Friday, January 1, 2010

"Eternals" by Neil Gaiman, Illustrated by John Romita Jr. - Mini Review

Author Neil Gaiman and artist John Romita Jr. team up to resuscitate Jack Kirby's 1970's Marvel classic.

The Eternals are an offshoot of the human race, created and imbued with extraordinary powers by the god-like Celestials. Their job is to stand watch over humanity until the Celestials return. But something has gone wrong and the Eternals have somehow forgotten who they are.

We watch as they struggle with their new roles as ordinary human beings -- a doctor, a street bum, a party planner -- wondering if they'll recover their true selves in time to do battle with an assortment of evils that threaten from without and within.

A compelling story and truly inspired artwork combine to make this a must read for fans of the graphic novel genre. Highly recommended.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

My Writing Toolkit

"I was curious what software you use for writing your books."
-- Brian I., CA
For years I've been using plain old MS Word for my picture books, my spec chapter books, and even my spec novels. With very minor tweaks, you can set it up to produce a very respectable-looking manuscript. The generally accepted format for all of these is double-spaced and indented at each new block of dialogue or descriptive text. One inch margins all around seems pretty standard, too.

I use a dedicated script program (Movie Magic Screenwriter 6) for my spec screenplays and sitcoms as the formatting in those is a little more complicated than book manuscripts -- dialogue/action/parenthetical/shots and transitions, etc. This software also includes a novel template and that's what I used to write my 2009 NaNo project -- just to mix things up. It worked fine but I wouldn't advise authors to purchase MMS 6 just for the novel template -- Word will do and you probably already own that.

As an aside, I use Final Draft 5 for my animation scripts as that program seems to be a requirement for a lot of shows in this genre. These scripts are almost always written in screenplay format although, obviously, not nearly as long. My copy of FD is ancient and creaky and I should probably upgrade soon but, hey, it's still readable by the newer versions and even the upgrades of these dedicated script apps can be pricey. That said, they really make cranking out a script a lot easier so I'd recommend investing in one if you're serious about a career in features, sitcoms, or animation. Final Draft also has a built-in novel template, but I haven't used it.

Finally, I use an outlining program for my novels and screenplays called Dramatica Pro. It's primarily an organizational tool and I like it because it helps me focus and deepen my story early on, making the actual writing a lot easier. Is a program like this a necessity? No. You can definitely get by with your own personal (and free) outlining method.

There you have it, the complete Novel Project writing toolkit. Now get to work.

Monday, November 30, 2009

"Anansi Boys" by Neil Gaiman - Mini Review

A fun story about two brothers who are the sons of the African trickster god, Anansi.

Spider knows who and what his dad is, Fat Charlie does not. He doesn't even know that he has a brother. When the old man kicks the bucket while performing on a Florida karaoke stage, events are set into motion that enlighten Fat Charlie about his heritage -- and fast. He quickly discovers that a dull life can get dangerously interesting when the gods are involved.

Set in the same literary universe as "American Gods" and loaded with his trademark wry wit, "Anansi Boys" is a worthy addition to Neil Gaiman's body of work and is a must read for fans of original tales well told. Recommended.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

In Your Face, 50k!

Well, I did it! Checked the counter shortly after midnight and found that I was at a nicely balanced 52052 words -- a couple of days beyond my personal goal of 5ok by this past Wednesday, but I'm not complaining. All in all, I'd say this year's NaNo was the most fun to date -- a couple of slow days here and there but that happens. It was fun, challenging and, dare I say it, easy all at the same time. The "easy" part doesn't come from me thinking too highly of my rather workman-like abilities but, rather, from the fact that I was lucky enough to have an idea that I really liked and a pretty good outline. It's a lot easier to keep going when you have at least some idea of where you're headed.

Now, have I finished the novel? No. I just beat the NaNo 50k in a month word challenge. The finishing part will come in the months ahead.

