I woke up Monday morning at 7:30 and not long after I got to work in the hopes to finish Last Rites of the Capacitance. I dug deep and worked hard, going over it and over it and over it until I felt it was ready. I didn't walk away from the writing until I was finished shortly before noon. After a large exhale was released, I sent it to my publisher.
Whenever I finish a project I get hit with 2 feelings:
1, I'm proud, delighted, and happy to complete it.
2: I'm completely at a loss as to what to do with myself for awhile afterwards.
I end up so wrapped up in something and on such a schedule that when it all comes to a halt, even if I have something up next, I'm briefly stunned. Usually when I work, I'm multitasking between several projects. It's always helped me; however, for whatever subconscious reason, once I hit a certain point into the book, I shut everything else out and focused on it - giving it everything I had. I actually started writing this post Monday night but I've just been busy with life. I've actually decided to take a week off from writing. I say that every time I finish something and feel spent afterwards and I start working again a day or so later, but I can actually say I think I'm going to enjoy the week and recharge my batteries and then get back to work on my long to-do list.
This year's gone by quick thus far and I haven't gotten as much done or out as planned, but that's life - never enough time. The things I have gotten done are definitely setting me up for a better tomorrow. This being my first novel, I've learned a lot in the process and look forward to growing more with the next books. The original draft of Last Rites of the Capacitance was started in October 2015 and by the time it's released it'll be about a year or more. I'll get my notes back and make any additional changes needed. Then we'll figure out the cover and release date. As I found out with Gun Control for Polar Bears, there's a lot more that goes into this all than people think. It's not a situation of write, publish, release; it's a lot of writing, rewriting, editing, getting the cover right, finding the release date, another look over for any additional edits, about the author, dedication and acknowledgments, etc. The post work is a process just the like writing is a process.
My second science fiction book is aleady outlined and if I start on it this year I probably won't do so until October. I'm toying with adapting some of my lengthy horror stories/novellas into full lengths. In between the original manuscript and the more finished version of this book, I had completed 2 anthologies among other projects so it's been a busy year. I still hope to get my play out as well as the Tourniquet serials.
There's a lot of interesting stuff on the way. I hope you stay tuned.
Have a great day all. I'm going to go back to enjoying my little vacation.
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
Thursday, July 21, 2016
Capacitance, Tourniquet, and More
Okay, so I'm a little behind. Life has gotten in the way of plans. My father always told me "Life is what happens when you're planning for the future" and he couldn't be more right. I had hoped to be finished with Last Rites of the Capacitance by July 1st and then I'd go into the Tourniquet book as Dennis and I await the comic to be lettered.
However, I've been met with constant interruptions which have set me back on my time. Last Rites of the Capacitance, my first novel, is done finished as now I'm just going through doing some extra fleshing out. As I'm going through the book some more scenes are coming to me that would help it out which is, of course, extending that time. On a plus side to the tardiness to my own timeframe I've set for myself, the book is coming out better than what I had originally thought it could be as well as my publisher is very patient. I'm hoping this book will help me out in all the ways I need it to. That puts a lot of pressure on it, and more on myself, I realize that, but it's a feeling I'm verbalizing.
Dennis Magnant, artist and friend, has been wonderfully patient with me as well. As I've mentioned before, it was he and his wife who'd mentioned the possibility of the Tourniquet book. I was the one who was kinda iffy on it before coming around to their idea, realizing how right they were. The thought on doing so was to take the original five scripts I'd written and transferring it to book form and fleshing it out. I had thought it would be interesting to use the original scripts as the comic is a little different. I figured that way, the readers can get two different reads instead of just the comic and book versions of the same thing. Something had hit me recently and I pitched it to Dennis and he liked it - we make all decisions for Tourniquet 50/50 as I'd never just write something from the world we've created without consulting him first and vice versa. It had occurred to me that it might be more fun to do it in 5 serials as opposed to doing one full book. Again, he agreed. So as soon as this novel gets done I'll be writing those serials and I think we talked about releasing them for free - I'll have to check again though. This world we've created and all the colorful characters within has been a long time coming and I'm sure some people think it's probably done for, not-so-much. It's actually becoming richer as the time passes. Dennis and I have hit a lot of roadblocks and they've, in turn, ended up strengthening our partnership and friendship. We know what this can be and believe in it, I think, even more than what we did in the very beginning. So, there are some exciting things coming up for the world of Tourniquet. I thank everyone who has stuck by with the same patience we have awaiting it to pick up speed.
In the past, I'd work on multiple things at once but, for some reason this novel has shut out everything else. I understand its importance and I think that's why I've chosen to keep everything at bay until it's completed. I have plenty of other projects that are on hold at the moment: a couple of screenplays with some friends, some art projects, animation, film, comics, a play, and more. There are so many things to get done and the year is going by FAST. I haven't put out nearly as much as I had hoped to by this time but I think what will be coming out will be even better, richer. My next scifi novel (still odd for me to type as I've said before I never planned on being a novelist) is already outlined, more or less, however I'd like to get some of these other things completed before jumping into my next all encompassing book.
I would like to note something else before I bid you adieu. Things change in time. When I wrote the initial draft of Last Rites of the Capacitance, it was 74 pages and, at the time, I loved it and thought it was good. In between that first draft and this rewrite, overhaul, what have you, I'd gone through a few other projects, furthering me in my craft. Going back to the original manuscript to do said rewrites, I saw the 74 pages totally differently other than a small section or so. So doing the newer draft, I used the original as an outline. BUT it made me think... I had transcribed, transferred 5 horror screenplays into stories for a horror anthology called Sharp Items & Bad Intentions. There wasn't much rewriting and fleshing out as they were quite simply script-to-story. Well, now that I've gone through the process and realizing how to really expand on ideas, I'm very curious about dismantling the anthology and actually fleshing out some of the works. I may actually have a few books in there. I think I may be able to get at least three books out of what's in the anthology. I'm starting to understand the nature of nurture when it comes to writing - as before I've worked very fast, however I hadn't really done any book work that required such nurturing until now. I love learning and growing, even if it's forcing me to change how I'd worked for so long. Every medium is different though.
