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Ludo Hellemans
I am a science writer and translator. At present I am working on a fiction book for Young Adults, and I want to weave a certain amount of science (ecology) into it.
Location the Netherlands
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Activity
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Ludo Hellemans replied to Ludo Hellemans
@JaneCooper That's an interesting observation about your quails being calmed by music. I heard similar stories from pet owners (dogs and cats). I wonder if there exists systematic research on this? Do farmers / cattle breeders use music treatments on their animals?
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Ludo Hellemans replied to Ludo Hellemans
How to find out if animals are interested in human music? One would expect that an animal hearing music that somehow affects it, will show that interest in some way in its behaviour. I don't know if experiments have been carried out with, for example, dolphins or whales?
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Ludo Hellemans replied to Ludo Hellemans
@AnneO'Mahony Well, I think most human beings are interested in animal noises. For safety: is that an angry animal? And we generally love hearing our cats purr, and birds sing. But of course there will be strong individual differences, depending on where we are (at home, in a forest, in the jungle) and how much we like dogs, cats, sheep etc.
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
Thank you Ryan Hamshaw for your review!
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I presented this to an acquaintance who, as a physician, specializes in Alzheimer's and dementia. He rejects the view that Alzheimer's patients have 'something left' of their original personality or mindset. On the contrary, their brain connections become more and more broken and that means that their personality (character, mindset, their 'I', or whatever you...
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
My main character - a young girl - writes a letter to a new girlfriend, telling her about herself.
It is nice to (try) to get into the skin of one's character. -
Ludo Hellemans made a comment
I will try to make better use of 'summary'.
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
Summary is well-dosed and to the point. The dominant method is scene, dialogue. And that is, I think, effective portraying the characters of both of them. The misunderstanding is very effective, too: it adds irony and tells us something about both of them.
Physical description: she is a 'little dark-haired beauty', and he is as attractive as the absent... -
Ludo Hellemans made a comment
Fitzgerald uses the mixed method, with mostly 'scene'. Dialogue. Some information is given as 'summary'. Appearance: she is a'dark-haired little beauty', and he is attractive like her husband. It is clear that they are both 'bourgeois' : she the daughter of a judge, married to a businessman and living in a house with garden. Both of them grew up in similar...
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
I find the Combination of Techniques the most satisfactory. I think a Summary is a bit schoolmaster-like. Although that is not (or less) the case when you serve it in small portions. And I still am very in favour of "Show, don't tell".
I would like to add that a character become's alive in a conflict situation or something like a Saulus/Paulus experience.
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
Very interesting text by Novakovich! Now I realize that for the last weeks assignment (5.13) I have combined different methods. And characterised two persons - one through the eyes of the other, and the other - the "I" - through behaviour, thoughts and memories.
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@SimonaMariaRosca - I also wrote a little story instead of a dry character sketch (and didn't get a review either). But I highly value the recommendation "show, don't tell!". But okay, I should have kept myself strictly to the assignment, I suppose.
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
I have several stories and characters in the making. Now I really have to choose which story and main character I want to continue with for the announced final assignment.
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
I've done some writing over the years, and I also often daydream about my characters - and that's how they grow into, say, players looking for a plot. I have a pretty good idea of them, in terms of appearance and character, their strengths and weaknesses, and I also have a kind of mental image of their environment and their living conditions. My problem is...
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
All 5 authors give very useful advise, I think. And I agree with Monique Roffey that one has to know as much as possible about one's personages.
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@JaneElmor Dear Jane Elmor, I haven’t received any feedback on my assignment of week 5 (5.13). Maybe my timing was a bit unfortunate? I was very busy the preceding weeks, so it took me some time to write it. But I really would appreciate some feedback!
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
Maybe I didn't really follow the instructions literally. The characterization of a person. Appearance, behaviour, occupation, circumstances, etc. and no more than that.
However, without a sequel, or a frame as part of a plot, it usually results in an uninteresting text, at least in my view.
I have attempted to describe one character's appearance as seen... -
Ludo Hellemans made a comment
I first wrote a longer story, more than 2000 words, ant then I took my character out of it. I enjoyed writing it, and I think I will develop the longer version even further.
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
This text from Novakovitch is very inspiring, I think. It is good to be aware how one invents characters. Ideal, autobiographical, biographical and mixed method - I think I use them all, and I will continue doing so. And am I right that Novakovitch also mentions a fifth method, that used by Erskine Caldwell - the character becoming autonomous and coming to...
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
I find that all four writers make useful remarks. Abdulrazak Gurnah is right, I think, when he says that one cannot evade writing about oneself, using one’s own experiences. I think every author will consciously or unconsciously refer back to one’s own experiences and memories.
