave this understanding into their characters and plot and dramatic structure, to create a product that leaves the brain stimulated in a way few other experiences can deliver.

“Business is about life, and so is fiction. The great businessperson must understand people, their driving emotions, their ambitions and their fears, and what causes their rise or fall. A great novelist delivers precisely that understanding.”

More: http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Reading+fiction+good+for+improving++business+acumen+/-/539444/1312066/-/1io5ga/-/

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Fiction breaks the shackles of reality

spywriter — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 15:36:22 +0000

“What Houdini did on the physical plane, readers of fiction – often without realising it – do on the level of consciousness: escape from the chain-bound ‘reality’ of their own lives, their own ego, into a larger, freer sphere of a pan-consciousness…

Creative fiction is not lies, it is a breaking of the shackles of ‘reality’ by escaping from one’s own consciousness into the consciousness of others. When we read Mark Twain we become, for a while, Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, when we read Conan Doyle we become Watson and Holmes.

Of course, this is escapist entertainment. But this exchange of consciousness – the voluntary surrendering of one’s own consciousness for the consciousness of others – is also an exercise in empathy, the ability to see things from another’s point of view, which is the source of compassion, the realisation that behind the veil of differentiation, all consciousness is interconnected, interchangeable.”

More: http://m.timesofindia.com/home/opinion/speaking-tree/The-story-behind-storybooks/articleshow/11587652.cms

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Reading fiction brings you to reality

spywriter — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:50:30 +0000

“When it comes to figuring out crucial lessons of human behavior, timeless works of fiction are unparalleled primers. As Keith Oatley, a professor in the department of human development and applied psychology at the University of Toronto, recently told the Guardian: “Reading fiction improves understanding of others, and this has a very basic importance in society, not just in the general way [of] making the world a better place by improving [empathy] … but in specific areas such as politics, business, and education.”

When E.M. Forster asked a hypothetical reader in his book Aspects of the Novel why he read fiction, the character said, “It seems a funny sort of question to ask—a novel’s a novel—well, I don’t know—I suppose it tells a story, so to speak.” The story is essential, of course, to keep us engaged. But those of us who are drawn to novels aren’t there purely for entertainment (particularly not in this era when we can watch all the movies, television shows, and viral videos we want). No, most of us go between the pages to get inside different minds and learn more about how people tick. It’s no coincidence that the world’s best novelists are some of our most outstanding psychologists.”

Reading fiction will help your love life: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/01/20/virgil-jane-austen-and-other-authors-can-teach-us-about-love.html

How to turn kids into readers

spywriter — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:22:22 +0000

When I was a kid growing up overseas there were only two channels on TV, and neither went live until sometime in the afternoon, so my parents could not place me in front of the nanny that is the TV, in hope that it would raise me. Instead they gave me books and colored pencils to draw on the pages. I can’t claim that this turned me into a writer, but perhaps it did help make me a reader. How do you turn your kids into readers these days? A parenting column offers this advise:

“In her column, D’Arcy asked Meyers how parents should go about instilling a love of books and reading in their children.

Meyers had a lot to say, listing multiple tips for pre- to early readers and even a few for older readers.

One inspired idea is for parents to turn down the sound of the television when a child is watching a program and asking the child to tell the story of what he or she thinks is going on.

Another idea I liked is for a child to have his own bookshelf in his room. A sense of “ownership” is big with kids.

As you might guess, regular trips to the library or bookstore– I choose library for financial and mental-sanity reasons– are key. As is letting kids pick what they want to read.

Another inspired idea is browsing author’s websites.

Meyers also reminds parents not to forget poetry.

For big kids, Meyers urges parents to make reading a family activity.”

