Just thought I'd put this up here - collaborator, co-conspirator and all round good egg Jack Tempest has posted to the great wide internets part 1 of "Harrowing of Hell," our submission to Clint for their new character initiative. Cheers to Jack for tweeting me the link.
The story would continue beyond this should it get picked up. Thought it might be of interest for some of you guys to read some material from my not-yet-published pile. Have a looksee. You might enjoy.
Darren Ellis writes, except when he doesn't.
When he doesn't he's more than likely doing something sedentary and fun, like playing video games or reading a book. Or procrastinating over what he's supposed to be writing.
Oh yes. He does that last one quite a bit.
Sunday, 24 June 2012
Wednesday, 20 June 2012
Rewrites are hard sometimes.
Started the process on Hudson Falls tonight, and it's already apparent that it's going to be a bigger job than I originally thought, or maybe hoped. A lot of it is quite weak, to be honest. My lead is inconsistent in characters and fairly unappealing, some of the supporting cast are a bit thin and thematically it needs to be retooled.
I sat down and worked out a new structure, just roughly for now, but I'll be expertly moulding it into a compelling narrative over the coming days and weeks. A lot of the scenes work when taken individually, but don't really fit together very well, and certainly not in the order in which they currently occur. There's going to be a lot of rejigging of the chronology to make it a bit firmer and more focused. There's now a steady acceleration of urgency in the events until they reach the climax, which is quite different to the original. A bit more open ended and a bit less trite.
All in all, From the feel of the new outline the end result is going to be less sluggish altogether and more of a thriller than an outright drama.
One interesting thing - I'm not 100% convinced it's a comic book any more. Part of me is saying it might work even better as a novel, but that's probably just me getting ahead of myself. Needless to say, I'll be writing it as a comic book first and will see how it comes out.
I sat down and worked out a new structure, just roughly for now, but I'll be expertly moulding it into a compelling narrative over the coming days and weeks. A lot of the scenes work when taken individually, but don't really fit together very well, and certainly not in the order in which they currently occur. There's going to be a lot of rejigging of the chronology to make it a bit firmer and more focused. There's now a steady acceleration of urgency in the events until they reach the climax, which is quite different to the original. A bit more open ended and a bit less trite.
All in all, From the feel of the new outline the end result is going to be less sluggish altogether and more of a thriller than an outright drama.
One interesting thing - I'm not 100% convinced it's a comic book any more. Part of me is saying it might work even better as a novel, but that's probably just me getting ahead of myself. Needless to say, I'll be writing it as a comic book first and will see how it comes out.
Monday, 18 June 2012
Ahh, silence.
My computer has stopped making funny noises for the time being. You can all relax, I'm still here for now.
As I was saying, I'm not sure what I'm going to do when reporting on my progress with Hudson Falls. I guess I'll just bomb into the rewrite and do what seems best at the time.
As I was saying, I'm not sure what I'm going to do when reporting on my progress with Hudson Falls. I guess I'll just bomb into the rewrite and do what seems best at the time.
The storming of the brains.
I was thinking today about what to do about my blog posts as I rewrite Hudson Falls. I tried to be a bit more in-depth with the reports of the writing process of Murder Malice & Teeth, but I kind of don't want to do the same thing again. Pretty sure there's only so many ways I can write about how difficult the writing process can be before it starts to sound a bit self-indulgent and whiny.
I was toying with the idea of writing blog entries in character as the protagonist of Hudson Falls, chronicling the events of the story as I write them. "The Secret Diary of Eric Hudson, aged 28 & 3/4" sort of thing. It seemed nicely meta, and I figured it'd be a good idea to get my hand in with prose again before I slog into that elusive novel I keep mentioning.
I dunno. My brain kind of feels like it's stuck in neutral at the moment.
Erk, hang on, my PC has just started making weird noises. I think that means it's time to put it to bed for the night. Will have to cut this week's entry a bit short.
I was toying with the idea of writing blog entries in character as the protagonist of Hudson Falls, chronicling the events of the story as I write them. "The Secret Diary of Eric Hudson, aged 28 & 3/4" sort of thing. It seemed nicely meta, and I figured it'd be a good idea to get my hand in with prose again before I slog into that elusive novel I keep mentioning.
I dunno. My brain kind of feels like it's stuck in neutral at the moment.
Erk, hang on, my PC has just started making weird noises. I think that means it's time to put it to bed for the night. Will have to cut this week's entry a bit short.