Once this book is done, among the other projects I'll be diving into, I'll take a look at those lengthy horror stories in Sharp Items and see what can be done. Until then, keep an eye out for the Tourniquet serials and check out the science fiction novel Last Rites of the Capacitance when it comes out.
And of course, my poetry book, Gun Control For Polar Bears, is out and available so be sure to get a copy of that. I know a lot of people who don't necessarily care for poetry who've actually ended up liking the book. One guy bought it for his wife as "She likes poetry, it's not my thing" but then read it, loved it, and wanted to use it for lyrics in his band. It got a small, albeit great, review from Jeffery Potts on Amazon and the book and myself got a wonderful mention on the WTH (Well That Happened) Podcast. It's not in rhyme and verse but a little more experimental. It's not love poems or whatnot as it's a little bit of everything; some tell a story while others are more abstract, most are fairly dark I suppose. So if you're interested in some weird poetry, give it a read.
Gotta get back to work. You all have a great day and thanks for reading.
However, I've been met with constant interruptions which have set me back on my time. Last Rites of the Capacitance, my first novel, is done finished as now I'm just going through doing some extra fleshing out. As I'm going through the book some more scenes are coming to me that would help it out which is, of course, extending that time. On a plus side to the tardiness to my own timeframe I've set for myself, the book is coming out better than what I had originally thought it could be as well as my publisher is very patient. I'm hoping this book will help me out in all the ways I need it to. That puts a lot of pressure on it, and more on myself, I realize that, but it's a feeling I'm verbalizing.
Dennis Magnant, artist and friend, has been wonderfully patient with me as well. As I've mentioned before, it was he and his wife who'd mentioned the possibility of the Tourniquet book. I was the one who was kinda iffy on it before coming around to their idea, realizing how right they were. The thought on doing so was to take the original five scripts I'd written and transferring it to book form and fleshing it out. I had thought it would be interesting to use the original scripts as the comic is a little different. I figured that way, the readers can get two different reads instead of just the comic and book versions of the same thing. Something had hit me recently and I pitched it to Dennis and he liked it - we make all decisions for Tourniquet 50/50 as I'd never just write something from the world we've created without consulting him first and vice versa. It had occurred to me that it might be more fun to do it in 5 serials as opposed to doing one full book. Again, he agreed. So as soon as this novel gets done I'll be writing those serials and I think we talked about releasing them for free - I'll have to check again though. This world we've created and all the colorful characters within has been a long time coming and I'm sure some people think it's probably done for, not-so-much. It's actually becoming richer as the time passes. Dennis and I have hit a lot of roadblocks and they've, in turn, ended up strengthening our partnership and friendship. We know what this can be and believe in it, I think, even more than what we did in the very beginning. So, there are some exciting things coming up for the world of Tourniquet. I thank everyone who has stuck by with the same patience we have awaiting it to pick up speed.
In the past, I'd work on multiple things at once but, for some reason this novel has shut out everything else. I understand its importance and I think that's why I've chosen to keep everything at bay until it's completed. I have plenty of other projects that are on hold at the moment: a couple of screenplays with some friends, some art projects, animation, film, comics, a play, and more. There are so many things to get done and the year is going by FAST. I haven't put out nearly as much as I had hoped to by this time but I think what will be coming out will be even better, richer. My next scifi novel (still odd for me to type as I've said before I never planned on being a novelist) is already outlined, more or less, however I'd like to get some of these other things completed before jumping into my next all encompassing book.
I would like to note something else before I bid you adieu. Things change in time. When I wrote the initial draft of Last Rites of the Capacitance, it was 74 pages and, at the time, I loved it and thought it was good. In between that first draft and this rewrite, overhaul, what have you, I'd gone through a few other projects, furthering me in my craft. Going back to the original manuscript to do said rewrites, I saw the 74 pages totally differently other than a small section or so. So doing the newer draft, I used the original as an outline. BUT it made me think... I had transcribed, transferred 5 horror screenplays into stories for a horror anthology called Sharp Items & Bad Intentions. There wasn't much rewriting and fleshing out as they were quite simply script-to-story. Well, now that I've gone through the process and realizing how to really expand on ideas, I'm very curious about dismantling the anthology and actually fleshing out some of the works. I may actually have a few books in there. I think I may be able to get at least three books out of what's in the anthology. I'm starting to understand the nature of nurture when it comes to writing - as before I've worked very fast, however I hadn't really done any book work that required such nurturing until now. I love learning and growing, even if it's forcing me to change how I'd worked for so long. Every medium is different though.
Once this book is done, among the other projects I'll be diving into, I'll take a look at those lengthy horror stories in Sharp Items and see what can be done. Until then, keep an eye out for the Tourniquet serials and check out the science fiction novel Last Rites of the Capacitance when it comes out.
And of course, my poetry book, Gun Control For Polar Bears, is out and available so be sure to get a copy of that. I know a lot of people who don't necessarily care for poetry who've actually ended up liking the book. One guy bought it for his wife as "She likes poetry, it's not my thing" but then read it, loved it, and wanted to use it for lyrics in his band. It got a small, albeit great, review from Jeffery Potts on Amazon and the book and myself got a wonderful mention on the WTH (Well That Happened) Podcast. It's not in rhyme and verse but a little more experimental. It's not love poems or whatnot as it's a little bit of everything; some tell a story while others are more abstract, most are fairly dark I suppose. So if you're interested in some weird poetry, give it a read.