Michèle Roberts’ point is, I think, that one has to go on a certain distance from... -
Ludo Hellemans replied to Sherie Whiteman
Maybe a current theme? Nowadays there are parents and grandparents who participate in actions of Extinction Rebellion, out of a feeling of solidarity and concern with their children and grandchildren who campaign for climate , nature and survival. I know of one grandmother who thinks that her presence as a vulnerable old woman during actions of the young, will...
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
My stereotype is a man of grandfather age, buying a present for his granddaughter, seeing a young female employee in the bookstore and feeling attracted to her.
Going against expectations: his plans/fantasies about how to approach her are suddenly changed when he is overcome by memories when he notices the asymmetry of her upper lip. He is aware that they... -
Ludo Hellemans made a comment
A "brief scene" portraying a character "in a complex way". Okay, I have written such a scene but it is much longer than what fits into the template of these posts. So I am thinking of joining Flickr, and post it there. It is based on something I experienced myself, but I turned it into fiction. So there is an "I", but that is a largely made-up character. I...
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
The successful chef who quits his job for a questionable career as an opera singer.
The family man who has a second wife and therefore has two families.
The priest with a side income as a drug dealer.
However, I feel that adding some 'contradictory aspect' will by itself not really make an interesting character. It is a stereotype of its own. -
Ludo Hellemans replied to Amanda Stephens
At first I had overlooked your reading young man completely! And it is interesting to notice that each time one watches this video again, other characters come in focus. Like the girl sitting next to the girl with the sleeping bag, for example.
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Ludo Hellemans replied to Ludo Hellemans
The characteristic physical details lend themselves to a lot of different (stereo) typifications. And my interpretations / sterotypes depend on the moment. Tomorrow they would be different, maybe?
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
I watched that video again, paying particular attention to features that immediately caught my eye. Like I was making quick sketches with a pencil. Here they are, in chronological order:
- young woman with striped beanie : her nose, straight lines and the angle with the line of her mouth. Stereotype: PhD student after sleepless night
- Girl with sleeping... -
Ludo Hellemans made a comment
Detective stories like those of Agatha Christie are filled with stereotypes. And often the plot of a detective story consists of a stereotype (e.g. a kind, old gentleman) turning out to be a villain - another stereotype.
It seems to me quite difficult to create lifelike characters with weak and strong characters traits, and have them react to potentially...
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Hmm, I enjoyed reading Tortilla Flat a long time ago. It is a kind of idyll, a group of simple poor people who are happy and unhappy in their own way, and who - if I remember correctly - each have their own dramatic moment of change.
I think that literature - novels - can take many forms - and a story with a strong plot and believable developing characters... -
Ludo Hellemans made a comment
My main character is a determined rebellious teenager who doesn't know what she wants, and therefore gets into trouble. However, she experiences such a moment of epiphany as Novakovich describes for that Saul/Paul, and that gives her rebellion a direction and purpose.
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
Yes, I fully agree: the character comes first, and that will decide how the plot will develop.
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
Change is important for the characterisation of the main characters. The ability to change and the way a character changes is what makes a person - and of course also a fictional personage - interesting.
Not all characters in a novel need to change - but then they are not much more than props.
Character flaws - everybody has them and they determine how a... -
Ludo Hellemans made a comment
Yes, of course, one can always learn, both from a well-known writer and from one's fellow students.
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@SimonaMariaRosca I wish you all the best! And the courage and whatever you need to write!
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
My notes are observations - I call those 'photo's not taken' because they are like film stills, but without context. One example: I saw in the street a big strong man holding the hand of a kid who really wanted to run away and was weeping. Very close between those two a young woman - and I had the impression she might be the mother of the kid and was watching...
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
About reading novels - a German writer (Jean Paul) once said that books are actually 'letters to unknown friends'. Although 'unknown', they are friends since non-friends will never read these 'letters'. That means, I think, that there is a certain kinship, or recognition, some positive connection between the reader and at least one of the characters in the book.
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It must be very difficult to write about such a deeply emotional aspect of your own life, even if it is non-fiction. I can empathise whit that - and I personally decided not to write about the painful things from my youth (growing up as a kid with a handicap). But I want to write fiction, and my motivation is rooted in my youth.
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Why not focus on your own perception without bothering about other persons perceptions? And then, you are an author, you write fiction, even if it's based on personal memories. So where your memories become vague, use your creative fantasy.
When I meet family of friends and talk about the past, we all have different perceptions of the same events. I think... -
@SimonaMariaRosca Thanks! I will check those.
