A Week in Writing #132

This was one of those weeks when things seemed to get done. Not that anything has been finished, mind you, but there was definite progress towards goals.

As always, let's begin with the comic book. Our colorist has moved on to issue #2. There are still some lingering details to be decided, like the color of flashbacks, but for the most part, the coloring is complete. She's been really easy to work with and we appreciate her skills. The lettering is coming along, up to page 12, but we'll get there, I'm sure. I want to have it completed by WonderCon. The artist has moved on to issue #3. We've seen pencils and layouts for pages 9 through 12, still waiting on the inks.

The rewrites on Familiar Stranger have picked up a bit. I'm up to 6300 words and page 34. I've been able to blop in pages from another version and rewrite them to fit the current story. My goal was to get into the action sooner and I think I've done that, though it will take someone else reading it to be sure it works.

As far as Trophy Unlocked goes, I published my Saturday morning review, this time kicking off a month of Westerns with The Magnificent Seven (1960). Got a few likes on Facebook which is always nice and the 23 pageviews aren't bad after only a couple of days. One of the things I learned from my aborted blogging class was that blog readership on the weekends are low and you should not publish on the weekends. Too bad for me, since this is the only time I do.

I'm a couple of reviews behind. One is for Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (2015), an HBO documentary. My whole family really got into watching Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath and were really interested in seeing Going Clear as a result. I'm even reading the book it's based on.

The other is What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), the movie that the series Feud: Bette and Joan is set around. Not sure I had seen the movie all the way through, so I wanted to see it before watching the series.

Did write a new one for later: The Founder (2016), the story of how Ray Kroc stole McDonald's away from Mac and Dick McDonald, starring Michael Keaton. Since the movie is still in the theaters, though barely, I'm going to wait to publish that review, since I do get into the synopsis of the story; something I try not to do if it's currently out. But I would recommend seeing it if you haven't already and few of you have. One take away from the movie is something Kroc believed in, persistence, and it applies to writing as well. No one gets anywhere without sticking with it, so keep writing.

So next week I'm going to be persistent about getting more from Issues 1, 2 and 3 and getting further into the rewrite of Familiar Stranger. I will of course post a new entry on this blog to let you know how I'm doing with my writing. Hope you're persistent with your writing as well.

A Week in Writing #131

Well, time caught up with me last week. The Monday holiday was sadly not a time for a lot of writing as there were other things that took precedence. That's one thing about writing on the side, there is never enough time.

Case in point, the Blogging 101 course I was taking online. I had other things to do last weekend and apparently lost my chance to complete the course, as it now seems to have all but shut down. I can look at the "lecture" and the assignments, but there is no place to submit the assignment so I guess I'm done. It's very hard to slice up limited time too finely and maybe online writing courses are that one bridge too far.

Writer's Digest seems to think all of their subscribers are either making a living writing or have endless amounts of time during the day. I don't know how many courses I've passed on because they have the on-line lecture at 1 pm on a Thursday afternoon. Not really a good time for me nor would I imagine other writers as well. It's too bad, too, because there are definitely areas I could use help on, like query letters and setting up a writer's website. Oh, time and money why have you forsaken me so?

I did some rewrites on Familiar Stranger, but never enough. I'll try to work more on that this coming week as I think I finally know how to get into the story. Still, have other hurdles to cross, but I'm hoping at some point that I can blop in most of what I've already written, so hopefully the page numbers will increase. Right now I'm still in the first 17 pages and only about 2800 words.

Worked on some ideas for a pre-story for Powers Squared, though at this point it is just an idea. Did some research on magical creatures so, at this point, I still think it's a go.

More progress on the comic book. Our colorist "finished" issue # 1. I'm putting quotes around finished because there are still a few panels we need to work on involving flashbacks. Not quite right yet, but I'm confident we'll get there. We're also talking about the cover and Issue #2.

The artist is making progress on Issue #3. Right now we're laying out pages 9 through 12, which means we're coming to the middle of that issue.

Part of my concern this week has been what to do when we have a finished Issue #2 and what we should be doing before then as well. Sadly, I'm not a marketing genius and don't think I have the time to take an online Writers' Digest course on the subject if one did indeed exist. My hope is not to mess things up before we "launch" this on the world; the when and how TBD.

The pre-story is one idea as well as Twitter and Facebook sites. That means content and I'm not 100% sure how much or what to put out there that will both spark interest but not give away too much. We do want people to pay for it at some point.

