Standards...?

((Another look at the JBTM Cast. I'm still trying to figure out my style and though this still doesn't represent the cast as I see them in my minds eye, its better than what I had before. Yet I didn't mind so much representing them with animals. Perhaps those images shall make their way here at some point in time. ))

This post is going to be more about my art than my writing. At present I'm on ch 23 and the editing is just crawling along, inch by sluggish inch, until I feel it's right to pass on. Alot is being changed with the characters and their interactions, but I feel great attention must be payed to this chapter since the two featured do become important. Spoiler? Perhaps.

But on to more pressing matters. Recently I was offered the opportunity to draw up some comic strips for another web blog (rant blog as it may be)since it's author claims to have lacking abilities in the scribble dept. At first I was excited. Someone actually liked my art enough to ask me to draw for them! So in returned I asked for a few scripts and waited patiently until they arrived with roughly, stick figure drawn story boards. What I received however was not quite what I was expecting. While I understand that everyone is entitled to their opinions, I was taken aback by some of the articles I was given. While some were "cute" others were to my opinion, somewhat offensive or lacking in tact.

Now when I used to take acting classes I was always told there is no such thing as bad publicity. That even if you do wrong, it will gain you attention you would have never gotten otherwise, and okay... this is for acting but it sort of does apply here, if'n you recall that untimely printed comic for Garfield back on Vets day. That got some good hits on the Internet because alot of people wanted to know what the hubbub was about, but I digress. As much as I appreciate the offer I don't feel I can take the opportunity. As much as I would like to get myself out there and have my drawing/writing/what have you, seen I don't feel right about it. I want to find my way through good, not controversial means and though I could possibly do one or two of the "cuter" comics I don't think that could be part of the plan, even if I put a disclaimer stating the opinions drawn are not my beliefs.

No, for now I think I will stick with my novels and story illustrations, keeping with ideas I can agree with rather than ones I have to struggle to stomach. Even though I may/will eventually have to touch upon controversy with character development, those are just characters and they are not alone. There will be those my readers can agree with and those they cannot, and they can read into it all they want but they will know it is all just part of the story. They can choose their sides and question whose I am on, but that is all part of the fun of reading, isn't it?

I ask you dear readers. What would you do?

T-Nooler now Twitter Accessable!

Hope everyone who celebrates it had a Happy Halloween! And those who don't well... I hope you get the chance to go out and get yourself a pumpkin and some yummy candy. Above is a pic I doodled of the JBTM crew dressed up as the characters from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, one of my favorite animes, for Halloween. Just so ya'll can get an idea of who makes up the main cast and what their personalities are... sort of like... (Eli is a little more modest than Yuko and Dru at first is alot quieter and seemingly grumpier than Kamina... but that will change... hopefully.) So enjoy and while I'm up to adding new surprises, you can now follow me on Twitter! Granted I will only be able to tweet after work hours (9 pm or later- accursed long hour days) but I generally don't have a whole lot to say to begin with and I feel it is a better way to update with how my editing is going than waiting for me to find a topic to post here, right?

heh ^_^'

Well have a nice first of November everyone. Turkey day is lurking just around the corner.

Dialogue Debate

(Just getting in the Halloween spirit. Took this photo while visiting my brother in T.N. when we went to the Union Station Hotel.)

So I may have a bit of a setback. While editing today I noticed something off about the little icon that tells you how much battery you have left on your comp. It was loosing power faster than normal and when I plugged it in, it seems to have gotten stuck at 88%. Might just be a bad outlet but I'll have to monitor it. Just when I get my art computer back my writing computer starts to die... what's up with that? If it does turn out to be something with the battery (hope this has nothing to do with having kept it plugged in during the storm we had last night) I'll have less time to edit the novel since I can't tote around my art computer... and I was making such progress -_-

Now on to today's topic. Dialogue.

Dialogue can play a key part in character development and dynamic. Even if a character cannot speak they still have inner thought which can reflect on actions that have or have not occurred and the words they cannot speak may provoke the voices of others. I guess a good example of that would be found in the web comic Strays by Samantha Whitten & Stacey Pefferkorn. (I do suggest you stop by, its a great story with amazing art.)

In my novel I had a lot of scenes driven by dialogue which illustrated the clashing personalities of my two main characters but as one character changed the dynamic also changed, removing the necessity of many of their conversations. While I found many of these conversations witty and comical if not provocative, I now find that while I still do like the scripting and wish to keep the ideas, I just can't find a place for them anymore. None the less I hold on to the bits long enough to see if there is any chance for them as I cut down the chapters, eventually finding the strength to just let them go so the chapter can run smoother and the scene gets to the point faster. It does bug me a little when things tend to get to the point too fast, for example- the characters enter a town and less than five minutes in they encounter the antagonist and action ensues right after an eventful... event, an example being the film "Clash of the Titans" 2010 version where it was action after action with little pause and time to develop characters and their relationships with both their teams and the villains, but some people like that, getting bored of a story too soon when there is down time, and some publishers like that to for the same reason. But really that is up to you. There will always be readers out there who will love your writing and those who don't for one reason or another. Never let that deter you. You write for the love of writing, your story and your characters. Your audience comes second because everyone is different, everyone has their own tastes. Let them have the challenge of finding that book and earning the rewards of discovering their heart through the world that lies beyond the cover.