Here's where I stand as of 11/28/09:
  • 52052 words. I'm guesstimating the first draft will top out at around 75-80k.
  • At the start of Chapter XV (out of XXIII).
  • Our hero and his intrepid crew have just been captured on board the archfiend's flagship while attempting a bold rescue. If I didn't know better, I'd say it was curtains for them.
I'd really like to finish up a first draft by the end of January (my daily word count seems to drop off dramatically after the 30th, for some reason) but we'll see. I'll let you know when I reach that goal. The cool part is that I'm well on my way toward producing a manuscript that I can try to get published -- my foundational motivation for partaking in the craziness that is the National Novel Writing Month.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

The Big 40

Hit the 40k mark in my novel late last night. A day behind schedule but that's okay. I'll try to catch up and spread the "lost 2k" out over the next few days and still try to finish on Wednesday.

Here's where I stand as of last night:
  • Finished Chapter X (out of XXIII) for a total of one hundred and seventy-two pages so far.
  • In the middle of an exciting escape sequence where the protagonist has been seriously injured by minions of the evil arch fiend. The cad!
  • Greatly enjoying myself. Ideas are coming fast and furious which is infinitely more fun than the alternative. I'm not a big believer in writer's block, but I have experienced extended chunks of "My brain is full of molasses. I don't want to write." Never fun to slog through that condition. It certainly helps that I really like my idea and, like I've mentioned, have a good outline.
In other news, I'm getting my third Scooby assignment on Monday which is very exciting for me. I'm having a blast writing these too and needless to say I am very grateful for the work.

I'll check in again when I hit 50k.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Halfway Home

Passed the 25k mark on my NaNo novel yesterday and feel pretty darned good about it. Some of my "buddies" are cranking along too, with several of them already past the 50k mark! That's impressive as you know they had to throw in some 3, 4, and 5k days to get that far that fast. My "2k a Day" goal is plenty for me. I can get it done in a couple of hours and not burn myself out -- helps me approach each day's writing with enthusiasm as I know my brain won't pucker and I'll have plenty of time to do other stuff. You know, have a life and what not. Definitely going all tortoise in the word count race.

On a side note, there's a woman who does NaNo every year who regularly posts totals of 750k - 900k by the end of the month. Seriously. Now assuming she's telling the truth (if you cheat on this challenge the only person you're cheating is your own moronic self), that would mean she has to average at least 25 - 30k -- every single day of November! I cannot even imagine how that is physically possible as just reaching her daily count took me two full weeks of writing. The cynic in me wonders if any of her stuff is remotely coherent but if it is -- damn! I'm triply impressed.

Here's where I stand at just a little over 25k:
  • Very near the end of Chapter VII (c. 107 pages so far).
  • No longer worried I'll come up short. Now worried I'll go too far past the standard word count for a middle-grade novel (50-60k). This is a great worry to have as things like "too much" can be fixed in the edit.
  • Still pleasantly surprised with how smoothly it's going (more knocking on wooden head). I think having a fairly well thought out and detailed outline helped massively in this regard.
I'll touch base again at around 40k. See ya!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

On Writers and Money

Author John Scalzi has a very interesting post on why writers seem to have a hard time managing their money and aren't all crazy rich.

Friday, November 6, 2009

10k, Olay!

Hit my first NaNo '09 milestone last night. At ten thousand words, here's where I am:
  • Almost at the end of Chapter III (the novel template in Movie Magic Screenwriter 6 uses Roman numerals as the default).
  • Almost at the end of an awesome space battle involving spacecraft, space weapons, and a black hole (in space).
  • Pleasantly surprised that it's going as smoothly as it is (taps forehead with knuckle). Knock on wood.
My next personal milestone will be 25k so I'll give you an update on all things NaNo then. Oh, and as you can see, the super fancy word count widget is now working.

