Author: thea

from far away

A review of this Japanese manga, with stars in my eyes

WOW.
i’m in love.
again.

perhaps if i were paying closer attention, i wouldn’t be so surprised. i’m somewhat predictable in this area.

i checked out more manga from the library. just finished reading volumes 1-4 of from far away by kyoko hikawa. love it!

i admit, it was a bit of a rocky start, and i almost didn’t read it. the beginning is such a cliche that I had to laugh a little. the drawing style was a little old school (for my tastes), which made me wonder if i’d be able to get into it (without being distracted by these factors).

then there was the explosion and the rescue.
and the good-looking, reluctant hero.
more trouble.
another rescue.

ah, the typical unlikely and at-first-resisted shoujo relationship, with just the right dash of naivety. the girl saying, “i’d never act like this at home, what am i thinking?” and the guy saying, “i’ll most likely kill her in the morning.” (or was that the princess bride?) LOL.

>flips through the book again<

i looked at the copyright, and it’s originally 1991 (released in America in 2004). that explained the manga style. by the end of the second volume, though, i was totally hooked.

and not just by the story! the artist did some great effects, the layouts are solid, the characters very expressive.

i never realized how long certain manga techniques had been around until i read this series. think about it — after 15+ years, manga has been using the same basic look, layout, effects techniques, and visual shorthand. it’s practically a visual language.

>stares off into space, remembering little artistic details<

okay, maybe i’m getting carried away, but still! i guess that’s part of the beauty and tradition of the manga medium. 15 years seems like a long time to me (compared to my lifespan so far), probably because even the Web has only been around for barely ten years. if i really looked into it, they’ve probably been doing manga like that for lotsa decades.

whew! i’ll stop thinking about years and decades now. my brain isn’t hurting, but the room is starting to spin a bit. ^_^

so, back to the story.
the japanese schoolgirl gets thrown into a fantasy world where she is the key to everything. hmm… sound familiar? everyone is after her, actually trying to kill her. not to mention the random forest monsters. what’s a girl to do?

trip and fall to the ground, scream in fear, cry a little, and cling to the hero, apparently.

about the only thing special she has going for her is that her dad is a sci-fi author. that’s gotta count for something. it’s probably the reason she’s able to pull herself together and start learning the language of this new world. (a nicely realistic addition to the typical multi-dimensional story — how does the whole universe manage to speak english in all those other stories, anyway?)

i love how hikawa keeps the identity and true nature of the hero (anti-hero?) secret for several volumes. peeling back layers of backstory is always nice.

so i haven’t finished the series yet, but for now i give it a solid OH, YEAH, READ IT BABY!

if you like fantasy-style shoujo manga, that is.
or want to find out if you like it.

>grins, shrugs, picks up the book and keeps reading<

breathe into me

recommended music, and an explanation of musical tastes

a rosy friend of mine turned me onto this song, “breathe into me” by red. (woulda embedded it, if i could)

wow.

i love music.
(yah, you’ll hear a lot about the stuff i love in this blog.)

there’s no style of music that i can say
“i’ll never like any of that.”
i’m always surprised.

i used to say, “i hate country music — bunch of whiny cowboys.” then i realized that they do some great storytelling in those country songs. then i said, “i hate rap — bunch of cranky noisemakers.” then i heard how lyrical those rap-poets can be and even found some whose musical rhythm i could jam to. wow.

so now i say “never say never”.
and “i don’t hate any musical style”.
and stuff like that.

so, anyway, back to the YouTube link above.
watch the video, hear the music.
i won’t have to say another word.
other than, “it’s so true!”

but you can come back
and tell me what you think,
if you want.

looking before i leap

in which I offer some links to photoshop brushes and research Creative Commons licenses

i like to create.
(duh.)
and just look! perfect timing! i was born in an age of global publishing technology.
gotta love that.

