Laurel Zuckerman's Paris Weblog

Ten rules for writing fiction : Zadie Smith from guardian.co.uk

 1 When still a child, make sure you read a lot of books. Spend more time doing this than anything else.

2 When an adult, try to read your own work as a stranger would read it, or even better, as an enemy would.

3 Don't romanticise your "vocation". You can either write good sentences or you can't. There is no "writer's lifestyle". All that matters is what you leave on the page.

4 Avoid your weaknesses. But do this without telling yourself that the things you can't do aren't worth doing. Don't mask self-doubt with contempt.

5 Leave a decent space of time between writing something and editing it.

6 Avoid cliques, gangs, groups. The presence of a crowd won't make your writing any better than it is.

7 Work on a computer that is disconnected from the internet.

8 Protect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it, even the people who are most important to you.

9 Don't confuse honours with achievement.

10 Tell the truth through whichever veil comes to hand – but tell it. Resign yourself to the lifelong sadness that comes from never being satisfied.

To read the complete Guardian article, click here.

Can France revoke citizenship? Not for welfare fraud or polygamy, under current law

As President  Sarkozystruggles to outlaw the head-to-toe covering called the burqa for its role in the oppression of  women, the case of the Muslim driver fined 22 euros has taken a new and interesting turn.

French Minister of the Interior Brice Hortefeux has jumped into the fray, saying that the husband of the woman fined for driving with a visibility-reducing niqab belongs to an Islamic movement that practices polygamy, which is illegal in France.

According to Le Figaro, Mr. Hortefeux discovered that the husband has four wives and 12 children, all of which receive subsidies meant for single parents from the French government. The welfare payment, called the allocation de parent isole, is often paid to the children of polygamous fathers who have immigrated from Africa or North Africa, although this is technically illegal and considered fraud in France. 

The Minister of the Interior has declared his intention to revoke, if possible,  the husband's citizenship for polygamy and welfare fraud. However current French law does not include polygamy and fraude as reasons for losing citizenship one has acquired through naturalisation.  A change in the law is under consideration.

This opens a new front in France's battle to define itself with respect to the more radical elements of its Islamic immigrant population.

Ten rules for writing fiction Annie Proulx from guardian.co.uk

 1 Proceed slowly and take care.

2 To ensure that you proceed slowly, write by hand.

3 Write slowly and by hand only about subjects that interest you.

4 Develop craftsmanship through years of wide reading.

5 Rewrite and edit until you achieve the most felicitous phrase/sentence/paragraph/page/story/chapter.

Ten rules for writing fiction Joyce Carol Oates from guardian.co.uk

 1 Don't try to anticipate an "ideal reader" – there may be one, but he/she is reading someone else.

2 Don't try to anticipate an "ideal reader" – except for yourself perhaps, sometime in the future.

3 Be your own editor/critic. Sympathetic but merciless!

4 Unless you are writing something very avant-garde – all gnarled, snarled and "obscure" – be alert for possibilities of paragraphing.

5 Unless you are writing something very post-modernist – self-conscious, self-reflexive and "provocative" – be alert for possibilities of using plain familiar words in place of polysyllabic "big" words.

6 Keep in mind Oscar Wilde: "A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal."

7 Keep a light, hopeful heart. But expect the worst.

Ten rules for writing fiction : Richard Ford from guardian.co.uk

 1 Marry somebody you love and who thinks you being a writer's a good idea.

2 Don't have children.

3 Don't read your reviews.

4 Don't write reviews. (Your judgment's always tainted.)

5 Don't have arguments with your wife in the morning, or late at night.

6 Don't drink and write at the same time.

7 Don't write letters to the editor. (No one cares.)

8 Don't wish ill on your colleagues.

9 Try to think of others' good luck as encouragement to yourself.

10 Don't take any shit if you can possibly help it.

Paris elections: progress on the planned pedestrian pleasure park on the Seine?

In 2010, Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe unveiled a plan for a pedestrian pleasure park on the Seine, promising less cars and more green.

Question for the candidates, three years later, what has become of this plan?

(see below for original renditions of the plan)

 Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe announced plans to convert two kilometers of fast car lanes along the Seine into  pedestrian walkways!  More space for people, less for automobiles. Here are some artists renditions of what it might look like...

   

If you like this urban planning, let Mr. Delanoe know you're interested in what happens now!

Here's a Figaro article for more..

Ann M Mah on food, identity and humor in Kitchen Chinese

Authors interview Authors:

   In this new segment, writers talk about their work with other writers.

 Laurel Zuckerman talks with Ann M Mah, author of the new book,Kitchen Chinese

 

 LZ: Ann Mah, you were born in California, won a James Beard Culinary Scolarship to study in Italy, worked in Beijing and now live in Paris. Who are you?

AAM: I've been lucky to live in places where good food is a key element of the local culture. My husband is a diplomat and we move often. Living in different cities has certainly shaped me, as has the experience of being a trailing spouse. But at the end of the day, I'd describe myself simply as someone who thinks about dinner while eating lunch. 

