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.
Sunday, December 25, 2016
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.
Sunday, November 27, 2016
A Week in Writing #118
Thanksgiving. Besides family and food, it also means lots of driving and very little time for writing. It's almost like I took a holiday from writing these past few days. I know the saying writers write, but sometimes that's not possible, especially after getting up at 4 in the morning and driving for 7 to 8 hours and then repeating that drive in reverse a few days later.
Now, there was time to do some writing on Friday, but I know it may sound weird to say, but I didn't want everyone to know what we were working on. Not that I'm keeping the comic book a secret, I do write about it here every week, but I didn't want to go through having to explain it and show it to people who don't read comics or who don't write. Ever feel that way about your work?
Before the holidays, we did finally speak with the man at the internet comic book site who we've been waiting to speak with for about three months. A very good conversation that was scheduled for half an hour, but went on for twice as long. It was the opinion we've been most wanting since he is actively involved in publishing. While he liked the story, he had some constructive criticism about the coloring, the lettering, the credits page and the logo. And while that sounds like we failed big time, I don't take it that way, because all of those things are fixable and things he can help us with. As a writer, I'm always interested in how to make something better, that's one reason I don't mind rewrites; they're a very necessary evil.
Even though we didn't talk about the comic book to everyone, we did speak to one relative, my nephew and Paul's cousin, who might be able to help us find someone to do a new logo. And we did spend part of Black Friday at a comic book store looking for and buying some of the comics that were recommended as examples of lettering: Saga, Thief of Thieves and Matt Fractions' Hawkeye.
While we were gone, the colorist did deliver three of the four pages he was supposed to, which is good for him. The artist did email us back after one more of my emails did not go through. It has something to do with using my AT&T email on Hotmail and it's only started when they "improved" Hotmail. Again, it's a matter of time to get it fixed and I'm always scrounging around looking for more of that commodity.
Did publish a Saturday Morning Review on Trophy Unlocked: All My Sons, officially ending our #Noirvember reviews for this year. Moving on now to Christmas and the first of our A Christmas Carol reviews will be up on Saturday. No film on Friday night, so we're still two short for the holiday extravaganza. Is that over-selling it?
Now, there was time to do some writing on Friday, but I know it may sound weird to say, but I didn't want everyone to know what we were working on. Not that I'm keeping the comic book a secret, I do write about it here every week, but I didn't want to go through having to explain it and show it to people who don't read comics or who don't write. Ever feel that way about your work?
Before the holidays, we did finally speak with the man at the internet comic book site who we've been waiting to speak with for about three months. A very good conversation that was scheduled for half an hour, but went on for twice as long. It was the opinion we've been most wanting since he is actively involved in publishing. While he liked the story, he had some constructive criticism about the coloring, the lettering, the credits page and the logo. And while that sounds like we failed big time, I don't take it that way, because all of those things are fixable and things he can help us with. As a writer, I'm always interested in how to make something better, that's one reason I don't mind rewrites; they're a very necessary evil.
Even though we didn't talk about the comic book to everyone, we did speak to one relative, my nephew and Paul's cousin, who might be able to help us find someone to do a new logo. And we did spend part of Black Friday at a comic book store looking for and buying some of the comics that were recommended as examples of lettering: Saga, Thief of Thieves and Matt Fractions' Hawkeye.
While we were gone, the colorist did deliver three of the four pages he was supposed to, which is good for him. The artist did email us back after one more of my emails did not go through. It has something to do with using my AT&T email on Hotmail and it's only started when they "improved" Hotmail. Again, it's a matter of time to get it fixed and I'm always scrounging around looking for more of that commodity.
Did publish a Saturday Morning Review on Trophy Unlocked: All My Sons, officially ending our #Noirvember reviews for this year. Moving on now to Christmas and the first of our A Christmas Carol reviews will be up on Saturday. No film on Friday night, so we're still two short for the holiday extravaganza. Is that over-selling it?
Sunday, November 20, 2016
A Week in Writing #117
Long hours again this week at work. Coming home late every night really plays havoc with being creative. The difference between getting home at 6:30 and getting home at 7:30 or later is huge. I know I'm not the only working would-be author to have this experience. Unfortunately, everything else stays the same so creativity is the first victim of lack of time. I'm writing this to explain why I didn't reach any stretch goals this week. Does survival count?
Progress, in fits and starts, continues to be made on the comic. The artist is down to the last two pages, still in the pencil stage, but getting close. The colorist has made it to page 12, with some corrections. If he can get through eight more pages in a couple of weeks, we'll still be in line to finish by year's end. We still have a cover and lettering, but I try to remain positive.
Heard from the online comic guy this week. Sort of out of the blue. I was having lunch on Monday and mentioning I hadn't heard from him in more than a month, when the next day I get an email from him. I think it's sort of the Beetlejuice effect, say his name enough and he appears. But in this case, he will still not be nailed down, at least so far. He apologized for his delay in getting back to us and asked if we were available to talk next week, which of course is a holiday week. Suggested Tuesday to talk, but he has yet to respond to my emails. Trying hard not to take it personally. But we're sort of on his radar again.
So what writing I did was mostly rewrites on a future comic script. Even with edits, I think it's still too long. Not sure yet how much I will still have to cut out. Not much to show for a week in writing.
Published our penultimate Noirvember review; Take One False Step. Above average pageviews, so I guess it was well-received. It might have helped that I used the right hashtag this time on Twitter. I had been using #Noirember instead of #Noirvember, which is the correct one. That's what I get for posting early in the mornings.
