Posts tagged Writing
The First Kiss is the Deadliest
Oct 4th
My writing mojo has been at an all high, and it has allowed me to produce some new stories that fit in with the holiday spirits with ultimate ease. This is a story I was working on for a few days that I really had fun with. It’s a little PG-13 in nature, but it’s nothing TOO bad. I’m the type of writer that likes to have a strong female lead, and whenever I get the chance to use a character like that, I let loose and allow her to roar. This is one of those times. Let me know what you all think. I won’t be mad… but I might bite.
Sometimes I Write
Sep 29th
… and this is one of those few times. I was battling some intense writer’s block (that’s an easy name for it, though that’s not exactly what I would call it), and eventually, my mindset began to realign and I was able to knock out some new stuff, which includes the story below. Be a pal, yeah, and give me some feedback of any kind? If you don’t… I’ll probably hate you. Maybe.
Comic advice from Gail Simone
May 5th
Because this is something I’m interested in given my own aspirations (see: Ultimate Trio & Necronomica), I decided to link to a tough love post by Gail Simone, who is one of the best writers in the industry. I know some of you guys have similar interests, so this MAY help you decide whether or not this is something you should be chasing after yourself as an artist or a writer.
When I am talking to people about breaking in, I am honest, but I try to be kind, and polite, and patient. I try to find positive things to say. The problem is, and I’m sure everyone who has reviewed a portfolio knows what I’m saying, that that’s not what someone who REALLY wants to break in and has the stuff to make it happen needs to hear. They need to hear the truth. So, I’m going to give some truth tonight. A lot of this, you should already know. I am not going to talk about craft or format or anything like that. That material is out there. If you want to do this right, find it, study it, buy the books, do the research. I’m going to assume for this discussion that you have the baseline talent level required to make it in. I’m also assuming for this discussion that you want to work at one of the larger publishers. That may not be the case for you, but it’s what I get asked about the most. — Gail Simone
Check the full post here: Brutal Tips on Breaking into Comics.
As a brief aside, I’ve come to the conclusion that I need more artist friends. Do you guys exist or what? 
Murder at the Holidays
Dec 14th
I haven’t particularly been active in a lot of the miscellaneous things I like to partake in during my free time, but I recently found a moment to complete a short story I started almost a month ago today. It’s a holiday tale… that was completed way after that particular holiday passed. Oops. Regardless, this is the second draft of the story, and I’d love some feedback, if you’re willing to offer it. I’m not particularly connected to this tale, and I feel like my usual spark is missing from it. Maybe you guys can help me remedy the problem.
Draft 2, yet still a work in progress.
When James, Jenna, and Rockwell decided to take home a stranger, they didn’t know things would go so wrong on such a caring-inspired holiday.
Fruits of Labor
Oct 15th
It’s no big surprise that I haven’t been nearly as active in the FF community as I once was, and that happens to be for a few specific reason. One of those reasons, however, is because of this:
Necronomica Promo art by ~digitalcool1021 on deviantART
What is it you ask? It’s promo art from my collaborator for a little project I’m writing. Hopefully, you’ll start seeing real progress from us sometime in the new year, but for now, this has really sparked my fire and made me want to finish up the remaining scripts I have to write. Now cool your jets, chicos, it’s not another zombie story despite their presence in the art, but they do feature heavily in the first story. It is, however, a tale about magic, a twisted world, and a brave group of people having to work together to undo whatever bad mojo that has been unleashed upon them by one of the leading females. I’d really appreciate if you guys showed some support either here or on the artwork page (especially leave comments on the art if you have a Dev account), and I’m sure DigitalCool would share the same sentiments.
Ultimate Trio #3
Apr 21st
Meet the cast of Ultimate Trio
A month down the line and I’ve finally finished Ultimate Trio #3. I’m actually very happy about this despite how long it took me to get into issue 2. I just decided to rough it out and complete all the initial drafts before I jumped into doing all the detailed editing (which means I put Issue #12 and the Annual of my original comic idea on hold so that I could cross this off my list.). Anyway, this is the conclusion of the storyline, and as I’ve said before, this has wandered as far as it possibly could away from the mod outline/script, so if that’s one of the reasons preventing you from reading, then let me affirm you that beyond issue 1, the similarities die down dramatically. Speaking of issue 1, that’s also been updated significantly in the dialogue dept. and some of the scene positions have been altered. If you wouldn’t mind reading that again and giving me some thoughts on its current draft (4), I’d be very appreciative. Anyway, script 3 is below, and I’d really love any type of feedback you may have (even if you don’t finish reading… though obviously I’d like fully informed thoughts). Specifically, I’m iffy about the ending, so commentary on how to improve it would be ideal. Enjoy the read, folks! Heh, if I’m lucky, maybe Marvel will love it too and use Arcade more often.