Sunday, 10 June 2012
Back to The Front
So, then. A blog entry. Finally. As you might have guessed, I've had a couple of weeks off from all things writery. This has not been deliberate.
Well, I say that, but at least the first week was on purpose. I wanted to take a step back from everything after Kapow and just ponder things for a bit while I planned ahead. Through my natural laziness that one week became three. Oops.
On the plus side, I watched a lot of Jackie Chan movies and played a fair bit of Star Wars: The Old Republic. So it's not like I sat there doing nothing.
So to catch up, Kapow was - as you probably all know by now - awesome. The weekend went by in a bit of a blur in hindsight, but the running highlights included hanging out with that lovely Bayou Arcana lot, sitting in baffled silence on our panel while other people talked, and meeting Glenn Fabry. That last one was a bit of a shock. I was genuinely starstruck and lost for words when he handed me his work-in-progress and asked me what I thought. I managed to hastily cobble together some comments that possibly made sense, but there's an equal chance that they were gibberish. I shall have to make more of an effort to not react that way when people I admire and respect ask me things.
It was great to see all those I saw. Overeager puppydog wavings go out to all, including Jon Lock, Corey Brotherson, Yomi Ayeni, Lynsey Hutchinson, Dan Hartwell, Karen Rubins and of course Jimmy Pearson for making Bayou Arcana happen. If I missed anyone out, next time I see you I will make it up to you by picking you up in a warm embrace and shaking you until you go limp.
I won't dwell any more on Kapow, because everyone is probably sick of hearing about it at this stage. I will instead look ahead, to that vast horizon that beckons from the other side of my keyboard, where magnificent stories unfold and I make big bags of cash. To that end, I'm once again postponing the novel I was supposed to start in April to get another comic book project going.
I know, I know. At this rate I'll never start that book. But this comic project is hopefully not going to be an enormous undertaking. It's a rewrite and possible retooling of Hudson Falls, my project from last year, which I will be aiming at a new publisher. Nothing definitive yet, as I wasn't able to pitch it to the publisher at Kapow, but I remain optimistic about its chances. There's no artist attached to it yet so once the new version of the script is properly underway I shall be going on a bit of a talent search.
Well, I say that, but at least the first week was on purpose. I wanted to take a step back from everything after Kapow and just ponder things for a bit while I planned ahead. Through my natural laziness that one week became three. Oops.
On the plus side, I watched a lot of Jackie Chan movies and played a fair bit of Star Wars: The Old Republic. So it's not like I sat there doing nothing.
So to catch up, Kapow was - as you probably all know by now - awesome. The weekend went by in a bit of a blur in hindsight, but the running highlights included hanging out with that lovely Bayou Arcana lot, sitting in baffled silence on our panel while other people talked, and meeting Glenn Fabry. That last one was a bit of a shock. I was genuinely starstruck and lost for words when he handed me his work-in-progress and asked me what I thought. I managed to hastily cobble together some comments that possibly made sense, but there's an equal chance that they were gibberish. I shall have to make more of an effort to not react that way when people I admire and respect ask me things.
It was great to see all those I saw. Overeager puppydog wavings go out to all, including Jon Lock, Corey Brotherson, Yomi Ayeni, Lynsey Hutchinson, Dan Hartwell, Karen Rubins and of course Jimmy Pearson for making Bayou Arcana happen. If I missed anyone out, next time I see you I will make it up to you by picking you up in a warm embrace and shaking you until you go limp.
I won't dwell any more on Kapow, because everyone is probably sick of hearing about it at this stage. I will instead look ahead, to that vast horizon that beckons from the other side of my keyboard, where magnificent stories unfold and I make big bags of cash. To that end, I'm once again postponing the novel I was supposed to start in April to get another comic book project going.
I know, I know. At this rate I'll never start that book. But this comic project is hopefully not going to be an enormous undertaking. It's a rewrite and possible retooling of Hudson Falls, my project from last year, which I will be aiming at a new publisher. Nothing definitive yet, as I wasn't able to pitch it to the publisher at Kapow, but I remain optimistic about its chances. There's no artist attached to it yet so once the new version of the script is properly underway I shall be going on a bit of a talent search.
Sunday, 13 May 2012
Bristol Comics and Swampy Frolics, part 2
Part 1.
Once the Bayou Arcana event itself began, things picked up. Harry Markos was obviously incredibly busy, keeping everything running smoothly, but he still made time to talk to everyone and I had a brief chat with him and Roland before the panel began.
