Author: estherkrogdahl

My Very Own Triangle

| estherkrogdahl

I recently completed a nine-week course of coaching with the wonderful Cindy Kennedy. What kind of coaching, you ask? I guess if I had to lean in a particular direction I’d say that it was career coaching, however in the end Cindy coached me in all areas of life because she is a downright GURU!

So what did I learn? A flippin bunch!

Firstly, I learned that having a strong, intelligent, passionate and creative woman holding you accountable every fortnight is a great catalyst for getting your shit together and striving to achieve (my primary school motto!).

Secondly, I learned that I value Confidence, Presence and Authenticity (Hint: This is where the triangle comes into play), yet I’m not always doing these values justice. I’ll give you an example…

Confidence – I am good at decision making and identifying what I want, BUT I ultimately give way too many fucks about inconsequential things outside of my control. So something small can crop up and really sap my confidence – like say, being asked to publicly speak.

Presence – When I meditate I manage to stop thinking about stuff for five whole minutes BUT outside of that, my brain is a busy hive if thoughts and plans. I’m constantly looking for new things to try, learn and grow from. This means that spending time with my husband and kid is often not as fulfilling as it should be (or as I want it to be). It also means that I multi-task at work and don’t check in fully to meetings and other people interactions. It means I get a lot done, but at what cost?

Authenticity – I hate pretending to be someone else. I can do it, but it makes me feel really uncomfortable. As a new people manager I’ve tried to emulate other managers around me with awkward consequences. I’m also an author and I’ve found myself looking at what other authors/writers are doing on social media (*cringe) rather than just doing my own thing, my own way.

Now I’ve identified my current behaviours relating to my values I can go about CHANGING them to be more balanced and positive. How do I do that? Well here are some suggestions that are working for me:

Mirror mantra – Look in the mirror and tell yourself what you need to hear daily. I focus on Confidence and Authenticity here – “I’m not a robot, I’m human. I don’t need to be perfect. I am enough.”

Meditation – I have a few go-to guided meditations that I try and do before bed most nights. I’ve also taken to a 5 minute self-guided preparation mediation when I’ve just woken up. This grounds me in the present and helps me set the “being present” tone for the day.

Being brave – Confidence = bravery. Confidence doesn’t mean everything is easy and suddenly I’m a perfect public speaker, it means that I don’t shy away from speaking opportunities. It means I dare to be brave.

Identify my values and what I like/dislike – To be authentic, I need to know who I am and what I value. I need to avoid what doesn’t feel authentic and be open and honest (and unapologetic) about what does.

Positivity – fake it until you make it! Even if something feels daunting or like it is going to SUCK, change the way you talk to yourself and others about it – add a positive spin. It’s surprising how fast you start to believe it 🙂

So there you have it, the outcome of some top-notch coaching with Cindy Kennedy! I can whole-heartedly recommend her services to groups and individuals alike. She runs an amazing corporate training program too called, Rise to Shine (which my company has done – this is how I heard about Cindy). I saw so many positive changes in the people who attended the workshops over several weeks. If you are thinking about doing something like this, then jump in. You won’t regret it.

No Child Wants to Curl up with a Good Lecture

| estherkrogdahl

If you are a budding writer and dream of getting a book published one day then first off, you should listen to every Words and Nerds podcast ever made. Dani is host of the literary podcast, where she chats to authors of all genres about the social and political impact of the writing and the writing process.

The podcast now includes a spin off called, Publisher Insiders, and it contains so many deliciously good tips and tricks for pitching and submitting manuscripts (oh that sort of rhymes). I’ve tried to distill some of what I’ve learned from listening to the podcast here – with a focus on Picture Books (because that is what I’m currently working on) – although many of these points apply to ANY book type…

  • A publisher insider once said, “No child wants to curl up with a good lecture.” What does this mean? Well, don’t be all preachy in your picture book story. Have a heart-warming or “soul-sticking” message, sure. But don’t force your message down the throat of the child or their parents.
  • The goal of your story/submission should be, to be READ, not to be PUBLISHED. Getting published doesn’t mean people are going to buy the book, so being conscious of the market and how this might appeal to retailers is key.
  • Find realistic comparable titles which help describe your story’s theme and hook.
  • Start with the hook – Distill the book idea into a tiny fragment that can be explained in 1-2 sentences max. This is much more important than who you are and what you’ve written or published to date.
  • Know who you are pitching too. Research the agent/publisher first and ensure your story is inline with what they publish

