A Week in Writing #412 - New Issue Coming Out

Hope everyone is staying safe, and, of course, writing.

Let's start with Powers Squared. We have a new issue coming out officially on Wednesday, July 13. It's #13, The Imposter Part 1. Just when relationships appear to be pulling Marty and Eli apart, someone on campus tries ruining Marty's reputation by impersonating him. Who could it be? Find out on Wednesday. The issue and where to buy it can be found at The Campus Store. As they become available, there will be links to where it can be purchased both physically and digitally. There is also some new merch as well that I'm excited about, some chibi t-shirts, and a new poster, again, links at The Campus Store if you're at all interested. I'd love it if you were.

In addition to that, we're also releasing a short character video - Who is Pedro? He's a character that is introduced in this story arc and plays a big part in the story. You can watch it here on Wednesday morning.

On our Friday podcast, we talked about the new book but Paul also discussed the passing of Kazuki Takahashi, the creator of Yu-Gi-Oh!, and what the manga, anime, and games have meant to him. And, surprisingly, how it influenced an issue of Powers Squared. That also goes up on YouTube on Wednesday afternoon and can be watched here when it does.

Otherwise, it's been rather slow on the comic book front, nothing new, so far, from our artist or colorist, at least not this past week.

On our horizon is San Diego Comic-Con. No table this year, though we did apply, there was no room. We'll try again next year if there is one. I don't mean to sound cryptic but I'm not hundred percent sure this year is going to happen, what with COVID numbers rising. I believe it will but I am sort of nervous about being in a room with 160,000 of my closest friends. Can anyone say "super spreader event"? We're taking precautions but it is always in the back of your mind.

Just as an editor's note: I don't envision doing this blog on the Sunday night we get back. However, I will do it on that Monday, as a Report from the Front. I will be attending some panels about writing and comic books and I will share what I learn here, but you'll have to wait.

Did get some time working on fka Skylar this week. I've been moving around some things and have some, of what I consider, to be really good ideas for how it will end; I just got to get there. But I do want to report, time was spent on the project.

Another query this week for Broken People. I did DNR one of my queries since I never did hear back but otherwise it has been radio silence from the agents so far. This is, of course, the new normal so I feel like I have Schrodinger's query until either the time passes or I hear back.

Finished a new future review for Trophy Unlocked. This one is for a less than cheery Christmas movie, The Cheaters (1945), part of our Drain the DVR campaign. I guess this caught my eye last December. I know, the title alone really makes you think about the holidays. Not sure when this one will appear. We seem to be overwhelmed with Christmas movie reviews and there are only so many weeks in December.

We did manage to cut into our backlog this week with the Saturday morning review being Paul's review of Mickey's Christmas Carol. As I wrote on Facebook, blame Hallmark for making Christmas in July a thing. We're just trying to keep up, that's all. Wednesday's Game Day review was Trevor's review of Kao the Kangaroo (2022).

Well, I think that just about does it for me. Keep writing and I'll see you back here next week.

A Week in Writing #325 - Where Did the Time Go?

I hope everyone is staying safe and writing.

I can't say this was a red-letter week for me, writing-wise. I had such high goals coming into the week and here I sit on Sunday wondering what happened? I think we've all had weeks like this. So many things can derail your plans.

On the positive side, I did send out a third query letter on Thursday. If I did nothing else last week to forward my writing, then that would be the best thing I could have done for myself. So, that's three out and, so far, knock on wood, no rejections yet. I did find a couple of agents I wanted to submit to were closed for the rest of the year. Not sure if I'll come across more like that as the days of 2020 grow wee. My goal is 5 queries and if you're like me, each one is a nervous endeavor. So, I'm 60 percent of the way there.

I wanted to write three reviews this week for Trophy Unlocked, but I only finished two: Batman Returns and The Big Steal. Still have Son of Frankenstein and now, Man in the Dark, our latest Saturday night drain the DVR feature. I did publish a new one on Saturday morning, The Third Man, a new entry in Noirvember. Also on the blog were three reviews from Trevor: Big Bumpin'; PocketBike Racer and Sneak King, three Burger King Xbox games from 2006.

