failed writer, schmo
by yuvi
In this podcast episode, I wander through some rough thoughts about what next. It’s a more detailed (and meandering) account of what I wrote last week.
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by yuvi
Hi there. Just wanted to let y’all know that I’m going to take a little break from online-y things. I need to think through my online projects. And I want to clean up a few non-online things (like family, book, sleep, intestines).
And when I get back to it, I’d like to shift things up a little. I might revive the I’m a Failed Writer series to tackle a few writerly issues on my mind. I also want to adjust The Creative Turn project. Perhaps play with both the format and the content. I want to talk less directly about writing. I also don’t want to require audio + video every single round. Or necessarily keep doing straight-up interviews. It’s been a fun experience so far, but I’m ready to f#!@ it up a little bit. So stay subscribed to The Creative Turn podcast or my website for an update once I get my head on straight. And even before I get my head on straight (pretending that I intend to…), you may be privy to a few experiments around here. Wow: did I just use the word privy? Sorry.
Oh. Unrelated side note. Is this video funny? Or just 81 seconds of un-funny suffering?
by yuvi
In this podcast episode, I talk to Harold Johnson – poet, novelist, musician, artist, teacher, editor, and more. Harold is an African-American man who was born in 1930s Yakima, Washington and I really wanted to listen to him talk about growing up in this time and place. It is only one piece to the story of who he is, but a piece I definitely wanted to hear. So I hope you’ll join me on this journey into 1930s & 1940s rural Washington.
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Link to audio
by yuvi
There’s an enormous disparity between my geek friends and my literary friends when it comes to how they listen to podcasts. While my geek friends argue over the subtle quirks between their seven favorite podcast apps (aka podcatcher, aka podcast client), quite a few of my literary friends don’t know what the hell a podcast app is. And when they do listen to a podcast episode, they do it by going to a website from a browser on their computer and clicking play.
I want to change this.
Not the part about us geeks arguing over trivial features – no one can stop that, it’s a force of nature – but I want stop this method of playing podcast episodes from the browser. There is a better way, and you’ll be able to discover and hear so much amazing stuff if you learn this one thing from the geeks. Here’s a little video I made for those who want to learn a few reasons why podcast apps are useful. It also contains a tutorial for an easy way to get started for free if you have an iPhone or iPod Touch. Even if you don’t have one of those snooty devices, the basic premise is the same with another smart phone or a computer.
WARNING: This is a seven-minute presentation/tutorial meant for a newbie podcast listener. Also, it isn’t (yet) full of jokes… just a few of them in there…
by yuvi
In this video, I get to focus on Kate’s perspective on the index card treatment, which is how she lays out index cards to outline her novel. It not only can help with plotting a story, but with detecting patterns in your book. Kate also came up with a fabulous metaphor about a risk with the index card treatment — a metaphor that required all of my bad animation skills. She says many more things that I didn’t get a chance to animate, so check out the full one-hour audio conversation for more of her insights. Enjoy!
Related links:
For more information about this half-baked series (and how to subscribe to it), check out The Creative Turn.
by yuvi
In this podcast episode, I talk to Kate Maruyama. She is the author of the novel Harrowgate, which just came out in September and hit #3 on the Kindle horror bestseller list. Kate and I usually check-in using an ancient telephone contraption, but I tricked her into Skyping so I could record some of the cool things she says about the writing process. Two things we focus on: Kate’s background in screenwriting, and her keen editing abilities. Enjoy!
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Video inspired by the conversation
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Link to audio
by yuvi
In this video, I dig into Kristen Forbes’ process for writing a story or essay. And I vent about my dislike of the pantser/plotter stereotype. (For those who don’t know what the hell I’m talking about, watch the video for a quick explanation.) But most importantly, I animate a great story Kristen told about her obsession with Chad Simpson’s writing — a story that I hope you find as wonderful as I did.
Related links:
For more information about this half-baked series (and how to subscribe to it), check out The Creative Turn.
by yuvi
In this podcast episode, I get to talk to my good friend Kristen Forbes about writing well-crafted pieces that cover emotionally raw material. I really enjoyed speaking with her, and other than the number of times I stupidly say, “Wow!”, I’m pretty pleased with how this conversation turned out. Check out the first two links below to read the two main essays that we reference in the discussion. Also, I’m still working out minor audio issues… bear with me… Please?
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Video inspired by the conversation
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by yuvi
I’m doing this Creative Turn thing as a solo project. It’s an exhausting racket. A labor of love that often feels like it has an emphasis on the labor part. (Don’t worry… this isn’t going to turn into a request for $$$!) I spend hours and hours in my attic working through the edits of the audio and the video. I’m the one learning how to stumble my way through tools like Final Cut Pro X at night when my family is asleep. I’m the one paying for the site and servers and services to make this thing work. I’m the one who can’t sleep, worrying about whether spending all this time on these projects is going to feel meaningful in the end, or if it will kill me. I’m on this sinking ship alone.
But that’s a dishonest story. There are a tuches-load of people involved in my so-called solo project. [Read more…]
by yuvi
In this video, I fixate on one particular topic: Scott’s quest to turn his second book (a novel in progress) into a deeper story. And more generally: can you turn something formulaic (and in your head) into something deeper (and in your heart)?
Not only is Scott smart, he’s also funny. So you’ll notice that I can’t help but giggle through a lot of Scott’s stories. Sorry.
Regarding the making of this video: I forced myself to create it mostly through still shots with my iPhone (while also learning how to crudely edit video in Final Cut Pro!) just to make things awkward for me (and maybe for you too). Hope you enjoy it just the same…
Thanks again to all those who submitted hug photos. I hope I did those great photos justice.
Related links:
For more information about this half-baked series (and how to subscribe to it), check out The Creative Turn.