Published a Saturday morning review of Hayao Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro based on the 2005 Disney version of the film, thus ending animation month on Trophy Unlocked. Also working on a future review of his next film, Kiki's Delivery Service. Also published a Review Hub for films we've reviewed that have been nominated and/or won an Academy Award updated to reflect tonight's awards. A much bigger project than I anticipated, but glad to be on this side of it.

Award shows always make me a little anxious. Not that I necessarily think I'll win one some day, but it's the fact that most of the people in the room seem to be a part of something I want to be a part of. Old dreams don't die easily.

A Week in Writing #130

This week I heard from one of the readers of this blog and that they actually get something from reading it. Very pleased to hear that. When I sit down to write these posts, I really don't know if anyone really reads them or not and more importantly gets anything out of them. I see the 16 to 20 page views and that's really enough, though I would like it to reach a larger group, but I am writing this mostly and perhaps selfishly for myself; I'll admit to that. I'm hoping my weeks of trying to write will help someone else realize they are not alone and if that helps someone then that's really great to know.

A lot seems to be happening with the comic book. We got pages from everyone this week, artist, colorist and letterer. That doesn't mean that everything is always running like a well-oiled machine, I don't know if any collaborative project ever runs without a hitch; even though I'm paying them, we've gone back in forth this week on what might appear to minor things in the long run, but which we think really matter. What photos would be on someone's credenza? What angles would video be shot from? Small, but important to establishing a sense of reality within the story.  If you're keeping track, we're up to page 16 with the recolor of issue #1, page 8 with the re-lettering of the same issue and up to page 8 with the artwork in issue #3.

Had a very informative discussion with another story creator on Friday morning. A friend of a friend that we had actually met at last year's San Diego Comic-Con talked with Paul and I about both the issues with issue #1, most of which we were already aware of, but more about trying to build an audience for the story as well as other issues. Really appreciate him spending the time with us and his ideas were really getting us going on next steps. Stay tuned.

Did some writing on my own Familiar Stranger. Trying to get into the action as quickly as possible and decided what to do over the weekend. Had other reasons to go, but decided to use the La Brea Tar Pits as an entrance point into the story, with my main character, a private detective, observing a couple rendezvousing there. Was able to scope it out and I think I know how to get going.

Besides the Tar Pits, went to a book reading in Chinatown. One of Paul's professors from college was launching a book and we went along to check it out and to have dinner. I must admit I had never been to a reading before and was really curious how one works.

There were two other writers, whose credits I was unfamiliar with, who did a couple of readings from their own works. A little esoteric for me, one read two different writings, both of which ended up revolving around the death of her father, though I believe one selection was really about a book dealing with a 14-year-old Mexican girl being forced into prostitution by her Grandmother. The other writer read a story from his phone about relationships and lemon reamers, the latter being something I never really gave any thought to but which seemed to be a very important thing to him. The other was a reading from his own work that didn't really work for me.

These writers were sort of the opening act to the main writer whose book was what we were there to celebrate. His was a very personal sort of stream of consciousness work about his life. Again, being a college professor some of his concerns were not mine, but he still made an emotional connection with me, especially when he wrote about his life as a father with a newborn son. The whole reading took less than an hour. Not sure all readings were like this, but it turned out to be an interesting experience nonetheless. Makes you wonder what your own reading would be like if ever provides the opportunity and occasion.

Given the travels, this weekend has not been very productive writing-wise. First, I didn't have time for my Writer's Digest class about blogging and no time to write a new review, though I do have the next one in mind. Did publish my usual Saturday morning review, this time for 9 (2009), an animated film about a very dystopian world. Still working on my Academy Awards Review Hub. I think I got myself in deep with a much bigger project than I originally anticipated. We've reviewed more Academy nominated films than I had imagined.

Tomorrow is a holiday so hoping to get some writing done. Hopefully, I can get further with Familiar Stranger and report back here about it.

A Week in Writing #129

Much better week for writing. Even though there was rain, the commute wasn't as bad as it was the week before, which gave me a little more time to write. Of course, it's what you make of that time that counts.

I'm taking a Writer's Digest course in blogging, which is about trying to grow this blog's audience. While I'm thankful for the 20 or so who read this every week, I would like to perhaps expand it a little.

The course has gotten me to think about what kind of blog I'm writing. It's not really a how-to or advice kind of blog. I really did begin this as a way of keeping myself honest about what I'm doing. Not that there's not some advice sprinkled in, here and there, that hasn't really been the focus 129 posts in. I'm not really looking for sympathy either, but perhaps understanding.

I would like this to be a blog where I can talk freely about what I'm working on. For the most part, it has been about three things: Powers Squared, Trophy Unlocked and whatever book I'm working or trying to work on in addition. Perhaps, if you're like me and writing is your avocation, you might find by reading this blog that you're not alone and you might see what I'm doing and learn from my example; I don't pretend to have the answers.

