The Benefits of Being Painted Into a Corner
Painted into a corner via Google image search.
As a reader, I love to see how the characters are going to get out of difficult situations. When the odds are stacked against the hero, and escape appears impossible, those are the moments where creativity pays off. The process of going through the adventure, getting stuck, and then emerging victorious, provides great satisfaction. But what about authors that paint themselves into a corner? (Yes, I’m looking right back at myself.)
My own creative process actually requires that I paint myself into corners. What do I mean by that? (more…)
Five songs that inspired Oz
Day after day the endless flow powers the clockwork machinery. Music flows through the gears of creativity, inspiring great stories. Picture courtesy of Pinterest (credit: The Time Machine, by Dmitriy Filippov)
Music goes hand in hand with creativity like applesauce goes with pancakes. Every author has their own music that they depend on when they build their worlds. Here is a glimpse into a few of the songs that inspired The Hidden History of Oz series, and what makes them so great. (more…)
Designing the future (games of 2020)
An origami dragon. Courtesy google image search.
While reviewing some of my past creative work today, I came across a game design document I wrote in 2009.
I was still a student, and the contest was a limited-time entry only. With just a few days before the deadline, I brainstormed what I thought would be a fascinating game and digital world. A large part of this document relies on technology that isn’t quite there yet. (Think back to how much less-there the technology was four years ago!)
In designing Paper Planes, a Massive Online Community of digital origami, I combined three things: digital technology just beyond our reach, the infinite creativity of the human mind, and origami, which fascinated me as a child. Consider the artistic landscape – if there were no limitations to digital folding or paper craftsmanship, what could you create? (more…)
The Hidden History of Oz 