Spent this last weekend in Luxembourg with my good friend Miguel and his lovely family. It snowed quite heavily on saturday (so I had a white morning bus rid on my way to frankfurt-hahn airport on sunday morning) and I went to a concert on friday night (fujya & miyagi, from brighton!)
But the remainder of the time I simply stayed home. Either playing guitar or enjoying some of Miguel's wonderful cooking, watching the kids being kids and taking us all to their level without any problem.
And writing.
I'd wanted to be able to write quite a bit while I was in Luxembourg so I'd still make this year's objective in nanowrimo.
And I did. Perhaps not as much as I'd like, but still a good word count. Not very inspired word count at that. I really feel that my room in Brockley is where the good things happen the most.
Having said that I did tread on some of the rougher waters whilst in Luxembourg. Not that many ideas and, above all, no real want to write.
But I did and ML grew a few thousand words more.
It always amazes me. When I update my file and check its size that it jumps 40 or 50 Kb at each turn. Sometimes even hundreds. The file is almost one megabyte big!
I don't think I will be able to finish the book just like I wanted. But I think I'll have all the pieces I needed to start doing the thing most crucial to the book. ML's story. The one that comes through the eyes and words of 4 different people. With me adding some more confusion on top of that.
But I have also been updating my A VIEW OF THE MOUNTAIN file. It's going slowly, but it's going. I'm just adding a couple of scenes at a time. And as soon as every single one is done then I will start weacing them all together. Chopping and adding. It's one of my favourite bits because you already feel that the story is there, ready to jump out into the world. I guess it's my favourite bit of editing, even though it can be pretty frustating in the begining if you don't have a structure already in mind...
(which I sort of have in this case... though I don't really know what's gonna happen when I start assembling it...)
And I'm missing LAND OF FOG. As soon as the nanowrimo ends and I finish writing all the bits still left out, I'll start working on this again and see if I can have a first draft ready before x-mas. It's doable but, you never know what may come knocking next at your door...
I keep talking about it and thinking about it every so often, compiling the odd idea, the odd little tidbit that can go into one of those connecting bits between scenes that I still haven't written or that it will need to be re-written. I'm keeping the story alive.
I keep telling it in my mind,
I haven't forgotten about you, I'm just giving you a breather, so you better come out strong next time we meet because I won't let go until you're here beside me...
Peace
Tuesday, 25 November 2008
Wednesday, 19 November 2008
More Sequential Writs
I've been so busy with NaNoWriMo and the ML project that I really haven't done much in terms of comics scritps.
Land Of Fog is advancing slowly through its first revising stage and I'm doing the odd bits in A View Of The Mountain. Until the 30th of november nothing much will be happening in the other fronts.
My hope is that this rhythm of writing just over 4 000 words per day will be sustained afterwards (a bit difficult when revising comes in...) and I can head back into comics and scripts that are still flying about in my head.
I've had a few more ideas in the meantime but nothing has really been explored much.
Now is simply not the time!
Now it's time to let creativity run loose and be totally unafraid of being completely inconsequent and foolish!
Peace
Land Of Fog is advancing slowly through its first revising stage and I'm doing the odd bits in A View Of The Mountain. Until the 30th of november nothing much will be happening in the other fronts.
My hope is that this rhythm of writing just over 4 000 words per day will be sustained afterwards (a bit difficult when revising comes in...) and I can head back into comics and scripts that are still flying about in my head.
I've had a few more ideas in the meantime but nothing has really been explored much.
Now is simply not the time!
Now it's time to let creativity run loose and be totally unafraid of being completely inconsequent and foolish!
Peace
Tuesday, 4 November 2008
CARESSES (excerpt)
Because this month I did not have time to finish something big (too many big things at the same time!!) I 've decided to post here one of the scripts I completed this year. It's called CARESSES and it's the story of a lost soul that heads on to meet another, perhaps in worse shape than she is.
Hope you like it!
peace
CARESSES
(12 script pg. for 24 comics pg.)
COMICS SCRIPT
COVER
Almost full shot of George and Jessica. Back to back. Jessica facing right side of page. They both look stern. We move from light into darkness from top to bottom and, around the waist line and beneath, the two figures seem to fuse. Their expressions are very similar, as if both were searching for the same thing.
NOTES
All texts in italics are thought captions.
CHARACTERS
JESSICA
A white girl, early twenties, long blond hair. Melancholy eyes. Average height.
GEORGE
A tall, broad, black guy, late twenties. Rough looking. Bouncer type only not flashy at all. Shy look.
JESSICA’S MUM & DAD
A white couple.
PAGE 1
Jessica walks through a dark and empty street.
She turns a corner.
Continues on the sidewalk lined with closed shops.
Down shot. A car flashes by.
Then, over her shoulder, we see someone crossing the street to the other side, far away from her.
