The Nuts and Bolts of Writing

Watch on YouTube.

Today, me and Helevorn (IG: @helevorn_bor) talk about one of her favorite plays, "Hedda Gabler" by Henrik Ibsen.  

We cover the following questions:  

1. Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler, published in 1890, is considered to be one of the masterpieces of realist literature and of drama, in general. The title character, Hedda Gabler, is seen as a female Hamlet through the force and depth of the character. Can you begin by summarizing the plot?  

2. What are the themes of the play?  

3. What’s Hedda Gabler like?  

4. Like other female characters of Ibsen’s, Hedda feels stifled in her life. How is she different from Ellida (from Lady from the Sea) or Nora (from A Doll’s House)?  

5. If Hedda is so “morbidly selfish”, as she’s called by critics, what are relationships to her? How does she relate to her husband, George Tesman and to Eilert Løvborg? Does she love anyone?  

6. Hedda Gabler often complains about boredom. How do you explain this boredom?  

7. Beauty is something Hedda talks about repeatedly. What is beauty for her?  

8. Is she a narcissist? Do you see her behaviour as a hint to a pathology?  

9. Which of your characters were inspired by Hedda? (Rannveig and Yngvar from "Sons of Disobedience" and "Lucky Wolf")  

10. How else did “Hedda Gabler” influence you in your writings?

Watch on YouTube.

Read the transcript here.  

This week, we’ll look at The Hermit in my tarot deck, the Fortunus Games tarot deck. I chose teenage Joel Farber from my Tapas graphic novel, “The Book of Joel,” as The Hermit. 

The Hermit stands by himself at the top of a mountain. His loneliness and the fact that he’s at a literal peak symbolize his spiritual growth and accomplishment. By choosing to look deep within himself, he’s reached some kind of enlightenment.  Like the Hermit, Joel is on a soul-searching journey. An argumentative know-it-all who talks faster than a machine gun to "make up" (as he sees it) for his shyness and lack of self-esteem, teenaged Joel, like the Hermit in the tarot deck, knows that he needs to look deep within himself.

Watch on YouTube.

Today, me and @tete.depunk talk about a course she's recently taken, Ian Chandler's "The No B.S. Freelance Writing Course."  

In this podcast episode, we explore the following and more: 

Watch on YouTube.

Read the full transcript of this video here.

This week, we'll be taking a look at the Justice card from my tarot deck, the Fortunus Games tarot deck.

I chose Lev Abramov from my Tapas graphic novel, “Sam in New York,” as Justice. He is Sam’s father and when we meet him in the first few chapters of “Sam in New York,” he’s shown as a politically-minded man who has strong beliefs about justice. He leans left and before he immigrated to the US, he was involved in various left-wing labour movements in Odessa.

I chose to represent Justice quite differently from what we usually see (blind woman with the scales in one hand), since Lev is someone who believes in fighting for social change and smashing the “old system.” This pose is actually based on a Communist poster from the USSR.

Watch on YouTube.

This week, me and R.N. Roveleh (Instagram: @helevorn_bor) discuss one of her favorite books/plays, "Ghosts" by Henrik Ibsen.  We discuss the following and more:  

1. This play, when published in 1881, was seen as shocking. It was highly criticized both in Norway and abroad, the book sold poorly, Ibsen was attacked by critics and readers and censored. In England, The Daily Telegraph reviewed it as “Positively abominable [...] An open drain: a loathsome sore unbandaged; a dirty act done publicly.... Gross, almost putrid indecorum.... Literary carrion.... Crapulous stuff". What was so scandalous about it?  

2. What is the plot of the play?  

3. What is Mrs. Alving like?  

4. What’s her relationship with her son, Oswald?  

5. What role does Pastor Manders play?  

6. The title, translated in English as GHOSTS, actually means The ones who return. What does it refer to?  

7. Ibsen’s Ghosts appears in your novel Equilibrium Point. Ivar and Ulf watch the play at the theatre on their first date. How do the themes of the play tie in with those of Equilibrium Point?

Watch on YouTube. The full transcript of this video is on my site.   

Frankie is The Chariot in my tarot deck (Fortunus Games Tarot)!  

The Chariot symbolizes willpower and determination, which Frankie has plenty of since he has to deal with so many things as the co-owner of his family's restaurant.  The Chariot also symbolizes mastery and control, and Frankie has mastered his emotions for the most part. He keeps his secret desires (such as his desire for Sam, which he believes to be unrequited) and frustrations about his life under tight wraps, believing that living like this is easier not only for himself, but for everyone around him.  

What happens when a series of events cause him to lose this control...? Find out (if this will happen) in my #graphicnovel on @tapas_app, "Sam in New York" (maybe 3 years from now, since this is very far into the story). 

Tete got some new Superman comics (Golden Age canon), so we decided to flip through them (this time in detail) and talk about our impressions of some of the artwork and themes covered and how it compares to Silver Age and other things!  

Short version of this flipthrough can be seen here: https://youtu.be/FRTfmVRDf0U

Watch on YouTube!

Today, me and R.N. Roveleh (Instagram: @helevorn_bor) talk about Henrik Ibsen's play, "The Lady from the Sea," which subconsciously influenced her character, Merwyn, whom she's written about in the short story, "The Enchanted Isles," as part of her anthology, "Tales from the North."  

Read "The Enchanted Isles" here: https://tapas.io/episode/2130584 

R.N. Roveleh will also be publishing a novella about Merwyn (of the same name).  

We talk about the following and more:  

On Feb 19, 2022, @tete.depunk's "70 Fierce Years," her story about Andrei Novokshonov the Cossack, will be released as a series of preview chapters three times a week on Tapas: https://tapas.io/series/70-Fierce-Years/info

Hi everyone! Happy Valentine’s Day! How fitting - this week’s Tarot card is The Lovers.

Read the full transcript of this video here.

In my portrayal of The Lovers tarot card of the Major Arcana, we see none other than Malka and Joel from my graphic novel, "The Book of Joel.”  The uncensored version is on my Patreon, by the way, for those who are curious.

In its upright position, this card symbolizes honesty, attraction, and overcoming trials. As we’ve seen already, Joel and Malka overcome many trials, mostly internal, in “The Book of Joel.” In particular, they manage to overcome Joel’s self-sabotaging and self-flagellating tendencies. Joel is someone who has always struggled with chasing after things that he knows he will enjoy because he doesn’t want to enjoy things in life. He prefers feeling emotionally flat, as he calls it, because there’s less emotional risk involved.