More: http://blogs.babycenter.com/mom_stories/01172012how-to-raise-a-reader/

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No Society without Literature

spywriter — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:51:35 +0000

“Literature is all-encompassing: it ranges from societal utilitarianism of the didactic through to the celebration of individualism embodied in post-modern work. Literature, as part of a larger cultural body, is both instructive and entertaining, and has the power to facilitate personal understanding and encourage social cohesion. The society depicted in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is disillusioned with literature: the populace has forgotten its potential to educate and entertain, and has become sceptical of the intellectual elitism it is seen to represent. People are now captivated by the possibilities of non-discriminatory media such as television and popular music. The focus of education and recreation has shifted away from the intellectual and towards the instant gratification of physical stimulation. Initially this is seen as a solution to short-term societal problems, and as a means of promoting the happiness of the greatest number of people. However, in the long term, the removal of literature from society distances people from each other, stunts communication, and eventually effects mass isolation, dehumanisation and the collapse of all societal structure. Although this may seem unrealistically dystopian, there are elements in our society that have been developing since before Bradbury started writing – television, film and radio – that may have the potential to instigate the social collapse Bradbury foretells. Indeed, Adorno and Horkheimer, writing in the forties, argued that this potential had already been realised in the mass-production of film, and feared that television would further degrade society until the individual ceased to be defined without the general ‘society’ of which it was an element. The parallels between this view and Bradbury’s are significant. Most importantly, these commentators share the notion that truly artistic, intellectual culture is essential to society. Figures like Matthew Arnold, Victorian poet and spokesperson for education reform, have been prominent in shaping this understanding of culture. Arnold’s notions of cultural education as promoting the best aspects of society and discouraging the worst illuminate the groundwork behind Bradbury’s own fears about the loss of culture in society.”

More: http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/606/literature-as-a-social-tool-education-and-cohesion-or-class-domination

Pick up a book and ditch your TV!

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Concentration Camps

spywriter — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:42:16 +0000

On this day in 1945 the Nazis began to evacuate the Auschwitz concentration camp, ten days later liberated by the advancing Soviet troops. Let’s remember the horrors instituted by blind militarization, homophobia, and nationalism, not least because of my grandfather who was imprisoned for 5 years in Auschwitz and Mauthausen.

According to Jesuit sources (Malachi Martin, The Keys of His Blood) the Nazis “established some 8,500 concentration camps on occupied Polish soil, and organized them into a brutal industry divided into 13 administrative districts. Of the some 18 million Europeans who were imprisoned in concentration camps, some 11 million were killed – of those 3.5 million were Poles, and 7.5 million other nationals”. Why such a high number of Poles? It was a part of the plan that was hatched on January 25, 1940, in “a secret circular” drafted by Hermann Göring. According to Hans Frank (the Governor-general of the General Government of occupied Poland) the circular was a handbook for “making certain that not one Polish man, woman, or child, was left alive to soil the territories now and forever part of the Third Reich“.

Concentration camps were set up for political enemies, prisoners of war, foreigners, criminals, etc. My grandfather spent over five years in Auschwitz and Mauthausen (survived a death march) simply because he was born Polish.

What were concentration camps?

“After 1945 the term concentration camp was almost completely associated with the German dictatorship; the dictionary definition of ‘concentration camp’ in English describes them as German and locates them firmly in the brief twelve years of the Third Reich. This focus on the concentration camp as a German phenomenon entirely distorts the historical reality, not only because it ignores the long history of concentration camps in other geographical locations.

[...] the concentration camp is essentially a product of the First World War and its immediate aftermath. This was the period in which what might be described as a ‘camp culture’ developed, encouraged by the growth of a large camp structure for prisoners-of-war and refugees, but more specifically the camps set up for enemy aliens. These camps concentrated the targeted group, created the physical pattern of future camps, and bred a crude popular culture of exclusion.” Source

What was Auschwitz?

“Auschwitz? That was a real Tower of Babel. But, what does it mean to be Polish? What does it mean to be a Slav? The French wore the same numbers on their forearms, and were beaten all the same, and the Gypsies were beaten even more. We [concentration camp survivors] know something that you cannot, because you could’ve been killed by bombs or soldiers, whereas we were beaten and beaten by wardens and could not be killed, because as long as you have respect for yourself you cannot be killed, only murdered. And if you survive, and continue to have respect for yourself, you will respect others, whether Poles, or French, or some other. We learned in Auschwitz that there is only one difference – a human, and an inhuman.” Maria Kuncewiczowa, in The Phantoms (my translation).

What was it like to be imprisoned inside a concentration camp? Look up Smoke over Birkenau, a first-hand witness account by Seweryna Szmaglewska.