There were a lot of the creators there, as you can expect, and I doubted they'd need any more people up there this time. So I stayed in the crowd for the talk. This time. I'm on the Kapow panel next weekend, and I thought that would be sufficient for someone like me, who is a bit introverted and unaccustomed to public speaking. I failed to hide myself entirely however, as Jimmy was kind enough to point me out to everyone.
And of course, then there were the signings, which were all kinds of awesome. The regrets of not seeing all the people I wanted to see melted away and I just enjoyed being there with other creators and signing our comic book. Made me feel like a proper writer, especially the bit shortly before the event when Harry came round with a bunch of the hardcovers for us to sign to be sold as limited editions. I definitely want more of that, thank you very much.
So, all in all, the launch event was great. Loved every second of it, and got to meet lots of new people and introduce myself to Harry. Any downsides to the weekend about not getting opportunity to talk to people due to the relative brevity of my stay will, I'm determined, be resolved and sorted at Kapow, which I will be at for more than a measly half a day. I will be able to drink in the evening for a start, which will be a new and novel experience and I genuinely hope I don't make a tit of myself by getting pissed and throwing up on somebody's shoes.
So, on the itinerary for next weekend is a panel and any attached subsequent events and more chatting and networking with chums old and new. It's going to be a busy one, but if it's anything like as good as Bristol, it's going to be a corking show.
Once the Bayou Arcana event itself began, things picked up. Harry Markos was obviously incredibly busy, keeping everything running smoothly, but he still made time to talk to everyone and I had a brief chat with him and Roland before the panel began.
There were a lot of the creators there, as you can expect, and I doubted they'd need any more people up there this time. So I stayed in the crowd for the talk. This time. I'm on the Kapow panel next weekend, and I thought that would be sufficient for someone like me, who is a bit introverted and unaccustomed to public speaking. I failed to hide myself entirely however, as Jimmy was kind enough to point me out to everyone.
So, on the itinerary for next weekend is a panel and any attached subsequent events and more chatting and networking with chums old and new. It's going to be a busy one, but if it's anything like as good as Bristol, it's going to be a corking show.
Bristol Comics and Swampy Frolics
It's Sunday afternoon, and the Bristol comics show is still going on, but as I was part of the Saturday-only crowd, I had a nice long lie in this morning and an opportunity to reflect on the events a bit sooner than most people. The main news is that Bayou Arcana has now launched, and it appears to have been quite a successful one. If you were unable to pick up a copy at the show I'd suggest that you pick up a copy on Amazon or through Markosia's own website, because it has come together as a complete book very well. Even better than anyone had hoped, in fact.
My mate and graphic designer-type person Chris Jones was generous enough to give me a lift to and from the event. He can be thanked for the photos from the day, by the way. Chris isn't a comic nerd by any stretch of the imagination, and it was his first comics show, but he was enthusiastic about going and I wasn't about to turn my nose up at an opportunity to avoid a four and a half hour long train journey twice in one day. Twice in one day it would have been, too, because I haven't yet got the hang of spending entire weekends at comic shows. Bristol taught me I have to get out of that habit at least.
So, the day began rather early and rather peculiarly - counting
the corpses of animals exploded by cars as we drove past them along winding country roads. We'd been on the road nearly two hours before we hit the first motorway, so as you can imagine, we saw a lot of dead badgers. It was just before 11 when we finally found ourselves at the venue, and I had time for one quick circuit of the hall itself before the busy time began. I stopped by Jon Lock's table, where he was flogging copies of his book Afterlife, Inc, a copy of which I spectacularly failed to pick up due to the almost total absence of nearby cash machines. I shall purchase one soon, Jon, I promise.
Shortly afterwards I met up with Jimmy Pearson, editor and boss of the Bayou Arcana group and my good chums Roland and Caz, and we collectively moseyed on over to the Ramada for the Markosia afternoon. Once the event got started I quickly realised how full the day would be, and I felt slightly regretful that my all too brief time in the hall in the morning was all the time I'd be able to spend there. As a result, I only had time for a quick chat with Jon and the folks on the neighbouring table, and completely missed out on looking for some of the people I had hoped to catch up with. Mostly I'd hoped to see Mike Garley and Jack Tempest again, so if you were there sorry I missed you, guys. Hopefully I'll run into you at Kapow next weekend.
And the Markosia event began. And it was super. After helping to set up the Bayou Arcana table (I use the term 'helping' rather loosely, for I am a klutz and a lummox) there was a chance to meet and chat with some of the other contributors to the book, who I've never had any contact with before outside of Facebook. It was the first time that many of us had met face to face, and I think everyone especially appreciated the effort that Patricia Echavarri-Riego had gone to, flying over from Mexico for the show.
