All The News That's Fit To Update!

Hmm.  My plan is moving slower than I wanted it to.

I went to NY recently to go to court, and there was an adjournment until today.  So, today I had a telephone appearance at court, only to find out it was a conference and not actually court, and the real court date was settled to be Nov 7.  Yeah.  Slow.  But things are moving, which is good.  The Rolling Stones said it best: you can't always get what you want.  

So, the other things that I was working on?  Sending stuff to the editor as well as waiting for word on the Hundred and Four?  

The editor sent the one story on to his partners, who passed on it.  Well, I can't really say passed.  They'd probably look at it again in another incarnation.  One of the comments made on it was spot on, though- the character doesn't learn anything in the end.  I was noticing that as I continued to rework it.  As I hammered and hammered at it, I noticed that the ending of the story in the pitch didn't have the punch I was going for.  I honestly think the story I was trying to tell got sacrificed in the pitch, which is a document aimed at selling something.  The story I "sold" wasn't the one I wanted to tell, and the final result showed.  However, I do have another idea for the same story, thanks to the editor, and I'm just working out the logisitics of it.

He still wants to see the other pitch, and I'll be sending that off as soon as I finish writing this.  That one hasn't changed much, even though I keep hammering away at it.  It's solid in concept, and the execution has to be up to snuff as well.  So there's that.

As for the Hundred and Four, let me tell you, I passed all the "hoop" tests, jumping through them without touching the sides (or even getting singed when they were flaming), and was told wonderful things about myself such as I'm very precise in following directions and that I'm smart and well read, but in the final analysis of my work, I wasn't ready. 

Yep, a disappointment, but it also gives me time to get myself ready.  I just have to work harder at what I want.  (I was also told I have a great work ethic.)  Yes, this was important to me- I not only wrote a lot of things beforehand in an effort to be prepared, but I also reworked and revised some other things to bring them up to snuff.  Then I sweated my trip to NY a bit because it was falling near the date when he wanted the materials, and he didn't want to have them either before or after.  So, yes, there was some sweating going on, and I'm not one that likes to make excuses.  I either do it, or I don't.  Responsibility.

He did say that my personal statement was pitch perfect, and I have to admit, I was a little proud of it.  There were a couple of sentences I feel that could have transitioned better, but I still liked it.  

Anyway.

Webcomics!  I'm going to be starting up a webcomic with some writing friends.  I have some things in mind that I want to do with it, and a story I want to tell, but things are still in the gathering/planning stage.  It'll be great, as long as we have strong stories.  We'll see what happens.  More news on that as it develops.  Like I said, I have a method to my madness, and most of the others are agreeing as well, I'm just trying to get one or two others to see eye to eye with the bigger plan.

And there's an artist I know who's interested in working with me on something.  I just have to get with him to see what story he has.  If it's better than mine, I'll do it.  If it's not, then I'll see what he thinks about mine.  I know it's hard to get excited about someone else's story, but I'm guessing we'll each give it a try.

Editing is still going pretty well.  I had something strange happen to me a couple of days ago, actually.  Someone sent me an e-mail asking about contract language to protect his son and his son's creations from the artists he was going to work with.  It seems his son has written two children's books, with two superheroes and two supervillains, and he wanted the artists to be work-for-hire.  The only problem?

His son is six.

Yeah.  So I did the responsible thing, saying advise an entertainment lawyer, make sure the artists are adults, and since the lad couldn't enter into a contract himself, the parent/legal guardian would be doing so.  However, the big thing was the entertainment lawyer.  Then I pointed him at a work for hire contract, pointed out some terms and what they meant and what I wouldn't sign, and he seemed happy about it.

Yeah.  Strange.  Also strange in the fact that I had finished writing a column for Bolts & Nuts that spoke about contracts and money.  Apropos, no?

But the editing thing is going well, like I said.  If two of the stories get picked up by a certain publsihing house, then I'll be editor on those two books.  Some back-end money, more than likely, but that's okay.  It's more getting my name recognized than it is the money, back- or front-end.  Although the money would help, don't get me wrong.  It's just not as important.

I'm also going to be writing some more Warmageddon stories.  I got an e-mail from Jamal yesterday asking for some.  So, more things to keep me busy and writing.  I love it!