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
I want to write for young people - kids and young adults. And I know very well (at least I think so) where that motivation is rooted. My youth was kind of special for several reasons. I do not want to write about my life, but I want to share some of the insights and experiences that helped me then to survive (so to speak).
One life changing experience as a... -
Yes, ageing is a concern - or it becomes a concern when one grows older (like I do). I grew up with my grandfather living with us. He was very important for me, when I was a kid. And I saw how he grew old, lost his physical strength and became deaf. I wonder if there are good novels thematising ageing?
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
Yes, hard to read! The author wants to reveal the truth about human bestiality and the abomination of slavery. The truth one does not find in statistics or dry historical accounts. One good novel can tell more about social reality that ten sociological or historical textbooks.
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
I'll just mention a few (some concerns being 'highly personal'):
- inquisitiveness (intellectual curiosity)
- diversity and variation
- nature / natural history
- poetry
- history
- honesty
- adventure
- empathy / affection / friendship -
Ludo Hellemans made a comment
-"What about images?" - what about chance observations? Mental street photography? I particularly find Vivian Maier's work as a street photographer very inspiring. Every photo is a story - many stories. But the viewer has to tell that story. That's really great, I think.
https://www.vivianmaier.com -
Ludo Hellemans made a comment
I started writing a story some time ago, but I didn't finish it. The main character is a rebellious teenage girl with an active interest in natural science. That makes her an outsider among her peers. She remains true to her autonomous and inquisitive nature, and ends up in an adventurous and dangerous situation where reality and fantasy intersect.
And... -
Ludo Hellemans made a comment
It's always good, I think, to regularly shake up your ideas for a fiction story in your mind - with 'what if?' questions. This does not only apply to fiction writing, but is good practice in all areas of life, such as politics, science and philosophy. Taking the obvious as not-obvious.
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The danger of research, I think, is that you can be led to give, as it were, an over-enumeration of typical things from the time of your story. If you know a lot about e.g. the fashion of a period, you may want to put all that knowledge to use. While the art lies in the limitation, as someone once said: a few iconic details (related to dress style, furniture,...
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
It is an interesting pastime to observe people, for example in a train or a café. Sometimes that gives rise to a wide range of possible stories and plots.
It is also interesting to see that people themselves want to communicate something about themselves through their clothing or behaviour.
What does that woman with her red sweater and that dog with a... -
Ludo Hellemans replied to Ludo Hellemans
The difference between a story and a plot - yes, that's important. One often sees a scene that stands out for some reason, or hears a snatch of conversation that intrigues. I sometimes write observations like these in my notebook, under the heading 'photo's not taken'. That means that I would have loved to photograph or film that scene or that person, but I...
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
In my mind's eye I see a lady of a certain age, who lives alone, with her little dog. She is not rich because she goes by bus (and not by car), but she still takes care of her appearance in a somewhat perky way (the matching colors of the dog's bow and her sweater). I don't like Pekingese dogs myself, so I see her as uninteresting and even a bit unsympathetic.
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Ludo Hellemans replied to Ludo Hellemans
@SimonaMariaRosca Thank you! I have to admit that I felt a bit shy sharing this personal memory. So your encouraging remark means a lot to me.
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
In my notebook one comment reads: "beautiful girl because of invisible scar". I saw that girl in a bookstore, behind the cash register. I noticed that little scar on her lip, and maybe I looked a little too interested. As a biologist (and anatomist) I am trained to observe. I noticed that she became a bit shy, that my gaze annoyed her. I was sorry about that,...
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
I think it's good to find out for yourself what kind of novels you like, and why. I personally prefer to buy books in a store. I then can browse through the book, read a few passages. When I see not only printed letters, but also colours, and the light, as it were, and much more, then it appeals to me. Usually this has to do with writing style, but also with...
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
I liked those remarks about novels always being 'historical'. Okay, I agree with Garland that one shouldn't exaggerate doing research. A novel set in a certain setting, say Rome or Paris, shouldn't be a tourist guide. But I think it is important to give some characteristic details so that as a reader you really recognize Rome or Paris. And even more important...
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
Keeping a journal and writing to yourself is in my experience a good way to overcome writers block.
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I totally agree with you: writing with pencil or pen is so different from using a keyboard and a laptop. The physical action is different, in some essential way. But I use both: keyboard and laptop, and paper and pencil.
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Ludo Hellemans replied to Ludo Hellemans
I got another review, but for some technical reason it wasn't possible to answer the question if that review was useful, yes or no.
