Tag Archives: story

Introducing the Boy with Too Many Names: Jazzy Mack

Posted on by
3

The Dude returned from a four month hiatus in early May.

Why the hiatus?

3 kids. Need I say more?

An explanation from Jim Gaffigan – 4 kids…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEbZrY0G9PI[/youtube]

We welcomed the newest little dude in late January. It was an awesome surprise from start to finish.

Jazzy Mack was born in our house! I caught him in the bathroom. We were chilling in our own bed as we met each other for the first time. It was awesome.

For the past four months we’ve been trying to regain our balance. Three kids is crazy. Include a new born, and it’s absolute chaos. But the balance is returning.

Mrs. Dude shared the little man’s birth story a few weeks ago. I won’t rewrite the awesomeness, but I will add a few thoughts from the Dude’s perspective.

  • Jazzy waited until the last minute to arrive. And Mrs. Dude was uncomfortable.
  • Mrs. Dude worked HARD to make sure we weren’t pressured into induction.
  • The Boy arrived an hour after the water broke. An hour! Amazing. No way we could make it to the hospital an hour and a half away.
  • We expected it. We were prepared. Mentally and fully supplied.
  • Jazzy showed up after pushing for a bit. And Daddy caught his son!
  • Daddy caught his son! Amazing. Amazingly, amazingly rad.

He is a super cool little man. Very chill. With some big eyes and expressive eye brows.

The perfect addition for The Dudes.

Although, we did give him two names. And we kinda dig ’em both. And we have a few nicknames that we dig too.

He has a lot of names.

Confusing for some? Perhaps. Perfect for us.

Jasper Mack

9 pounds 2 ounces

21 inch’s long

10:33 pm

Brown hair

alert & healthy

PS – Want some more Jim Gaffigan? Here’s some behind the scenes with Jimmy Gaff. His perspective on kids and life is pretty great.

“Buzz” Shares His Story Rules

Posted on by
Reply
Buzz

Buzz

Little Dude LOVES Toy Story. “Buzz. Buzz? Buzz?”

We must have watched “Buzz” 50 times. Easy.

Other than the awesome graphics, it’s impressive how amazing the Toy Story story-lines are.

I’ve never ventured into the world of fiction writing. Although, I think it would be very cool. But it’s a bit intimidating. Creating a great story from nada seems like a lot of hard work. With a good chance of the end result being crapola.

Luckily, we have help from Pixar – the writers of Toy Story. One of Pixar’s story artists, Emma Coats, recently tweeted a series of 22 “story basics.” Pretty great to get the inside scoop.

Not sure if I’ll ever head down the fiction path, but it’s nice to know I have some great basics.

Here’s the top 10, and you can find the full list here…

#1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.

#2: You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. They can be v. different.

#3: Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about til you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite.

#4: Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.

#5: Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.

#6: What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?

#7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.

#8: Finish your story, let go even if it’s not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time.

#9: When you’re stuck, make a list of what WOULDN’T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up.

#10: Pull apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you’ve got to recognize it before you can use it.

Hats off to Kottke.org for sharing another great link.