As for life in general, well, that keeps getting better all the time!  

I moved from Virginia to Tucson, right?  But, I'm not native to Virginia, I'm originally from NY.  That's got nothing to do with anything, except that one of my high-school friends found me on Facebook.  And damn, she's still looking good, too.  I was dating my now ex-wife then, and she was dating someone else also, but don't think I never looked at her with some lust in my eye.  I'm male, after all.  Anyway, it's just good to hear from her again, even if we weren't really close. 

But that's got nothing to do with Virginia.  I got an e-mail from a good friend of mine in Virginia Beach, totally out of the blue.  

Cell phones are the Debbil!  They make it so that you don't need to remember things like phone numbers anymore, and if your cellphone gets lost or stolen, then you're screwed.  I guess I'll be investing in a paper phone book soon, but anyway, our original cellphone got lost, the second one was destroyed by my granddaughter, and so we lost all the numbers.  I thought she was gone for good, but she managed to track me down through an old e-mail addy I barely use nowadays, and we're back in contact!  We're also seeing about getting her to come out here in March.  Just trying to get that to work.  We'll see how it goes.

Let's see, I've talked about writing, editing, court, webcomics, and resurrecting friendships.  I think that gets us caught up.

Okay, time to send out an e-mail, as well as get something to eat, and then maybe a nap before work.  Short day today, which is good.  

Go have some Mexican food today.  Real Mexican, but I guess Taco Bell will do in a pince.  You'll be glad you did.

-Steven

Crossing Hurdles!

There's been a flurry of activity lately with Yours Truly, and I have to say, being busy has its perks.

I've been writing columns for Project Fanboy, and so far, I haven't had any backlash from it.  Actually, everyone who's said something to me about it has been really positive, and I'm very thankful for that.  For a while, it felt like I was writing in a void, but over at Digital Webbing, people say they've been checking it out and that it's been really helpful.  That's great, really, because I'd hate to think I was giving out bad advice.  And for those of you who are wondering, yes, I try to write them ahead of time.  Right now, I have about five weeks worth, and I'll probably write a couple more tomorrow- right after I post up the one for this week.

A couple of weeks ago, I volunteered to look at a script for a friend as an editor, and gave him the full treatment.  He liked it a LOT.  So much so that if the title gets the home that he wants for it, he wants me to edit it.  Yes, there's a deeper story here, but I'll go into it once there's something more concrete, one way or the other.  Basically, we'll see what happens.

However, because of him, I was able to get some more work as an editor.  I looked over a fellow DW poster's script as a hired consultant, and he enjoyed what I did so much that he showed it to someone else- who promptly sent me an e-mail asking if I'd look over their script, and how much I'd charge.  There were also another couple of posters there who asked me to look over some scripts for them, as well.  See?  Busy.

If this keeps up, and I hope it does, it might be time to start thinking about a website.  I'd want it to be able to pay for itself, of course, so it's a little way down the road.  If my other good news continues on the road it's going on, then I'll have to see what a site will cost me.

That other good news?  Well, I recently heard back from the editor I've been working with on a couple of my pitches.  He's going to send one of them on to his partners!  That's great news, and it means that I could be extremely busy in the near future.  The other pitch still needs some work, and I'm going over it, doing my best to make it as strong as possible.  

I'll tell you something: pitchwriting is an art, and I'm extremely green with it.  I don't see the work as a chore- I see it as learning a new skill and honing it.  I do feel I get better at it with every pass.  He already told me it was going to be a long process, and he was right.  I'm not discouraged, though.  I look forward to it.

And I'm still waiting to hear back from Hannibal Tabu about the 104.  I have a few more days before I contact him.  Again, we'll see what happens.

As for my job, I'm going to be able to bid for my shift here in a few days.  I'm looking forward to having a shift that's stable, instead of changing from month to month.  It won't start until January, but it'll start.  That's really what's important.  A stable night shift will allow me to write while at work, and that time is going to be used to the best of my ability.

You see, I told a friend of mine that I'd also start work on a novel- and yes, I have a novel idea to go with it.  Luckily, I don't have much in the way of plotting to go, since I've already plotted it out as a comic.  Lenora is happy I'm turning the idea into a novel, though.  She wishes I wrote more of my ideas as novels.  So, I have a novel to write, along with my weekly column, and hopefully, a graphic novel or two, plus editing work, and possibly weekly work for the 104.