lately i’ve been browsing around the Net for photoshop brushes and patterns that i can use. some really quality work is being shared by the generous hearts of other creative people. how cool is that? take a look at some of these:

well, as rich as the Web is with resources, you can’t always find exactly what you need.

so the other day i created my own photoshop and illustrator brushes for a digital image project. everything i needed to learn was available in online tutorials. i finished the project, and now i can share my work with others so they can benefit from my creativity. it’s like the cycle of life. Internet-style.

i was all set to slap a Creative Commons license on my stuff and post it, when the voice of reason (this guy i know really well) popped up with the reminder that licenses are legal contracts.

and one should never enter into legalities lightly.


leap, originally uploaded by tricky â„¢.

so… you’ll just have to wait a few more days before i post any brushes of my own.

don’t hold your breath.
i hear that can cause respiratory problems.
but anticipate as keenly as you like!

creating stories that fly

a review of the book by Gail Carson Levine


just finished reading Writing Magic: Creating Stories that Fly by Gail Carson Levine.

she’s the author of Ella Enchanted.
and a bunch of other young adult fiction books that i’ve never read.
but i’ve seen them on the shelves a lot.
so i wanted to see what she had to say.

she teaches fiction classes for kids. those young writers are getting top notch encouragement from a lady who knows about writing. her book was written to be accessible to young writers, so it was a breeze to read. but she never skimped on the good advice.

everything from how to handle people who don’t believe in your writing to how to fix a broken beginning. from starting a story to finishing it. and revising it. and each chapter had a writing exercise with enough intriguing examples to get the imagination fired up.

if you’re looking for a quick shot in the arm to prime the ol’ writing pump (yes! i love mixing metaphors!), take a flip through this book. she keeps it real, and keeps it simple. a nice combination.

making it count

time management tips and ways to milk every experience for all it is worth

if i tried to describe my life, and everything on my “to do list”, you’d probably sniff and say, “No wonder you call it an asylum. You’re nuts!”

i’m not appealing for sympathy, though.
not looking for pity.

after all, it seems this is normal, everyday life for most everyone in america. too busy. too stressed. too much to do.

for this reason alone, modern society seriously needs an overhaul. how can we be creative when life gets so cluttered?!? work, family, school, work, shopping, entertainment, friends, work, oh and did i mention work?

>straightens wild hair and takes a deep, calming breath<

yes, well. here’s the tip of the day:

make everything do double (or triple or squidruple) duty.

this is a strategy especially useful for creatives like us.

your average working joe cannot always make an action do double duty: he does his job, and it pays the bills. if he’s particularly blessed, it might pay the bills and provide some personal satisfaction. or pay the bills and provide some friendship and entertainment.

but for a writer, or an artist, everything can feed the creative engine.

learning a new Photoshop trick? use it to make something worthy of your portfolio. take screenshots along the way and then use those to post a tutorial so others can learn it to (also drawing more traffic to your website).

stuck in traffic? work through a knotty plot problem or dream up a good comedic relief character for your webcomic.

waiting in line at the grocery story? memorize visual details of the people around you: outfits, hair styles, body types, facial expressions, body language. use at least one detail in a drawing.

researching a non-fiction article? don’t just write that article on the local SPCA. use some detail of what you learn in a fiction story. spin what you learned so it makes a dozen articles, not one. query a women’s mag, a kid’s mag, an animal rights mag, the regional newspaper, and post something about it online.

reading a book on how to write fiction? don’t just learn from it! write a review. link to it on Amazon.com and get some revenue if anyone ever buys it from your site. stop and try one of the techniques it describes, even if you end up throwing the exercise away later. it’s not a waste — you learned something by doing it.

(yeah, i know.
i’m giving myself away here.
and that was the point of my entry the other day. i’m sharing what i’ve learned, which means you’ve probably seen me doing it if you’ve hung around enough.)

remember, now. whatever you do, make it count.
every time.
until you’ve made double duty second nature.