It's not rare at all that one finds a piece of music that one finds enjoyable. There is a lot of good music out in the big, wide world and some of it is actually quite good.
But it is rare indeed that one is so utterly blown away by an artist that listening to them has such a profound effect on your life.
This artist has been going for a few years, but I only found out about her yesterday. I urge you all to check her out.
Ladies and gentleman: Emilie Autumn.
http://www.emilieautumn.com/
Sunday 28 December 2008
Thursday 25 December 2008
The Last Christmas
This is it.
The last Christmas Day before my life changes forever (either for the good or bad). I'm listening to Patti Smith's cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit at the moment. It's damn good.
Happy holidays.
The last Christmas Day before my life changes forever (either for the good or bad). I'm listening to Patti Smith's cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit at the moment. It's damn good.
Happy holidays.
Friday 19 December 2008
Swimming
It's Friday and the weekend is here. Christmas is but a mere few days away and it's the time to chill out with mulled wine and chestnuts.
Oh and my head is swimming.
I picked up a copy of The Writer Got Screwed by Brooke. A. Wharton. It's an amazing book. It's a guide to the legal and business practices of writing for the entertainment industry. I picked it up because when I finish my screenplays I wish to send them to Hollywood. I'm sure the British Film Industry would hate my guts (well, they probably don't care right at this minute, but I am sure if I managed to carve a career out for myself they might) but although my novel writing is mostly English, my screenplays are mostly American. No, I have no idea why either.
It's the best horror book I've ever read. I won't type any excerpts because she's a lawyer and might sue my arse off, but needless to say I recommend it. In fact if you're getting into the screenwriting industry (or trying) and you're aiming for the American market then you must buy this book. I don't want to hear excuses. Buy it and read it. You can thank me (or rather Ms Wharton) later.
Aside from reading my new book I've worked pretty hard today. I'm determined to get the novel done by Christmas so I can go into 2009 actually looking for a publisher and working on the sequel. When tomorrow comes I'll no doubt be drained. A day of writing/proofing really does take it out of me, probably more than it should.
Oh and the weather is crap!
Oh and my head is swimming.
I picked up a copy of The Writer Got Screwed by Brooke. A. Wharton. It's an amazing book. It's a guide to the legal and business practices of writing for the entertainment industry. I picked it up because when I finish my screenplays I wish to send them to Hollywood. I'm sure the British Film Industry would hate my guts (well, they probably don't care right at this minute, but I am sure if I managed to carve a career out for myself they might) but although my novel writing is mostly English, my screenplays are mostly American. No, I have no idea why either.
It's the best horror book I've ever read. I won't type any excerpts because she's a lawyer and might sue my arse off, but needless to say I recommend it. In fact if you're getting into the screenwriting industry (or trying) and you're aiming for the American market then you must buy this book. I don't want to hear excuses. Buy it and read it. You can thank me (or rather Ms Wharton) later.
Aside from reading my new book I've worked pretty hard today. I'm determined to get the novel done by Christmas so I can go into 2009 actually looking for a publisher and working on the sequel. When tomorrow comes I'll no doubt be drained. A day of writing/proofing really does take it out of me, probably more than it should.
Oh and the weather is crap!
Thursday 18 December 2008
The visible & invisible journey of a character
2002. Russia.
One day I am sat down when a name pops into my head. I like the name. It sounds nice. As I think about the name, I realise I am thinking about a character for a novel. She is an unruly 16 year old who, in the very first paragraph, stands up, walks to the front of the class, and knocks her teacher out because he made a joke at her expense.
2008. England.
G.M. still exists. Her name is still present and in the novel, but she has changed much. Now she's an ageless mythical creature. Her first act is to murder several of her enemies.
Much has changed. When--and I refuse to use the word 'if' for reasons I'll explain later--my novel is published the reader will go on a journey with G.M., but they will never have gone on the same journey as I have. Some of the early incarnations of G.M. are as follows:
- An aggressive bully of a schoolgirl who is abused at home by her father.
- A deaf teenage girl who is a song writer and who has to overcome bullying.
- A successful business woman who is disliked by the town where she lives, and whose sister tries to kill her.
- The leader of a radical group.
- The leader of a radical group who kills her group because she's really an evil killer.
- An evil killer who wants revenge for something that happened in her past.
Some of the characters in the book have found their roles changes. Some were beaten writers who turned into detectives. Some were confident murders who turned into timid people who couldn't kill if you paid them; one was an ally of G.M. then she became her sister, then her enemy. The locations have changed. From a quiet American suburb to a gentle Welsh village, to the city of London.
Even the theme has changed. It started out a dramatic comedy, then it changed to a sad story, then an adventure story and now it's horror/fantasy.