Yeah.  I know, be careful of what you wish for.  I'll just have to be strict with my time.  

And that's about it for me.  Go listen to some Slick Rick.  You can thank me later.  

-Steven

There And Back Again- A Forby's Tale

I know, I know, it's a riff on Tolkein, but it's fitting, methinks.

The plan I keep talking about?  Well, I had to fly to NY in order to further it.  It was a nice flight, and I got a huge feeling of homesickness while there.  Trees, grass, familiar places, familiar faces, and not to mention, the dulcet tones of New Yorkers.  It was great.

And I won't say that it was useless, but I will say that it was frustrating.  At least I got to spend time with my family.  That's important.  

And I flew!  I hadn't flown since the last time- and that was from Virginia Beach to San Diego for SDCC about four years ago.  I missed flying.  I took off a couple of days from work, and it was at the tail end of my weekend, so I had five days off.  I flew out on Wednesday, and I'm sorry to say that that was a wasted day.  The flight left at 6 am, and I had to fly to LAX, and had a four hour layover.  I finally got in to NY at 9 pm.  Wasted day.  

Getting back was in itself a small adventure.  I was to have two connecting flights, but when I got to the airport, my initial flight was cancelled.  Then they tried to say that I could fly out at 7 pm!  My initial flight was supposed to be at 1:50 pm, and I was supposed to finally land in Tucson at 9 pm so I could be at work at 3 am the next day.  Cutting it close, I know, but that's Cheaptickets.com for you.  I was finally able to get a flight directly to my second connecting flight, and fly in to Tucson from there, where I finally got some sleep and went to work.

And Treat Williams was on my flight from NY.  I'm not much for autographs- "celebrities" are people too- but I didn't have any trouble recognizing him.  Very distictive look, and I don't really think anyone else noticed him.  At least, no one came up to ask for his autograph.  I guess that's what happens when you're a B or C list actor.  The only thing he did that was in front of a lot of faces was Everville, but he's also done a LOT of acting.  A couple of Substitute movies in the 90's and another horror movie about him on a ship stand out in my mind.  I told Lenora about seeing him, and she had a blank look on her face.  I'm not that surprised at it, though.  I would have been MORE surprised if she knew who I was talking about.  She's not really one for knowing actors or movies.  That's my schtick when it comes to our marriage.  

Anyway, other things have been happening in my writing life.  The editor I've been talking to keeps asking for revisions to the pitches I've been sending him, and I'm thrilled about it, to be honest.  He hasn't said "no," and he hasn't seemed ambivalent about them.  It seems like active interest on his part, and he already told me it was a long process.  I sent off the revisions before I went to NY, and am waiting to hear back from him.  I've had other ideas to send to him, as well, but I'd like to get these nailed down before sending him others.  (There's a book I'd like to turn into a graphic novel, and he seemed interested in my choice, but it's a matter of getting the rights to the book, and according to the editor, that's a process in itself.  However, getting that done would really be something!  A great book by my favorite writer.)

A guy I know from Digital Webbing, whom I'm also quickly coming to think of as a friend, gave me a glowing recommendation to another guy I know who's willing to pay for editing services.  I actually almost blushed at what he said.  Well, the guy bit, and he's going to hire me to look at his script as soon as he gets paid.  So there's a little more money coming in from that.

I've been asked to script some finished pages for a letterer, and I'll be doing that as soon as I finish writing this post.

And yesterday was Sep 8th!  I sent off the materials to Hannibal Tabu, and got back an e-mail stating he was wondering if I was going to show up and that he liked my initiative.  So, it's a little more waiting on that.  

I've also asked a few writers I know to form a writing group.  So far, I've had a positive response, and we're in the midst of talking about what we want out of the group.  I can't say that the e-mails are flying fast and furiously, but there's conversation going, and that's a step in the right direction.

And that's really about it for the moment.  Things are looking up all around.  This is all good news- and as soon as I have some excellent news, I'll share that, too.

Until then, go buy some Marvel movies.  It'll be good for your soul.