Gotta get back to work. You all have a great day and thanks for reading.
Thursday, July 14, 2016
Animation
A little backstory on this:
In high school, my friend, Aaron, was on the school newspaper and he'd come to me one day telling me that they were looking to start doing a comic strip. I lit up, "That's awesome! Hey...I used to draw and I love comics!" To which he replied, "Yeah, that's why I told you about it." However, I hadn't drawn in forever and was finding it extremely hard to pick back up. In the school's lobby after school, waiting to be picked up by my mom, I was trying to draw Anything to see if I could bring it back even a little.
Years before, my friend Shane and myself had taken some art classes - the only kids in these night classes. In these classes they were having us draw various fruit and their shading. So, flashforward, I was trying to draw fruit and their shading when I fell asleep. In the short time I was asleep I had a dream of being chased by these creepy robed guys and then someone, something showed up to guide me out of the situation - it was a tall banana with legs; no arms or face. It had the pantlegs of shorts coming From the banana, and old school sneakers on his feet.
My friend Heather came from choir practice and woke me up, seeing if I was okay. I drew what I had dubbed Mr. Banana Legs for the comic strip Crazy Banana Legs - unoriginal title but I was happy the character had come to me. I did more than several comic strips for the school paper with Crazy Banana Legs.
Now, let me interject while I briefly explain my love for animation:
I love, love, love all different kinds of animation. As much as I enjoy CG Animation, I have a thing for really old cartoons, shows and movies. There's something about old hand drawn animated works that attracts me - the rawness, as if you can actually SEE the work put into it due to it not being as smooth as the medium became over time. I always wanted to animate, but I always liked the idea of independent animation vs. being a part of a huge company making these things. I've always had it in mind that if I ever attempted to animate something, I would put a little ragtag group together and create an independent animated film. The years had flown by and I was always distracted by different things life had thrown my way.
Years (Many Years) Later:
I had gotten a bee in my bonnet and decided to try to animate something. I didn't want to use a computer program and wanted to do it as barebones and as basic as possible. So, taking it down to the fundamentals of animation, I got a couple of pads of tracing paper and some pencils. It seemed that, after all the years, the only thing I could actually still draw was that damn Banana so that's what I used. I sat and drew, traced, drew, traced, over and over for 120 pages. It was long and tedious but I didn't mind - I was more excited about the fact that I could actually do it. I took all the pages, scanned them, and put them in order on Windows Movie Maker, trying to get each image down to the smallest allotted time. I played it back and loved what I got, this rough little clip of Mr. Banana Legs. More than that, I loved what it showed me - that if I DID happen to put my little group together someday that we could do it.
Now, after showing it on Facebook, my friend and cousin Scott asked if he could put sound to it. Of course, I said yes. So, in no time at all, he sends me this and I love it.
I took a brief pic of the pages I had done.
In high school, my friend, Aaron, was on the school newspaper and he'd come to me one day telling me that they were looking to start doing a comic strip. I lit up, "That's awesome! Hey...I used to draw and I love comics!" To which he replied, "Yeah, that's why I told you about it." However, I hadn't drawn in forever and was finding it extremely hard to pick back up. In the school's lobby after school, waiting to be picked up by my mom, I was trying to draw Anything to see if I could bring it back even a little.
Years before, my friend Shane and myself had taken some art classes - the only kids in these night classes. In these classes they were having us draw various fruit and their shading. So, flashforward, I was trying to draw fruit and their shading when I fell asleep. In the short time I was asleep I had a dream of being chased by these creepy robed guys and then someone, something showed up to guide me out of the situation - it was a tall banana with legs; no arms or face. It had the pantlegs of shorts coming From the banana, and old school sneakers on his feet.
My friend Heather came from choir practice and woke me up, seeing if I was okay. I drew what I had dubbed Mr. Banana Legs for the comic strip Crazy Banana Legs - unoriginal title but I was happy the character had come to me. I did more than several comic strips for the school paper with Crazy Banana Legs.
Now, let me interject while I briefly explain my love for animation:
I love, love, love all different kinds of animation. As much as I enjoy CG Animation, I have a thing for really old cartoons, shows and movies. There's something about old hand drawn animated works that attracts me - the rawness, as if you can actually SEE the work put into it due to it not being as smooth as the medium became over time. I always wanted to animate, but I always liked the idea of independent animation vs. being a part of a huge company making these things. I've always had it in mind that if I ever attempted to animate something, I would put a little ragtag group together and create an independent animated film. The years had flown by and I was always distracted by different things life had thrown my way.
Years (Many Years) Later:
I had gotten a bee in my bonnet and decided to try to animate something. I didn't want to use a computer program and wanted to do it as barebones and as basic as possible. So, taking it down to the fundamentals of animation, I got a couple of pads of tracing paper and some pencils. It seemed that, after all the years, the only thing I could actually still draw was that damn Banana so that's what I used. I sat and drew, traced, drew, traced, over and over for 120 pages. It was long and tedious but I didn't mind - I was more excited about the fact that I could actually do it. I took all the pages, scanned them, and put them in order on Windows Movie Maker, trying to get each image down to the smallest allotted time. I played it back and loved what I got, this rough little clip of Mr. Banana Legs. More than that, I loved what it showed me - that if I DID happen to put my little group together someday that we could do it.
Now, after showing it on Facebook, my friend and cousin Scott asked if he could put sound to it. Of course, I said yes. So, in no time at all, he sends me this and I love it.
I took a brief pic of the pages I had done.
Monday, June 27, 2016
Realism: Dialogue, Anatomy, and Money
I just wanted to speak on a few things for a moment that I find interesting. Just some thoughts, opinions.
