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Amber’s Blog

Guest Blog: Kevin Wenzel

I’m going out to the opening weekend of Choctoberfest, the month-long Chocolate extravaganza held annually in Hico, Texas (about an hour and a half outside of Austin). I caught up with Kevin Wenzel of Wiseman House Chocolate, the chocolatier who started the event, to get some insight on the fest, and on his shop. What […]

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Language Learning in Literature and Life

As a language learner, things can get a little overwhelming at times.  Having a conversation one-on-one in a second language can be hard enough, but being dropped into an on-going conversation takes everything to the next level.  I still remember the first time I got into a car with a group of people who wanted […]

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Sticking The Landing

When you watch a gymnast doing a parallel bars routine, it is easy to get caught up in the grace and the power – coupled with an I-could-never-do-that kind of awe.  Nothing ruins that experience – or the gymnast’s score – faster than failing to stick the landing.  A double hop – or worse, falling […]

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Tour of Manos de Cacao

While we were in Monterrey, we got to spend a morning with the Llanderal Family of chocolate makers. It was an educational and enjoyable experience We sat down with Jorge Llandreal first and spoke with him about his business and his journey into becoming a chocolatier/chocolate maker.  He told us he earned his medical engineering […]

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Guest Blogger Anna Kashina

I got a change to talk with fellow Angry Robot author Anna Kashina about (among other things) balancing point of view when working with a large cast of characters.  She also touched on how to introduce characters and make sure they have distinctive voices. How do you balance multiple POVs so that everyone gets the […]

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Kintsugi and The Fine Art of the Character Arc

In real life, we resist change.  But our characters get pushed to change by the plot.  Some characters embrace change, and are more than ready to undertake a hero’s journey. Typically, though, protagonists don’t like change – especially difficult, painful change — any more than you do.  But you have to ignore their protests and […]

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