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As a writer, if there's anything I've learned from Miyazaki movies, it's:
1) Pay as much attention to the background (the world) as you do to the foreground. Show that this world is not a Potemkin village: it has many characters, all living their own rich and curious lives.
1) Pay as much attention to the background (the world) as you do to the foreground. Show that this world is not a Potemkin village: it has many characters, all living their own rich and curious lives.
- and it's not just for aesthetics: it's like Chekhov's gun for deus ex Machinas, because now you have a rich world to pull interventions from without making it feel forced.
2) Write beauty into your worlds, even if your stories are dark. Show how people enjoy their circumstances. This is one thing I've historically failed at. Not only does it make the world a character in its own right, it also highlights the darkness of the core narrative.
3) Be whimsical. All the fantasy I've really enjoyed are stuffed full of whimsy and wonder, with things that often can't be clearly explained (and shouldn't be). Not everything has to be DnD sourcebook or a Marvel movie.
4) Be light. Counter to the school of characters walk into a room and describe everything, right down to thread counts on the coats of people inside it. Do the work, but hide it, so that it's a reward for those who really want to pay attention. Be graceful.
5) When in doubt, be a Totoro (this is my personal goal: I've got the personality for it, I just need to work on the roundness). Let me know what I've missed!
Of course, nothing is prescriptive - what we can use here depends on the aesthetics of a project, and the kind of texture we want there. But it's always amazing to look at works I love, think about WHY I love them, and what lessons I can take from them to improve my own work.