Powers Squared, our comic book, is still coming along. The colorist is working at about four pages a week on Issue #1 and the artist is more or less doing the same on Issue #3. I know what you're thinking about Issue #2. It's not getting any love at the moment, but that'll change in a few weeks. I'm never sure how much to talk about it here, as far as getting into details. Our work on it comes in spurts depending on the deliverables. Then we have to find the time to sit and review and send our comments back.

I was hoping to have a meeting in the upcoming week with a creator of a comic book who has "made it." He was offering to give me some advice, but for whatever reason, we haven't been able to finalize a time. For the most part, I'm a slave to his schedule, though I want us to meet close where I work. Who thought logistics would play such a part in writing?

A milestone of sorts for Trophy Unlocked as this past week we passed the 200,000 pageview mark. While many blogs pass that much quicker, it is still something I'm proud of. It shows that we've stuck with it over the years. Adding to that total, by a whopping 17 pageviews so far, is my review of Beauty and the Beast (1991) which I published on Saturday morning. February is Animation month on Trophy Unlocked and there will be more in the coming weeks.

One of the things I do to help drive pageviews is to tweet on anniversary dates for titles we've reviewed or ones that fall on special occasions. Today I made the embarrassing discovery that I had tweeted about three titles a day early. Not a big deal, but I was about to post tweets for the same titles this morning. As I was writing the first one I had a strong sense of deja vu and looked to see I had already tweeted about them.

Began in earnest my rewrite of Familiar Stranger. I was trying to channel my editor and decided I needed to start the story further along. Still not sure if I've found that right spot yet, but feeling a little better to actually be writing again. However, I failed to make my thousand words a day goal by about 6,000 words give or take, but I'm getting there.

A Week in Writing #128

This week I spent about as much time commuting as I did actually writing, but still, progress was made on at least one front, the comic book, but even that seemed as slow as the rush hour traffic. It wasn't until Wednesday, and only after my nudging, that we got any pages from our artist. I'm trying to be patient, but I don't want to fall behind on this. My schedule is four pages in two weeks from him and I'm trying to stay on top of him to meet that. So far this week, we have layouts for three pages, but they need minor tweaks.

I think I've written this before, but seeing the script drawn out is a very interesting experience and it makes you rethink things as you go sometimes. I know I can be a bit wordy, so I saw a chance to combine some dialogue if the artist tweaked a panel to show more characters.

Sometimes we go round and round over an image that I want him to draw. I try to describe what I'm looking for and when that doesn't work, I'll try to find an image on the internet to send. Have you tried to Google "Man looking over his left shoulder"? A lot of images come back, few of which is a man looking over his left shoulder. Got a few women not looking over their shoulders and even a picture of a man doing pulls ups and missing his left arm. But I managed to find one that I used and sent to him, "like this, but with a different expression" or something to that effect. Usually, he'll come around even if it is sometimes the third or fourth try.

Having a similar back and forth with our colorist over how to handle flashback sequences. I'm trying very hard not to fall back on what the previous colorist did. I still have that work, I paid for it, but I want what we do now to be different. I sort of liked how we had handled flashbacks in the past and had thought we had used sepia tones, but we hadn't as it turns out. She gave it a real try, but it's not working for me. Not her fault, it just isn't right. We decided to put a pin in it and come back to it at a later date. Otherwise, she's really making good progress and is easy to work with.

There's a lot of compromise with anything collaborative, even though I'm footing the bill. I'm not an expert at any of this. Speaking of that, I'm supposed to have a lunch this coming week with someone who has created their own comic book and is now producing it into a TV show. I sent him the current version of the comic book, but don't know what he thinks of it. He did touch base during the week, but nothing was scheduled yet.

Did complete and publish my review of Toy Story, which was my Saturday Morning Review on Trophy Unlocked. I thought I would kick off a week of animated film reviews while I work on a review of Charlie Chaplin's The Adventurer. Watched that and a few other of Chaplin's Mutual shorts out of respect for David Shepard, who died this past week. A true film lover and archivist, I was lucky enough to have taken his course at USC, back when I was working on my Ph.D.; not that I got that degree, but that's a story for a different post.

Had a big idea for Trophy Unlocked. Thought I'd create an Academy Award Review Hub of all the films we've reviewed that have been at least nominated for an Oscar. Who knew so many films we'd reviewed had nominations? It's quite a list as it turns out and I'm still doing research. Not sure if I'll get it posted before the Awards or not. Me and stretch goals.