The work on Powers Squared this week was more behind the scenes than usual. I have been making updates to the website, as well as the landing page experience for the newsletter. I needed Paul's help with some of the latter and we're sending it out to the rest of the creative team to get their feedback.

There were also thumbnails for the last four pages of issue #16, as well as the cover, that Paul and I reviewed and gave feedback on. Then there were some revisions that we also looked at. Not sure when we'll actually be getting those pages; our artist is dealing with a family emergency at the moment, which justifiably takes precedent over the comic book.

On Saturday, Paul and I attended a Zoom class at UCLA, Showrunners and Show Writers (Fall 2020). It was interesting as we were both interested in that part of the animation industry. Me from a Powers Squared perspective but Paul from a longer-term career perspective. It was informative but more from the personal point of view of the showrunners on the program. The takeaway is that there are a lot of different ways to break into the industry and to keep trying and writing.

So, what got left out of the equation this week was Skylar. I really don't have any excuse other than time and perhaps bad time management. I will have to right that this week and I will make an effort to work on it every time I can.

Well, that about does it for me. Keep writing and I'll see you next week.

A Week in Writing #307 - Let the Rewrites Begin!

Hope everyone is well and staying safe!

This week, some real progress made on several fronts, including as the title suggests, rewrites. I know I'm supposed to be querying Broken People but instead, I started, in earnest, editing The Runaway. This is the part of writing I think I like the most. I will print out 25 or so pages at a time and then sit down with a pencil and read those pages out loud (softly to myself) and mark them up. Hearing the words has a big effect on the writing, at least for me.

It is through this that I find places where I've missed a word, like leaving out "not" which has a real impact on the meaning; or where the dialogue doesn't sound right. Speaking it makes it more real and I find I'm adding words and phrases that would be said that I hadn't written the first time through. Sometimes, I'll even extend the conversation or even a description, sometimes writing on the back of pages as I go. I try to make a concentrated effort to spell things out, as I know that my handwriting is barely legible as human communications. That along with a stubby pencil and words become graphite and smeared blobs on the pages if I'm not careful.

I'm also making notes, like "have I said this before?" or "does this get repeated later?" I know, really behind the scenes stuff. But the goal is always to make it better and this is the best way I can think of to do it. As an example, I mentioned a woman's perfume scent, without describing it. Then I gave it a memorable smell, that reminded my protagonist of his boyhood so that when he smells it again, later in the book, he'll be able to identify the woman wearing it based on that. I like little details like that and this is where they get inserted if they weren't there before.

This week, I've gone through about 200 pages, which is roughly forty percent of the book. It will probably take a week or two to get all the way through, if indeed that's all I work on this week. But alas, it probably won't be. There is another rewrite that I need to turn my attention to as well.

That would be the proposed pilot script for the Powers Squared animated show we want to pitch. This past week, we finally had a family table read, with my wife bowing out due to being under the weather (not COVID). So the boys and I read all the parts and I got Paul's notes. So that rewrite will start next week as well.

Speaking of editing, the next three issues of Powers Squared are edited as well, so we're ready to go with the next story arc, Mocha and Raven. A three-part story that will most likely take us into next year as far as production goes. We're trying to keep ahead of our artist, Rachel Wells.

Speaking of Rachel, we had a Google Hangout with her a couple of weeks ago, which we posted on Sunday on our YouTube channel. Curious about her or what it's like to work on Powers Squared? Well, here's your chance.

We've also had several pages come through in various states, from pencils from Rachel for Issue #15 to colors from Julia on Issue #14 to Trevor doing lettering, also on Issue #14. So, Paul and I have been busy with that as well. We used the opportunity to review Julia's work for our Friday podcast, On the Air with Powers Squared, though I'm sure it was probably better on Twitch. If you're curious about that process, you can check out the ways to listen and watch at https://powerssquaredcomicbook.com/join.

I did start a new review, last night as a matter of fact, for Scene of the Crime (1949) as part of our Drain the DVR Saturday nights. No telling how long we've had that movie, but I think it dates back to the last time TCM had a Summer of Darkness, so it's probably been a few years. I hope to finish it later today or tomorrow, but no telling when it will appear on Trophy Unlocked. This past week, the Wednesday game review was Little Nightmares: Secrets of the Maw (DLC), written by Trevor, and the Saturday Morning Review was Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, written by Paul.

