nl | en
  • I was working on the proof of one of my poems all the morning, and took out a comma. In the afternoon I put it back again. (Oscar Wilde)    
  • Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee and just as hard to sleep after. (Anne Morrow Lindbergh)     
  • The process of translating comprises in its essence the whole secret of human understanding of the world and of social communication. (Hans Georg Gadamer)    
  • Arguments over grammar and style are often as fierce as those over IBM versus Mac, and as fruitless as Coke versus Pepsi and boxers versus briefs. (Jack Lynch)    
  • We tend to look through language and not realize how much power language has. (Deborah Tannen)    
  • Language is an art, like brewing or baking. (Charles Darwin)    
  • Why do writers write? Because it isn't there. (Thomas Berger)    
  • The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. (George Bernard Shaw)     
  • The best way to become acquainted with a subject is to write a book about it. (Benjamin Disraeli)    
  • Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in private and wash your hands afterwards. (Robert Heinlein)     
  • Writing well means never having to say, 'I guess you had to be there.' (Jef Mallett)    
  • Writers will happen in the best of families. (Rita Mae Brown)     
  • No passion in the world is equal to the passion to alter someone else's draft. (H. G. Wells)    
  • Western Europe owes its civilization to translators. (Kelly Louis)    
  • The skill of writing is to create a context in which other people can think. (Edwin Schlossberg)     
  • If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn't brood. I'd type a little faster. (Isaac Asimov)     

Napoleon, William and an English soldier

picture of napoleonI was commissioned by Promotie Zeeland Delta (the tourism board of the Dutch province of Zeeland) to write three historical monologues. These form the basis of three short films (1 minute each) that you can download on your phone.

Each film takes place in the town of Veere. Napoleon grumbles about his brotheer who is not taking proper care of the fortifications of the town. William of Orange muses about the future of his son Maurits in Veere during a short respite from the festivities in honour of his recent marriage. And in the final film an English soldier laments his fate after he and his comrades have fallen ill with ‘Zeeland fever’.

Not all these stories are very upbeat. But they do give a nice overview of historical Veere. Writing these monologues was a great assignment for me. I have written audio monologues before, but this was the first time I wrote anything for film. The fictional element of the films was a first too.  At the moment it is not yet clear when the apps with the short historical films will be available. The films will be made this week.

More info on texts by SBText