As a writer I've heard criticisms such as "The dialogue seems stilted" as I've heard other writers get the same critique. It's understandable; however, I think it's interesting because often times in real life, all of our dialogue, speaking, and language in general seems stilted. I didn't think about this until recently when I was having a conversation with someone and it hit me that "I'm sure if we wrote this real life conversation down verbatim it would be referred to as 'stilted'." It's like when a real life event is written down and someone reads it to say "Eh, it doesn't seem realistic. This would never happen." The same goes for when you write dialogue that's word for word a conversation that had taken place and someone says the same thing "Not realistic. No one would ever say that."
It's interesting what our minds perceive as realistic when it comes to reading and writing versus the actual realism of everyday life.
Another thing I wanted to hit on is art critiques I've seen. I've spent time on these Facebook pages where comic book writers and artists meet and whatnot. A lot of times an artist will post a drawing piece of a character and then the comments section is filled with people telling them what they need to fix. I understand your peers giving you advise, I do; but some of them struck me as odd. I've seen on several occasions someone post art of a character clearly NOT HUMAN, whether they're alien, mutant, or some other super-powered being and they get critiqued on the anatomy. I've seen people say "You need to study anatomy. They don't look realistic." The image is met with several different variations of this criticism and I often feel I'm the only one looking at the art piece with common sense, thinking "It's not human. It's completely made up. Of course it doesn't look realistic; it's an alien from another world with three arms." But because the shoulders and hips aren't set as an average person, these GOOD artists are told (and sometimes quite harshly I might add) that what they're doing is wrong and what they're imagination says is wrong. If a character is of a race that doesn't exist in reality, who are people to say if they look wrong?
Imagination doesn't have an anatomy.
The last thing I wanted to talk about is money. First of all, I grew up with a passion for creating; it's something I always wanted and always did, creating things. It's in my blood. I think about it more than anything else and I'm finally getting to do so for a living (it's a slow start but it's a START). Second, I understand completely the want and need to be paid for your art. Sure, I post stories and other things on here but of course I have a book out I'd love people to buy as well as more projects coming. So, yes, I get wanting to be paid for your work. HOWEVER... With that being said, I've never thought about getting into writing (comics, screenplays, books, whatnot) or various art projects for money. Most of my ideas, I've often been told, are too weird or unsellable, not franchises or merchandisable, what have you. I love my ideas, of course. I create things because I get an idea and, no matter how zany or even how boring it seems to other people, I want to see it done. I've spoken before about doing it for you, the artist.
Anyway, on the same Comic Book Writers & Artists pages on Facebook that I talked about in the paragraph above, something I'd seen quite a bit (haven't been on there in some time, but I'm assuming it's the same as it was for the while I was checking it out) was money talk. Again, I understand wanting to be compensated for hard work. I get it. But something I was seeing actually all too often were artists were spending more time talking about rights and money than they were art, be it the process, the love, the thought, the passion, ideas, etc etc. It probably doesn't bother you all like it bothers me, but when I'm trying to connect with other creators, I can't think of anything more of a killjoy than jumping into a discussion of money. There are some out there who love to talk about these things; who live and breathe art as I do and so many others like us. But then there are some who are great at what they do (writing, drawing, etc) who are more interested in what art can do for them instead of vice versa. Ask not what art can do for you but what you can do for art. Most of us get into a creative field not only because of the love of it but because they want to make a difference and leave a mark. Others are just using a God-given talent to leave a mark (albeit temporarily) on their wallets. When you speak more on rights and money than you do the Arts (and its variants) than you cross over from being an artist to a businessman/woman. Imagine the difference between a financier or producer and a perfomer or artist. It's like different dog owners: Is it your best friend and part of the family or are you more interested in having the papers on your purebred to enter it in the next show for the chance for "Best in Show"? When you have a baby, you wait and nurture pregnancy before you get your bundle of joy - you don't get it upon conception, so why should it always be expected of another labor of love such as art? If you really love your art (not just USE a gift for such) than the money will come; but some people are more interested in the briefly filled pockets of the Right Now than they are in the happiness and longevity through patience.
If you're only getting into a creative world simply and truly for the money, you're not an artist; you're just someone using your talents for a job, not a career, not passion, not need, but a job like any other. No different from a bagboy at the grocery store, could be the best bagger ever - everything's packed tightly, nothing's smashed, even walks it out to your car, and probably gets Employee of the Month - but it's not their passion, not what they live and breathe, it's just using those talents for a paycheck. Money in, money out. Make a difference. Leave a mark. A real artist is permanent, not temporary. It's inside you, it's YOU, not just something you CAN do.
I know some people don't agree and that's fine, we're all entitled to our opinion.
Me, personally? I'd rather live for something I love which is why I enjoy my struggles as a writer more than I enjoyed my steady paycheck as a factory worker.
As a writer I've heard criticisms such as "The dialogue seems stilted" as I've heard other writers get the same critique. It's understandable; however, I think it's interesting because often times in real life, all of our dialogue, speaking, and language in general seems stilted. I didn't think about this until recently when I was having a conversation with someone and it hit me that "I'm sure if we wrote this real life conversation down verbatim it would be referred to as 'stilted'." It's like when a real life event is written down and someone reads it to say "Eh, it doesn't seem realistic. This would never happen." The same goes for when you write dialogue that's word for word a conversation that had taken place and someone says the same thing "Not realistic. No one would ever say that."
It's interesting what our minds perceive as realistic when it comes to reading and writing versus the actual realism of everyday life.
