The first full week of the year and things went pretty well from a writing point of view. I feel like I'm making progress on all fronts which is sort of a new feeling after things not going well for so long.
To begin with the comic book, I think we're finally getting somewhere again. Our new colorist is working out great. Not only has she delivered four pages a week, but she seems very open to comments and suggestions. The delivery rate is something our old one could never come close to doing. He actually still owes me for a page or I would have dropped him by now. It's hard to imagine how he felt we could have a sustainable comic book with him taking so long to deliver pages.
The artist is ill and has only delivered layouts for two pages of the third issue, but they look good. I'm going to have to stay on top of him this time around and be more demanding. I don't want to have the same experience I did last year. This time around deadlines are going to be enforced more rigorously.
Even with the comic book going, I was able to get back to editing Familiar Stranger. I'm currently editing chapter six. Maybe I'm not as far as I wanted to be, but I'm happy to be back working on it again. I really want to get back to really writing on the books, but it's one step at a time. My goal is to edit a chapter a day, but that is sometimes a stretch goal.
Published the review of The Endless Summer (1966) on Saturday and started working on one for Dial M for Murder, though I'm not as far along on that as I had hoped. Still hoping to finish it over the Monday holiday. While the view has only garnered about 20 Pageviews they are up on Trophy Unlocked. The past month there were over 9000 page views which is quite an improvement; and no traffic from Russian hackers.
So, overall a good week in writing.
Sunday, January 15, 2017
Sunday, January 8, 2017
A Week in Writing #124
This was a bit of a short writing work week for me. Holidays, even New Years Day, can be disruptive. Also this week, I started back to my day job and that is also hard to adjust to after some time off. But still, I think we made progress.
To begin with, the big news is that we found a new colorist. Our current, and soon former, one has been super slow. He is more than a month behind and was before the holidays. He doesn't seem to be bothered by it either, making sure to take time off around Christmas. Not that I blame him for spending time with his family, it would have been nice if he had tried to catch up before checking out. Even though he's back, there are still two pages left to go. This was the issue I had hoped to have done by Labor Day last year, not Valentine's Day this year. He had to go and so he will be gone after he delivers the pages he's been hired to complete. If I hadn't already paid him in advance for the pages, he would be gone already.
The search for a new colorist had to go through other means and it was with help that we found some candidates, recommendations from the Savannah College of Art and Design. While our first candidates did not pan out, they did connect us to someone we ended up hiring. Since it is not my practice to name people without their permission and I haven't asked for hers, she will remain anonymous for now, but we have great hopes for getting this back on track, even though the first two issues will have to be re-colored. She thinks she can do four pages a week which would mean she might finish the second issue before our former colorist.
We also started our artist on the third issue of PowerSquared. His rate has gone up, but I'm hoping I can handle the increase. No pages yet, but it's still early.
We also settled on a new logo. Though the final product isn't completed, the look has been decided.
I decided to make a concerted effort to get back to my other writing and picked up Familiar Stranger to work on rewrites. I decided to start from the beginning and work my way through the entire book. I know eventually I will come to the problem passage, but by then I'm hoping to be able to actually fix it this time around, rather than just write around it.
Still no new queries to report, but those things take more time than I have at the moment. They seem simple enough, but having to customize each one, even a little, takes time and I'm always worried there is a mispelled word or something that will adversely effect my query. I don't need the aggravation at the moment, but I will get to them.
Over the holiday, I did write a review of Arrival, which I posted Saturday on Trophy Unlocked. I did write a new one this weekned which I'll publish next week for The Endless Summer (1966), a film we watched as a family on Friday night.
So, things seem to be firing on all cylinders week one into 2017. Hopefully, things will continue to move forward as the year progresses.
To begin with, the big news is that we found a new colorist. Our current, and soon former, one has been super slow. He is more than a month behind and was before the holidays. He doesn't seem to be bothered by it either, making sure to take time off around Christmas. Not that I blame him for spending time with his family, it would have been nice if he had tried to catch up before checking out. Even though he's back, there are still two pages left to go. This was the issue I had hoped to have done by Labor Day last year, not Valentine's Day this year. He had to go and so he will be gone after he delivers the pages he's been hired to complete. If I hadn't already paid him in advance for the pages, he would be gone already.
