Did you know the last post was no. 400?

Well I had to squeeze it in on the odd spare minutes, but I’ve managed to finish the first pass at a new comic script called ‘Wedding Bells’, and I’m quite happy with it. It’s the first time I’ve tried just plotting something. My usual method is to make it up as I go along and then rewrite, fiddle, procrastinate, scrap, cut, paste and generally worry the thing into submission. Plotting doesn’t feel like proper writing, it’s still making it up as I go along, but without actually trying to write prose. Now I’ve got a full(ish) plot I see the wisdom. There’s the framework of a story that I can easily mess about with and there’s still enough room to add new stuff so I hopefully won’t feel like I’ve stifled off any possible future creativity.
It still sort of bugs me that Burgess made up Clockwork Orange as he went, but then if I start talking about my writing and Burgess I’m onto a bit of loser aren’t I:) And, y’mow, whatever works for you.

Bugger

Bloomsbury returned my manuscript today. Disappointing getting a form rejection after the positive response from Orion. Unfair of me really, can't expect publishers to take time out to critique every manuscript they receive.
Few more publishers to try though before I let Simian rest and see if I can interest someone in something new.

Rolling up my sleeves

As mentioned in the comments on my previous post I've decided to dig through my old stuff in a effort to get working. I'm going to call this not wasting decent ideas rather than see it as running out out of new ones:)
First up is a 5-8 year novel that I never could come up with a name for. Reading through what I still have of it (lost the finished version, but I do have about 2/3's of it), it was my first go at prose and pretty bad ( hope I've improved!), but what really lets it down is a some terrible plot contrivances to move the story on. Not sure how I'm going to sort the plot out just yet, but it's good to have to do a bit of work on it instead of just cranking it out.
Plot is quite hard I think. When it comes to reading I like good prose and interesting characterization and could care less about plot.... until I started trying to write. Once you write a bit you realise that it's the plot that ties everything together (like a good rug!), I mean, you've got to give the characters something interesting to do and react to.
Over at Jeff Smith's blog there's sample art for the (not soon enough) upcoming Shazam, knowing I'll never be that good is a reason to keep trying harder!
Oh, and the Moomins comic collection is out adn I've bought it, so should EVERYONE!

Yaaawn

No posts for a while as I've been tired. Really tired. Atempting narcolepsy tired. Whether it's work, the heat, the alergy pills (not for hayfever, just to calm down the large itchy welts many insects thought I should have) or something else I've had trouble staying awake and concentrating over the last two weeks. This sleepy state has not helped my productivity any, my blog is not the only thing to have suffered. The ‘regular’ comic has faltered, although I do have 2 single page strips to scan in, and I’ve not written much more of Runt’s Tale (apart from a fairly meaningless but fun slug sequence that I quite like), my anthropromorphic ideas haven’t amounted to anything just yet and Simian still needs completing. The third draft of Simian was intended to be the last but prompting from a friend made me take a more objective look. I’m glad I did. I’m working on the fourth draft and the fourth chapter at the moment, and am beginning to understand the expression ‘kill your children’, what was about 8200 words is now 7000. It’s not just removing words either, whole paragraphs and sentences were repeated several times and I've had to cut paste and reduce accordingly. How had I not noticed? This has been the real lesson of Simian, be objective, and don't fake the rewrites. Looking at it now I can see that my earlier rewrites were simply taking a word out here and there, replacing a few, adding a couple but rarely (ever?) taking the hard looks neccessary to see what's working. So Simian’s first adventure is going to be a little shorter than originally intended but I think it’ll be all the better for it.
Inbetween writing and struggling through my sombulent daze I’ve started sketching some of the artwork to accompany the book, it’s difficult but exciting, which is how I’ve always felt about drawing.

Irregular update

Things are still ticking over here in sunny/grey/damp Lancaster. Work's tough, but I'm hoping things'll pick up soon.
I'm about a quarter of the way through the 3rd (and final) draft of Simian Smith and I think its' shaping up quite nicely.
As well as Simian I've started on a story called Green and Pleasant Land, something I've had on the boil for a few years now (it used to go by Green World) and I think, in all modest, it's a really good idea. It's interesting comparing what I've done now (only 2000 words) with what I'd attempted before, the writing is much better, in the words of Rebecca it's more mature. But its' not just the prose, situations and charactisation seem much improved.
I'm utterly knackered with work and still trying to write, but I'm liking it, I feel like less of some useless slug person.