Another thing I wanted to hit on is art critiques I've seen. I've spent time on these Facebook pages where comic book writers and artists meet and whatnot. A lot of times an artist will post a drawing piece of a character and then the comments section is filled with people telling them what they need to fix. I understand your peers giving you advise, I do; but some of them struck me as odd. I've seen on several occasions someone post art of a character clearly NOT HUMAN, whether they're alien, mutant, or some other super-powered being and they get critiqued on the anatomy. I've seen people say "You need to study anatomy. They don't look realistic." The image is met with several different variations of this criticism and I often feel I'm the only one looking at the art piece with common sense, thinking "It's not human. It's completely made up. Of course it doesn't look realistic; it's an alien from another world with three arms." But because the shoulders and hips aren't set as an average person, these GOOD artists are told (and sometimes quite harshly I might add) that what they're doing is wrong and what they're imagination says is wrong. If a character is of a race that doesn't exist in reality, who are people to say if they look wrong?
Imagination doesn't have an anatomy.
The last thing I wanted to talk about is money. First of all, I grew up with a passion for creating; it's something I always wanted and always did, creating things. It's in my blood. I think about it more than anything else and I'm finally getting to do so for a living (it's a slow start but it's a START). Second, I understand completely the want and need to be paid for your art. Sure, I post stories and other things on here but of course I have a book out I'd love people to buy as well as more projects coming. So, yes, I get wanting to be paid for your work. HOWEVER... With that being said, I've never thought about getting into writing (comics, screenplays, books, whatnot) or various art projects for money. Most of my ideas, I've often been told, are too weird or unsellable, not franchises or merchandisable, what have you. I love my ideas, of course. I create things because I get an idea and, no matter how zany or even how boring it seems to other people, I want to see it done. I've spoken before about doing it for you, the artist.
Anyway, on the same Comic Book Writers & Artists pages on Facebook that I talked about in the paragraph above, something I'd seen quite a bit (haven't been on there in some time, but I'm assuming it's the same as it was for the while I was checking it out) was money talk. Again, I understand wanting to be compensated for hard work. I get it. But something I was seeing actually all too often were artists were spending more time talking about rights and money than they were art, be it the process, the love, the thought, the passion, ideas, etc etc. It probably doesn't bother you all like it bothers me, but when I'm trying to connect with other creators, I can't think of anything more of a killjoy than jumping into a discussion of money. There are some out there who love to talk about these things; who live and breathe art as I do and so many others like us. But then there are some who are great at what they do (writing, drawing, etc) who are more interested in what art can do for them instead of vice versa. Ask not what art can do for you but what you can do for art. Most of us get into a creative field not only because of the love of it but because they want to make a difference and leave a mark. Others are just using a God-given talent to leave a mark (albeit temporarily) on their wallets. When you speak more on rights and money than you do the Arts (and its variants) than you cross over from being an artist to a businessman/woman. Imagine the difference between a financier or producer and a perfomer or artist. It's like different dog owners: Is it your best friend and part of the family or are you more interested in having the papers on your purebred to enter it in the next show for the chance for "Best in Show"? When you have a baby, you wait and nurture pregnancy before you get your bundle of joy - you don't get it upon conception, so why should it always be expected of another labor of love such as art? If you really love your art (not just USE a gift for such) than the money will come; but some people are more interested in the briefly filled pockets of the Right Now than they are in the happiness and longevity through patience.
If you're only getting into a creative world simply and truly for the money, you're not an artist; you're just someone using your talents for a job, not a career, not passion, not need, but a job like any other. No different from a bagboy at the grocery store, could be the best bagger ever - everything's packed tightly, nothing's smashed, even walks it out to your car, and probably gets Employee of the Month - but it's not their passion, not what they live and breathe, it's just using those talents for a paycheck. Money in, money out. Make a difference. Leave a mark. A real artist is permanent, not temporary. It's inside you, it's YOU, not just something you CAN do.
I know some people don't agree and that's fine, we're all entitled to our opinion.
Me, personally? I'd rather live for something I love which is why I enjoy my struggles as a writer more than I enjoyed my steady paycheck as a factory worker.
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Dream Sequences
I found awhile back that I really enjoy writing dream sequences. I have friends who don't care for them and definitely don't care for stories that turn out to be all a dream. One of the things I found in writing them, and one of the reasons I've fallen for writing them so much, is that it helped me grow visually as a writer. For the longest time I felt I was good with dialogue and story setup but always felt my visuals needed work. As I've stated in past posts I tend to draw more inspiration as a writer from other mediums such as film. When I sit down to read a book, screenplay, or comic, I tend to be able to turn off the writer's brain and just immerse myself in it and enjoy while often times when I'm watching (a good film) I tend to see something very small in it and think "I'd like to write something the way that Looks". Writing a dream sequence is what got me started in a better direction for visual writing. Knowing it was a dream, it allowed me to free up any thoughts I would have of "Yeah, but would that really happen? Does that make sense?" So I took off boundaries knowing what I was writing and got to go nuts; warping the characters' world around them, twisting conventional visuals, and more. It's like a writer's retreat on a page as well as it is like working out through words. Branching off from writing dream or nightmare sequences, my visual storytelling in the rest of the work got better. I was able to describe things more poetically just as I had done in the nonsensical dreamscapes which was far out even for a make believe story. I'm NOT saying ONLY WRITE DREAM SEQUENCES - I'm saying, if you're having an issue with visual storytelling, start off with some dream sequences and just let it all out, do what you will. Once you see what you can do with that, apply it to the regular world in your story. It worked for me anyway.
I've actually had some interesting things come about with this sci-fi book I'm working on because of dream sequences. In the book, our lead has three or four dreams throughout; all different but strange nonetheless. When I wrote the first draft, I had them in honestly because they were cool odd little scenes. HOWEVER, recently, as I'm going back through the rewrites and fleshing them out, I had stopped for the night and was going to sleep. Something hit me like a bucket of water: what they all individually meant to the character. What I initially wrote because they "sounded cool" meant more than even I, the creator, knew. I emailed my publisher immediately - to which I'm sure she thought I was nuts lol. But they all pointed out something about her (the lead) that's important that, as I said, even I didn't catch. So different things come out of dream sequences.
