Ξεκινάς να γράψεις μια ιστορία...

Καλημέρα,
Χρόνια πολλά, καλό μήνα...Ξεκίνησα να κάνω διορθώσεις στο χειρόγραφο μου και να μερικές σκέψεις...

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Ξεκινάς να γράψεις μια ιστορία και βγαίνεις από αυτήν, άλλος άνθρωπος. 

Δε μένεις στάσιμος, δε γίνεται να μείνεις στάσιμος.

Εξελίσσεσαι και εσύ, όπως και οι χαρακτήρες σου. 

Δίνεις τις δικές σου μάχες

Δίνεις και παίρνεις

Δίνεις και κάποια στιγμή

αυτό που έχεις στα χέρια σου 

είναι η επιβράβευση

όλων εκείνων των θυσιών

που έχεις κάνει,

των αγαπημένων σκηνών 

που σκότωσες για το σύνολο

Ξεκινάς να γράψεις μια ιστορία και βγαίνεις από αυτήν, άλλος άνθρωπος. 

Και εσύ τώρα που με διαβάζεις αναρωτιέσαι τι αραδιάζω. 

Λόγια ψυχής, τίποτε άλλο...

Μελωδίες ζωής

Καλησπέρα,

Μελωδίες που σε ταξιδεύουν. Μελωδίες που σε βοηθούν να γράψεις ένα κεφάλαιο που σε ταλαιπωρεί τους τελευταίους μήνες. Μια μελωδία που σου θυμίζει ότι μαζί με την χαρά υπάρχει πάντα λύπη. Μελωδίες που θα σε κάνουν να χαίρεσαι αλλά και να λυπάσαι. 

Μελωδίες που σε κάνουν  να θυμάσαι...

Το τέλος μιας εποχής. Οι κουρτίνες κλείνουν, τα φώτα πέφτουν. Μια ακόμα ερμηνεία φτάνει στο τέλος της. Και εκεί, πάνω στην σκηνή μόνο σιωπή...

Εις αναμονή μιας νέας εποχής. Η αρχή είναι πια κοντά. Τόσο που την θωρώ με ανυπομονησία.

Ελένη Λυδία Σταμέλλου - A Time For Us

One year ago...

Kalimera Everyone,

I do hope you are all okay :) Today is a very important day for me. So, here are some thoughts. 

~CC

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One year ago I started writing my first book. One year passed? Yes it did. Through that year many things happened. First of all, I changed. I became more mature. I know now more than I did last year. 

How so you will ask? I studied hard for this knowledge though. It didn't come just like that. I am reading a lot. I continued my CW seminars. I decided that if I want to write then I have to know what I am doing. If I know now? I think I have tasted a a bit of what is going to come. No one can claim that knows fully the art of writing. 

One year is a very long time in a life of a person. Especially with what Greeks do face every day. So, I will try to cherish this past year and continue the circle of a new one. Maybe next year my efforts will reach base. And after a while, another effort will start. Another circle, another way of watching Life. 

Thanks to all those who are / were near me this past year. You do know who you are. Your support was everything I was hoping and more. I continue my journey, as Kavafis wrote, until at one point I will find my Ithaca. Until then, I will enjoy the ride, even if the sea is unfriendly and dark clouds make it impossible for me to see forward. 

Η μαγεία της μουσικής

"The Piano Forest"

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Καλημέρα,

Ελπίζω να είστε καλά σήμερα. Καλύτερα από άλλες μέρες. Όπως έχουμε πει δεν είναι εύκολο αλλά τουλάχιστον ας προσπαθήσουμε.

Σήμερα θα αναφερθώ στην μαγεία της μουσικής. Έχω μεγαλώσει μέσα στην μουσική, τόσο που για κάποια περίοδο σε νεαρότερη ηλικία έπαιζα και η ίδια κάποιο μουσικό όργανο και τραγουδούσα.

Έχω πει αρκετές φορές ότι η μουσική για μένα είναι το οξυγόνο μου.

Δεν νοείται μέρα που να μην ακούω κάποια μελωδία. Το κινητό μου είναι φορτωμένο με τραγούδια. Χρησιμοποιώ πολύ τα μέσα μαζικής μεταφοράς και κυκλοφορώ πάντα με ακουστικά στα αυτιά μου.

Όταν γράφω τις περισσότερες φορές ακούω και από ένα μουσικό κομμάτι που συνάδει με το πνεύμα της σκηνής. Τον τελευταίο καιρό έχω ανακαλύψει αρκετούς νέους μουσικούς και νέα κομμάτια που με έχουν βοηθήσει στο να καταγράψω τα συναισθήματα των ηρώων μου.

