#84: Henry Lien — Eastern Narrative Structures, Choosing the Right Ideas, and Writing Lessons from George R.R. Martin & Kelly Link

Henry Lien is a speculative-fiction writer who was born in Taiwan and currently based in Hollywood, California. Henry is well known for his middle-grade fantasy series Peasprout Chen, a genre-bending saga that blends martial-arts action, figure skating flair, and sharp coming-of-age dynamics — a mashup that one reviewer memorably described as “Hermione Granger meets Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon meets the Ice Capades meets Mean Girls.”  In addition to Peasprout Chen, Henry writes short fiction (appearing in publications such as Asimov’s Science Fiction, Analog Science Fiction and Fact, and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction), essays, and non-fiction that explore Eastern storytelling traditions, identity, culture, and creativity. His latest book, Spring, Summer, Asteroid, Bird: The Art of Eastern Storytelling, was released earlier this year and explores Eastern narrative structures, mythic traditions, and cross-cultural storytelling techniques through the lens of film, literature, and video games.Before devoting himself full-time to writing, Henry worked as an attorney and fine-art dealer. Today, he also mentors emerging writers — teaching creative writing at institutions like the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program — a role for which he’s been recognized with a “Outstanding Instructor of the Year” award. In our conversation, Henry and I talk about what it was like to leap headfirst into writing at age 42, including his formative time at the Clarion Workshop where he directly learned from renowned authors George R.R. Martin, Kelly Link, and Chuck Palahniuk. We explore some of the concepts from his new book, including the East Asian four-act structure (kishōtenketsu), the way values shape narrative, cultural appropriation, and the differences between a typical Western story and a typical Eastern story. We also touch on the importance of outlining your writing and the use of circular narrative structures in the level design of the Metroid games. Website: https://henrylien.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/henrylienauthor/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HenryLienAuthor Resources mentioned by Henry:Powers of Ten™ (1977)https://writingtheother.comWriting the Other by Nisi Shawl & Cynthia Ward

You know what they say, “you can’t spell artificial without art!” …What? What do you mean you haven't heard that? I'm sure someone, somewhere has said it… Anyway, in today's episode, we explore a provocative idea put forth in Carl Wilson’s book Celine Dion’s Let’s Talk About Love: A Journey To The End of Taste that in a sense, all authenticity in art is a kind of performance. If we adopt that perspective, it raises a lot of questions, including: how do I make art with conviction while simultaneously making it for an audience? Using examples from punk and emo concerts I went to in high school and college, as well as my personal experience making music of my own, we stumble through some possible answers.

Have you ever been in a meeting that just as easily could have been an email? Have you slogged through a personal development book only to realize that the whole thing could've been summed up in a few tidy bullet points? With the advent of LLMs such as ChatGPT, Copilot, and Gemini, it's easier than ever before to access information in a fraction of the time. And many times, that's a great thing. But everything comes with a cost. In today's episode, we examine that cost and segue into a set of practical questions you can ask yourself whenever you're struggling to bring a creative project to life.

After a two month hiatus, Always Choose Orange is back with a new episode! But here's the question —  what exactly is it? A quiet manifesto? A book review for three Pulitzer Prize-winning meditations on the human experience? Or, is it merely a Trojan horse I'm using to transport some really great Ursula K, Le Guin quotes into your ears? Whatever it is, come ready to explore a way of reading that brings you deeper into the small, beautiful moments of your own life. Media mentioned in this episode:Paul Harding: A New Way To Think About Writing | How I WriteWhat Makes a Story | Ursula K. Le Guin