The search for a new colorist had to go through other means and it was with help that we found some candidates, recommendations from the Savannah College of Art and Design. While our first candidates did not pan out, they did connect us to someone we ended up hiring. Since it is not my practice to name people without their permission and I haven't asked for hers, she will remain anonymous for now, but we have great hopes for getting this back on track, even though the first two issues will have to be re-colored. She thinks she can do four pages a week which would mean she might finish the second issue before our former colorist.
We also started our artist on the third issue of PowerSquared. His rate has gone up, but I'm hoping I can handle the increase. No pages yet, but it's still early.
We also settled on a new logo. Though the final product isn't completed, the look has been decided.
I decided to make a concerted effort to get back to my other writing and picked up Familiar Stranger to work on rewrites. I decided to start from the beginning and work my way through the entire book. I know eventually I will come to the problem passage, but by then I'm hoping to be able to actually fix it this time around, rather than just write around it.
Still no new queries to report, but those things take more time than I have at the moment. They seem simple enough, but having to customize each one, even a little, takes time and I'm always worried there is a mispelled word or something that will adversely effect my query. I don't need the aggravation at the moment, but I will get to them.
Over the holiday, I did write a review of Arrival, which I posted Saturday on Trophy Unlocked. I did write a new one this weekned which I'll publish next week for The Endless Summer (1966), a film we watched as a family on Friday night.
So, things seem to be firing on all cylinders week one into 2017. Hopefully, things will continue to move forward as the year progresses.
Sunday, January 1, 2017
A Week in Writing #123
Happy New Years! A time to look back and a time to look forward.
My hope is to become a published author with the goal of being able to make a living from writing. I know that's what they call in business a "stretch goal", but it is something that I try to work on everyday, though some days are better than others.
I started this year with high hopes and while I haven't reached any of my goals, I am, I think, getting closer. I wanted to work on two things this past year, my detective fiction and the comic book. Sadly, it has become a choice and more often than not, I've had to choose the comic book, PowerSquared (Powers Squared) because it was in the active progress of being drawn.
There always seems to be something that needs to happen with it, just as there is now. We're always nudging an artist to complete the task at hand; necessary, but never fun. It was only days ago that the artist finished the color and we're gearing up for the third issue. I really hope that it won't take as long.
I can't go into things at present, but we (Paul and I) are trying to take steps to ensure that it doesn't. It makes me mad that it's taken so long and I don't want to go another year like this one again. A learning experience, yes, but not always a pleasant one. 2017 will not be like that one. But while I want speed, I have to balance that with the expense. Self-funded means that I can't go as fast as I'd like, at least not with there being no money coming in for it. I hope that changes as well in the new year.
I really want to get back to the detective fiction in the worst way. There are two books that desperately need rewriting and agents to query for rejections. And I have other ideas that I want to put down on "paper", I may have to get better at segregating my time. Since I only have an hour or two each day, I might have to segregate my limited time between projects.
While I really wish I could have written more, the holidays are not necessarily the best time for it. There were other things to do and they all take time away from writing. Still, I managed to write three reviews this past week. One I published on Saturday, a 1200 word review of Good Ol' Freda (2013), a documentary about Brian Epstein's secretary who also ran The Beatles Fan Club from before they were The big "B" Beatles and until after they broke up. And about 900 words about the current film Passengers that was published today. I also wrote 3100 words about Shield For Murder (1954), which will be published later.
One thing about writing reviews is that they're usually easy to do and they don't take much time to do. Everything else takes weeks and months and endless rewrites, so I never get the same feeling of accomplishment as I do with a review.
Here's hoping that 2017 is a better year than 2016. That we all get what we want to accomplish done and new opportunities will open themselves up for continued growth.
My hope is to become a published author with the goal of being able to make a living from writing. I know that's what they call in business a "stretch goal", but it is something that I try to work on everyday, though some days are better than others.
I started this year with high hopes and while I haven't reached any of my goals, I am, I think, getting closer. I wanted to work on two things this past year, my detective fiction and the comic book. Sadly, it has become a choice and more often than not, I've had to choose the comic book, PowerSquared (Powers Squared) because it was in the active progress of being drawn.
There always seems to be something that needs to happen with it, just as there is now. We're always nudging an artist to complete the task at hand; necessary, but never fun. It was only days ago that the artist finished the color and we're gearing up for the third issue. I really hope that it won't take as long.
I can't go into things at present, but we (Paul and I) are trying to take steps to ensure that it doesn't. It makes me mad that it's taken so long and I don't want to go another year like this one again. A learning experience, yes, but not always a pleasant one. 2017 will not be like that one. But while I want speed, I have to balance that with the expense. Self-funded means that I can't go as fast as I'd like, at least not with there being no money coming in for it. I hope that changes as well in the new year.