Η μουσική λοιπόν κρύβει μέσα της συναισθήματα και ασυναίσθητα μας οδηγεί στο να θυμηθούμε εικόνες που άλλοτε έχουμε ξεχάσει ή άλλοτε που θέλουμε να ζήσουμε. Ονειρευόμαστε πράγματα που τα "ντύνουμε" με ένα μουσικό χαλί, όπως κάνουν οι καλλιτέχνες στα μουσικά τους βίντεο.

Την επόμενη φορά που θα ακούσετε ένα τραγούδι σας καλώ να το ακούσετε πραγματικά. Και να αφεθείτε σε όλα αυτά που λέει ή αφήνει να εννοηθούν.

Ως την επόμενη φορά, καλή συνέχεια.

Κλεοπάτρα

Υ.Γ. Παρέα σε αυτό το ποστ μου έκανε ο James Blunt.

Strong as you were...Tender you go. I am watching you breathing for the last time...

Title : Music is magical

Kalimera, I do hope you are all okay. As we have said it is not easy but at least we can try, right?

In this post I wanted to talk about the magic behind music. I have grown up surrounding by music more or less. In a younger age I used to play the piano and sing. 

I have repeated several times that music for me is my oxygen.

I cannot start my day without listening to a melody. My mobile phone has gazillion songs in its memory card. I use transportation in my everyday life to move around in the capital, so if you see me somewhere I am always with some headsets in my ears. 

Most of the times, while I am writing I do listen to songs that have a specific aura of emotions with the scenes I want to write down. It is a blessing, that the past month or so, I have discovered several new artists and their music that help me a lot, in my quest of describing my characters' emotions. 

In my opinion, consequently (have I told you how much I love this word?) music hides so many emotions and subconsciously it makes us remember all those images we tend to forget, or we want to experience in the near future. 

Think about it, but in our minds, we do make our own videos about our lives and we use several music pieces that describe better our memories. 

So, next time you will listen to a song, I advise you to listen carefully what it says to you. Every song means something to every single one of us. And maybe if you have your ears open you will find out or realize what this is. 

Until The Next Time

Have a nice evening ahead. 

~CC

P.S. I wrote this blog entry while I was listening to James Blunt's Carry You Home...Enjoy the video above!

Messing...with the Voices!

Hello Everyone,

Kalimera from Athens. I do hope you are all okay. After ten days of uncertainty, yesterday we found out that we have a Prime Minister! I don't know what this man will do, but at least we have one now. I have stopped, again, watching the news. I need to detox and that is exactly what I am doing. 

Last night, I was writing an exercise for my seminar. Basically I was re-writing a scene from my story but from another Point of View. My story is written from my lead heroine's pov. I prefered to write a part of this chapter from my lead hero's pov. And the outcome is surprising. I really love his voice, it gives us a lot of perspective, his and how he perceives the whole incident.

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Also I do hope the Artist is this one

Some of you will say, ahem we don't know what is your story about. You are right. I cannot say much until I have the first draft in my hands. Then I will give you more info about it. And maybe just maybe I will post this outtake when the story will get published. (Yes, I am an optimistic and I have a goal.)

My fellow-writers will know how lovely is to mess with your characters and their voices. It reveals a lot more about your character, their thoughts, insights and their reactions. The more you write a story, the more you want your characters to open up with you. I think I am in a good place with them. These days I really enjoy the antics of another male character. He is too talented and he knows it, but I have to give him justice he is not a snob. I think of him as a charming and funny young man. -Yeah, yeah I am messing with you too...I cannot say I am sorry!  I do hope I made you curious enough to want to read this story.

Have a nice day ahead and a lovely weekend. Enjoy your time with your loved ones!

Until Tomorrow,

~CC

P.S. I have to thank Killian McRae for giving me the idea for this title. :)

An epiphany that rocked my night!

Photo Credit: Pete Peaks

Hey Everyone,

Kalimera from Athens! I do hope you are all well alive and kicking! As promised here is another blog entry. 

Last night I was writing a specific scene when a tiny image passed quickly from my mind. I froze and stopped what I was doing because that tiny image led me to an epiphany. My creative writing professor 's words echoed in my mind :

"In a novel everything you introduce to your readers has a usage. Sometimes it has an underlying or even hidden meaning. Even if the readers don't make the connections at all, a writer has to know exactly what he/she is talking about."