 

 LZ: “In Bejing, my Chinese appearance means that I can pass as a local as long as I keep my mouth shut.” Is this what make you a “banana”?

AAM: I first heard the term "banana" in high school (another word is "twinkie"). It refers to someone who is yellow on the outside, white on the inside; in other words someone who has assimilated so fully to Caucasian-American culture, they're oblivious to their ethnic identity. Growing up in the suburbs of Southern California, being a banana felt like a survival tactic. But after living in Beijing for four years, I'm not sure I could describe myself that way.

 LZ: The fabulous mother and Aunt Marcie pressure the heroine to undergo blepharoplasty (surgery on the eye-lids), bribing her with handbags and saying such horrors as “I know you want to look pretty.” (She finds it easier to go to China than to confront them.) Where did you find the inspiration for these wonderful passages?

AAM: Obviously the characters of Aunt Marcie and Isabelle's mother represent an extreme, but I think many cultures put pressure on young women to adapt to a certain standard of beauty. I have Jewish friends who've told me similar stories about mothers encouraging their daughters to get nose jobs. Ultimately, these passages are about perception, the way we view ourselves versus the way others see us, whether it be cultural identity, or physical appearance.      

 

 LZ: “Just because you visit China doesn’t mean your life is turning into an Amy Tan novel.” What do you have against Amy Tan?

AAM: To be clear -- I love Amy Tan's books. I first read the Joy Luck Club in 8th grade, and it was a formative experience. But when you have an Asian-American background, I think there can be this expectation that somewhere, somehow, you will yearn to discover your heritage, your roots. Amy Tan spoke for many Chinese Americans by writing about this in the Joy Luck Club. Unfortunately, Asian Americans are still woefully under-represented in literature, TV and film, so stories like these remain the few that are told. I wanted to show that there are also Asian Americans who don't yearn for this experience, who may visit the country of their ancestors without having a cultural epiphany.   

 

LZ: China and France have produced two great cuisines. Yet Chinese women are even thinner than French women. Why?

AAM: I don't know, but I must say I've noticed a lot of diet pills in both countries!   

 LZ:  Kitchen Chinese is a very easy book to read, with a lot of humor and sly observations. Tell us about your process as a writer to this seemingly effortless result.

AAM: Thank you -- I'm blushing! I've always admired stories that appear to very simple on the surface but become more complex as you peel back the layers and that's what I tried to create with this book. Writing is a very laborious process for me as I am far too easily distracted. Step one is definitely unplugging the internet. Then I have to sit on my hands to make sure I don't plug it back in.

 

LZ:  Are there special rules of etiquette for Chinese restaurants that we should know about? What is the worst mistake we’re all making right now?

AAM: You're never supposed to stick your chopsticks upright into a bowl of rice as it looks like incense at a funeral. But other than that, Chinese restaurants are pretty casual. 

 LZ: What’s next?

AAM: I would love to write something set in Paris, maybe about wine and a female sommelier. At least, the research would be fun.

 LZ:  As a special treat for PWN readers, could you recommend three restaurants in Paris?

 AAM:  1. Pâtes Vivantes (46 rue du Faubourg Montmartre, 9ème) -- I just discovered this Chinese noodle restaurant in the 9th. They make fresh pulled noodles and knife-cut noodles just like I've seen in China!

2. La Laiterie (64 rue de Bellechasse) -- Tiny and hip, with a chalkboard menu of seasonal dishes that have a dash of ethnic flair.

 3. Le Mistral (401 rue des Pyrénées) -- My husband has been friends with the owners for over 20 years, but I would recommend this simple bistro even if we didn't know them. Their Averyonnais specialties like aligot and sausage are like a big, hearty hug

To order Kitchen Chinese, click Kitchen Chinese.

PARIS WRITERS NEWS FLASH: APRIL 14TH READING AT BERKELEY BOOKS for UPSTAIRS AT DUROC

 FLASH : Wednesday April 14, 2010, 7 PM - The Paris literary magazine UPSTAIRS AT DUROC invites you to attend the first reading in their new series, Pause on the Landing, featuring new and established writers of prose and poetry in a convivial setting

Come hear work by JACQUELINE BISHOP (poetry),DIMITRI KERAMITAS (prose)and SARAH EMILY MIANO (prose)

 April 14, 2010, 7 PM Berkeley Books of Paris 8 rue Casimir Delavigne 75006 Paris,  Metro Odéon

Jacqueline Bishop is the author of two collections of poems: Fauna and Snapshots from Istanbul, both published by Peepal Tree Press in the UK. Other publications include My Mother Who Is Me: Life Stories from Jamaican Women in New York; Writers Who Paint, Writers Who Write: Three Jamaican Artists; and the novel, The River’s Song. She is the founding editor of Calabash: A Journal of Caribbean Arts and Letters and is the recipient of a 2008-9 Fulbright award to Morocco. She is also a visual artist.

