Why is Breaking Bad so Good?

After marathon-watching all five seasons of "Breaking Bad," Abby Goldsmith analyzes why the show is so addictive, and why so many viewers respect the characters. It's all about good storytelling. That, and clever problem-solving, and ironic contrast.

How can meth cooks be so fascinating? Abby delves into the world of Walter White (aka Heisenberg) and Skyler, Jesse Pinkman, Saul Goodman. Note that their names all have socially benign connotations--white, sky, pink, good. And they're not so different from the right side of the law, aka Hank Shrader.

January 2015 Writing Update, #1: Big Decision

January 2015 Writing Update, #1: I talk about a major change in my career goal as an author.

The Self-Pub Slushpile

It's the biggest criticism against self-publishing. With an ever-increasing plethora of ebooks available to readers, debut authors have increasing trouble being discovered. Literary agents and editors complain about 'the slushpile' of manuscripts they receive. Has that burden shifted to readers? Is indie publishing doomed due to a lack of curation?

On Juggling and Finishing Creative Projects

Ep06 transcript

Hi! Today I am going to talk about juggling multiple creative projects.

In the last year, I've started designing some mobile games, I've started an animated web show, I started a new novel, I worked on a few short stories, a few articles, I started this vlog. I don't even know what else I did.

That was all in one year. I am also teaching myself UX design and website design. I never run out of things to do. I am never bored. This is just my life. I am always doing something creative.

When I was in high school and college, I wanted to be a top animator for Disney or Pixar. Now I am aiming towards becoming a best-selling author. I guess a lot of creative people have these kinds of problems. There are not enough hours in a day, not enough years in a lifetime. You have got so many projects that you just keep starting, and you do not know how you are going to finish it all.

I have finished six novels as an adult, and a few as a kid. I've drawn comics, and done a few things like that. So, I have finished a few projects.

Where I get hung up with those is the marketing, and the editing. I tend to stop when the work gets less fun and more tedious. The things I am really passionate about, I don't seem to have a problem doing. I could probably lock myself in a room and write for 16 hours a day, if it is a first draft of a novel that I'm passionate about. When I work on those, I sometimes forget to eat, forget to sleep. I just want to work on it, that is all I want to do.

When it comes to the editing, the querying, the marketing ... that is when I start to say, "Oh, I see another project I would like to work on."

So there is some difficulty there. I think what makes me stick with the things that I am really passionate about—for instance, the ultimate goal of becoming a best-selling author—I will stick to that, because after I have poured I don't know how many years and hours into writing novels, I feel like I owe it to myself, and to the projects themselves, to put in that extra mile of effort.

Maybe it is because the fun part was up front, for me, whereas maybe for you, the fun part comes later in the project. But I do think that when people say it is important to work on what you are passionate about, that is very, very true. I heard some indie author say something about "if it does not feel like playing a video game; like, if the level of fun is not at a video game level, then maybe it is not the right work for you." Maybe some people disagree with that, but that is how I feel about it. I really, really enjoy writing.

I also really enjoy drawing and animating, a lot. But with drawing and animation, there is some tedious work involved. For instance, with the web show I want to do: audio editing is not my strong point, and it is not something that I find fun, so I get hung up at places like that, whereas with a novel, even the editing I can sort of enjoy. Even the marketing. I can get myself to enjoy that, by putting a lot of effort into it. So, I guess it is all about doing what you are really passionate about.

I would love to hear from you in the comments on YouTube, or G+, or Facebook, or whatever. See you all next week!