You can even start writing one just to write one and then stretch it out into its own little fantasy world. Or you can use them as I did, as a visual training ground.
Push whimsy, start writing and just go crazy on the page like it was abstract art. Ignore any realism and just write what you see in your head. If you're not going to use it in a story or have no interest in said sequences or scenes, just do it for a writer's workout. The further you push yourself in such a direction, the easier it will be for you to do your average visuals that you'd more than likely be using in a story.
I've actually had some interesting things come about with this sci-fi book I'm working on because of dream sequences. In the book, our lead has three or four dreams throughout; all different but strange nonetheless. When I wrote the first draft, I had them in honestly because they were cool odd little scenes. HOWEVER, recently, as I'm going back through the rewrites and fleshing them out, I had stopped for the night and was going to sleep. Something hit me like a bucket of water: what they all individually meant to the character. What I initially wrote because they "sounded cool" meant more than even I, the creator, knew. I emailed my publisher immediately - to which I'm sure she thought I was nuts lol. But they all pointed out something about her (the lead) that's important that, as I said, even I didn't catch. So different things come out of dream sequences.
You can even start writing one just to write one and then stretch it out into its own little fantasy world. Or you can use them as I did, as a visual training ground.
Push whimsy, start writing and just go crazy on the page like it was abstract art. Ignore any realism and just write what you see in your head. If you're not going to use it in a story or have no interest in said sequences or scenes, just do it for a writer's workout. The further you push yourself in such a direction, the easier it will be for you to do your average visuals that you'd more than likely be using in a story.
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
Today
Today's a pretty busy one as planned.
On the schedule is work on 2 screenplays, each with co-writing friends of mine, dialogue for Tourniquet, fleshing out on my sci-fi book, and some editing on the horror anthology written by my wife and I.
I wrote a piece on one of the screenplays and currently working on the other. When that's done I'll be working on Tourniquet so I can get that dialogue to Dennis. Then the horror anthology, just going to edit some of the stories, nothing major. Then I'll spend the rest of the day working on my book in between housework. I love THIS kind of busy.
Both screenplays are in the beginning stages, one further ahead than the other, both way different.
The horror anthology hasn't really been touched in some time as both my wife and I have been pretty busy.
Tourniquet has some exciting stuff going on! You should be seeing Dennis & I's world soon! I'm also still planning on getting to the book version of our creation in July (HOPING).
The sci-fi book is advancing wonderfully. I wanna say I've hit around the half-way mark. Everything is growing within.
Hope you all have a productive day!
On the schedule is work on 2 screenplays, each with co-writing friends of mine, dialogue for Tourniquet, fleshing out on my sci-fi book, and some editing on the horror anthology written by my wife and I.
I wrote a piece on one of the screenplays and currently working on the other. When that's done I'll be working on Tourniquet so I can get that dialogue to Dennis. Then the horror anthology, just going to edit some of the stories, nothing major. Then I'll spend the rest of the day working on my book in between housework. I love THIS kind of busy.
Both screenplays are in the beginning stages, one further ahead than the other, both way different.
The horror anthology hasn't really been touched in some time as both my wife and I have been pretty busy.
Tourniquet has some exciting stuff going on! You should be seeing Dennis & I's world soon! I'm also still planning on getting to the book version of our creation in July (HOPING).
The sci-fi book is advancing wonderfully. I wanna say I've hit around the half-way mark. Everything is growing within.
Hope you all have a productive day!
Thursday, June 9, 2016
When Writing Comics
I've written a lot of comic book scripts and have only had one actually made though we're still awaiting release and all. Back in the day, I used to draw comics with my friend Shane Horton. We never wrote scripts; we just came up with stuff and started drawing. My art never seemed to get any better (as to say, I couldn't draw what was in my head) and I was a kid without patience so I ended up stopping drawing (something I regret wholeheartedly) and I focused on writing. Of course, being impatient and often bullheaded, I didn't research on how exactly they're written; I just started writing. As it turns out, for the most part, I was doing it correctly. Then again, as I found out later, there really are no rules and while almost always structured the same, every writer writes differently.
*Side note-- I found this with other mediums as well. I'd hear about the rules of screenwriting but when I would read a bunch of scripts, I'd find that different writers had their own thing.
The basics to how I write comics is this:
Page Number
Panel Number: Your action.
(Indention) Character/Sound FX/Caption (Whichever you choose): Dialogue.
Repeat
The way I write comics is a bit different than that of, say, Alan Moore, who is known for writing mass amounts of detail as he knows every bit of what he wants per panel. Now, someday I may write one like that but, for me, it would have to be a special project. I love art, I looove art, and in the way I do these, I tend to leave room for the artists to interpret the work and also do more, giving them leeway. I keep my panels simple just to give the artist an idea of what's going on. I like partnerships. I'm big on having a creative partner and giving credit where credit is due. I don't like the idea of having 'hired hands'. So if I write a script and an artist is interested, I'd like for them to put their personal stamp on it.
Example:
Panel 3: Superhero is flying off when Large Monster grabs his/her cape.
Now, it looks simple, but a good artist will take it and run with it. They can add in facial expressions, body movements, etc. If they draw it exactly as says, that's fine too, I suppose; but I always hope that they can see it as something bigger than that. As I said, I love the idea of a creative partner in the process and not a hired hand.
Something I've learned from working with my partner/brother-in-art Dennis Magnant: Giving plenty of room but also be quick to think of more. For Tourniquet there have been a couple of times in which I wrote a three page scene. In my head, it's how it flowed. Dennis sends me ONE page that said the exact same thing. It wasn't cluttered or too much, he just managed to tell the scene in one page when my mind saw it in three. He was apologetic and I told him there was no sorry necessary; I simply didn't think of it that way. I've learned that, giving that much room, it's almost like I'm a screenwriter and he, as the artist, is the director, rewriting scenes as need be. For some, this may seem like a bit much, but nothing changes at all, he just happened to tell the scene in a sleeker, more streamlined fashion and less clunkier than I had envisioned it (unbeknownst to me). In this case, we had then had two extra pages so I wrote to that.