Bayou Arcana wasn't the only book Markosia launched, and the other books seemed to be of an equally high standard. I especially liked the look of White Knuckle, by Cy Dethan and Valia Kapadai. I had the privilege to meet Valia and look through the stunning artwork in her portfolio, which was something to behold. Needless to say, White Knuckle is a breathtakingly gorgeous book. You should buy it and shower Cy and Valia with praise and money.
Cy, however, went on the list of people I regrettably didn't get a chance to meet. I wanted to, as he raised some very good points during his panel and I wanted to pick his brains a little for advice regarding pitching to publishers. But as the day wore on there were fewer and fewer opportunities for a one-day wonder like me to get things done and talk to folks. Hopefully Cy will also be at Kapow, so I can shake him firmly by the hand all manly like and mine his brains for the informations.
When I eventually got home and began reflecting on the day, I realised that I'm going to have to start spending entire weekends at these events in the future if I want to accomplish all I want to in the time allowed. I think it's a blessing in disguise that I'm having to do so for Kapow. Maybe there I'll get the things done that I failed to at Bristol.
Anyway, to be continued...
My mate and graphic designer-type person Chris Jones was generous enough to give me a lift to and from the event. He can be thanked for the photos from the day, by the way. Chris isn't a comic nerd by any stretch of the imagination, and it was his first comics show, but he was enthusiastic about going and I wasn't about to turn my nose up at an opportunity to avoid a four and a half hour long train journey twice in one day. Twice in one day it would have been, too, because I haven't yet got the hang of spending entire weekends at comic shows. Bristol taught me I have to get out of that habit at least.
Shortly afterwards I met up with Jimmy Pearson, editor and boss of the Bayou Arcana group and my good chums Roland and Caz, and we collectively moseyed on over to the Ramada for the Markosia afternoon. Once the event got started I quickly realised how full the day would be, and I felt slightly regretful that my all too brief time in the hall in the morning was all the time I'd be able to spend there. As a result, I only had time for a quick chat with Jon and the folks on the neighbouring table, and completely missed out on looking for some of the people I had hoped to catch up with. Mostly I'd hoped to see Mike Garley and Jack Tempest again, so if you were there sorry I missed you, guys. Hopefully I'll run into you at Kapow next weekend.
Bayou Arcana wasn't the only book Markosia launched, and the other books seemed to be of an equally high standard. I especially liked the look of White Knuckle, by Cy Dethan and Valia Kapadai. I had the privilege to meet Valia and look through the stunning artwork in her portfolio, which was something to behold. Needless to say, White Knuckle is a breathtakingly gorgeous book. You should buy it and shower Cy and Valia with praise and money.
Cy, however, went on the list of people I regrettably didn't get a chance to meet. I wanted to, as he raised some very good points during his panel and I wanted to pick his brains a little for advice regarding pitching to publishers. But as the day wore on there were fewer and fewer opportunities for a one-day wonder like me to get things done and talk to folks. Hopefully Cy will also be at Kapow, so I can shake him firmly by the hand all manly like and mine his brains for the informations.
When I eventually got home and began reflecting on the day, I realised that I'm going to have to start spending entire weekends at these events in the future if I want to accomplish all I want to in the time allowed. I think it's a blessing in disguise that I'm having to do so for Kapow. Maybe there I'll get the things done that I failed to at Bristol.
Anyway, to be continued...
Monday, 7 May 2012
Gearing up
I'll level with you - not very much is going on at the moment. I'm mostly chilling out and gathering together the stuff I'll be taking to the comic shows in Bristol and London over the next two weekends, so not very much progress is being had in other areas.
I should have a better write up next week - I'll have the Bristol show to talk about, at which I'm sure goings on will be going on, so until then I don't have anything to report.
Been getting caught up with a few TV shows I've been meaning to catch up on and get some reading done. This week I finally get through Dorian bloody Grey, I promise myself that. I know it's Wilde, and it's a classic and all, but it's not really my cup of tea. I'm going to get it done, however. Not letting the thing defeat me, no siree.
I should have a better write up next week - I'll have the Bristol show to talk about, at which I'm sure goings on will be going on, so until then I don't have anything to report.
Been getting caught up with a few TV shows I've been meaning to catch up on and get some reading done. This week I finally get through Dorian bloody Grey, I promise myself that. I know it's Wilde, and it's a classic and all, but it's not really my cup of tea. I'm going to get it done, however. Not letting the thing defeat me, no siree.
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