Musings of Two Creative Minds

This is a post I've been thinking about sharing for some time, but hadn't because I was actually a little afraid to talk about it.  When it comes to writing, the idea of collaborating with someone else filled me with both excitement and dread.  Especially dread because I am not always that confident in my skills and abilities. Yet, I seem to be doing something right.  A number of people find this blog quite helpful and offer their own experiences which reflect many of my own.  Furthermore, until now writing has been a solitary activity.  I enjoy being the one to make decisions and not have to worry whether or not I offend someone else or hurt feelings.  Oh, I've bounced ideas off certain people I trust, like my wife Helen.  In her case, I do this quite often because I consider her much better read and more knowledgeable about science and logic than me.  But in the end, the final decisions have been all me.  So to surrender some of that...

Here is part 3 of my 4 part video series on my wife and I moving from Santa Cruz to the Monterey Bay area.  The experience itself has given me loads of ideas and I hope it's been doing the same for you.  You've seen me going through a range of emotions and hearing how I feel about leaving the place that's been home and my inspiration for the last 4 years.  But with any new experience you can find a lot of ideas if you just keep your eyes and mind open.

Well, my wife Helen and I have finally finished moving into our new place.  I'll be posting some more videos from my Vlog about that shortly, but I wanted to focus on another subject today.  Hobbies, talents, things people do for adventure, enjoyment and relaxation. Now in creating characters that seem real to the audience I've found that the more real and reachable the characters are (i. e. they're like people you know or might meet) they're the ones that the readers seem to really relate to and even come to love.  Now one method I've used to make my characters seem more human and real is to give them traits that are familiar, and even somewhat odd but intriguing.  I've given characters hobbies or activities I've tried.  When they are finished with what I've written, some have even gone and done research of their own on the activity.  Some have even taken it up and made it a part of their lives. But how did that happen?  Simple, whether it's pla...

And here is part 2 of "My Setting Is Changing". This time we're starting to say farewell to some very close friends...

Well, for some time now I've considered adding Vlogging to my arsenal of writing tools.  And today, I took my very first steps.  A few weeks before college let out, I was speaking to a classmate about how I wished I'd had a digital camera to record some of the dances we were doing in class so I could rehearse at home.  She told me she had a Bloggie camera that she didn't like and would let me have if I: 1) Managed to get it to operate, because she couldn't and 2) Promised to record her performances in class. Well I agreed and succeeded at doing both.  So that's how I wound up with a Bloggie camera.  Mind you, I later learned that the reason she couldn't get it to work was software incompatibility with her computer.  And by the time I figured out the problem and how she could get around it she already had gotten new camera which was better suited for her needs.  She informed that the Bloggie had been given to her as a gift, so she wasn't out of ...

I'm really excited, today is my very FIRST guest blog. It's at 10 Day Book Club. The link is below, I hope you all get to check it out. http:// 10daybookclub.wordpress.com/ 2012/05/02/ story-ideas-a-walk-through-life /

Recently I've been doing a lot of things at college, especially dancing.  I'm currently taking 4 different dance classes: Jazz Dance, Ballet, Latin and Improvisation.  Each of these dance-styles are unique unto themselves but also share aspects such as "Core-Building", fluid movements, music, etc.  I enjoy trying all these different styles and how my body reacts to them.  Also, I find how they make me feel emotionally and mentally quite stimulating and refreshing. Now what does all this have to do with bringing characters to life?  Simple.  To me, a person's life is the sum total of their experiences both good and bad.  How we react, what choices we make, all of these things shape who we are and who we may yet become.  So if a life is shaped by experiences and how they made you feel, how can your characters be any less human than you or me?  But a character is just that.  A made up person with no real past or experiences, EXCEPT for the...