We're a little more than halfway through 2025 and it’s time for a six-month reading check-in! In this episode, my brother Andrew joins me to discuss six books that affected us during the first half of the year. We use the following questions as a guide:Which book surprised you the most?What is the most ambitious book you read this year?Which book had the best prose?What is one book that made you cry?Which book impacted your life the most?What was your personal favorite? Beyond simply talking about the books we selected for each category, we also explore larger aspects of both reading and creativity in general. One of the books sends us down a tangent about the role of questions in podcasting and therapy. We also talk about the dangers of emulating popular art without truly understanding what makes it great. I then dismount my high horse and let Andrew fire off some stray shots at the Fourth Wing series before we land on a few things that we think make for an engaging memoir. Material Referenced in the Episode:How J Dilla’s Timefeel ACTUALLY WorksDragon Ball GT: What The Hell Happened? You can purchase Andrew's debut poetry collection here: The Fire of Love: A Compilation of Spiritual Love Poetry: Volume One by Andrew Drake FOR EXCLUSIVE CREATIVITY TIPS, MUSINGS, AND EXERCISES, SUBSCRIBE TO THE ALWAYS CHOOSE ORANGE NEWSLETTER: https://www.alwayschooseorange.com

Andrea Burgay is a visual artist from Syracuse, New York, currently based in Brooklyn. Her practice centers on collage, sculpture, and mixed-media assemblage, often utilizing found and vintage materials to explore themes of transformation, decay, and renewal. Through layering, tearing, and reassembling paper, books, and ephemera, Andrea creates works that reflect the passage of time and the interplay between destruction and rebirth. In addition to her studio practice, Andrea is the founder and editor of Cut Me Up, a participatory collage magazine and curatorial project. Each issue features original artworks intended to be deconstructed and transformed by readers into new pieces, fostering a collaborative and evolving artistic dialogue.In this episode of Always Choose Orange, Andrea and I explore her creative rituals (including the reason she makes sure to start each day decisively), her approach to building series like Requiems and Reliquaries, and how she structures her studio environment so that she doesn't experience creative block. Andrea also shares some great entry points for people to dip their toes into the incredible world of modern collage. To top it all off, we talk about a few of the wildest and most experimental Cut Me Up submissions as well as some "inside baseball", including the type of glue Andrea uses to keep her pieces together. Website: https://www.andreaburgay.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreaburgay/Cut Me Up Magazine: https://www.cutmeupmagazine.com FOR EXCLUSIVE CREATIVITY TIPS, MUSINGS, AND EXERCISES, SUBSCRIBE TO THE ALWAYS CHOOSE ORANGE NEWSLETTER: https://www.alwayschooseorange.com

Dr. Deirdre Barrett is a renowned psychologist, author, and dream researcher affiliated with Harvard Medical School. Serving as a Lecturer in Psychology within the Department of Psychiatry at Cambridge Health Alliance, she teaches courses on dreaming to undergraduates, psychiatry residents, and psychology interns.Dr. Barrett's research explores dreams, hypnosis, and evolutionary psychology. She has authored several books, including The Committee of Sleep, Supernormal Stimuli, Waistland, The Pregnant Man & Other Cases from a Hypnotherapist’s Couch, and Pandemic Dreams, which explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on dreaming.In addition to her writing, Dr. Barrett serves as Editor-in-Chief of Dreaming: The Journal of the Association for the Study of Dreams and has held leadership roles as Past President of both the International Association for the Study of Dreams and the American Psychological Association’s Division 30, The Society for Psychological Hypnosis.Her work has garnered attention from major media outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time, and Newsweek, and she has appeared on programs such as Good Morning America, The Today Show, CNN, and the BBC. Beyond academia, Dr. Barrett creates digital dream-inspired artwork, which has been featured in National Geographic and exhibited internationally.In this episode, Dr. Barrett shares how her childhood experience of dreams led her to a career in psychology and dream research. She talks about the role dreams have played throughout history in problem solving and gives specific, mind-blowing examples from her research where students or colleagues solved word problems in a dream, sometimes in startling ways. Dr. Barrett also provides a step by step breakdown of a technique called “dream incubation” that she finds to be a more effective tool for creativity than lucid dreaming. Many people say they don’t remember their dreams. If that’s you, don’t worry, we end the conversation with some practical steps you can take to increase your dream recall.Website: www.deirdrebarrett.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/deirdre_barrett_dreams/ FOR EXCLUSIVE CREATIVITY TIPS, MUSINGS, AND EXERCISES, SUBSCRIBE TO THE ALWAYS CHOOSE ORANGE NEWSLETTER: https://www.alwayschooseorange.com

