I suffer from Impostor Syndrome, and I am not alone. At least 70% of professionals report feeling Impostor Syndrome (IS) at some time during their careers (Gottlieb, 2020). Some time ago, Netflix approached me with an Anime Analyst position. This made my IS flare! After all, I can speak only toddler Japanese, and this job…
Category: Writing
The Authentic Voices Shift in Publishing
Lately in publishing there’s been a push for authentic voices. Authentic voices are usually minority authors writing stories that concern their groups and perspectives. This is wonderful! I enjoy reading authentic perspectives and experiences. That’s what I look for when I research articles for JP. However, as with everything there’s a downside. With the rise…
The Experience of Rewriting Japanese Folklore for Modern Readers
My work Tales from Old Japan: Folktales and Legends from the Land of the Rising Sun proved to be a 4-year writing challenge. It’s my most ambition project so far, and one that I felt inadequate doing. The goal was to collect every Japanese folktale available in English and rewrite them for modern readers. I…
Lessons from 10 Years of Blogging
I’ve been writing for JP for 10 years now. Over those years, my writing style has changed. I hope for the better! I’ve also gained more confidence, although I still suffer from impostor syndrome. Impostor syndrome is the feeling that you and your work are fake, that you don’t know enough or are good enough….
JP Turns 10 Years Old
Ten years is rather old for a blog, especially one that happened by accident. While I was aware of anime and watched it on Toonami, I didn’t have a desire to write about it, nor did I have a desire to study Japanese culture and history. Japan was cool, sure, but not my jam. My…
The Gender-Neutral Pronoun: Ichi
As a writer, I pay attention to words. The use of the word they as a gender-neutral singular pronoun has been a debate among my editing and writing friends. Many people take offense to the use of he, she, her, his, it, and him in reference to their gender identity. Let’s set aside the identity debate…