I really want to get back to the detective fiction in the worst way. There are two books that desperately need rewriting and agents to query for rejections. And I have other ideas that I want to put down on "paper", I may have to get better at segregating my time. Since I only have an hour or two each day, I might have to segregate my limited time between projects.
While I really wish I could have written more, the holidays are not necessarily the best time for it. There were other things to do and they all take time away from writing. Still, I managed to write three reviews this past week. One I published on Saturday, a 1200 word review of Good Ol' Freda (2013), a documentary about Brian Epstein's secretary who also ran The Beatles Fan Club from before they were The big "B" Beatles and until after they broke up. And about 900 words about the current film Passengers that was published today. I also wrote 3100 words about Shield For Murder (1954), which will be published later.
One thing about writing reviews is that they're usually easy to do and they don't take much time to do. Everything else takes weeks and months and endless rewrites, so I never get the same feeling of accomplishment as I do with a review.
Here's hoping that 2017 is a better year than 2016. That we all get what we want to accomplish done and new opportunities will open themselves up for continued growth.
Sunday, December 25, 2016
A Week in Writing #122
Getting near the end of the year is always the time to be looking back on what you've accomplished and what still needs to be done. Maybe I'm a week early here, but that doesn't mean I won't be doing more soul-searching next week as well.
One thing 2016 has driven home is the frailty of existence. I won't try to name all of the artists who have died this past year, but it does make you want to get on with things. Waiting sucks, there is no other way to put it. And while you're waiting, another day, week or month that you could have been doing something gets ticked off, and like money you spend, you don't get it back.
The fact that it has taken more than a year and we're not even finished with the first two issues of PowerSquared makes me feel more impatient than ever. I don't really blame Paul or myself for the delays in getting the work done. We try to turn around our comments within a day or two of receiving work, which sometimes gets us into trouble as we have overlooked details that we've had to have fixed later when we might have seen if we weren't in so much of a hurry.
I might be satisfied if we were a few days or even weeks away from finishing, but we are not. So much has to be redone before the comic would be publishing worthy, that it's not really funny. We're going to have to shake up the creative team, probably before the new year, because things can not go on as they have been; we will never get it done if we don't. Even though it feels like a vanity project, that is not the intent. This has been a learning experience for me, as I now know better what not to do.
Well, that's enough about what's wrong with the comic book. When we make changes I'll be more forthcoming.
Did write a one-shot this week for it, showing how Marty and Eli meet Mocha. While we touch upon this moment in the second issue, I wanted to show it more from her point of view, which this one-shot would do. When I had the idea it didn't take more than a couple of nights this past week to get a good draft done. I'm sure there'll be more rewrites, especially if we get closer to doing it, but I think it tells what I want it to and with minimal dialogue. I know I'm wordy as a writer, but sometimes I try to write with minimal dialogue and this is one of those cases. Another one to put aside until the time is right.
Well, the time is right, I guess, to end this post. I'll be writing more next week as I look back on my year in writing. Until then, Happy Holidays to the dozen of you that read this. Thanks for your continued support.
One thing 2016 has driven home is the frailty of existence. I won't try to name all of the artists who have died this past year, but it does make you want to get on with things. Waiting sucks, there is no other way to put it. And while you're waiting, another day, week or month that you could have been doing something gets ticked off, and like money you spend, you don't get it back.
The fact that it has taken more than a year and we're not even finished with the first two issues of PowerSquared makes me feel more impatient than ever. I don't really blame Paul or myself for the delays in getting the work done. We try to turn around our comments within a day or two of receiving work, which sometimes gets us into trouble as we have overlooked details that we've had to have fixed later when we might have seen if we weren't in so much of a hurry.
I might be satisfied if we were a few days or even weeks away from finishing, but we are not. So much has to be redone before the comic would be publishing worthy, that it's not really funny. We're going to have to shake up the creative team, probably before the new year, because things can not go on as they have been; we will never get it done if we don't. Even though it feels like a vanity project, that is not the intent. This has been a learning experience for me, as I now know better what not to do.
Well, that's enough about what's wrong with the comic book. When we make changes I'll be more forthcoming.