I replayed that phrase for several minutes until the adrenaline was off my system. As a writer I gave birth to my characters. I gave them a name, a background. I tried to find things they like and now that they are complete human beings I am really proud about them. Proud as a mama can be for her children.

So it was a revelation for me when some this subplot was revealed because I haven't planned it in the beginning. It was like I found a missing piece from the puzzle I was looking so eagerly these past months. Because lets face it, while writing a story you cannot know everything. You have the story, you have an outline but some things are a bit shady especially if you are focused in other parts. 

If I am happy with this? ABSOLUTELY! For me this is a reward. It will simply make better my story plus this gives me the wings to continue what I have started. Writing is not easy at all. Especially if you want to write a good story. So, yeah yesterday it was a magnificent end to my day. I do hope that your day was a good one as well...

Until Tomorrow, Have a nice day ahead...

~CC

P.S. For those who love twitter, you can also find me over there too.  Search for @CleoComnenos

Conversations...with your characters!

Photo by ^Riza^ 

Hey Everyone Kalimera,

I do hope you are all okay. It's been a while I know, but here I am writing this entry. I always say to myself that I have to update my blog, but it is not easy to do that. I am so focused writing my story these days that even when I am not writing, I am thinking and rethinking about my story's plot. 

For a writer this is an endless process. 

I might be walking on the street, eating lunch, or even going to sleep and my mind won't stop forming scenes, lines or having new ideas. It is obvious that people cannot control their own mind. It is working 24-7 even when we are sleeping. So, when it is wandering I just enjoy the ride. I really like when my characters are "showing" me the things they like or even revealing to me their secrets. 

It's the most refreshing thing in the world to have feedback from your own characters. If you don't have this relationship with them, then you cannot write. So when they decide to talk to me, I will listen and keep notes. So, now you all know the reason of my absence.

I will try to be more active here as well. Forgive me when I am not. 

Until Tomorrow, 

Have a nice day ahead!

~CC

Plot Bunnies...all the way...

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Kalimera Everyone,
Today we are going to talk about plot bunnies. What are they? They are those tiny ideas you might have in the back of your brain and might lead you to write an idea.

Yesterday, I was writing an exercise for my seminar and the idea I was working led me to another plot bunny. I was thrilled but at the same time I had to discipline myself to focus on the project at hand.

It is good to write down those ideas, you never know when you will need them. I did, and now I have to get back to editing this exercise...

Until Later, Have a nice day ahead...

What things give you images?

Photo Credit

Hey Everyone,

Today we will talk about images. Well in Greek the world I wanted to use is εικόνες or icons. I bet you have questions about how images are messing with a writer's inspiration. 

The most common questions are: What things give you icons or images? Can this be only a scene that happens in front of you or other things as well?

In my case, I get images from everywhere. I might listen to a song and have an image in my mind. I might read or talk about something and a little story is in my mind. 

The thing that matters the most is to be truthful to your instincts. To love what you think and what you write.

If you are truthful to yoursel,f then you can achieve wonders. 

Until Tomorrow, 

Have A Nice Day / Night

When the plot of your story unfolds...

Photo Credit: Sam Farr

Hey Everyone,

Today we are going to talk about plots especially the ones that open to the author. Most of the times, authors have some ideas. In the beginning, we might get a "glimpse" of this idea and not the whole image. The most you write the most the story opens up to you. 

If you think about it, this is the most important thing. You can actually see the story. It is like a day where the mist hiddens everything around you and slowly it goes away, and finally your eyesight is getting clearer.

In my case, I have an clearer idea of my plot, which is amazing because I can see details and little things that make a story even better. You must know that for an author, a story is like a journey. You write it down but the rewards are tremendous. You always getting better from this journey, if you use correctly the gifts that are given to you. 

Until Tomorrow,

Have A Nice Day / Night

When this tune gives you a scene....

Hey Everyone,

Today while I was working this tune came to my mind. This trumpet which is the beginning of the most known French Song. La Vie En Rose was first said by Edith Piaf and the great Louis Armostrong made his own version as well. 

I have to say that I love both versions. I have this memory that my yiayia was listening to Edith Piaf and singing. As Europeans we are more familiar with the music around Europe and I knew this song long before I was 10 years old.

Today I wanted to listen to Louis version and it gave me a scene. This scene is so beautiful. I cannot share it with you because maybe, just maybe I will add it to a story I am thinking. When I will post it on my fanfiction I will add the song in my tracklist :)

Until Tomorrow, 

Have A Nice Day / Evening....

