Do any other authors do this? When I’m about to start a new project, I’ve found it incredibly helpful to take a little time and interview my characters. I will literally open a blank document, and just start asking my characters questions. Sometimes I write it as a little scene between my character and a … More Interviewing my characters
From a young age, I had been fascinated by stories. From sitting in front of my mother as she read me a Darkwing Duck picture book for the hundredth time, to watching movies and playing video games, I could always get lost in a narrative. When I was growing up, I was exposed to the … More The First Time I Realized that Stories Don’t Always Have Happy Endings
E3, in addition to being the debut of many a new gameplay trailer, has also become a home for many a video game buzzword. Words like “innovation,” “gameplay experiences,” “social interaction,” and so on get tossed around to such an extent that they become a mockery of what they once meant. Suddenly, no one cant … More The Startling New Trend of the “Gameplay Experience”
I’m going to talk about something more serious than my typical subject matter. I’m also going to keep it brief and vague, because I don’t want to air my dirty laundry on this blog. But, I am going to put my thoughts down for those interested. Apologies. How many of us have ever done something … More On Apologies
I didn’t know it until recently, but I have a thing for…I don’t know the name for it, but the music that plays during Irish Step Dancing. I’m sure if you heard it, you’d know exactly what I’m talking about. The kind of exciting, peppy, energetic stuff that feels almost like it’s competing against the … More Heartbeat of Home
Yesterday, I was told by a friend of mine on the train that I am a hyper-critical person. She was referring to a number of things, namely the fact that my edits to her novel were very in depth and questioning, prodding for character details and asking about portrayals. In that sense, I agree with … More Do you analyze everything?
It’s easy for those of us who don’t play video games to look at the medium and see nothing more than guns, violence, soldiers, killcounts, and candy-swaps. However, like any other creative medium, that description only scratches the surface of what video games have to offer. Join me as I share my experiences with video … More Experience Points #2: Pokémon
I’m an introverted person. That means, on an extremely simple level, that I need some alone time. At the end of a long day of work, I find myself wanting nothing more than to hide in my basement, turn on the PlayStation 3, and lose myself in the worlds of video games. I use this … More Alone time
I think we all remember the first time we realized the true power of words. It’s when you find a passage that just smacks you right in the heartstrings. You realize that you are not reading mere symbols on a page, but something truly magical. Suddenly, you are all-too-aware of the power these symbols have … More Understanding the power of words
Derek Pietras 