I always allow the artist more space to flex. Often times my scripts become a bit too wordy. Sometimes I'll cut it down but often times that dialogue, no matter how long, seems just right for the scene. In this case, my simple and sometimes very few panels per page comes in handy as you can always put, say, a monologue as its own panel. For the short comic script "Goodbyes" (you all can find on here if you haven't already read it), it's loaded with dialogue - BUT the art is so simple and not much going on, it'd be easy to fill most of the page with the various dialogue balloons and thought clouds. Some of my shorts, like the sci-fi "Bad Wiring" (also on here) is 8 pages, but an artist may come along and be able to tell the story in 5 pages. Stuff like this doesn't bother me at all as long as the story gets told. The same can be said across the board with anything I (or you) write. My one-shot on here "Gunslinger's Remorse" is like 15 pages. It could be fleshed out More with more detail, and since it's a western, there could be extra pages of landscape. If it's a one shot shorter than let's say 20 pages, I'm open to the artist just adding some of their art after the story. Story's done, throw in some extra showing what else you do, that's cool. I feel the same for writers actually; the story's done and you have a little something extra for the reader, throw it in.
I tend to leave out details unless they're necessary; certain colors, hairstyles, etc. If I have a specific art style in mind I'll put the notes right in the beginning of the script before Page 1 starts; you'll see I did this with "Gunslinger's Remorse". That's not limiting, I don't believe, because even if I say I'd like it to be B&W and sketchy, it still gives the artist plenty of room.
Storywise, it depends on what the project is. "Justice Roll" (just like the others, it's on here) is a one-shot while at the same time a series proposal. I didn't want to have him be the main focus of the issue, telling it through someone else's eyes (much like The Road Warrior) as I tell the brief origin and also get into the superhero action. It doesn't end with a cliffhanger but ends that family's (our actual leads) story. I spoke on this before, but if I was able to get Justice Roll picked up, the next issue (and actual first in the series) would focus on him. "Two-Fisted Youngins" (also on here) was originally meant as a miniseries so it ends with more to come. It starts with the young brothers in the south being hellions, not thinking of their actions, but by the end of the issue they realize they need to clean it up. If I continue with it, I could finish out the miniseries OR I could do like TV does and take the characters through more dramatic situations.
A lot of times, I really enjoy puzzle pieces - just seeing one little piece of a potentially larger picture. In "Goodbyes" and "Bad Wiring" and even "Gunslinger's Remorse" I don't go into the full background or even the future after these events. My thoughts on this is simple; that's not what it's about. In "Goodbyes" we don't really NEED to know this couple's beginnings or continuing to understand what is going on in the short. I know so many people who NEED origins, they NEED to know WHY. I enjoy mystery a lot. I like seeing a situation for what it is without having an urge to ask "But why is it like this today?" If it leaves me wanting more, that's GOOD.
Example of this: Wolverine used to be my favorite comic book character. I loved the mystery that surrounded him. You only learned about him personally in pieces, which was wonderful. The moment they decided to actually give him a solid set in stone origin, it killed it for me. I suppose it's the same complaint I have with movie trailers today, quit showing me everything, leave some mystery. I know it's not the same but the feeling remains.
In "Bad Wiring" it's the same. It's a situation and just a PEEK into a larger world. Why does everyone have TVs for heads? Why is the Cable Co. in control of everything, controlling the city as tyrants? I don't care. It's the situation I care about. I don't want to know how it came to be; I just want to enjoy the story.
Just like ALL writing, write what you want; what interests YOU. A lot of my comic scripts probably wouldn't make much money and probably couldn't be merchandised, BUT I wanted to write those stories that were in my head. They interested me and so I wrote them. Remember, if you like something then more than likely others do as well. So if you have a strange little idea for a comic book but you have the thought of "Yeah, but it's not like *insert popular and well selling comic title here*..." who cares? Remember EVERY idea started off with that. Every idea started off without a market. It's not like superheroes, superhero teams, horror, zombies, drama, etc etc comic book genres were just ALWAYS around.
So here's an example of a comic script page on the fly:
Page 1
Panel 1: Chris writes at his computer.
Panel 2: A large spider crawls up on the desk next to his hand.
Panel 3: Close-up - His face in shock.
Panel 4: Chris is looking down at the spider.
Spider: Hey, you stepped on me earlier!
Chris: Sorry, dude, I didn't see you.
Panel 5: The spider is leaving.
Spider: Yeah, well next time pay attention where you're going.
Panel 6: The spider's gone and Chris is scratching his head in confusion.
Again, everybody writes differently. This is the basics of how I write comics.
Have a wonderful day, everyone!
*Side note-- I found this with other mediums as well. I'd hear about the rules of screenwriting but when I would read a bunch of scripts, I'd find that different writers had their own thing.
The basics to how I write comics is this:
Page Number
Panel Number: Your action.
(Indention) Character/Sound FX/Caption (Whichever you choose): Dialogue.
Repeat
The way I write comics is a bit different than that of, say, Alan Moore, who is known for writing mass amounts of detail as he knows every bit of what he wants per panel. Now, someday I may write one like that but, for me, it would have to be a special project. I love art, I looove art, and in the way I do these, I tend to leave room for the artists to interpret the work and also do more, giving them leeway. I keep my panels simple just to give the artist an idea of what's going on. I like partnerships. I'm big on having a creative partner and giving credit where credit is due. I don't like the idea of having 'hired hands'. So if I write a script and an artist is interested, I'd like for them to put their personal stamp on it.