Friday, October 30, 2009

In Place

NaNo starts on Sunday 11/1 and I feel like I'm in a really good place to hit the ground running. Got my premise, my characters, and my outline (5 pages/20 chapters) -- and even an anti bad writing gargoyle in my garden (<--see pic). Maybe I should place him closer to my desktop as I'm not quite sure about his range. This year's book is a genre shift from the first two -- going from fantasy to sci fi. It's still middle grade. I feel comfortable working in mg and like the idea of writing books that entertain kids of that age -- probably because that's when the whole "hardcore reader" thing kicked in for me. I still recall my first mind expanding sci fi read, "Time of the Great Freeze" by Robert Silverberg (humans emerge from underground sanctuaries at the end of a future ice age). It was back in the 5th grade and got me hooked on the genre. To this day 99% of my pleasure reading is either sci fi or fantasy. But I digress.
My goal for November is 2k+ words a day which will put me at 50k on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving -- thus allowing me to gorge without guilt. My author page at NaNo is sillyroger. Check it out when you get a chance and feel free to add me as a buddy. I'll report back as I hit the significant milestones (every 10k or so). The NaNo word count widget on this blog should start functioning on Sunday.
I know this is all very book geeky but what can I say? I'm a book geek who really enjoys the challenge of cranking out a manuscript every November. Who knows, someday I might even sell one!

Gentlemen (and ladies), start your word processors!

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Saturn's Children - Mini Review

Despite an off-putting cover that appears to have been designed with 14 year old boys in mind, Charlie Stross' "Saturn's Children" is an interesting read with a great premise -- once the human race dies off, what's to become of their androids?

In Stross' clever scenario, they continue on -- struggling to fulfill the aspirations of their extinct creators (space exploration, extraterrestrial colonies) while picking up a few of our less than noble traits too (slavery and murder to name a few).

The story centers on Freya Nakamichi-47, an obsolete pleasurebot (see book cover) who, like her identical sisters, has had to find other duties once human males ceased to exist. Most of her work has been mundane, but when she's hired to make a delivery to Mars things start to get interesting and extremely dangerous.

Hardcore intrigue, brutal assassinations, and heart-breaking betrayals easily place "Saturn's Children" in the category of a sci fi thriller (android noir, if you will) as Freya does her best to navigate through a deadly future where absolutely no one can be trusted -- including herself. Recommended.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Anathem - Mini Review

A richly detailed book coming in at roughly 900 pages (plus an extensive glossary and several "calcas" or lessons), Anathem by Neal Stephenson, is not a lightweight read in either the physical or mental sense of that phrase. This hefty book will challenge you.

Set in an alternate "cosmi" (universe), the world of Arbre is divided between secular powers and a complicated system of "concents" (monasteries) devoted to the study of scientific and philosophical truths. Although borrowing heavily from the milieu of medieval monasticism, the monks here are, for the most part, not religious. They're closer in attitude to the thinkers of ancient Greece than the more familiar devout who worshipped God and (as a bonus) preserved western thought and knowledge during our own dark ages.

I spent the first quarter of Anathem trying to sort out a myriad of monastic orders, exotic names, and philosophies of truth and science. There's a lot to keep track of and I didn't click into the book right away. But once I did, I found that I was in for a stimulating ride.

There is a basic and workable story at the heart of Anathem (visitors from another cosmi wreak social and military havoc on Arbre), but the real meat of the book comes from numerous and lengthy discussions of on the nature of existence.

This may not sound very action-packed (it isn't), but it is quite interesting and stimulating in that it makes you consider topics that you probably haven't thought about since staying up way too late in college.

If you're looking for the SF equivalent of a beach read, move on. If you want to be challenged and get your mental gears turning again, read Anathem.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

R.I.P. Captain Lou

One of my very first writing jobs was as headwriter for the live-action portions of the infamous "Super Mario Brothers Super Show". It was something of a grueling "trial by fire" experience but also a lot of fun. We had great guest stars on each episode (Eve Plumb, Donna Douglas, Maurice LaMarche, and Cyndi Lauper, to name a few) but the real heart of the show, the man who made it fun, was Lou Albano.