Well, that about does it for me. Keep writing and we'll see you back here next week.

A Week in Writing #301 - What's Next?

What a difference a week can make and it ain't good. I try not to get political and I won't here, but I don't want to act like I'm living in a vacuum. As if the stay at home order was one thing, now, as I'm writing this, Los Angeles, where I live, is having a curfew, the second night in a row. All I want to say is that while I am saddened by the death of George Floyd (there's no excuse for what happened to him) and upset that some things never seem to change or at least change fast enough when it comes to race, and appreciate the protests in the streets, I can't get behind the vandalism. One thing I remember from the 1992 L.A. Riots was the destruction they caused and how long it took some of these neighborhoods to recover. My six-month pregnant wife and I helped deliver food after the riots and seeing the aftermath up close has stayed with me. Protest, make your voices heard, vote for people who have your best interest in mind but don't burn down and loot the stores. It's a no-win situation for everyone and it detracts from the cause.

On that cheery note, I want to turn to myself and my writing for the week, which is the point of this blog.

I'm still working on my rewrites for The Runaway, which, as I mentioned last week, is sort of my treading water until I can cheat off my son's writing class when it comes to querying. I'm trying to go through a couple of chapters a day and so far I've done just that. I'm up to Chapter Twenty-Seven. The story isn't getting too much longer but I am able to find some story errors which I'm more than happy to fix.

I've been thinking a little about the next book, the one that will be post-COVID and take place in that world. What will the new normal be like for my private detective character? What will happen during the pandemic that will change his world and what sort of cases will he be handling as a result? As I said, I'm just starting to think about that. I figure I'll have some time, too, as this thing doesn't look like it's just going to go away.

I've written a new review, The Merry Widow (1934), which we watched as part of clean off the DVR Saturday. It was a musical that I had sort of avoided watching for years but had recorded it. In my review, I recall hearing another movie, Irreconcilable Differences, of all things, discuss the Lubitsch Touch and use The Merry Widow as an example. I know, but I had to see it in a class at USC led by Arthur Knight, the late great film critic. He would bring guests in and I believe this was one of the films he showed. Well, the quote stuck with me and when I saw the film on TCM, some years back, I recorded it with that film in the back of my head.

I'm hoping I get back on Trophy Unlocked in June but in the meantime, Scooby-Doo Month has wrapped with the live-action Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed on Saturday. Wednesday was another video game review, Helltaker.

Powers Squared still chugs along. Our artist has finished work on Issue #14 and we've sent her the script for Issue #15, which is a one-shot, currently called How They Met.

At Paul's instigation, we've changed up our content on our YouTube channel to include some Character Profiles. This week and next, we've brought in our artist and colorist to read the text. They both did a good job with it and we're planning on making more in the weeks ahead. The nice thing is that it relieves us of doing A Week in Powers Squared and we keep having new content every Sunday as planned.

On the subject of comic books, I backed one on Kickstarter this week. The goal was $500 and they have made way more than this, based, in part, on the writer being a major player in the world of digital comics. They said they needed the money for some of the print costs. The writer had backed our Kickstarter, though for a far lesser amount, and we've been working with him almost since we've been doing Powers Squared. After I backed it, I saw that he was posting photos of a billboard about the book and the Kickstarter. Is it me or does the need for the $500 seem disingenuous? I mean, if you have money for a billboard, don't you have the money to print the book? Or rather, if you need money to print the book why are you spending money on a billboard? It doesn't add up for me.

So, it's been a busy week. Hope you stay safe and I'll see you next week back here.

A Week in Writing #292 - Stay at Home Week 2

I hope this finds you staying safe and staying home. We all want to make it through these times to what we hope will be a brighter tomorrow, so please do as the CDC recommends.

Sorry about the PSA.

Well, stay at home Week 2 is over and Week 3 looms and what did I do this week? I always feel like the answer is not enough and never too much. I'm not sure if there is really ever a too much but I know all too well about the not enough.

Still trying to get a better schedule set and still trying to adapt from the going from work to "work" without the normal commute in between. When I had to hit the road to come home, I tried to work the 8 hours and then get out of there as soon as I can. Now, I feel like I'm letting that slide just a little. I mean I can work until 5:30 since I don't have to drive home. And then everything gets delayed just a little and prime writing time gets eaten into.