Update! Wuxtry! Read allaboutit!

It's been a while since I've updated on Simain Smith, now is as good a time as any. Just incase you recently stumbled onto this site (the previous post about my fears for the Hellblazer adaptation seems to prove that it's possible - although I'm beginning to suspect that I just got a comment from someone trawling the net looking for people who don't like Keanu reeves and putting them in their place) Simian Smith is the main character in a book I've been writing aimed at kids around about the 8 years old mark. It's been a rough ride for me and I've learned a lot, but the main thing that I've learned is that I've got a lot to learn. Since I decided that writing might be something I'd like to do I've managed to spend time with other people who'd like to be published. At times it's been inspiring but mainly depressing as they've all been very good and I've just sort of hung around looking up at them with wet puppy dog eyes basking in their glow. Oddly it's only since I was cut off from these people (although happily still in touch with them) that I actually wrote an amount worth a damn. Gone are the ideas for a book never started or never finished to be replaced by Simian Smith Primate Detective. If there's a lesson to be learned from this experience it's to just do it and stop waiting for others to provide the vital spark.
So anyway, a couple of weeks before Christmas I finished the 1st draft. As I said it was a struggle and the sense of pride I got from having completed the book was huge, far bigger than I'd anticipated, so much so that I couldn't wait to get started on the 2nd draft. Real life and common sense slowed me down a little, but as I write this I'm approaching the end of the 2nd draft, it should be finished by the end of the week. One more draft and then it's finished. I intend to do some artwork to go with the book which I'm looking forward to doing, but I'm already wondering what to do next. I've got a few unfinished projects that I'd like to do and after the buzz I got from finishing Simian that first time round I'd really like to do right by them and finish them all up.
Reading through Simian as I've been redoing it I'm not sure what to make of it all, I'm sure it's the same for writers everywhere, but I imagine no one's as unsure as the writer who's hardly written anything. It's not how I imagined it to be but that's as much to do with my original ideas being fairly vague as it is to do with my writing ability. I find myself thinking the next story will be better but instead of making me think the present one isn't worth bothering with it's making me feel that the present one's been invaluable.
And that's where I'm up to, Simian's flawed and imperfect but I'm happy positive and proud, can't say fairer than that.

the artistic impulse

In an interview today in the Observer the excellent Philip Pullman said "I became passionate about transmiting and enthusiasm, and telling stories" This is fairly close to summing up my own feelings and reasons for trying to write and draw, particularly the enthusiasm. When I'm really taken by something I feel the need to pass it on, usually in the form of recommending it to someone else, but it also makes me want to do something myself. Danny and I have been emailing each other recently about the creative impulse (Danny, do you see how I make us both sound really smart) and Danny talked about a kind of debt we owe from experiencing something (book, picture, film, whatever) that effects us, the kind of debt that is repaid by trying to create something youself. This totally hit's the nail on the head for me. I knew a guy who was interested in writing children's books yet he never managed to really finish anything because each time he read something new that impressed him he would start another book or rewrite one he was working on and it would inevitably show this new influence. At the time I thought this showed some serious lack of... well, a few things, ability, commitment, character, etc. But I've experienced similar impulses myself (and probably shown the same lack ability, etc), when I read something that effects me I feel the need to do something myself. Fortunately I try not to stoop to plagarism. But we were both effected and both needed to express that effect somehow. We both had to pay our debt. No idea if the other guy is still trying to do this or not, I'll keep plugging away though.

Is a post really bad if you can't think of a name for it?

After a slow week of writing I seem to have stepped up a gear managing to write over 500 words today. As a bonus I'm also quite pleased with the scene I wrote, it seems to capture the right blend of pulp noir and silliness I have in my head as I write but usually fail to put down on paper, or PC. I'm going out tomorrow as a friend is taking pity on my lonliness and has invited me round for feeding and company so I'll probably not get anything done, but other than that maybe I'll actually be productive this week.
As well as writing I also managed to read a couple of short books, The Red Judge by Pauline Fisk was good, the prose and plot started awkwardly but eventually settled down into a strange tale that went from odd happening to odd happening with a dreamlike quality totally suited to the story. The other book was less good with a lame plot Rod Sterling would have rejected, irritating characters and a dreadful finale (or finally you might say) Demon's Rock like Red Judge was a kid's book but decided to be patronising and shallow instead of honest and interesting.
I'm going to read Freak the Mighty next which has been well reviewed and looks pretty decent. I've a stack of unread books on my bookcase, maybe that's something else I can do this week.