So there you have it. I’ll be referring to this when writing or preparing for any future pitches. I just wish I’d known this years ago! 🙂

Games can be Life-Changing

| estherkrogdahl

I was listening to a Reply-All podcast episode called, Autumn, the other day and it reminded me how powerful and life-changing games can be. The episode is about Autumn who, during a troubled childhood, loses the one person who seems to love and care for her – her Grandmother. Autumn doesn’t get to say goodbye or grieve in the way she needs to…

During this time she is also playing The Sims – building a representation of the perfect world that she wished she lived in. Her grandmother’s death triggers an idea for Autumn and she rebuilds the world to match her own less-perfect life. There is one difference though, she includes her grandmother in the sim with aging turned OFF.

As Autumn’s sim grows older and has her own family, she realises there is something she must do. She must turn aging ON for her grandmother’s sim – she must say goodbye but this time, on her terms. Autumn actually uses this GAME to relive a pivotal moment in her life – the death of her grandmother – but in a way that allows her to better process and deal with it.

I personally find it amazing and truely inspiring that we can deal with trauma through playing games. Games are a powerful platform for us to express ourselves and play out What-If scenarios.

Something to think about when next playing or designing a game experience.

Rejection for Breakfast

| estherkrogdahl

Mmmmm yum! Rejection! I love it so much, I eat it for breakfast!

Actually, perhaps I should qualify what type of rejection I’m talking about here. I’m not a fan of all types…

I DON’T like the type of rejection where my kid isn’t invited to a school birthday that seemingly EVERY other kid is invited to.

I DON’T like sending a manuscript my publisher and hearing nothing… for what seems like an eternity… then a ‘no thanks.’

BUT I DO like querying an agent or publisher and getting a personalised rejection email/letter in response.

This last point might sound counter-intuitive but I assure you it is not. The fact that I have received a personal response means that someone has taken the time to read my work (so it has clambered through the moat, scaled the wall and ended up in the room of royalty somehow). It also means they feel inclined to provide some reason why they don’t want to partner on this piece. This means I have an opportunity to:

  1. Learn from the feedback

2. make my work/pitch/query better

There is always a silver lining when it comes to this type of rejection. So, I wish my fellow writers all the best in getting a good dose at some point and turning it into success! Nom Nom!

Wonderscope

| estherkrogdahl

I was lucky to work on this awesome app experience called, Wonderscope! It is an Augmented reality app that presents the user with beautifully designed stories that are truely a work of digital art!

I’d like to call out to writers and illustrators alike, that there are other opportunities for us to get creative, outside of just print media. Artistic and creative digital platforms and experiences are exploding right now, so keep your eye out for other mediums to share your talent!

Grumbelina

Grumbelina poorly drawn
| estherkrogdahl

My first children’s book will be released in July! Grumbelina is available for pre-order now. I couldn’t be happier with how it’s turned out. Aleksandra is an amazing illustrator and seeing how she has brought my words to life is truly inspirational. I have a few other books bubbling away in the background but as of now I’m going to take a deep breath and revel in this precious moment – I’ve been published by a huge publisher – Hatchette! Thank you to my contacts at Hatchette and all my friends and family that have supported me through this journey. Grab a copy here and tell me what you think 🙂

Grumeblina by Esther Krogdahl

Dreams do come true – working in games

poorly drawn cerebralfix
| estherkrogdahl

I thought it was about time, I looked back on my time at CerebralFix– working for a company I will forever remember as my favourite, in an industry that I really have a passion for.
I consider myself extremely lucky to have squirrelled out a place for myself there. I got to work on games for entertainment giants, such as Disney and truly creative experiences that will bring tens-of-thousands of people joy. In what other industry can you say that, I wonder?
Not only did scoring a role in a games studio get me passionate about my work, it also relocated me and my small family to one of the most beautiful places on earth – New Zealand.