Worked on my editing for Familiar Stranger, but I'm thinking I'm going to really need to just rewrite the thing. My subplot is sort of lame and I think I could punch it up easier by sitting at the computer than with pencil on paper. The story has a lot of problems, but I'm finding most of the unfinished work I have is in the same boat. I got to a certain point and never carried them to completion. I'm hoping to start on that this coming week.

Did my first assignment for my Writer's Digest online class. I waited until this morning to sit down and do it, but it never seemed like the right time before today. Either I was too rushed in the morning or too tired at night; maybe unmotivated is the right word; maybe lethargic. When you fall asleep after dinner it's all I can do to get up and do some writing. The assignment seemed like a hill too high to climb. One down four to go. Yikers!

A Week in Writing #127

Had a bit of a panic this weekend as it relates to Powers Squared; short-lived but still worrisome. Late on a Friday night, everything seems worse than it really is. When all was said and done, the pages colored and lettered, we still had the original artist's border on them. Can't see anyone publishing them with those on them. It turned out that it wasn't that big of a deal, cooler heads prevailed and our new colorist came through, so whew, crisis averted.

Otherwise, progress seems to be being made. Eight pages of the first issue have been re-colored, three pages have been re-lettered and the first four pages of the third issue have been laid out, penciled and inked. Still a little behind on that issue, but the artist was ill for awhile.

Through emails from a mutual friend was connected to the creator of Lantern City. He's offered to help us figure out the ins and outs of the comic book industry. I'll take all the help I can get. We're supposed to meet for lunch the week of February 6. With caveats about the reconstruction of Issue #1, sent him a copy. I figured it was better to put something in front of him, rather than just a synopsis.

Still editing chapters of Familiar Stranger, up to Chapter 11. The experience is really making me want to rethink parts I've already re-thought before. I think I tried to add too much to the beginning and it sort of keeps the main story from getting underway. I also know that when I get into it further, I know there are other problems to deal with. Sort of want to stop editing and start rewriting. I end up spending the last half hour or so of the day either editing or reading.

Read the second trade paperback of Saga and have started in on The Thief of Thieves' number 2. While these were recommended for lettering I have gotten into them. Not sure what effect it will have on our book, but it always good to see what else is out there. It also helps to see how other people lay out their books, etc.

Started a course through Writer's Digest, Blogging 101. It's the first one I've taken and I haven't gotten past the Introduction. I'm hoping to figure out ways of getting more page views here as I try to build my writing career and start to hopefully push the comic once it's time to do that. I did the introduction in the morning before I went to work on Friday. I still need to finish lesson one. Not looking forward to homework, which is why I put it off. So I've got that to look forward to next week.

No new reviews were written this week, though I did take tentative steps towards writing one for Toy Story. We watched it recently before going to a Pixar Animation exhibit at the California Science Center. Did publish The Girl From Mexico (1939) as part of Trophy Unlocked's Saturday Morning Review. Thought with immigration being in the news that we would have gotten more than 18 page views, but I didn't publish it for that reason. We're not political on the blogs; that's for others to do.

A Week in Writing #126

While I normally love rainy days, like the one we had on Sunday, I never got to writing very much until I got to this blog post. Tried to use the time to do other things, like putting together the Lego Yellow Submarine I got for Christmas and pulling together tax information. So I had some fun.

Finally got the final page from our original colorist. I paid him for the last four pages at the beginning of December, so it took 6 weeks to get four pages. There is no way to make the comic book sustainable at that rate. He must know the jig is up because he hasn't asked for any feedback or for the next assignment.

Our new (and improved) colorist ran into a snag this week when she had technical difficulties with her Cintiq, so we've fallen a little off the pace she's set. But things are still moving forward. We did get a chance to look at some pages in progress.

Our artist was ill for awhile, as well, so he's a little behind. I'm trying hard to keep him on a schedule. I won't whine again about how long the first two issues took.

It's a little disconcerting at times to be working on Issue 3 with the artist, issue 1 with the colorist and issue 2 with the letterer. It's all the same story, but it gets a little confusing to be going back and forth along the story arc.

Still doing editing on Familiar Stranger. I'm on Chapter Seven at the moment. Again not as far as I'd like to be, but there is only so much time in a day.

Things are going very well with Trophy Unlocked. We had over 1000 page views yesterday, which is really high for us and no Russian hackers; I guess they're busy elsewhere. Posted one new review this week, Alfred Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder (1954), and completed work on another one, The Girl From Mexico (1939), which I plan to post next week.

Well, that sadly sums up my output for the week. Not a bad week, but no breakthroughs, but those can't happen every week, can they?