Writing is fun?
Apr 15th
I don’t really have anything to update at the moment because the majority of the FRP crew is busy with an assortment of stuffage, but I did want to gloat a bit. As of today, I have 13 pages of Ultimate Trio #3 complete! That’s amazing to me because Trio #2 took about a week to do, and #1 probably took around a month. I guess I’m really inspired of late and all the other comic work + editing (Hello, spotlights and highlights) I’ve done have paid off.
Well, anyway, that’s that. On the Horizon, I plan to edit and put up Evengers Ch. 3. That happens to be one of my favorite sections, so I hope you all read it and give me some feedback. Don’t be afraid to comment, peeps. Cmdrkoenig has shown me quite a bit of work he plans to put up one day soon, Chuckles has been hard at work on new skins, and who knows what else might be in store. Keep an eye out.
Ultimate Trio: Issue #2
Apr 1st
Arcade and Console by Murs47
I don’t know if you guys remember, but sometime last year, July to be more exact, I wrote a comic script based on the Ultimate Trio mod featuring the villainous Arcade trapping and torturing three of Marvel’s most prolific characters. Well, after I finished issue #1, I had immediate plans to start on the second script and put it out there for prying eyes to read, comment on, and/or rip apart. Unfortunately, the current state of all the main characters involved kind of destroyed my enthusiasm for the project despite how out of continuity it may be. So, after I knocked some other projects out the way, I decided to force myself to finish issue #2 to see how well it’d come out. Honestly, I think the script is as good as it could be despite the fact that I dropped my initial outlines for the next two entries and remade it all with my original goals in mind. If you were a fan of Deadpool in issue 1, I’m sorry to say his role was dropped dramatically in order to boost up the REAL trio I had in mind for the mod. Anyway, why don’t you guys give it a read and tell me how well I did. Especially inform me if any of my disdain has shone through at all.
The Self-Indulgent Post
Mar 15th
Not to toot my own horn or anything, well, that’s exactly what this post is about, but I just finished my TWELFTH comic script over an hour ago (my fifteenth script in total), and I’m riding a high. So high in fact that I could jump off a mountain and fly… to my impending death. To date, I have over 500 pages written and typed, and I’ve only begun to become interested in the idea of maybe having something published less than a year ago. I don’t think I ever really realized how much effort and time went into outlining, planning, and actually writing a comic (on the writer’s side) until I began to learn the specifics myself, and I’d like to think I’ve grown tremendously since the first comic script I wrote, which was sparked from a conversation with an online friend known as Middy. I’ve learned to be somewhat loose with my planning and to think very far ahead because you never know what can change as you’re delving into these tales that are stretched over +/- 23 page intervals. I think that’s also why I’m a little more critical on writing in comics. Not only is it something that I obviously enjoy and find myself drawn to, but I now actually have some experience behind me. The trait that has probably become the most developed for me, however, is my pacing ability. When I began writing these scripts, I wasn’t exactly sure how much I could pack into one story (I’m not Stan Lee or anything), but now, I think I have it down packed and can pretty much hit my goal 80% of time (keep in mind, I’m fluid). So, with that out of the way, I’ll probably attempt to finish Ultimate Trio; I’ll probably also look into researching companies to see how much luck I’ll have via submission. Statistically speaking, I’m ahead of the game as far as “new writers” go, but it’s a well known fact that writers always have more difficulty breaking in than artists. How unfair, right? So tell me, gang, do you think I should try the submission route or continue honing my skills?
The Evengers: Chapter 2
Feb 24th
The Evengers!
Picking up where I left off from the Exiles mod, I decided that Antron and Dragonfist needed to have a little subtle chat about who was really in charge of the Evenger team. If you may recall, during one of the final missions, the Exiles drop a few words of wisdom on Antron before he’s sent back to his world. He was warned that Dragonfist was eventually going to betray him. So what would be better than picking up Ch. 2 with those thoughts fresh on his mind? Find out how Antron and Dragonfist get along after that revelation. It was quite a doozy, eh? And don’t forget to pay attention to some of the information involving Daniel Kai (Dragonfist) and his actions within the team.