The B-52s - "Funplex"

Yeah, this might just be Music Week at the Adventureblog.

The Ting Tings - "That's Not My Name"

This is going to be a long, long week and I don't know how much real posting I'll be able to do. Today I make up for it in quality though. This is seriously my new favorite song.

New Wave of the Week: Dexy's Midnight Runners - "Come On, Eileen"

Bonus: Save Ferris' version

Writing is Hard: Beginnings, Show vs. Tell, Getting Graphic, Readers, Getting Published, Rewrites, Artists, the Next Project, and Marketing

I need to go ahead and post a lot of stuff I've been hoarding about the craft and business of writing.

Exciting beginnings

There's a really useful critique blog called Flogging the Quill that encourages writers to grab readers' attentions on the first page. Writers send in the first chapter of their works in progress and professional editor Ray Rhamey reviews them based on how well the first 16 lines make him want to turn the page. He usually goes into a lot more detail than just that though and points out other craft errors that he sees. It's a great opportunity for writers to learn from others' mistakes and - if you're brave enough - get some free advice on your own writing. I've even submitted something myself and learned a lot in the process.

Anyway, Ray's got a couple of nice articles on his blog about the importance of catching readers right away. In one he uses the analogy of storyteller as river guide:

Heezan (Author) shoves off, and they glide down the river on an easy-going current. Heezan says, "Note the lovely hues of red and gold in the rose garden on the far bank." He steers the bow a few degrees toward the near shore. "And here is where our hero was born, poor tyke, the sad victim of -- "

Ima (Reader) peers ahead. "Oh, the hero. I'm so eager to see him."

"Soon enough, soon enough, dear reader. But first, see the ramshackle one-room schoolhouse where Hero first met Heroine, though their meeting was a tussle over who got the swing -- "

It's no surprise that the reader's next words are a request to be let off the boat. It's an inspirational article.

Ray's other piece is more practical. Using a story about a couple of kittens, he gives several suggestions for powerfully opening your novel.

Telling the story in visual terms

/Film has a great quote by Alfred Hitchcock on how the introduction of sound hurt cinema. At first I was struck by how easily it could also apply to comics, but I think there are also applications for novelists as well. It's really just a different way of expressing the Show; Dont Tell rule.

...we should resort to dialogue only when it’s impossible to do otherwise. I always try first to tell a story in the cinematic way, through a succession of shots and bits of film in between… To me, one of the cardinal sins for a scriptwriter, when he runs into some difficulty, is to say ‘We can cover that by a line of dialogue.’ Dialogue should simply be a sound among sounds, just something that comes out of the mouths of people whose eyes tell the story in visual terms.”

How spicy?

The BookEnds Literary Agency offers advice on how graphically violent or sexual a book should be. Their suggestion is to do what's right for the book you're writing. Don't second guess yourself by thinking about what publishers and/or readers want. If a publisher wants you to tone something down or spice it up, they'll tell you. As for readers...

Readers don't always know what they want.

Writers can drive themselves insane trying to predict or respond to what readers want. I think it's always helpful to remember that readers don't always know what they want. Case in point, a recent convention at which Marvel Comics Editor in Chief Joe Quesada was asked when Marvel was going to slow down with the big events its been known for the last few years.

Quesada interpreted that question as, "You mean, when are our books going to suck again?" But then he gave a more serious answer that was profound in its simplicity. "At the end of the day, what it means to me, is that our stuff is so compelling that you want to get it. My job ... and all our jobs here are to make you want to buy everything we put out."

Fans sometimes talk about being "forced" to buy comics they don't want, but of course that's ridiculous. No one forces you to buy anything, it's your own collector mentality. You can't really blame the comics creators for recognizing that though and exploiting it. That's like blaming McDonalds because you like their fries so much that you quit eating salads.

WALL-E's director agrees

Andrew Stanton on making animated films for adults:

“I don’t mean this in a negative way, but I don’t think of the audience at all, because I don’t go to see a movie hoping the filmmaker’s second-guessed what I want. I go to see what he wants, because I like his taste and style, and I want to see what he’s going to do next.

“The day we start thinking about what the audience wants, we’re going to make bad choices. We’ve always holed ourselves up in a building for 4 years and ignored the rest of the world, because nobody are bigger movie geeks than we are, so we know exactly what we are dying to see with our family and kids. We don’t need other people to tell us that. We trust the audience member in ourselves.”