JESSICA
The streets are empty.
I prefer them that way.
PAGE 2
Close up on Jessica’s hand inserting key in lock.
The door begins to open. Jessica’s POV.
Jessica enters as her parents argue over the dinner table, right across the entrance hall. We’re still in the same spot as we were on the previous panel.
Jessica closes the door. Again we don’t budge our viewpoint.
The door is closed. Same viewpoint.
Large bottom panel. Panoramic. Door POV. Her parents argue without even seeing her climbing the stairs to our left, almost out of shot.
JESSICA
I’ve stopped saying hello.
PAGE 3
Jessica lies in her bed, staring at the ceiling. On one of the walls we can see part of a band poster with a heart being broken apart by three metal chains. It reads LOVE LOST. Down shot.
JESSICA
Here I can feel empty all the time.
It’s all I want.
There’s no pain when you’re absent of yourself.
I taught myself that. Aren’t I smart?
PAGE 4
Jessica sits in an amphitheatre. Panoramic. The teacher writes on the black board, her back turned to the students.
JESSICA
Just my grades don’t prove it. And what is left to prove anyway?
Above Jessica’s shoulder. She’s writing. Amidst the notes, a drawing of a heart being broken apart by 3 equidistant chains.
JESSICA
I’ve got all the proof I need.
Same perspective. A test is flicked in front of her.
JESSICA
Right here.
Jessica looks up. Students are distributing tests along the rows. She’s in a different class now.
JESSICA
I can’t be asked to do better than anyone else.
Jessica ticks a box on the test absentmindedly.
JESSICA
I remember what I have and all is forgotten.
PAGE 5
Jessica passes by a large group of students eagerly looking their grades on the wall outside. Panoramic. Side shot. She looks straight ahead.
Jessica’s POV. A small car is parked just outside the college entrance. Her parents inside. Jessica’s fading.
Jessica moves towards us at an angle. She’s faded some more, a ghost like figure. Other students coming and going.
Jessica’s POV. She enters the car, her parents look straight ahead.
JESSICA
I crawl inside.
Full shot. The car joins the traffic.
Same perspective. The car further away.
Same perspective. The car is lost amidst the traffic.
JESSICA
And I disappear in plain sight.
Hope you like it!
peace
CARESSES
(12 script pg. for 24 comics pg.)
COMICS SCRIPT
COVER
Almost full shot of George and Jessica. Back to back. Jessica facing right side of page. They both look stern. We move from light into darkness from top to bottom and, around the waist line and beneath, the two figures seem to fuse. Their expressions are very similar, as if both were searching for the same thing.
NOTES
All texts in italics are thought captions.
CHARACTERS
JESSICA
A white girl, early twenties, long blond hair. Melancholy eyes. Average height.
GEORGE
A tall, broad, black guy, late twenties. Rough looking. Bouncer type only not flashy at all. Shy look.
JESSICA’S MUM & DAD
A white couple.
PAGE 1
Jessica walks through a dark and empty street.
She turns a corner.
Continues on the sidewalk lined with closed shops.
Down shot. A car flashes by.
Then, over her shoulder, we see someone crossing the street to the other side, far away from her.
JESSICA
The streets are empty.
I prefer them that way.
PAGE 2
Close up on Jessica’s hand inserting key in lock.
The door begins to open. Jessica’s POV.
Jessica enters as her parents argue over the dinner table, right across the entrance hall. We’re still in the same spot as we were on the previous panel.
Jessica closes the door. Again we don’t budge our viewpoint.
The door is closed. Same viewpoint.
Large bottom panel. Panoramic. Door POV. Her parents argue without even seeing her climbing the stairs to our left, almost out of shot.
JESSICA
I’ve stopped saying hello.
PAGE 3
Jessica lies in her bed, staring at the ceiling. On one of the walls we can see part of a band poster with a heart being broken apart by three metal chains. It reads LOVE LOST. Down shot.
JESSICA
Here I can feel empty all the time.
It’s all I want.
There’s no pain when you’re absent of yourself.
I taught myself that. Aren’t I smart?
PAGE 4
Jessica sits in an amphitheatre. Panoramic. The teacher writes on the black board, her back turned to the students.
JESSICA
Just my grades don’t prove it. And what is left to prove anyway?
Above Jessica’s shoulder. She’s writing. Amidst the notes, a drawing of a heart being broken apart by 3 equidistant chains.
JESSICA
I’ve got all the proof I need.
Same perspective. A test is flicked in front of her.
JESSICA
Right here.
Jessica looks up. Students are distributing tests along the rows. She’s in a different class now.
JESSICA
I can’t be asked to do better than anyone else.
Jessica ticks a box on the test absentmindedly.
JESSICA
I remember what I have and all is forgotten.
PAGE 5
Jessica passes by a large group of students eagerly looking their grades on the wall outside. Panoramic. Side shot. She looks straight ahead.
