This past week I’ve been working on editorial calendars. The above one is a redacted version of the one for Hex Dimension. We’d already been using Trello to help plan site content, but recently I found out that the project management platform has a calendar feature that aligns your Trello board’s “cards” to to a calendar view if said cards have due dates set on them. Continue reading
I’ve completed National Novel Writing Month. The last few days had been really hard – had a bad reaction to antibiotics this week and couldn’t sit up yesterday, when I had just 3000 words left – but I managed to work pass the pain today. You can see my validated entry here.
Technically, the novel isn’t finished, but I’m not sure I want it to continue as a novel. Due to how visual the body of Compromised Systems ended up being, I do feel strongly that it would work far better as a series of comics than as a piece of written prose. So I’m gonna look at adapting it. Though maybe I’m being harsh on myself – I do have plans to inflict it on several guinea pigs before making a definite choice.
To be honest, the whole process reminded me why I switched from writing in the novel format to screenplays and comics five years ago. I really don’t do introverted writing with characters deeply dwelling on their situation. Not that I’m all action either. I prefer events and surroundings to reflect the inner workings of the mind.
Anyway. I’m gonna go and have a lie down or something. Going to my area’s TGO party tomorrow.
And a shout-out to the NaNoWriPod! who helped get me through this last week.
(That’s a sketch I did on Sunday.)
Yep, I’m taking the plunge and participating in NaNoWriMo this year, even heading off to my local kick-off meeting today. Look, I’m all registered-up in order to track myself for the month.
The novel is called Compromised Systems and is inspired by 1984, Synners and V for Vendetta. It’s all planned out, chapter by chapter.
I am maybe a little nervous.
If I do manage to finish a draft of my first ever complete novel, then I’m hoping to get someone else to proof it for me before putting it together for digital self-publication.
Last week I interviewed the composer for Dredd 3D and Limitless – Paul Leonard-Morgan. But it had been a tough interview to sort out. Beyond wrestling with Paul’s jam packed recording schedule (he’s quite popular at the moment) there were technical issues behind the scenes.
First I found out that the phone setup I was going to use wasn’t going to work. I’d downloadable a call recorder and found out that it wouldn’t work with my non-jail broken phone (nothing in the app’s description had said I had to root the thing). I then tried setting up the H4N with the phone and tested that at home… that gave the worst feedback imaginable and my phone was not putting out the best quality audio once the feedback was sorted.
I was running out of time before I needed to call Paul. And so there was only one more solution. I texted him and asked if we could do the interview over Skype. He said yes, I gave him my Skype handle and he replied to give him a few minutes while he set-up.
An hour of frantic testing and failing at finding solutions was resolved through Skype and one particular software recorder (I didn’t have enough time to set-up with my usual podcast rig involving the H4N and a mixer and an M-Audio box). The software? MP3SkypeRecorder, which I found out last week won’t be working with Skype come December. I’d already used the programme for last week’s Nerds Assemble after the hardware setup failed.
What I’m trying to say is that 1) that interview was hard 2) always have back-up recording options and 3) people need to find alternatives to MP3SkypeRecorder and Pamela asap. (I’m getting myself Total Recorder.)
This is the question I hope to explore with a new survey I’m launching today. What’s your situation as a comics/graphic novels creator? (link goes to Google form) is an attempt to figure out what’s happening in the industry in relation to things like pay, training and location. And I hope that I can get loads of people to fill it in, because comics and graphic novels creators have got a big problem:
There is little transparency about the pay and conditions of writers, pencillers, inkers, letterers, colourists and cover artists in today’s “global downturn” world. Continue reading