But what about the writing?

Up until today, since I started writing Simian Smith I had managed to write 2240 words. I’m not sure how long I’ve been writing, but even knocking off the time spent working on ‘The Hitcher’ comic strip I guess it’s been almost two months. Which means I’ve only managed 250 words a week, not even 50 words a day.
At the present rate it’ll take about 2 years to finish what will amount to about a 200 page book tops.
It’s fear and laziness. Fear that I’ll never get anywhere because I’m not good enough and my own half-arsed sluggishness. At the moment I’m doing enough to say that I’m working, but not enough to actually get anywhere. Well no more.
Today was my day off and after spending a pleasant afternoon with Rebecca, who was also off, I wrote about 500 hundred words, pretty good ones too. My goal is to write about 1000 words a week, some days are going to be better than others but 1000 seems achievable and it’ll add up to more than 2200 every two months.

Back again

Not the most productive of bank holidays I'm afraid. I had quite a nice run of days off too, Friday to Monday. I did do a few bits and bobs though. A couple of sketches (not for anything in particular, just for fun), a bit of writing and I typed all my notes up. It was nice to do nothing though so I'm not going to worry about it too much. The easy going lifestyle does have to end soon though, the lack of drawing inparticular is a bit bothersome as I am getting the urge to do something, anything. Sketching was fun though and if I just do more of that I think I'll at least be scratching an important itch.
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Started rewriting today and I feel very positive, which is much nicer than the usual feeling of vague horror. I'd forgotten how much the first rewrite is closer to the end result - for me at least. When I first start writing something it's muddled stilted and just plain wrong, but, and this is the important bit I keep forgetting, it's just the first fumbling steps. It's like the big ugly blob of clay a modeller might start with or the crappy rushed gestural blocking in a painter might begin with. Half arsed metaphores aside what I'm trying to say is that the initial writing is just the base to start with, it gives me a direction, something to work against as well as with. Obviously it's not the only rewrite I'll do, at the very least I'll polish everything up correcting grammar and various mistakes, but for now I'm pleased with what I've done, and more importantly it gives me a more hope for what's to come.
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Bought a pretty good graphic novel (oh, I hate that term, comic sounds much better, but it has about 200 pages so it doesn't properly get the point across) today, Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O'Malley. Bargin at 7 quid (sorry for the slang, my pound sign key doesn't work) and not just pretty good but very good. Fluid artwork that seems to combine James Kochalka and manga with loose lush brush work and a fun silly, smart story that I won't spoil by trying to pigeon hole like I did with the artwork. It's published by Oni Press who are a bit hit and miss but do publish quite a few nice books.

Simian strikes back

Still got more notes to type up for Simian Smith, I didn't realise I'd handwritten as much as I had..... not that it's 1000's of words, but it's still a fair bit. I had a bit of a reread of the first chapter and a rewrite is definitely required, but that's okay, I didn't expect to get it right the first, second or even third time. Narration wise it's a bit clunky and the opening paragraph just didn't 'grab'. My usual method of fixing problems like this is to drastically cut the word count down, and it seemed to work this time. 50% less words and two paragraphs became one and I like it much better. Looking over it I think brevity and fun are my two keywords to remember for the rest of the writing (maybe I should tape them to the PC screen?), there's a tendency for my prose to be a bit flat and dry, not the best tone for a 5-8 kid's book really.
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What's better, a laptop, and Apple laptop or an EMac? If I get an Emac I can afford a dvd-r aswell as cd rewriter, but I'd like to have a computer that takes up as little space as possible. An Apple laptop will save space but my budget means I'd have to do without the DVD-R which would be a shame. A laptop would mean I could keep in budget and have DVD-R and CD-R, but I've been told over and over how much better Macs are, particluarly for artwork. Hmmmm.