So, Mariana, I think your comments were very to the point and useful. Thanks! -
Ludo Hellemans made a comment
I submitted my story yesterday, so today I got one review. So I will have to wait till I get more reviews to comment on this. But I think peer reviewing is a good instrument, if it is done seriously. It is natural wanting to be kind and so on, but one should try to give honest feedback.
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
For many of us, the English language is a problem. But I remember reading an interview with the famous English author Kazuo Ishiguro wo's mother language is Japanese. He said something like that having to learn a new language helped becoming good at it.
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
The story I have in mind is in fact an episode embedded in a longer story aimed at a young audience. As I want to combine exact knowledge with adventure and emotions, it will be a challenge to achieve that in a very short story of 350 words. But I will give it a try. I will start with research, since I introduce mariene biology, I have to check my scientific...
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Ludo Hellemans replied to Sarah Langan
Doesn't that depends whether the person with a book inside can write or not? And maybe other writers can write a good book about that person?
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
Very good advice!
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
Well, isn't rush hour not important, too? One wants to merge into a crowd rushing home before the tempest breaks loose, when carrying a weapon (and maybe follow a target or a criminal).
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
The suggested version is a bit staccato, I think. And not very informative: Is Hilary out there in the street or is she at home concealing her gun? And it makes not much sense (for a professional criminal or cop) to carry an unloaded gun.
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
Rush hour, winterly darkness setting in, the distraction of an imminent thunderstorm - perfect circumstances for Hilary scurrying along with her weapon tucked under her coat.
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
About being ruthless - isn't one of the thumb rules of editing: "Kill your darlings"? Meaning that often formulations or images one 'likes' can better be eliminated because they are not really fitting.
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
Yes, it is a story, with (like Hannah says below) a beginning, a middle and an end. It is fiction, of course, and part is realistic and there is an important role reserved for magic. (It is aimed at children/young adults). As I am a science writer (and very pro-science), it was / is a great challenge to combine exact science (in this case geology and...
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Ludo Hellemans replied to Victoria Acker
Yes, I think it is a good idea to relate to society now, and social media is indeed very present today. But everything is changing continuously - so I think it is important toe keep in mind that certain media may disappear and be replaced by new ones in a fast tempo.
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
I liked week 2 very much - so I learned a lot. Thanks!
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
As a student, I knew that it was good practice to know more that what was requires to pass an exam. As a writer one should know more - much more - about one's characters and the setting that one will write in the final draft.
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
It might be a good idea to look at one's writing as if it were a movie. Drops of sweat on someone's forehead, blood stains, clothes messed up, all tell a story.
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In media res - Latin for 'in the midst of things'. That seems a good way to hook your reader. One then can proceed with flashbacks and so.
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
The most important(and difficult) thing for me is to get started writing. When I focus on good or beautiful writing, I stick. So just go on writing and writing, and then afterwards, I remove the many clichés I used, as well as all the unnecessary words and sentences.
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
In my life I have filled quite a few notebooks with all kinds of observations and descriptions (I am 70+). I also purposefully took pictures and collected images of landscapes, buildings, objects that could potentially be useful in fiction writing. And then there's my memory, which is hopefully a valuable notebook - I can and will use many of my own...
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
Research is important, I think. I'm a science writer - that's non-fiction par excellence, but I wouldn't dream of writing about a topic I do not have hands on knowledge of. The same goes for fiction, I think.
About visualisation: I am preparing a fiction novel for young adults which is situated in an old mansion. I have found some paintings representing such... -
Ludo Hellemans made a comment
This is not mine, but from the German poet Rilke. It goes more or less like this: a rose saying 'red'. I read this in my early years and have not forgotten it since. Often, when I see a flower it speaks its color in my head, red, yellow, blue...
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
Yes, adjectives should be used sparingly - see indeed Hemingway, as Odd Art says below.
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Actually, I have two characters - the young woman, a upcoming marine biologist, and an old man, the "I". Both are concerned about a teenager, Judy, who is in trouble. The 'I' is Judy's uncle. I try to abide by the space limitations of this mooc. That's why I left out the 'I' as much as possible.
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
‘Hey, mister!' A calm, determined voice. Standing in front of me, arms akimbo, a young woman, dark-skinned, tall and stocky. Frizzy hair, eye-catching earrings in rainbow colours. Shoulders and arms firmly muscled. A calm and unobtrusive face without any trace of makeup. Striking eyes, however. She’s looking at me with a mix of pent-up anger and curiosity. ...
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
Green gives very few details describing the physique of Spicer. They are however telling: an elderly man with thin, dry hair and dandruff. Walking nervously. Then his thoughts reveal the beginning of a plot - he has (probably?) killed a man.