For those you you keen to do something similar and break into the games industry, I’ll share my pathway into the fold. I am a writer and a gamer but those things have been quite separate up until I found myself on maternity leave and bored out of my mind. Looking after a potato baby is demanding, yet also very mind numbing. I was losing a sense of myself, so I decided to freelance write between naps, feeds and poop explosions.
I was playing more games as my psych had recommended I do more things that I love, while I was battling post natal depression and anxiety. So naturally, when I started looking for writing gigs, I put two and two together and targeted studios.
I started by offering my services for free, which meant I got a few gigs straight away. Small studios can’t afford writers and mostly it’s developers, artists or POs doing the writing for games instead. I started writing character bios and dialogue. I moved onto scripts and even translated scripts from Spanish to English for a Mexican studio. Once I had a few notches on my belt, I applied for Jobs on seek and got one as a Product Owner at CerebralFix.
Thank goodness my husband is a saint and made the move for me. My health improved immediately and I made such great friends at CerebralFix. I also learned what it takes to run a medium sized studio with some pretty big clients.
I worked with amazing developers on VR, AR and mobile projects. I learned something new every day. The most enlightening subject was – self managed and driven teams. When everyone in a team is on the same page and takes responsibility and shares the load, the team just hums. It’s not easy to get there, but feeling like a family is a key part of it. Relationships don’t always have to be perfect and harmonious. When people feel like they can start an argument, it’s a good thing (as long as it ends well).

Towards the end of my stay at CerebralFix, I worked as a designer on an amazing, environment-interactive mobile game for Disney. Stepping back and working with another PO was also enlightening and gave me a purely creative role to sink my teeth into. The result was pure happiness.

I’d still be there today, if not for family needs. We returned home to Perth, although Christchurch had felt like home for 2 years. The games industry is a place I see myself returning to someday. The mixture of tech and art, narrative and design, make my skin goose-bump and my brain bubble.

If you are making your own way to games now, or in the future, I wish you luck! Keep going, it’s worth the wait.

Missing Translation Review

| estherkrogdahl

I’ve been playing and reviewing FREE games on steam. Despite the price tag, or lack of one, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by a few titles. Missing Translation is one of them.

The narrative is light but basically you get pulled into an alien world and have to find parts to fix the portal that transported you there. To do that, you need to explore (in a very linear way) the world and solve puzzles. Apparently you can also try to figure out the native dialect by talking to people in the world and ‘studying’ at the school, but that is optional and frankly, I didn’t bother.

The puzzles are pretty cool, in my opinion. Although there are no hints or any explanation of what to do (or why), I found them fairly intuitive and very rewarding. For a while there I felt like a flipping genius!

You have to solve 25 levels of three different types of logic puzzles. Note: 15/25 in the first set of puzzles set my brain on fire for a while there… There is no punishment for failure and often it is a mix of trial and error and puzzle planning that gets you through within a few minutes. One thing I did find annoying was that I had to ‘re-engage’ with the puzzle every round (e.g. 1/25, 2/25 etc). I guess this was to give you the option to leave the puzzle without having solved all 25, but it mostly just created dead space between rounds and unwanted extra clicks.

The whimsical ditty playing in the background made playing through so many rounds… kinda nice. The simple art style and black and white palette worked with the game and the simple narrative. There was enough detail to pull me in but not take up too much of my time (I have a 2 year old, I don’t have a lot).

Final thoughts – definitely worth a casual play.

Emily is Away Review

EmilysAwayGameUI
| estherkrogdahl

 

Emily is Away, is a retro (set in early 2000s) instant messaging style game. It takes me back to my high school days, using MSN messenger to awkwardly converse with people you might not otherwise have the guts to talk to in person. The era of this experience perfectly aligned with my experience of that time #nostalgia.

The game is basically an interactive narrative, giving you the illusion of choice in a lot of cases, by presenting you with 3 options of response during an online chat with your best friend, Emily. You chat on and off over 5 years and consequently have life changing events to discuss, including (spoiler alert!) your relationship that may or may not turn into something more than just friends. That was actually the let down for me – although I liked the game and the narrative was well paced and easy to engage with, the fact that your character IS male (whether you are or not) kind of sucks. It would have been great if there were 2 branches that followed the same story arc, but were played out as a male or female character. It would have been so easy as you are simply typing in an online chat window and have no sense of your physical person in the game. I had to play along as a broody teenage guy pining after Emily which wasn’t something I could relate to. If it had been in reverse, I definitely would have had a deeper connection with this simple, yet well executed game.