Just some thoughts.

Now dare I risk turning on my editing computer to do a little more editing?

Maybe

AH! and I just added a header to the Blog. Small portion of a larger image from the cover for JBtM before the book was split. Dunno if I will be keeping this but it's better than what had been there. Enjoy!

The Pixar Challenge

(This bluejay looks like a plush toy >_< I guess my office is right on their migration route because there is a whole mob of these guys hanging out in the trees of our parking lot. They are really smart and enjoy tossing acorns at our cars)

Man er... computer down!

My computer has died so there may not be any updates for a while. Already spoke to HP and am now awaiting their box so I can ship it back for repairs. Until then enjoy the doodle and remember... dragons and computers don't mix.

~_^ the dragon is a character from my novel btw.

Chocolate Croissants & Pink Dresses

(This image was the original concept design for the JBTM cover sleeve- however due to the change in the story I am rethinking a new cover and may save this for book 2 of volume 1- there is an incomplete computer colored version as well of just the front half. I may post that at some point as well.)

Today I went to a book signing for Cornelia Funke's new novel "Reckless" and I must say the Ms. Funke is so far the author I can most relate to. Originally an illustrator for children's stories she decided to write to give more depth to the ideas she had been illustrating. Luckily for her however, she found it easier to get published than I am. None the less writing never comes easy and sometimes you just have to keep editing (for example "14 times" for a single chapter).

Ms. Funke along with her co-author (and film producer) Lionel Wigram read part of chapter 1 of the novel (which has plans for a trilogy), talked about their collaboration in writing it and answered audience questions. Then came the signing.

Ms. Funke was a very lovely woman and Mr. Wigram, well to be honest he didn't talk much, but his smile showed warmth and when Ms. Funke read he closed his eyes and you could tell he was being brought back to that place they had met many times in coming up with their tale.

There may have been roughly 25 people/kids there for the signing which was kind of sad but it was made up for by their love of her books, especially the woman in the pink (hot pink... or maybe it was salmon) colored dress. A teacher for the fifth grade and a woman very passionate about reading and writing. Her favorite teaching tool was/is The InkWorld series, especially because of the quotes at the beginning of every chapter from other novels written by other authors. She compared herself to Aunt Elinor because she just loved books and loved to collect them.
I seriously wish I had a teacher like her when I was in school. I really do.

So here is to Ms. Funke, Mr. Wigram, Ms. Funke's Publisher (who made the signing despite canceled flights from Germany) and the teacher. Thank you and best of luck in the future for all and all they do.

PS- While waiting for the signing to begin I got a good chapter and a half edited before getting stuck with the changes I've made... and a dead battery. If only I was lucky enough to have some one to bounce my ideas off of like Ms. Funke was with Mr. Wigram.

Working on it

(The image above is supposed to be an animated .Gif from the anime Chi's Sweet Home- not sure if its going to animate but it's still cute)

I've found with the split of Book 1 there is a lot more I want to explore in the world I have created that I never had a chance to before. The problem with that is the fact that with all this new material Volume 1 of Book 1 is going to be as long as it was before the split of volumes. I don't have a problem with that... The publishers on the other hand *sigh*
None the less I am making progress, not the kind I wish I was making but when you work 12 hours a day, it's the best one can do, aye?

Now you might wonder why I decided to write.
Truth be told I never really planned to be a writer. I liked to make up stories when I was little but they were just stories to pass the time. Now I wish I had kept all the things I had written because I would love to revisit those ideas. I still have some old character drawings I made for them but I can't really recall the plot or characteristics of the main characters, just the setting and who was good and who was not.
My true heart was in other things. If I remember correctly I wanted to be a reporter when I was little. I loved to know everything and tell everyone what was going on, despite the fact I was usually the last to know anything. My dream died when a teacher, rather than approve the idea, shot down my dream, telling me to keep dreaming- it would never happen.
So from there I wanted to do something with music but again when I didn't seem to be making the same improvements as other students I was told I had no future in music. Later years a choir teacher would give me the same impression when he had no choice but to give me a solo and purposely gave me a broken Mic so another student could save the day.
Acting was another big thing for me but I'll just leave it as- as much as I love to act and as much as I would love to be in the film industry, I don't have what it takes. I'm not Hollywood material.

I spent one semester at a private university for art before coming back home. Disillusioned, I spent winter break trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life (honestly I still don't know the answer and at times it can really hurt) and it was then that I saw a movie that inspired my novel. It was a fantasy film based on a book and it was horrid. Sitting there, unable to walk out, I pondered about how I could do better, how I could write a better script. So when I got home I sat down and started to write.

The problem there was the fact I don't know how to write a script/ screenplay so what started as a rough storyboard for something bigger, became a novel- written with love, sweat and tears.
I managed to get 15 pages out before transfering to another university (and then a third) where I would jot down ideas during class and organize them for when I had the time to sort them out, which was not until after I graduated.

JBTM is still a work in progress but I've never been prouder of something I've done and I hope someday to share it and inspire others in some way.

I have other story ideas waiting in the wings as well, one of which was planned to be a web comic but that too, I believe, will be saved for the written word and the imagination of the readers.