Atkinson gives no description of how Victor looks, but het description of his behaviour - shy, unworldly - implies... -
Rather heart- or lung problems, I would say...
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
- 'Hey, mister!' A calm, determined voice. A young woman, dark-skinned, tall and stocky, frizzy hair and eye-catching earrings, plastic squids in rainbow colours. She wears wide jeans and a light blue sleeveless shirt. Shoulders and arms firmly muscled. Hands resting on wide hips. Her face, calm and unobtrusive, shows no trace of makeup. Her eyes are striking,...
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
What Michèle Roberts describes as 'slowing down', is (I think) selecting carefully meaningful details from an overload of details one see's before one's 'mental eye'. Details not only serve as upholstery, but to frame the plot (the action) in the right atmosphere, and 'show' emotions instead of enumerating them.
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I certainly can sympathise - libraries (of universities or public ones) are often nightmares.
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Ludo Hellemans replied to Amy Corner
Both situations, both the idyllic and the unpleasantly urban, are realistically described and empathetic.
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
Bad:
- ‘See that old man writing there? Hey mister, you have homework? Do you need our help?’ Laughter. One of the kids leans over my shoulder to look at what I am doing. I close my notebook, think of a good reply, but then the kid is already gone.
That ‘old man’, that's me, on a bench in a park near a school. I thought to find peace here, to enjoy the sun... -
Ludo Hellemans made a comment
I prefer to write in the morning and with music. No restless music, but for example piano or violin sonatas. I'd like to find a place outside the house to write, but it's not easy. I live in a country where libraries are seen as extensions of school, with all the consequences that entails. Most cafes are busy and restless, but I recently discovered a cafe...
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
I like the approach of Michèle Roberts, which I interpret as just sit down and start writing down whatever comes up, nonsense or whatever.
There is a book, Twenty lines a Day, by Harry Matthews, who for a year just started the day by writing twenty lines (the idea comes from Stendhal) - and it became a book (after a lot of editing, I suppose). I also read... -
Ludo Hellemans made a comment
Yes, making a habit of writing - a daily activity - that seems to me a good advice.
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@MassimoGrassi - Well, that should be doable, I think. Doing research with elderly people is difficult because that group is prone to dideases and so on. Smart young music students is a totally different group in that respect. But maybe they are so focussed on music that they might be reluctant to participate in brain research? Still, it must be possible to...
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Amusing, this sort of anticlimax.
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
I enjoyed week 1.
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
I gave details of both appearance and character. I don't think I should add more - I would prefer to go on with the story.
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
Orwell is very concise in his description and focuses on physical features, or rather on one feature in particular, that disfiguring birthmark.
Heller gives a more detailed (and longer) description, with much emphasis on clothing and hairstyle and shoes.
One gets the impression that Orwell doesn't like his personage while Heller is much more neutral.
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
- 'Mister!' A calm, determined voice. A young woman, arms akimbo, standing in front of my table in the cafeteria. Staring at me, glowering. Black, African hairstyle, blue shirt and denims. She continues: - 'Mister, you followed me all te way from the library. And here you sit watching me. Am I mistaken or not?'
- 'No, uh, you're right. My apologies. But..... -
Ludo Hellemans made a comment
I wanted to write from an early age, but for a long time that only resulted in provocative essays at school, and in countless started diaries and travel journals, usually no more than a few pages. And when I was traveling as a student - vacation or fieldwork - I wrote long letters about my experiences to girls I had a crush on. I wrote enthusiastically about...
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
What prompts some people to start writing? The authors in the audio tell different stories about this, varying from always wanting to write to starting by accident. I think most writers come from an environment where books, stories and writing are seen as something normal. Many have inspiring examples in their childhood: parents reading books, being read to...
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Ludo Hellemans replied to Amanda Stephens
Wasn't it Mark Twain who said that writers shouldn't be paid for every word they write, but for every word they scratch out?
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Ludo Hellemans made a comment
Reviewing my notes I would focus on the girl with that worn notebook, and on that warm feeling I felt looking at how she was writing, and then put her keys on her closed notebook - she has come to a decision, probably to leave that cafetaria.
Whatever she is going to do, wherever she is going, whoever she is going to meet - I wish her well. -
Ludo Hellemans made a comment
What caught my attention in this video was the girl looking at the two men talking (0.46 - is she feeling lonely? Has she overheard something that caught her attention?), and that small red worn notebook at the end. One sees so few people writing by hand these days! That red notebook gave the impression that it was well used. So I have a warm feeling towards...
