I attempt "method writing"
To get into the mood for trying to crank out another issue and a half of SUICIDE YAKUZA in one week I have taken to drinking sake. This is not to get drunk, I cannot stand sake cold, and thus must microwave it. And drink it out of the cup I have specifically for that purpose. This is to prevent me from drinking large quantities.
I crave sushi, and unagi donburi (eel over rice), and tempura. I have no money. I must look at my budget next week and see if I can swing a Japanese meal. Somehow I doubt it, not with grabbing the second and third trades of A Distant Soil. I am so broke right now it ain't funny. Maybe I will use some of grandma's birthday money and treat myself. But, really, I should just focus on paying bills.
So in the mean time, I drink sake. I have large amounts of vodka in my freezer, so I may eventually move onto those. I'm trying to pound out the last third of SY #2 tonight. Artist has still not gotten back to me, but I formulated a 70-word pitch for the series. It has been suggested by an editor that it is best to put together a short, concise 100-word pitch for your book, and then have some art to go along with it. Leave them wowed, but remember that editors have no real attention span for the written word...its the pretty pictures they want. This is why you don't send them scripts.
I am slowly learning. In five weeks I start classes under Ty Templeton to learn more about writing comics. I hope to improve my craft under him, if all goes well. If nothing else, I'll learn how to script things "The Marvel Way", a technique which scares the bejesus out of me, since it involves relying entirely on the artist to create scenes of such excellence that you will be able to fit similarly excellent dialogue into them. I have heard horror stories of this from Brian Michael Bendis and Warren Ellis.
'Camera tells me that work progresses apace on DELIVERY. I got him a rough re-edit a few days ago (actually, I think it was yesterday) that cleared up some problems that were kind of inevitable when the first five pages of the book were written in November and the last few pages were written last week. Also fixing up some ending stuff. The book ends on a cliffhanger, but that needed some touching up. I'm going to print the entire thing out, all 50+ pages worth of it, when i get home on Tuesday. Then I'll spend the rest of the week going through it with a highlighter and sticky notes. It can definitly use some touching up in places, but that'll be easier to read once I print it off.
...god this post has dragged on, since the original premise was just talking about how I was drinking sake to get in the mood for finishing up SY #2.
I crave sushi, and unagi donburi (eel over rice), and tempura. I have no money. I must look at my budget next week and see if I can swing a Japanese meal. Somehow I doubt it, not with grabbing the second and third trades of A Distant Soil. I am so broke right now it ain't funny. Maybe I will use some of grandma's birthday money and treat myself. But, really, I should just focus on paying bills.
So in the mean time, I drink sake. I have large amounts of vodka in my freezer, so I may eventually move onto those. I'm trying to pound out the last third of SY #2 tonight. Artist has still not gotten back to me, but I formulated a 70-word pitch for the series. It has been suggested by an editor that it is best to put together a short, concise 100-word pitch for your book, and then have some art to go along with it. Leave them wowed, but remember that editors have no real attention span for the written word...its the pretty pictures they want. This is why you don't send them scripts.
I am slowly learning. In five weeks I start classes under Ty Templeton to learn more about writing comics. I hope to improve my craft under him, if all goes well. If nothing else, I'll learn how to script things "The Marvel Way", a technique which scares the bejesus out of me, since it involves relying entirely on the artist to create scenes of such excellence that you will be able to fit similarly excellent dialogue into them. I have heard horror stories of this from Brian Michael Bendis and Warren Ellis.
'Camera tells me that work progresses apace on DELIVERY. I got him a rough re-edit a few days ago (actually, I think it was yesterday) that cleared up some problems that were kind of inevitable when the first five pages of the book were written in November and the last few pages were written last week. Also fixing up some ending stuff. The book ends on a cliffhanger, but that needed some touching up. I'm going to print the entire thing out, all 50+ pages worth of it, when i get home on Tuesday. Then I'll spend the rest of the week going through it with a highlighter and sticky notes. It can definitly use some touching up in places, but that'll be easier to read once I print it off.
...god this post has dragged on, since the original premise was just talking about how I was drinking sake to get in the mood for finishing up SY #2.
posted by Derek the Bard at 10:49 p.m.
1 Comments:
Hey Derek, it's Ian here. I couldn't find your e-mail address (my account died so I lost all my saved messages and addresses - it works know, so wanderingone@planet-save.com is the way to contact me) so I'm tracking you down via blog. The Men in Black will be with you shortly. As for me, I don't know how much longer I can evade the men in white.
Zanne identifies with method writing, though her approach is a little more dramatic. Her way of method writing includes exploring 14th-century cities, hillwalking in Spain, and sailing to Morocco. All of which helped her book immensely.
Speaking of Zanne, February 18th was a special day for us: our 29th lunaversary. Not that our months are lunar, but oh well. Hers are.
The big thing I want to tell you about is our wedding, to which you are invited. Your parents and siblings are also welcome, so I can send the invitation either to their place or yours. I have their address (unless they've moved) but please send me yours anyways. We'll be getting married Saturday, August 5 2006.
Speaking of weddings, Zanne is an incorrigeable matchmaker and wants to hook you up with her sister. Frankly, I think the two of you would be perfect for each other (aside from geography). I'm thinking of giving you the URL for her blog, but I don't have it on-hand so I'll just yours to her if that's alright. Hopefully you haven't already found true love, which would totally foil Zanne's machinations.
Anyways, this is an uncommonly long comment to a post, but good luck with your pitches and writing. If you come up this summer we can introduce you to Mark Oakley and you guys can talk shop. He's gearing up to put out a bunch of issues this year.
Drop me an e-mail so I'll have your address, and hopefully also phone number. Oh yes, and don't let Marvel Comics eat you.
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