Worked on, but have not yet finished, our second A Christmas Carol review. About 1200 words in and more to go.
With Thanksgiving rushing up, I'm not sure how much writing I'll get done. No doubt at least one late night awaits me at work, so modest goals this week.
Progress, in fits and starts, continues to be made on the comic. The artist is down to the last two pages, still in the pencil stage, but getting close. The colorist has made it to page 12, with some corrections. If he can get through eight more pages in a couple of weeks, we'll still be in line to finish by year's end. We still have a cover and lettering, but I try to remain positive.
Heard from the online comic guy this week. Sort of out of the blue. I was having lunch on Monday and mentioning I hadn't heard from him in more than a month, when the next day I get an email from him. I think it's sort of the Beetlejuice effect, say his name enough and he appears. But in this case, he will still not be nailed down, at least so far. He apologized for his delay in getting back to us and asked if we were available to talk next week, which of course is a holiday week. Suggested Tuesday to talk, but he has yet to respond to my emails. Trying hard not to take it personally. But we're sort of on his radar again.
So what writing I did was mostly rewrites on a future comic script. Even with edits, I think it's still too long. Not sure yet how much I will still have to cut out. Not much to show for a week in writing.
Published our penultimate Noirvember review; Take One False Step. Above average pageviews, so I guess it was well-received. It might have helped that I used the right hashtag this time on Twitter. I had been using #Noirember instead of #Noirvember, which is the correct one. That's what I get for posting early in the mornings.
Worked on, but have not yet finished, our second A Christmas Carol review. About 1200 words in and more to go.
With Thanksgiving rushing up, I'm not sure how much writing I'll get done. No doubt at least one late night awaits me at work, so modest goals this week.
Sunday, November 13, 2016
A Week in Writing #116
Well, the change in time played havoc with me this week; I need a week to make the transition either way. Still not used to driving home in the dark. Couple that with the election on Tuesday night and some long hours at work and the writing again has suffered.
I did manage to connect with a literary agent on Linkedin. She was an agent that I had actually talked to on the phone a few years before. She seemed very interested in one of my books, but we couldn't close the deal. She accepted my invitation and then sent me a message asking what I was writing. I wrote her back telling her about the novel Public and Private; the comic book and the two blogs I write on, including this one. Maybe it was too much because I never heard back. Oh, well.
Did manage to work on rewrites for future scripts. We have decided to move forward with the comic book, but I still want to be tentative until we actually sell it. To make that possible, we've worked on the next three issues as well as some work on two after that. I'm finding that I have a lot of editing to do on part-two of the second set. The script is about two plus pages too long.
But before we can get to issue three, we still have to finish issue two. To that end, we got some layouts from our artist on the last two pages and finally got two overdue pages from our colorist. By our count, he's got about 9 pages to go and I've told him we want to be done sooner rather than later. We still have a cover to work out and color as well. I super want to be done with this by the end of the year, so we can try next year to move to the next steps.
As far as Trophy Unlocked is concerned, I did publish the second Noirember review: Destination Murder (1950). I also wrote the first of the Christmas reviews. The plan this year is to review four of the adaptations of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, which was published in 1843. The first version we watched was the 1938 version from MGM starring Reginald Owen; that review is about 2400 words. The plan is to also review the 1951 version with Alastair Sim, the animated TV version featuring Mr. Magoo and the live-action TV version starring George C. Scott in the title role. I'm curious to see how the same story is handled over the years and hope that the synopses will be different enough to warrant the survey. We'll see.
Besides more Christmas movie reviews and rewrites on the comic book, I need to get over the hump with my other rewrites. I still want to get back to Familiar Stranger; remember that?
I did manage to connect with a literary agent on Linkedin. She was an agent that I had actually talked to on the phone a few years before. She seemed very interested in one of my books, but we couldn't close the deal. She accepted my invitation and then sent me a message asking what I was writing. I wrote her back telling her about the novel Public and Private; the comic book and the two blogs I write on, including this one. Maybe it was too much because I never heard back. Oh, well.
Did manage to work on rewrites for future scripts. We have decided to move forward with the comic book, but I still want to be tentative until we actually sell it. To make that possible, we've worked on the next three issues as well as some work on two after that. I'm finding that I have a lot of editing to do on part-two of the second set. The script is about two plus pages too long.
But before we can get to issue three, we still have to finish issue two. To that end, we got some layouts from our artist on the last two pages and finally got two overdue pages from our colorist. By our count, he's got about 9 pages to go and I've told him we want to be done sooner rather than later. We still have a cover to work out and color as well. I super want to be done with this by the end of the year, so we can try next year to move to the next steps.
As far as Trophy Unlocked is concerned, I did publish the second Noirember review: Destination Murder (1950). I also wrote the first of the Christmas reviews. The plan this year is to review four of the adaptations of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, which was published in 1843. The first version we watched was the 1938 version from MGM starring Reginald Owen; that review is about 2400 words. The plan is to also review the 1951 version with Alastair Sim, the animated TV version featuring Mr. Magoo and the live-action TV version starring George C. Scott in the title role. I'm curious to see how the same story is handled over the years and hope that the synopses will be different enough to warrant the survey. We'll see.
Besides more Christmas movie reviews and rewrites on the comic book, I need to get over the hump with my other rewrites. I still want to get back to Familiar Stranger; remember that?
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