Jessica’s POV. A small car is parked just outside the college entrance. Her parents inside. Jessica’s fading.
Jessica moves towards us at an angle. She’s faded some more, a ghost like figure. Other students coming and going.
Jessica’s POV. She enters the car, her parents look straight ahead.
JESSICA
I crawl inside.
Full shot. The car joins the traffic.
Same perspective. The car further away.
Same perspective. The car is lost amidst the traffic.
JESSICA
And I disappear in plain sight.
Comics Script - The World As We Know It
I've just realised that's been way over a week since I last posted here.
What the heck happens to time? I mean, where does it go? Does somebody keep it inside their pockets or something? Is there a place filled with so much time no one can actually get there?!
(these could actually be some ideas for a short story...)
In any case, on saturday the 25th I kept my plan and continued writing LAND OF FOG. This has actually been my major project in the intervening days.
On the sunday I kept revising and added some new scenes. Don't really recall which (perhaps I should start making a note of that as well) but I do know that I focussed a lot on the characters of Anubia, Rikar, Terry and Tchan. Some weird stories came through and I think Old Ed's role in the whole shennanigan is now stronger than ever. I've been planting seeds so to speak...
I also started writing a synopsis for another comics series idea that i had and that I think will be quite easy to get some funding to do. But i'll keep it a mystery. For now...
Also wrote a bit more on AYOOLA. Still need quite a bit more of text but at least what's coming through is already somewhat solid. This story will have momentum either I like it or not!
The 27th was about getting a bit more structure into LAND OF FOG (still don't know how I'm going to work this one out, but I may just keep it in chronological order - i think it will work this way and I'm a bit afraid that if I jumble the structure further it will become more difficult to get into without really adding any more to the story... don't know... I'll have to see it as soon as it is all revised). Also did some more panels for A VIEW OF THE MOUNTAIN.
on tuesday i merely revised a bit more of LAND OF FOG. Revising is really the toughest thing for me to do. But also, towards its end, the most rewarding. Feeling that something is completed or steadily approaching its completion is really good!
On wednesday I had a couple of ideas for scripts. One is called THE DOWSER and is the story of a guy searching for the ideal place to live. It's a short story that i initially wanted to do almost completely silent. Now I think I'll have to think hard in order to keep it as silent as possible...
DEAD ZONE is actually not an idea of mine but of one of my flatmates. Still, he wants me to write it... i don't know if i have time to delve into someone else's dystopia but I suggested a few ideas in order to make it more cohesive. It kind of made sense us to be talking about it after a long chat about Brian Wood's DMZ.
The other idea was THE PIANO TEACHER which is basically a love story between two people 25 years of difference. This has been a theme that I've wanted to touch upon for many years, especially since I read Sam Keith's ZERO GIRL. Which turns out to be quite autobiographical, only in reverse. ZERO GIRL tells the story of a high school girl that falls in love with her teacher. He in turn falls for her but nothing happens apart from the weirdness and solitude she experiences in her head. But it has a happy ending. In any case, the most moving part of the whole book was actually Sam's account of how he met his wife when he was 15 and she 30. How they waited until he was 18 and started living together. Up until then, more than 10 years after. The whole book is a tribute to her, her patience, guidance and love and a genuine testimony that love knows no barriers. It's a somewhat controversial theme, i know but I, for one, am happy that someone has decided to talk about the good things about it, not just the bad ones...
Thursday i was home and so LAND OF FOG became the centre of the day. I also wrote some more on a huge story arc for the INCREDIBLE HULK that I've had in my head for years. To me this is the definitive take on the HULK. I still am to read a HULK story that completely satisfies me and this is definitely the thing that comes the closest to it. There will be plenty of destruction but the majority will be internal...
From friday the 31st to the 2nd of november i was away on a roleplaying game in essex. Due to the intensity of said CTHULHU horror fantasy mystery i did not write anything (apart from the synopsis for a short crime noir story) until sunday evening. I was still more or less in character, tired and spaced out and couldn't write as much as I wanted. Still, since NANOWRIMO is on, i started with MORTIMER LANSKY and started writing the intro and some guidelines to the book and the reader.
But because i was feeling some longing for LAND OF FOG there i went to check up on things and add a few tidbits more...
Monday I had more excuses but wrote some more on MORTIMER LANSKY and revised a bit more on LAND OF FOG.
Also on sunday and monday i revised a few graphic novels. Namely Paul Karasik's and David Mazzucchelli's adaptation of Paul Auster's CITY OF GLASS and Frank Miller's and Geof Darrow's iconic HARD BOILED. These are soon to be posted on the livejournal webpage.
I'm considering if i should start posting them here but i'm not so keen on repeating stuff... we'll see...