Example:
Panel 3: Superhero is flying off when Large Monster grabs his/her cape.
Now, it looks simple, but a good artist will take it and run with it. They can add in facial expressions, body movements, etc. If they draw it exactly as says, that's fine too, I suppose; but I always hope that they can see it as something bigger than that. As I said, I love the idea of a creative partner in the process and not a hired hand.
Something I've learned from working with my partner/brother-in-art Dennis Magnant: Giving plenty of room but also be quick to think of more. For Tourniquet there have been a couple of times in which I wrote a three page scene. In my head, it's how it flowed. Dennis sends me ONE page that said the exact same thing. It wasn't cluttered or too much, he just managed to tell the scene in one page when my mind saw it in three. He was apologetic and I told him there was no sorry necessary; I simply didn't think of it that way. I've learned that, giving that much room, it's almost like I'm a screenwriter and he, as the artist, is the director, rewriting scenes as need be. For some, this may seem like a bit much, but nothing changes at all, he just happened to tell the scene in a sleeker, more streamlined fashion and less clunkier than I had envisioned it (unbeknownst to me). In this case, we had then had two extra pages so I wrote to that.
I always allow the artist more space to flex. Often times my scripts become a bit too wordy. Sometimes I'll cut it down but often times that dialogue, no matter how long, seems just right for the scene. In this case, my simple and sometimes very few panels per page comes in handy as you can always put, say, a monologue as its own panel. For the short comic script "Goodbyes" (you all can find on here if you haven't already read it), it's loaded with dialogue - BUT the art is so simple and not much going on, it'd be easy to fill most of the page with the various dialogue balloons and thought clouds. Some of my shorts, like the sci-fi "Bad Wiring" (also on here) is 8 pages, but an artist may come along and be able to tell the story in 5 pages. Stuff like this doesn't bother me at all as long as the story gets told. The same can be said across the board with anything I (or you) write. My one-shot on here "Gunslinger's Remorse" is like 15 pages. It could be fleshed out More with more detail, and since it's a western, there could be extra pages of landscape. If it's a one shot shorter than let's say 20 pages, I'm open to the artist just adding some of their art after the story. Story's done, throw in some extra showing what else you do, that's cool. I feel the same for writers actually; the story's done and you have a little something extra for the reader, throw it in.
I tend to leave out details unless they're necessary; certain colors, hairstyles, etc. If I have a specific art style in mind I'll put the notes right in the beginning of the script before Page 1 starts; you'll see I did this with "Gunslinger's Remorse". That's not limiting, I don't believe, because even if I say I'd like it to be B&W and sketchy, it still gives the artist plenty of room.
Storywise, it depends on what the project is. "Justice Roll" (just like the others, it's on here) is a one-shot while at the same time a series proposal. I didn't want to have him be the main focus of the issue, telling it through someone else's eyes (much like The Road Warrior) as I tell the brief origin and also get into the superhero action. It doesn't end with a cliffhanger but ends that family's (our actual leads) story. I spoke on this before, but if I was able to get Justice Roll picked up, the next issue (and actual first in the series) would focus on him. "Two-Fisted Youngins" (also on here) was originally meant as a miniseries so it ends with more to come. It starts with the young brothers in the south being hellions, not thinking of their actions, but by the end of the issue they realize they need to clean it up. If I continue with it, I could finish out the miniseries OR I could do like TV does and take the characters through more dramatic situations.
A lot of times, I really enjoy puzzle pieces - just seeing one little piece of a potentially larger picture. In "Goodbyes" and "Bad Wiring" and even "Gunslinger's Remorse" I don't go into the full background or even the future after these events. My thoughts on this is simple; that's not what it's about. In "Goodbyes" we don't really NEED to know this couple's beginnings or continuing to understand what is going on in the short. I know so many people who NEED origins, they NEED to know WHY. I enjoy mystery a lot. I like seeing a situation for what it is without having an urge to ask "But why is it like this today?" If it leaves me wanting more, that's GOOD.
Example of this: Wolverine used to be my favorite comic book character. I loved the mystery that surrounded him. You only learned about him personally in pieces, which was wonderful. The moment they decided to actually give him a solid set in stone origin, it killed it for me. I suppose it's the same complaint I have with movie trailers today, quit showing me everything, leave some mystery. I know it's not the same but the feeling remains.
In "Bad Wiring" it's the same. It's a situation and just a PEEK into a larger world. Why does everyone have TVs for heads? Why is the Cable Co. in control of everything, controlling the city as tyrants? I don't care. It's the situation I care about. I don't want to know how it came to be; I just want to enjoy the story.
Just like ALL writing, write what you want; what interests YOU. A lot of my comic scripts probably wouldn't make much money and probably couldn't be merchandised, BUT I wanted to write those stories that were in my head. They interested me and so I wrote them. Remember, if you like something then more than likely others do as well. So if you have a strange little idea for a comic book but you have the thought of "Yeah, but it's not like *insert popular and well selling comic title here*..." who cares? Remember EVERY idea started off with that. Every idea started off without a market. It's not like superheroes, superhero teams, horror, zombies, drama, etc etc comic book genres were just ALWAYS around.
So here's an example of a comic script page on the fly:
Page 1
Panel 1: Chris writes at his computer.
Panel 2: A large spider crawls up on the desk next to his hand.
Panel 3: Close-up - His face in shock.
Panel 4: Chris is looking down at the spider.
Spider: Hey, you stepped on me earlier!
Chris: Sorry, dude, I didn't see you.
Panel 5: The spider is leaving.
Spider: Yeah, well next time pay attention where you're going.
Panel 6: The spider's gone and Chris is scratching his head in confusion.
Again, everybody writes differently. This is the basics of how I write comics.
Have a wonderful day, everyone!
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