Getting published

Science Fiction author Crawford Kilian agrees with and comments on Robert Heinlein's "Five Rules for Writers." The rules are more about getting published than the craft itself, but unless you're just writing for your own edification, they're vital. Here they are in list form, but you should also read Kilian's insightful commentary.

1. Writers write.
2. Writers finish what they write.
3. Writers never rewrite, except to editorial order (this one requires the most clarification by Kilian).
4. Writers put their work on the market (that's the publishing market; not the bookstore market).
5. Writers keep their work on the market until it sells.
   

More on rewrites

I used to have Neil Gaiman's "Advice to Authors" printed and hung on my wall next to my desk. I don't know why it's not anymore; I should probably do that again. It's incredibly helpful.

One of the things he says in there concerns rewriting: "The best advice I can give on this is, once it's done, to put it away until you can read it with new eyes. Finish the short story, print it out, then put it in a drawer and write other things. When you're ready, pick it up and read it, as if you've never read it before. If there are things you aren't satisfied with as a reader, go in and fix them as a writer: that's revision."

But recently, an unpublished writer challenged him on that:

...the thing is, I don't do it like that at all.

For one thing, I don't write a first draft completely, then edit it several times. I work with scenes. I write a scene, I correct it, a re-correct it, I edit it and so on. I usually have a story planned out in my head entirely, so I end up writing the scenes in any order, really, although it's mostly chronological.

I'm guessing your advice would probably be "whatever works for you", but the thing is, I don't know if it works for me. I've never finished a novel yet.

To which Gaiman responded:

The biggest problem I can see with the way you're doing it is that it doesn't seem to give you anything finished. (If it was working for you I'd have no suggestions...)

And then he goes on to offer his brilliantly useful advice that you should go read yourself. It comes down to something that another writer called "making mud" though. Your first draft, especially when you're just starting out, isn't supposed to be a completed masterpiece. Using sculpture as an analogy, you're just creating the mud that you're going to sculpt from. That metaphor of the first draft as a pile of dirt and water was hugely liberating for me. Now, I'm all about writing every day until I eventually complete that draft. Then I'll be able to go back and make something cool out of it.

Finding and working with artists

This is comics-specific, but editor/writer Jason Rodriguez (who's worked with a lot of artists) spills the beans on his method for finding and building relationships with artists. Here's one of my favorite quotes:

I think the number one reason writers have a hard time finding an artist is because they find someone they like and they send them an email saying something along the line of, "Hey - I love your work. Blah, blah, blah. By the way, I have this project that I'd think you'd do SO well on. We should totally work together."

That's like asking for sex on the first date. Actually, that's not true. That's like asking for sex immediately after introducing yourself.

"Come here often? My name's Jason. Let's f***."

I also love how he totally dispels the Artist Flake-Out Myth.

What to write next

The BookEnds Literary Agency has more advice, this time on what to work on next while you're shopping around the first book in your series. Do you begin the next book in the series or start on something completely new?

I would never urge a writer to work on the next book in the series while I’m submitting the first. When a series idea is on submission I talk with the author and encourage her to start coming up with fresh new ideas. Why? Because if the first book in the series isn’t going to sell, it’s very likely the second book isn’t either.

Comics Marketing

Here's a podcast interview with a very smart comics retailer about what he's looking for in new comics to sell and what you can do to grab his attention. It essentially boils down to getting readers excited enough about your book that they'll pre-order it, and letting retailers see the work before they have to make a decision about whether or not to carry it. But there are also practical suggestions for how to do those two things, so it's worth a listen.

Other retailers echo that advice and offer additional opinions in this excellent interview at the Newsarama blog.

Tim Broderick also stresses the importance of getting out and meeting not only retailers, but libraries and bookstores as well. And having freebies. Bookmarks and postcards and mini-comics are awesome. I've got to start using those to create interest in my stuff at conventions.

David Draws: Pete's Dragon

A friend of ours was talking about Pete's Dragon a while back and David wanted to check it out. He liked it enough that he decided to draw this homage.

I'm not sure where the zebra and the bee came from.

Hancock (and One Missed Call)

Hancock (2008)



This is going to be short, because I can't say much about it without spoiling it and I don't want to do that. I was fortunate enough to go into the movie unspoiled and I wouldn't want to ruin that for anyone else.

I really liked this movie for a couple of reasons. First, speaking of not having it spoiled, I was surprised to learn that the trailers hadn't already shown me the whole movie. The trailers are only the first act and I loved getting to the point where I'd seen everything in them and knew that there was still another hour or so of movie left to explore.