Today I'm eager to get home and type some of the crazy ideas i've been having so far for MORTIMER LANSKY and get some more revising done on LAND OF FOG. It would be nice if i could finish the first draft of the prior and complete the latter before this month ends. Especially because I'm going to portugal on the 27th. And to Luxembourg on the 20th...
We all want to keep ahead of the curve anyway...
Peace
What the heck happens to time? I mean, where does it go? Does somebody keep it inside their pockets or something? Is there a place filled with so much time no one can actually get there?!
(these could actually be some ideas for a short story...)
In any case, on saturday the 25th I kept my plan and continued writing LAND OF FOG. This has actually been my major project in the intervening days.
On the sunday I kept revising and added some new scenes. Don't really recall which (perhaps I should start making a note of that as well) but I do know that I focussed a lot on the characters of Anubia, Rikar, Terry and Tchan. Some weird stories came through and I think Old Ed's role in the whole shennanigan is now stronger than ever. I've been planting seeds so to speak...
I also started writing a synopsis for another comics series idea that i had and that I think will be quite easy to get some funding to do. But i'll keep it a mystery. For now...
Also wrote a bit more on AYOOLA. Still need quite a bit more of text but at least what's coming through is already somewhat solid. This story will have momentum either I like it or not!
The 27th was about getting a bit more structure into LAND OF FOG (still don't know how I'm going to work this one out, but I may just keep it in chronological order - i think it will work this way and I'm a bit afraid that if I jumble the structure further it will become more difficult to get into without really adding any more to the story... don't know... I'll have to see it as soon as it is all revised). Also did some more panels for A VIEW OF THE MOUNTAIN.
on tuesday i merely revised a bit more of LAND OF FOG. Revising is really the toughest thing for me to do. But also, towards its end, the most rewarding. Feeling that something is completed or steadily approaching its completion is really good!
On wednesday I had a couple of ideas for scripts. One is called THE DOWSER and is the story of a guy searching for the ideal place to live. It's a short story that i initially wanted to do almost completely silent. Now I think I'll have to think hard in order to keep it as silent as possible...
DEAD ZONE is actually not an idea of mine but of one of my flatmates. Still, he wants me to write it... i don't know if i have time to delve into someone else's dystopia but I suggested a few ideas in order to make it more cohesive. It kind of made sense us to be talking about it after a long chat about Brian Wood's DMZ.
The other idea was THE PIANO TEACHER which is basically a love story between two people 25 years of difference. This has been a theme that I've wanted to touch upon for many years, especially since I read Sam Keith's ZERO GIRL. Which turns out to be quite autobiographical, only in reverse. ZERO GIRL tells the story of a high school girl that falls in love with her teacher. He in turn falls for her but nothing happens apart from the weirdness and solitude she experiences in her head. But it has a happy ending. In any case, the most moving part of the whole book was actually Sam's account of how he met his wife when he was 15 and she 30. How they waited until he was 18 and started living together. Up until then, more than 10 years after. The whole book is a tribute to her, her patience, guidance and love and a genuine testimony that love knows no barriers. It's a somewhat controversial theme, i know but I, for one, am happy that someone has decided to talk about the good things about it, not just the bad ones...
Thursday i was home and so LAND OF FOG became the centre of the day. I also wrote some more on a huge story arc for the INCREDIBLE HULK that I've had in my head for years. To me this is the definitive take on the HULK. I still am to read a HULK story that completely satisfies me and this is definitely the thing that comes the closest to it. There will be plenty of destruction but the majority will be internal...
From friday the 31st to the 2nd of november i was away on a roleplaying game in essex. Due to the intensity of said CTHULHU horror fantasy mystery i did not write anything (apart from the synopsis for a short crime noir story) until sunday evening. I was still more or less in character, tired and spaced out and couldn't write as much as I wanted. Still, since NANOWRIMO is on, i started with MORTIMER LANSKY and started writing the intro and some guidelines to the book and the reader.
But because i was feeling some longing for LAND OF FOG there i went to check up on things and add a few tidbits more...
Monday I had more excuses but wrote some more on MORTIMER LANSKY and revised a bit more on LAND OF FOG.
Also on sunday and monday i revised a few graphic novels. Namely Paul Karasik's and David Mazzucchelli's adaptation of Paul Auster's CITY OF GLASS and Frank Miller's and Geof Darrow's iconic HARD BOILED. These are soon to be posted on the livejournal webpage.
I'm considering if i should start posting them here but i'm not so keen on repeating stuff... we'll see...
Today I'm eager to get home and type some of the crazy ideas i've been having so far for MORTIMER LANSKY and get some more revising done on LAND OF FOG. It would be nice if i could finish the first draft of the prior and complete the latter before this month ends. Especially because I'm going to portugal on the 27th. And to Luxembourg on the 20th...
We all want to keep ahead of the curve anyway...
Peace
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