Did write a one-shot this week for it, showing how Marty and Eli meet Mocha. While we touch upon this moment in the second issue, I wanted to show it more from her point of view, which this one-shot would do. When I had the idea it didn't take more than a couple of nights this past week to get a good draft done. I'm sure there'll be more rewrites, especially if we get closer to doing it, but I think it tells what I want it to and with minimal dialogue. I know I'm wordy as a writer, but sometimes I try to write with minimal dialogue and this is one of those cases. Another one to put aside until the time is right.
Well, the time is right, I guess, to end this post. I'll be writing more next week as I look back on my year in writing. Until then, Happy Holidays to the dozen of you that read this. Thanks for your continued support.
Sunday, December 18, 2016
A Week in Writing #121
Another sort of blah week in writing, that is until tonight. Can't say I really got off the snide this week. The project at work is hard to shake, though I think it should be close to done in a day or so and I know I've said that a few times this past month or so. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but they keep making the tunnel a little longer. But the end is in sight.
The holidays are pretty involving, though I'm starting to feel behind on that front as well. But that's a story for a different blog.
Things are starting to happen with the comic book. One of my goals was to improve our creative team and that seems to be moving forward. Have a couple of very good prospects. Not sure yet if we've found the right person, the price is a consideration, but I'm thinking we're getting close. But it's a necessary change if we're going to move forward.
Our search for a new logo seemed stalled. My nephew couldn't find anyone to take the job at the end of the year. So he ended up doing four versions for us. All of them are pretty good, but we're a little split on which one to use. I'm hoping I might be able to get the comic industry guy to take a look since it was his idea to get a new one.
The cover for the second issue is also coming along. Our artist has taken a few shots at doing one and I think we're at least moving forward on it, though I don' think we're there yet.
Found myself with a free evening and spent it updating my list of agents to submit to. Checked on the one I have being read by an agent and so far no word. It's only been three months and a full manuscript is supposed to take six months. That's such a long time to wait, though I'm sure it's not all that long if you're the agent with an inbox full of queries and manuscripts to go through.
Published two reviews this weekend. One was the standard Saturday morning review, this time Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol (1962). We have one more to go in that survey of adaptations of Charles Dickens' classic. Also published a review of Rogue One; that one in an effort to stay current. The blog celebrated its sixth anniversary today with the publishing of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain by its founder, Paul.
The upcoming week will be busy, but I'm not sure how much writing I'm going to get done. Still so much to do for the upcoming holiday. All I can do is try my best when the opportunity arises.
Sunday, December 11, 2016
A Week in Writing #120
New week and the same story I'm afraid. Working late again at the office and Christmas to blame this time around. But there are really no excuses for not getting anything really done.
No other writing again, I know this is starting to sound like a broken record and only a little progress on the comic book. The artist finally finished the last two pages and has started preliminary work on the cover. He's actually pushing us to give feedback, which is kind of new. On the other hand, our colorist as sort of gone AWOL. He's one of those you have to push to get pages back. Not sure why that is, but that's been my experience.
Still waiting on getting a new logo drawn. Not sure what the hold up is, but I waited two weeks before pinging about it, but I wasn't pinged back. I'll go ahead and say "he's probably really busy" which is the standard excuse you're supposed to make. Still it's a little frustrating not to hear back, but that's become my mantra, hasn't it?
I had high hopes that we would be done with the second issue by the end of the year. Six months seems like more than ample time to get 20 pages drawn and colored, but that doesn't seem to be in the cards for us. I had put off a meeting with someone who had shown an interest in our story, hoping to be done before we talk, but I had to go ahead and start that process without being done. I'm really disappointed and a little miffed that it seems to be taking extra long to get this completed. Not sure if this is typical for first timers, but things will have to change if this is to be a sustainable project. I feel like I've said that before and it's not a threat, but a promise.
Did manage to complete one review and get pretty far along with another one. Watched the fourth and final version of A Christmas Carol on Friday, this one is the 1984 TV version starring George C. Scott. Published our second review on Saturday, A Christmas Carol (1951) aka Scrooge.
When I started this blog, a thousand words a day seemed easy, but lately getting anything done has become quite a challenge. I'm not throwing in the towel, but I really want to double down in the weeks ahead.
No other writing again, I know this is starting to sound like a broken record and only a little progress on the comic book. The artist finally finished the last two pages and has started preliminary work on the cover. He's actually pushing us to give feedback, which is kind of new. On the other hand, our colorist as sort of gone AWOL. He's one of those you have to push to get pages back. Not sure why that is, but that's been my experience.
