Stories That Waited 30 Years

Stories from a country most people can't find on a map

I grew up hearing Lao folktales. These were stories my family carried across oceans and through refugee camps. We brought them to a new country where hardly anyone knew where Laos was on a map. I heard tales about Naga serpents guarding rivers. Clever rabbits outsmarting tigers. Spirits living in banyan trees.

These weren't just bedtime stories. They were pieces of my culture, my language, and my history. My parents fought to keep them alive. These stories made me who I am today.

But for 30 years, they stayed in my head.

I didn't know how to make them work

I had the stories. I had the passion. But I didn't have the structure.

Picture books aren't just short novels. Comics aren't just illustrated stories. Screenplays follow their own set of rules. When you tell a visual story, every word must earn its place on the page.

I tried writing them anyway. Draft after draft ended up in a drawer. The stories that meant the most to me kept falling apart. I struggled with long explanations, weak character goals, and pacing that felt too slow.

I could see the story in my head, but I couldn't make it work on the page.

So I learned in stolen moments over 30 years

I studied craft books during my lunch breaks. I took workshops on weekends. Late at night, I analyzed published picture books page by page. I counted words, tracked story beats, and figured out what made them work.

My day job is being a Product Designer. It turns out that design is its own kind of storytelling. I use it to explain complex ideas and lead users through a journey. I even train interns on these techniques. But using those skills for books and movies was a whole different challenge.

Between work and raising a family, I pieced the craft together. I learned how a picture book needs a special moment on every page turn. I learned how comic panels guide your eyes. I learned how to format a screenplay the way experts expect.

Slowly, in those quiet hours, I figured it out. My stories started working. Some even got published.

It took 30 years to learn while living my life. Most of us aren't full-time writers. We have to find time between day jobs and bedtime stories.

The tools didn't exist for visual storytellers

I tried every writing tool I could find. None of them were quite right. They were built for people writing long novels. They didn't understand the unique needs of visual stories.

Picture books need help with pacing across 32 pages. Comics need a panel-by-panel flow. Screenplays need specific formatting for action, dialogue, and scene headings.

When I finally found a professional editor to help, it cost $500 or more for just one manuscript. That was great for my first book, but I couldn't afford it for every story.

I realized that if I struggled this much after decades of learning, others must be struggling too. I thought about illustrators, parents, and teachers with stories to tell. Their stories might wait another 30 years, or they might never be told at all.

So I built the tool I wish I'd had

I wanted professional story development that didn't cost $500. I wanted a way for people to learn the craft without waiting 30 years.

I dreamed of a tool that:

• Shows you what's broken without rewriting your voice
• Teaches you to fix it yourself so you learn the skills
• Understands visual formats instead of treating everything like a novel
• Costs less than a tank of gas instead of $500 per story

That's Storyboon. It provides professional help for picture books, comics, and screenplays. I built it because I spent 30 years learning these techniques the hard way. Now, you don't have to wait that long.

Your story deserves to be finished

Those Lao folktales I grew up with are finally real. I successfully Kickstarted my first children's book, Xieng Mieng Adventures. I brought those stories to kids who need to see themselves in books. Now I run Sahtu Press. It's a nonprofit company that helps underrepresented voices get their stories out.

I often think about the stories that never made it. All the drafts kept in drawers and the ideas that felt too hard to finish. Many voices are never heard because the right tools aren't easy to find.

Your story matters. Whether it's the one you're working on now or the one that's been in your head for years. It matters to the readers who need a story like yours. It helps preserve your culture and your experiences.

Your story deserves to be finished. You shouldn't have to wait 30 years to make it work. That's why Storyboon exists.