Dimitri Keramitas was educated at the University of Hartford (Connecticut), the Sorbonne, and the University of London. His short fiction has been published in many literary journals. He worked as journalist and film reviewer for The Key, a Paris-based bimonthly, and also had film criticism published in La Revue du Cinéma and Ink Magazine. He currently writes for several print and online magazines.

 Sarah Emily Miano is a former chef, tour guide and private eye. She received an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia, studying under W.G. Sebald. Her first novel, Encyclopaedia of Snow, was published in nine languages, as was her second, Van Rijn, about the life of Rembrandt, which also received a UK Arts Council Award. She lives near Paris, where she reviews fiction for The Observer and The Times, as well as working on her next novel, Buffalo Wings.

 

New Workshops:

 April 19-23, 2010: Writing Conference “Do your most authentic work in Paris.” Story and manuscript development come alive at this five-day workshop. Develop your book, fine tune your manuscript, and perfect your writing in progress. Writers of all levels attend to generate new material, develop ideas, or perfect works in progress. The conference takes place at a 4-star hotel in Paris' literary and arts neighborhood, steps from the Louvre. Led by NY Times bestselling author and literary agent Wendy Goldman Rohm, this retreat has been held since 2002 worldwide, originally inspired by Rohm's Masters Tea at Yale University.http://www.pariswritersretreat.com/index.html

THRILLER - COMEDIE - LOVE STORY

22, 23 et 24 April 2010 Robert McGee: La structure narrative des genres

See website for fees and more information

Why School Libraries Need Books

 
Libraries without books?  Last year US school called the Cushing Academy gave away 20,000 books for lack of space and demand, setting off an astonishing debate  in the NTY.

Do schools need libraries with books? Of course they do! Perhaps not for research which, it is true, has moved to the internet, but for real reading: novels, plays, essays, short stories, poetry. 

And then it occurs to me: my daughters haven' had access to a decent school library in France SINCE ECOLE MATERNELLE !  

At  the primary school, a room set aside had empty shelves until parents launched a book drive to collect books for the school. The middle school proudly boasts a CDI which is a multimedia space (containing less books than our modest living room) which is frequently closed and off limits for a variety of reasons. 

The large, well-stocked open stacks school library of my Arizona childhood does not exist in any French public school my girls ever attended. (That doesn't mean it can't exist, just that I've never personally experienced it.)

So libraries without books? Not only doable, but practically done. At least in French public schools in the CRETEIL academyL. A good thing? No, a stupid tragedy. Especially for children who are not surrounded by books--good books--at home. 

Tourists in France beware! Tips to avoid the three most common rip-offs...

A big thank you to  rue89 for its article on how a café on Ile Saint Louis cheats English-speaking clients by bringing them GIGANTIC drinks that no Parisian would ever receive: "In Paris one litre beers--for tourists!"

Rip-off number one: gigantic "tourist" portions and extras that you didn't know you ordered.

The author, a student named Soline Ledésert, explains how the scam works:

The tourists order in English :

« Two coffees, two hot chocolates and one beer, please. »

The waiter, without mentioning price, asks : « Coffees with milk ? »

Without knowing that their « yes, please » will cost them an additional 3 euros, the young women accept.

« And the beer, medium or large ? » 

Understanding « large » to mean a pint, I also agree and opt for « large ».

Our drinks arrive a few minutes later. Two bowls of hot chocolate. Two bowls of coffee (yes, BOWLS!). And a LITRE of beer.

The bill: 40 euros!

Rue89 then contacted the owners of the café on Ile Saint Louis to verify the story. Their response is so wonderful that I reprint it in both English and the original French here.

The café owners:

“We are in a tourist  zone and, sure, we take advantage of it. We’re not thieves; we’re not the most expensive on the street. And, besides, we get cheated when we’re abroad. Sometimes there’s trouble, but like everyone else. Before our prices were inexpensive, and everyone thought our stuff was crap. Now, I swear to you on the heads of my children, we make exactly the same stuff, three times as expensive and no one thinks it's crap. "

C'est assumé ! On est dans une zone touristique, on en profite. On n'est pas des voleurs, on n'est pas les plus chers de la rue. Et puis, nous aussi on se fait arnaquer à l'étranger. Ça nous arrive d'avoir des histoires, mais comme tout le monde.

Avant on n'était pas cher et tout le monde considérait qu'on faisait de la merde. Maintenant, on fait exactement la même chose qu'avant, je vous le jure sur la tête de mes enfants, mais trois fois plus cher et plus personne ne dit qu'on fait de la merde. »

Tourists! This scam is easy to avoid.  ASK! When the waiter says, "a side salad with that", ask, "is that included or does it cost extra?" If you don't speak French, ask for a menu and point to the item (with the price) on the menu. In tourist areas, never say "yes" to an offer of "large" without checking the price.

Coming up:

* (not just for tourists) The famous "mistaken" change for a ten instead of a fifty...

HAVE YOU BEEN SCAMMED IN PARIS? BY WHOM? HOW? WHERE?