Okay, let's start with something different, The Runaway. I'm still working on the rewrite that, months ago, turned into a new draft. I'm liking the direction it's going in but I'm honestly not getting there as fast as I can. I think I've written one new chapter and am about 500+ words into the next one when I sit down to write this post. Far from the 1000 words a day namesake of the blog.

I'm into uncharted territory now, meaning I'm working on pages I've never written before. And, even though I'm a pantser at heart, I know where this is going though I'm still working out the means. That for me is part of the fun.

I also know that I need to spend more time on that part of the business of writing and send out queries again. Come to think of it, I"m not even sure how the coronavirus has affected that part of the business. Are agents working from home and still taking queries? I guess I'll need to find that out before I start sending new ones.

As far as writing reviews, I finished the one I had been working on for Song of the South and I actually started a new one on Chaplin, the 1992 biopic about the famous film star, director, and writer. Not sure when that will finish or when Song of the South will be published but when it does, I'll let you know here. The Saturday Morning review on Trophy Unlocked, this week, was Paul's review of Celeste, a platform game on the PS4.

Powers Squared is never far from the plate. We received new pages from our artist, the first 8 for Issue #14, which is cool.

In addition, I did another round of edits on the Powers Squared animated series pitch deck and the pilot script, even though I said I didn't want to spend too much time on it. Well, so much for intentions.

Well, that will just about wrap up this week. Keep writing and I'll see you next week.

A Week in Writing #291 - The Influence of COVID-19

Well, a whole week of working from home with the promise of more to come. Personally, I don't mind working from home. No commute every day and no ironing shirts every Sunday. It's not so bad. There are some things I know I could do better. My schedule is off. I'm allowing myself to sleep in which means I don't have as much time in the morning for other things, including walking and social media. My step count is way down from the past month or so. I keep telling myself I'm going to walk everyday at lunch but there is a difference between work lunch, which is going to the gym and then eating, and stay at home lunch, which includes my family. It also doesn't help that it's been rainy most of the week. I mean, I like walking but I don't want to get wet doing it.

So the subject of routine includes writing, which has surprisingly been a little harder now that I'm working from home. I know it may sound weird but some of it has to do with the separation of work from home. I'm used to (don't read that as enjoy) a commute everyday, or a break between one thing and the other. With working from home, I might sign off from Citrix at 5 but I'm still at my "work" desk. I keep thinking I'll use this time to walk but I'm also with family so just getting up and leaving isn't all that easy.

I'm still writing, though this week, I tried to write something very different than I have been. I've made mention of the Pitch class that Paul and I took at UCLA, so I tried my hand at working on the Pilot script for our proposed Powers Squared animated series. Yes, I have dreams. Paul has had more experience with this type of writing but I've taken the first step of trying to turn our comic book into a series.

My first attempt hued very closely to the original text but as I've been working on it, just finished the third draft, I'm finding it somewhat freeing to not stay so strict to the comic book. Oh, don't get me wrong, most of the first issue and a little bit of the second have found their way in but there are other changes, like the teaser Paul thought of, that are not in that issue but it ties really well into the pilot.

There is also other dialogue that I've played with, some at Paul's suggestions but also some new bits, things we didn't see in the comic book between characters who's last name isn't Powers. Not sure how all of it will fly but I think it makes the story better and that's always the first priority.

I did some other writing as well, including working a little bit on The Runaway and some on my oft mentioned review of Song of the South but nothing, pardon the pun, to write home about.

Speaking of reviews, mine of Sabrina finally made it out and was featured as Trophy Unlocked's Saturday Morning Review.

Well, the week ahead looms again. I'm hoping to put major work on the Pilot aside for a few days and concentrate on The Runaway for the week's writing. There are parts I'd like to get done You know, those bits that you keep in your head before you put them into the book.

I'm also toying with an idea for a story related to the coronavirus. As a writer, I can't see letting such an event not get into my work. For awhile I've had the idea of a couple being thrown together, you know, a bad date with a natural disaster afterwards. Thinking this virus would make a suitable backdrop. Details to be worked out.

Well, that's it for this week. Keep writing and I'll see you next week.