Alex Eckman-Lawn is a Philadelphia-based artist and illustrator known for his intricately layered, hand-cut paper collages. His work explores themes of control, psychological complexity, and the hidden architecture of the human body. Alex’s distinctive visuals have appeared across a wide spectrum of media, including comic books, album and book covers, music videos, t-shirts, and gig posters. He has collaborated with bands such as Afterbirth, The Smashing Pumpkins, and Imperial Triumphant, and his illustrations have been featured in acclaimed comics like Swan Songs, Awakening, Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard, and the Eisner Award-winning Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream. In this week's episode, Alex and I talk about the influence that the city of Philadelphia has on his art. We also discuss Alex's experience in art school and the power of artist communities (as well as a few ideas on how to find or create one). He then revisits the moment where he first stumbled upon his layered collage style and forever changed the trajectory of his career. Aside from sharing a first name, the two of us also share a lot of the same taste in art. As a result, we spend some time nerding out about what Alex learned through studying legendary artists like Frank Frazetta and Dave McKean, as well as some thoughts on how A.I. is affecting newer illustrators. At one point, Alex even pries open his vault and shares the valuable websites where he sources his collage material.Website: https://www.alexeckmanlawn.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexeckmanlawn/ FOR EXCLUSIVE CREATIVITY TIPS, MUSINGS, AND EXERCISES, SUBSCRIBE TO THE ALWAYS CHOOSE ORANGE NEWSLETTER: https://www.alwayschooseorange.com

A single sentence at the start of a book can set the tone for everything that follows. In this week's episode, we dip our toes into the mysterious and powerful world of epigraphs — the quotes or passages that open some of our favorite stories. We explore the many purposes of epigraphs, from foreshadowing and framing to adding emotional or intellectual depth. We examine how they can elevate a work (and occasionally distract from it) and why some writers swear by them while others avoid them entirely. Whether you're a novelist, screenwriter, poet, or creative in any field, we end the episode with practical tips for using epigraphs to sharpen your storytelling and leave a lasting impression. FOR EXCLUSIVE CREATIVITY TIPS, MUSINGS, AND EXERCISES, SUBSCRIBE TO THE ALWAYS CHOOSE ORANGE NEWSLETTER: https://www.alwayschooseorange.com

Jon Guerra is a singer-songwriter based in Austin, Texas, renowned for his distinctive style of devotional music. Jon describes his work as "less Sunday morning worship music and more Monday morning prayer music." His critically acclaimed albums — including Keeper of Days (2020), Ordinary Ways (2023), and most recently, Jesus (2025) blend poetic lyricism with minimalist instrumentation. Beyond his solo work, Jon collaborates with his wife, Valerie in the musical duo Praytell, and has contributed to film scores, notably composing additional music for Terrence Malick's A Hidden Life (2019).In this week's episode, Jon and I spend some time digging into his new album Jesus and the two-year journey to finish the project. We then talk about some practical ways to hone your musical instincts and Jon shares a powerful example of him not going with his first idea and allowing a song to evolve beyond his initial vision for it. We go on to discuss the importance of taking the time needed to make your best possible work rather than getting a project done just to get it done. If you're interested in songwriting and/or creating beauty that, in Jon's words, "puts people in contact with invisible things," there's a good chance, you'll enjoy this episode! Website: https://www.jonguerramusic.comInstagram: http://instagram.com/iamjonguerraDevotional Songwriting Masterclass: https://www.jonguerramasterclass.com/start FOR EXCLUSIVE CREATIVITY TIPS, MUSINGS, AND EXERCISES, SUBSCRIBE TO THE ALWAYS CHOOSE ORANGE NEWSLETTER: https://www.alwayschooseorange.com