Gregarious, lovable, self-deprecating and kind -- he was a hoot to be around and kept the mood up when we were struggling under crushing deadlines. He also (gasp!) actually appreciated the show's writers and that we were doing our best to give him funny things to say. I'll always think well of him for that.

Rest in peace, Captain Lou. You were a good guy and I salute you.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

A Productive Week

Been a busy little robot this week.

Got my Script Frenzy screenplay over to the agent on Thursday. I'm very happy with how it turned out. Hope he likes it. I changed the name from "Timer" to "Nick of Time" for reasons stated earlier. Here's how I pitched it:

"Aimed at a youth audience this is a "flexible" script -- existing comfortably, imo, in a number of niches ranging from a big budget live action/cgi extravaganza through a Nick or D.C. original movie (personally, I'd love to see it as an anime style flick in the vein of Miyazaki's "Howl's Moving Castle", but we can talk about that)."

Agents always ask which niche you see the script falling into -- I'm guessing it helps them decide how they're going to position it. You'll note that I'm not going public with any of the script's content as I'm a little superstitious/paranoid about describing that kind of thing until the agent's had a chance to look at it and it's out on the market.

Got a significant chunk of my outline done for "Caden Brave", my 2009 NaNo effort. All of the main characters are laid out. They're archetypal, but that's how I roll.

Twenty more days until the National Novel Writing Month kicks off. If you're still thinking about joining in, now's the time to sign up and start working on your outline. If you decide to go for it, look me up under the author name of "sillyroger". We can be "buddies" and motivate/annoy each other into action during November.

And finally, got my second Scooby script approved. These are a hoot to write and I hope the kids enjoy watching the show as much as I do writing it.

Friday, October 2, 2009

30 Days and Counting

The craziness that is National Novel Writing Month starts at midnight on November 1st, 2009. If you've ever flapped your lips about "someday writing a novel", then I'm putting you on notice that someday is almost here. Sign up and write the damned thing! Seriously though, it's a lot of fun and a great kick in the pants for those who (like me) thrive on a deadline. I've enjoyed and benefited from it enough that this will be my third year of cranking out middle grade November prose. Check out their site and then ask yourself, "Other than the fact that I'm a lazy mook, why wouldn't I do this?"

In other news --
  • Finished my second draft of "Magic Man" my 2008 NaNo project and have sent it off to trusty beta reader JZ. On balance, I'm quite pleased with it but I sure he'll find plenty of wtf things for me to fix.
  • I should be finished with my 2009 Script Frenzy effort "Timer" by the end of this weekend. I've got to finesse the final scene (to make sure that all the main characters get their due) and will probably change the title as 1) there was a recent indie film by the same name and 2) the original reasons for giving my main character that nickname never really made it into the script. Then it's off to the agent.
That's it for now. Get busy on that novel outline!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Dragon in Chains - Mini Review

A fascinating look into a world that is largely ignored in western fantasy fiction, Daniel Fox's "Dragon in Chains" is a welcome detour into the realm of Chinese culture and mythology. Fox masterfully weaves several complicated storylines, each centered on a different young man -- the boy Emperor fleeing a deadly rebel General, a jade miner with supernatural strength and endurance, and a maimed river rat who uses his mind and magical chains to keep a great dragon imprisoned beneath the waves. The world Fox invites us to explore is so detailed and vividly described that (to use the old cliche) it really does feel like you're there -- in other words, a superb "escape read".

My only complaint about this otherwise excellent book is that the ending comes on too quickly for my taste with the exciting climax literally occurring on the very last page. I don't insist on an epilogue, but I do like to know how everyone ends up and we don't really get that here. In this case the abrupt ending appears to be a little too obvious setup for a sequel -- but, hey, that's okay as I'm very much looking forward to returning to this fascinating world. Recommended.

Eater of the Dead: A Dragon Friend Excerpt

Just in time for Halloween! Check out a featured Dragon Friend excerpt on the BestSelling Reads blog: "The spooky season is upon us! H...