P.S. You can listen to Louis Armostrong's version in the video below...Most of you may have listen to it in Wall-e

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For Some Reason...I cannot embed this video....*le sigh*

Question; Are You Reading...?

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Hey Everyone,

Today we are going to talk about reading. Are you reading? The answer is YES, I am reading. Even know I remember myself reading books while I was a pre-teen and teen. I remember those little stories for my young mind that are like fingerprints in my heart, even today. 

Reading stories is like a window to a new world. While you are reading a new story, what you really do is "sneaking" in this world and live with the characters. You are like an invisible visitor who observes and wants to know what is going to happen next. 

What am I reading mostly? Stories that widen my imagination. I really like romance but not for all times. I prefer mystery, adventure and great heroes and heroins. One of my favourite authors is James Rollins and his Sigma Force Saga. I will do a book review during the next month...(I hope...!)

Until Tomorrow,

Have a Nice Day / Evening

Writing and Pleasure

Hey Everyone,
Here is another entry...Today we are going to talk about writing and if you can call it a pleasure.

I will try to help you with a scene...Try to do what I am describing...okay?

Imagine that you are at your home, wearing the most beautiful dress (if you are a woman), suit (if you are a man) and in front of you you have the most magnificent chocolates. They are not simple ones. They are liquor filled chocolate candies, with cherry. You take one and take off the wrap. 

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You bring the candy near your nose and you enhale the aroma...Instantly you have an urge to eat it. That is the plan but don't do it yet. You are closing your eyes, bringing again the candy near your nostrils to feel the aroma. It is more intense right?


 I know, now you are insatiable...You want to eat it. You want to feel the cherry liquor in your mouth. You want to feel that bitter sweet nectar in your taste buds. You bring it closer and final you bite the fine chocolate. A tiny taste of the elixir is now in your mouth and you want more. You take the remaining candy in your mouth. You close your eyes and let your senses to overpower you. 


When you have swallowed the last piece of the chocolate and the liquor, you open your eyes and you feel overly satisfied...


This....is writing for me... a pleasure....*winks*

Until Tomorrow,

Have A Nice Day / Evening!

What helps me to write...

Hey Everyone,

Today, I will share with you what things are helping me to write. Well, one of them. There are a lot of things that help someone to write. For me only one thing really really help me to relax and write. Can you guess what is it?

Well, I won't tease you any longer. The answer is music.  

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I have a really wonderful relationship with music. I think it mosty has to do with the fact that I used to play the piano and sing when I was younger. I have stopped though but the connection is still here. 

I am listening to mostly a lot of genres and I enjoy them. Everything has to do with the time or the mood you are listening to a compilation of songs.

These days I am listening to specific artists mostly...I have already shared with you one of my favourites. Andrew Belle is one of my favourites right now...and I highly recommend you to listen to his songs. You will  be amazed by his voice.

Hope you liked my little revelation...Now, I am waiting for yours....!

Until Tomorrow,

Have A Nice Day / Night

Writing Down Your Own Ideas...Ain't Easy...

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Hey Everyone,

This is my first "serious" entry about Writing.

Yes I am writing. Literature and Poetry. As far as I remember myself I was writing. I used to write poetry in High School and I still have my notebooks full of my poems. I think I need to re-read them, I might find a gem that I need to post. Unfortunately for my international friends it will be in Greek.

Those who know me from my previous fanfiction works are familiar with my plotlines.I loved fanfiction and I have read the most amazing stories in the TwiFandom. Almost two years later, I feel that I am more mature and I can open my wings and fly.

I have to confess that it is not easy to write both in Greek or English. In my case, I made a huge step 1,5 year ago when I started writing in English. Yes in English. For an non Native Speaker if you think that is easy, I can assure you that is not. I tried really hard by studying and reading literature or any other material that would help me to reach the level I have right now.

Whoever said that writing is easy I can tell you that you are definitely wrong. Writing is not easy. An author might have an idea, a plot to write but that doesn't make it easy at all. It is like you are left behind in deep blue sea and you have to learn to swim.

How you are going to get back at shore is your way of writing. You can use your imagination and you can create a very nice way of saving yourself or you can easily get drown.

This blog was made because I wanted to share with you, my path in writing. I cannot give you any advice because I am trying to find where I am standing too. But, I will continue to write my stories and poetry...

Those that will be around they will get to see my artistic nature. I hope you will enjoy this journey with me.

Until Tomorrow,

Have a nice day / night