Imagine Nation (Pop culture TV show)

Imagine Nation is a show on NHK World TV's channel (a Japanese news' channel for English-speaking viewers) that deals with anime, manga, animation, video games, cartooning, and speaking to industry insiders. The show is less than half an hour and I'll talk about it in another post. Right now, I want to bring up a quote I wrote down.

"There are things I don't want others to know about me. And there are things about people close to me that I wouldn't want to have disclosed either. I feel the same way about characters. I mean, not everything has to be revealed to the readers, because it's more beautiful when some things are left unsaid. I think the readers will appreciate it more." - Reiko Shimizu (mangaka)

This is an important quote to a writer from a comic writer. I don't know how to better place this in the context of the life of writing. The best I can understand from this quote from Mangaka (Comic writer) Reiko Shimizu is that a writer, not even the creator of whatever given media can absolutely know every bit and detail about one's characters. These clues may only be revealed in the process of writing. While in the moment of writing one's story can the stranger become the friend. The unfamiliar becomes the familiar. What is the mystery can only be understood and revealed through the active process of WRITING.

To learn more about "Imagine Nation" the show:

Imagine Nation official site

Imagine Nation On Demand

Imagine-Nation on NHK-World on Facebook

Writing Books that still inspire me...

"Characters Make Your Story" by Maren Elwood
"Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within" by Natalie Goldberg

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*****
These two books are important in the fact that one I discovered at my college library, and the other a used copy at my university bookstore.

"Characters-" revolutionized how I came to the craft.
Before, I thought I was a lesser writer to those who wrote Plot-driven stories rather than Character-driven (which is where I was).
Then, in packing my arms with books to take home - I was taking a Creative Writing course - I read Maren Elwood's classic reference. It broke the book into sections as a textbook, with questions to ask yourself but had a very conversational tone.

Though old-fashion in terms of advice: "Don't write about interracial relationships" (guilty!) "Don't discuss religion" (also guilty) as well as don't use any one other than an All-American guy or girl as your protagonist (Aka White American - I'm Black and have used numerous ethnic groups in my stories...so I've also failed that), the book hasn't failed to teach me how important it is to take your characters seriously, so that they can color the way you tell a story.

kickoffyourheels.com (c)

"Writing Down-" is such a scaled down, thinly veiled trove of treasure, that I am guilty, not of judging it by cover, but by how THIN it was (Almost like the chockful of goodness that is E.B. White's 'Elements of Style')!

Yet, this is the entire point of this reference. You do not need copious amounts of expository.

Goldberg is a student and practitioner of Zen Buddhism, yet, you do not have to be a Buddhist to appreciate the parable-type wit and wisdom she packs in this slim book. It literally changed how I viewed life as a writer and to accept what comes in order to continue your destiny along this path.
In this book, writers can be born, but they can be MADE as well.. and both kinds will know this is WHO they are.