Second, the film's got a ton of heart. Will Smith shows once again that we shouldn't underestimate him as an actor and I liked Jason Bateman's character a lot more than I thought I would. I like Bateman as an actor, but I don't trust PR guys, so I was afraid that his character would be overly slick if not downright sleazy. Not at all. Everyone you're supposed to like, you really like. You root hard for Hancock and that's what carries the movie. I absolutely loved his character.

Even though I really liked everything about the movie though, I didn't love the film itself. I was confused by that for a while until my brother-in-law/movie-pal Dave put his finger right on what was missing. It's a superhero movie and superheroes are only as good as their villains. Hancock has his enemies, but they're not very interesting ones. They're okay, and there's potential for them to be really awesome - especially if there's a sequel - but they're not as developed as Hancock and the rest of the main cast are. So, what's there... I loved. I just wish the movie could've given me a little bit more.

Four out of five whale tosses.

Bonus non-review: One Missed Call (2008)



I didn't finish the US version of One Missed Call. The special effects were crap, but even worse than that was the complete stupidity of all the main characters.

It's about this circle of college friends who know that a couple of their friends have died after receiving mysterious phone calls from future versions of themselves. The main character Beth (in the middle of that picture above) has even heard one of the messages and tries to convince the police to do something about it. One of the detectives on the case (Margaret Cho) doesn't believe her, but the other one, Detective Andrews (Edward Burns from 27 Dresses), does because his sister also just died under similar circumstances.

So, when Beth's friend Taylor (holding the phone in the picture) gets one of the phone calls, she and Beth immediately go to Detective Andrews and solicit his help, right? Of course not. They destroy the phone (and any evidence or clues it contains), hoping that that will rid them of the curse.

Eventually Andrews finds out anyway because he uncovers a lead on his own. But instead of going to check it out, he decides to swing by Beth's place first to let her know what he's learned. And of course she demands to go with him on his investigation. And of course he lets her.

And when the investigation leads them to a locked door on a private residence, Andrews tells Beth he can't just break in because "I'm a cop."

"I'm not," Beth smiles. And Andrews gives her a piece of lock-picking paper to try to open the door credit card-style.

Only Beth can't do it, so Andrews does it for her anyway.

And that's when I turned it off.

It's too bad too because I was kind of into the mystery about what was causing the phone calls and why the victims all had pieces of red hard candy in their mouths. But I just couldn't sit through any more.

If anyone's seen it and can explain the mystery to me, I'd be grateful.

One out of five red hardcandies.

Adventureblog Theater: Hellboy

Batman vs. Hellboy



And now, a very special message...



Audition



Inside the Actors Studio







Hellboy vs. Ghost Hunters



Hellboy vs. Chuck

Adventureblog Theater: Burn Notice, a giant robot, a sea monster, and Indiana Jones

Burn Notice is back!

Guess what today is!



Giant Car-Eating Robot

Yes, yes, you can see this at any given truck rally, but when was the last time you went to a truck rally?



Sea Monsters are getting smarter



And now, ladies and gentlemen, the theme from Indiana Jones...

...in Mario Paint.



Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Special Edition

Indy shot first!

Awesome List: Yet more Indy, your new Red Sonja, Tiki Joe Mysteries, and more

Aliens in Indiana Jones?

I know a lot of people were bugged by the scifi element in Crystal Skull, but they're forgetting that there's a precedence for it. As far back as Raiders there's evidence that our ancient civilizations had contact with life - droid life, anyway - from the stars.



"Indy! No hitting!"

I still have a lot of Indy links to post. Like this one about how the Indiana Jones stunt show at Disneyland will no longer feature Dr. Jones' directly hitting anyone. One of the senior show directors said that even though there haven't been a lot of complaints, there "will be more pushes and shoves than direct hits." Crowds don't seem to like it when he punches Irina Spalko. Stupid crowds.

Re-reading the article, I notice that it says three punches are being removed, but it doesn't say how many punches Indy used to throw. So I suppose he could've thrown about 20, leaving 17 of them intact. I wouldn't bet money on it though.

Incidentally, I got to be in the Indy stunt show at Disney World last time I was there. I'll have to scan some pictures from that.

Waiting for Dr. Jones



And speaking Disneyland's Indiana Jones Adventure, this guy's taken tons of pictures of the queue. Disney sure knows how to make waiting in line fun.

Indy party!