Still waiting on getting a new logo drawn. Not sure what the hold up is, but I waited two weeks before pinging about it, but I wasn't pinged back. I'll go ahead and say "he's probably really busy" which is the standard excuse you're supposed to make. Still it's a little frustrating not to hear back, but that's become my mantra, hasn't it?
I had high hopes that we would be done with the second issue by the end of the year. Six months seems like more than ample time to get 20 pages drawn and colored, but that doesn't seem to be in the cards for us. I had put off a meeting with someone who had shown an interest in our story, hoping to be done before we talk, but I had to go ahead and start that process without being done. I'm really disappointed and a little miffed that it seems to be taking extra long to get this completed. Not sure if this is typical for first timers, but things will have to change if this is to be a sustainable project. I feel like I've said that before and it's not a threat, but a promise.
Did manage to complete one review and get pretty far along with another one. Watched the fourth and final version of A Christmas Carol on Friday, this one is the 1984 TV version starring George C. Scott. Published our second review on Saturday, A Christmas Carol (1951) aka Scrooge.
When I started this blog, a thousand words a day seemed easy, but lately getting anything done has become quite a challenge. I'm not throwing in the towel, but I really want to double down in the weeks ahead.
Sunday, December 4, 2016
A Week in Writing #119
Another week and little to show for it I'm afraid. I can give you a lot of excuses, working a little late one or two nights and a Thursday night Dallas Cowboys game and before you know it the week is practically over. So once again I didn't get to much of anything past the comic book. If that sounds like a recurring theme, it is.
And the progress on that is due to some redraws that we had the artist do when we noticed that watches were prominent on some pages and then excluded on others. It may sound like we're being picky, but we really do try to keep the continuity straight. If it bothers us, then it will no doubt bother someone else.
The colorist redid some of the pages, even though we tried to tell him to hold off until the artist was done with his work. So more delays in getting this issue done. It really bothers me that it will take more than a year to get two issues done. We're going to move forward with a third issue, so I'm hopeful we can get things moving a little faster. Otherwise, we're going to have to make changes to the creative team.
Did get some more advice on the comic book; a referral from someone. The advice was more general in nature and not directly related to the book itself. What I got out of it was that it's going to be tough, but I kind of figured that already. We have to have finished goods before anything else can really happen.
While the comic book seems to dominate my creative time, there was some other writing done this week for Trophy Unlocked. Most Christmases we publish reviews of holiday and holiday-related films. Last year, we concentrated on Star Wars, but this year we're back to the basics. Published the first of four reviews on films and TV specials adapted from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Started with the 1938 MGM film starring Reginald Owen.
In the spirit of the season and the blog, watched and reviewed Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol, a little under 2700 words written over Saturday and Sunday. Look for it in a couple of weeks. One more film to view and review, but that won't be until the weekend.
Did have a thought about Familiar Stranger, so that oft put off rewrite is still on my mind. I'm hoping I can get to it again soon, but that will have to wait for another week in writing.
And the progress on that is due to some redraws that we had the artist do when we noticed that watches were prominent on some pages and then excluded on others. It may sound like we're being picky, but we really do try to keep the continuity straight. If it bothers us, then it will no doubt bother someone else.
The colorist redid some of the pages, even though we tried to tell him to hold off until the artist was done with his work. So more delays in getting this issue done. It really bothers me that it will take more than a year to get two issues done. We're going to move forward with a third issue, so I'm hopeful we can get things moving a little faster. Otherwise, we're going to have to make changes to the creative team.
Did get some more advice on the comic book; a referral from someone. The advice was more general in nature and not directly related to the book itself. What I got out of it was that it's going to be tough, but I kind of figured that already. We have to have finished goods before anything else can really happen.
While the comic book seems to dominate my creative time, there was some other writing done this week for Trophy Unlocked. Most Christmases we publish reviews of holiday and holiday-related films. Last year, we concentrated on Star Wars, but this year we're back to the basics. Published the first of four reviews on films and TV specials adapted from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Started with the 1938 MGM film starring Reginald Owen.
In the spirit of the season and the blog, watched and reviewed Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol, a little under 2700 words written over Saturday and Sunday. Look for it in a couple of weeks. One more film to view and review, but that won't be until the weekend.
Did have a thought about Familiar Stranger, so that oft put off rewrite is still on my mind. I'm hoping I can get to it again soon, but that will have to wait for another week in writing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)