Some storytellers are so captivating that we don’t see the flaws in the story until we have a “refrigerator realization”, where you’re standing in front of the refrigerator and realize that there was a gaping plot hole. Usually, you don’t care, because you were entertained. For most of us writers, though, it’s important that...
This week’s blog post at Adjustment Guidance is about finding joy in interactions with other people. Read it at Adjustment Guidance.
Oh man, life in Japan can be complicated! Being an American means I have to file taxes in two countries, and that’s stressful. I don’t mind paying my taxes. I mind having to prove I did. In the US, I would always claim zero dependents and get a nice big fat tax return and...
Most novels and narrative non-fiction will have characters/people who aren’t main characters. If you’re creating a video game, then you might need to know a lot about these characters to let players interact with them, but for narration the needs are much simpler. Here’s how I create them. First, I need to know what...
This week at Adjustment Guidance, the blog post is about finding moments of joy even in bad times, then using those joyful moments to build a happier life. Read more at Adjustment Guidance.
When we decided to do the podcast, one of the things we seriously considered was how open we should be. We quickly came to the conclusion that the only way we could do the podcast was to be 100% open about who we are. We also felt it was important to be open about...
Characters begin in real observation, no matter how far they may stray from that initial spark. For example, in one of my books, an important character is a talking paper giraffe. That giraffe began in two places: in a painting I saw and in some timid people I know who have performed acts of...