Want to throw an Indiana Jones-themed shindig? Here's how. [Link is dead and has been removed at the request of the linkee.]

Indiana Jones makes bath time better

Indy towels.

Red Sonja casting



Apparently Rose McGowan is your new Red Sonja. This is older news and there was a minor hitch in it thanks to a tabloid's reporting that Rose and Red Sonja producer Robert Rodriguez had broken up. Rose has denied that rumor though and will be at San Diego Comic-Con with Rodriguez to promote the movie, so it sounds like she's still in. (For Barbarella, too.)

And in other Unlikely Casting news...



Here's Seth Rogen to defend why he's playing the Green Hornet.

For years we'd really been trying to write a movie that was kind of about a hero
and his sidekick. When we heard the Green Hornet movie was up for grabs, we
thought that could be the perfect way to do this story, because he is the only
hero whose sidekick is more known than he is.

More about space opera

Related to Monday's post about the relevance of space opera, Barnes & Noble ran a nice overview of the genre. Paul DiFilippo looks at it's history and talks about not only the successes, but what hasn't worked and why. Interesting stuff.

Tiki Joe Mysteries



I'm all for more murder and mayhem in the Pacific islands. Even if it doesn't include a hot detective or the walking dead.

Adventureblog Theater: Emo Hulk, animated Kirk/Spock love, why the Six Million Dollar Man ruled, Doogie vs. Mal, and the Mandalorian Flashdance

Emo Hulk

Weird. There's a scene in this trailer that I don't remember being in the Incredible Hulk movie at all. It's not the arctic scene either. Starts about 30 seconds in.



Spock wants to live like common people



Six Million Dollar Man vs. Bigfoot

The Bionic Woman remake wouldn't have failed if it had been more like this. (I never realized that Bigfoot was played by Andre the Giant. Awesome.)



Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog

Doogie Howser vs. Mal Reynolds


Teaser from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog on Vimeo.

Mandalorian Flashdance

He can't have it all; now Fett's dancing for his life.

Mandalorian Dance
by PatrickBoivin

What Looks Good: July at the Movies

July 4

Hancock: My history with Will Smith movies is that I enjoy them for the two hours I'm there and then pretty much forget about them afterwards. I don't expect this one will be any different.

I might've had higher hopes if they hadn't already spoiled his character development in the trailer. I think it would've been a bolder choice to have him stay a butthole the entire movie, but maybe they pull off the change really well.

Kabluey: (Limited release) I expect I'll like this costumed hero a lot more than Hancock. Plus: Teri Garr.

July 11

Hellboy II: The Golden Army: C'mon, it's Hellboy. I'd see it even if it didn't look the most awesomely imaginative fantasy film since Return of the King. Which it totally does.

Journey to the Center of the Earth: Despite my liking both Jules Verne's imagination and Brendan Fraser's screen presence, I'm having a hard time getting excited about this one at all. They've changed two of the main characters into kids ("...making [the Icelandic guide] Hans into Hannah was just an obvious choice," says director Eric Brevig) and seem more focused on playing with the 3D technology than on telling a great story ("...The rest of it [aside from adapting a couple of iconic moments from the book] was me coming up with pieces of business that I thought would just play wonderfully in 3-D as well as 2-D"). This is probably a DVD rental for me.

July 18

The Dark Knight: As much as my brain tells me that this is going to be awesome because the first one was and Christopher Nolan can Do No Wrong, my heart's just not in it. I'm getting a little more excited the more we see of Two-Face, but I'm so tired of the Joker being played as just another psychotic killer. This is absolutely NOT a criticism of Heath Ledger whom I love as an actor and I expect is brilliant with the part he was given, but just once I'd like to see the Joker in the movies hatch a scheme involving an oversized mallet and a giant jack-in-the-box.

Transsiberian: (NY and LA only) The trailer looks uninspired, but I love trains and snow enough that I'm hoping those elements will carry me through even if the plot is lousy. But maybe it won't be. Maybe it's just a lousy trailer.

Space Chimps: Talking apes in a space adventure. What could be nicer?

July 25

Step Brothers: This is such a toss up as to whether or not I'm going to like it. John C. Reilly is great, but I can't usually take much of Will Ferrell. All the ads I've seen for it have made me laugh though, so on the list it goes.

The X-Files: I Want to Believe: This has the potential to be my favorite movie of the summer. I love and miss Mulder and Scully like you wouldn't believe. Unfortunately, it also has the potential to be the biggest disappointment. My hopes for it are way too high.