And yet when this book lands, when it finally sees the light of day, none of the readers will go on those journeys because I have taken from them that ability and given them a story which, after many years of work, I believe is the most exciting of them all.
There is a measure of sadness as I close in finishing the story. The idea behind it is a trilogy, so G.M. will return but of course her path is now defined and the remaining two books wouldn't take that long to write. I believe in life we all get many ideas, and many good ones; but we only ever get a handful of great ideas and I believe this story to be one of my great ideas. It's not arrogance over my creation because I am not like that. But I've invested so much time and so much energy into this girl that when I sit back and think about it; when I really, truly think about it, I think I've stumbled across something special.
And I don't think I'll ever get that again. That makes me sad, and that makes me refuse to believe it won't be published even though I know the odds are not in my favour.
One day I am sat down when a name pops into my head. I like the name. It sounds nice. As I think about the name, I realise I am thinking about a character for a novel. She is an unruly 16 year old who, in the very first paragraph, stands up, walks to the front of the class, and knocks her teacher out because he made a joke at her expense.
2008. England.
G.M. still exists. Her name is still present and in the novel, but she has changed much. Now she's an ageless mythical creature. Her first act is to murder several of her enemies.
Much has changed. When--and I refuse to use the word 'if' for reasons I'll explain later--my novel is published the reader will go on a journey with G.M., but they will never have gone on the same journey as I have. Some of the early incarnations of G.M. are as follows:
- An aggressive bully of a schoolgirl who is abused at home by her father.
- A deaf teenage girl who is a song writer and who has to overcome bullying.
- A successful business woman who is disliked by the town where she lives, and whose sister tries to kill her.
- The leader of a radical group.
- The leader of a radical group who kills her group because she's really an evil killer.
- An evil killer who wants revenge for something that happened in her past.
Some of the characters in the book have found their roles changes. Some were beaten writers who turned into detectives. Some were confident murders who turned into timid people who couldn't kill if you paid them; one was an ally of G.M. then she became her sister, then her enemy. The locations have changed. From a quiet American suburb to a gentle Welsh village, to the city of London.
Even the theme has changed. It started out a dramatic comedy, then it changed to a sad story, then an adventure story and now it's horror/fantasy.
And yet when this book lands, when it finally sees the light of day, none of the readers will go on those journeys because I have taken from them that ability and given them a story which, after many years of work, I believe is the most exciting of them all.
There is a measure of sadness as I close in finishing the story. The idea behind it is a trilogy, so G.M. will return but of course her path is now defined and the remaining two books wouldn't take that long to write. I believe in life we all get many ideas, and many good ones; but we only ever get a handful of great ideas and I believe this story to be one of my great ideas. It's not arrogance over my creation because I am not like that. But I've invested so much time and so much energy into this girl that when I sit back and think about it; when I really, truly think about it, I think I've stumbled across something special.
And I don't think I'll ever get that again. That makes me sad, and that makes me refuse to believe it won't be published even though I know the odds are not in my favour.
Wednesday 17 December 2008
Novel vs Screenplay
I am coming to the end of my second novel. I wrote my first many years ago but I never tried to publish it because it was, in a word, crap. The second book is richer, fuller and more interesting and I am hopeful of finding a publisher come 2009. I don't think I am the authority on novel writing, but I do know I have a good grasp of the actual literary process--the submission process is a bit more murky for me.
I've found it quite interesting therefore to compare novel writing with writing a screenplay, which is what I am also doing. New ideas do come very easily to me--I've always had a great imagination--but now I am wondering whether these new ideas are novel ideas or whether they're screenplay ideas. Does the idea fit into an 80,000+ word book or does it better fit into a 100+ minute movie? It's causing me endless headaches. I'm interested to know if there are any author/screenwriters out there and how they decide on such things.
Quick plug: I purchased a book the other day from Amazon.co.uk and it's quickly become one of the most essential books in my collection, bettered perhaps only by the incredible "Elements of Style". The book is called: Secrets of Film Writing and is by a chap called Tom Lazarus. If you're interesting in screenwriting then I strongly recommend you pick it up.
I've found it quite interesting therefore to compare novel writing with writing a screenplay, which is what I am also doing. New ideas do come very easily to me--I've always had a great imagination--but now I am wondering whether these new ideas are novel ideas or whether they're screenplay ideas. Does the idea fit into an 80,000+ word book or does it better fit into a 100+ minute movie? It's causing me endless headaches. I'm interested to know if there are any author/screenwriters out there and how they decide on such things.
Quick plug: I purchased a book the other day from Amazon.co.uk and it's quickly become one of the most essential books in my collection, bettered perhaps only by the incredible "Elements of Style". The book is called: Secrets of Film Writing and is by a chap called Tom Lazarus. If you're interesting in screenwriting then I strongly recommend you pick it up.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)