“I am writing a serialized novel in the form of a Korean drama right now. If you aren’t familiar with them, Korean dramas are sort of all the rage in Asia. They’re melodramatic. They’re romantic. They have end points and clear arcs. When they are working well, they’re like watching sixteen-hour movies.
Sometimes, I feel as if they are the perfect length to adapt a novel. I am doing the opposite. I am writing a book that will appear in sixteen episodes, twice per week, on the schedule these shows usually run, with illustrations. So far, writing this way has made me wish I could write for actors, for hundred-million-dollar budgets. It has been a process of limitations. But limitations have always bred creativity, in my opinion. Limitations are why these Korean dramas seem so much more satisfying to me than American TV shows, which often have one good season and then stretch on ad nauseum. I am inspired by what we can do if we’re told we have to stop. Here’s a quick list of Korean TV dramas if you’re interested: Secret Garden, Coffee Prince, The Greatest Love, and City Hunter.”
—Matthew Salesses, author of I'm Not Saying, I'm Just Saying (Civil Coping Mechanisms, 2013)