Monday 5 March 2012
Thursday 23 February 2012
And So, The Fairytale Ends ... ( For Now ) ...
Just a brief post this time around. My first children's novella, 'The Fairytale Thief' has now been completed. It's all done, all finished up, the story has been told and come to its end.
After nine months of writing it inbetween other projects the adventures of Anna Sparrow and the cat who isn't just a cat have come to a conclusion. It was always intended to be a one off story but now i've reached it's end there's still plenty of ideas i want to explore further and expand on.
So further down the line i wouldn't be surprised if i'm writing about the further adventures of Miss Anna Sparrow.
Well, that's it for now.
See you soon ...
James
After nine months of writing it inbetween other projects the adventures of Anna Sparrow and the cat who isn't just a cat have come to a conclusion. It was always intended to be a one off story but now i've reached it's end there's still plenty of ideas i want to explore further and expand on.
So further down the line i wouldn't be surprised if i'm writing about the further adventures of Miss Anna Sparrow.
Well, that's it for now.
See you soon ...
James
Sunday 12 February 2012
Wednesday 8 February 2012
A Call To Arms ...
Well, after a frustrating stop, start beginning to the year things are now moving along really nicely. I've been surprisingly prolific over the last two weeks or so, more than i expected. Both issues 11 and 12 of 'Modern Days' are scripted, these being the first two issues of Vol. 2. The mysterious priest with a liking for frock coats now has a name, Joshua St. John, and he's a formidable antagonist for the main characters of the series.
On a related note a few months ago my regular collaborating artist/ illustrator had to drop out due to personal reasons, so i've now put out a call to any artists out there ( as well as fellow writers ) to work with me on both 'Modern Days' and other projects i have planned, such as an anthology comic book.
The call reads as follows;
Writer/ creator looking to work with writers/ artists/ illustrators on creator owned projects in the comic book medium.
The idea is to work as a group under the umbrella title of DreamStorm Comics. This is a labour of love, independent project with the ultimate aim of selling our work and getting our names out there.
Essentially it would involve writing and illustrating as well as character designs and sample art pages.
Full scripts, character profiles and synopsis will all be available when needed.
Anyone interested can contact me on my Facebook site under 'James Ellis/ Pilgrim's Progress', on my Twitter site under 'jamesellis71'
And also on my National Theatre Wales pages under the name of 'James Ellis' & 'James Ellis- DreamStorm Comics- Writers & Artists' or my E- mail address, 'james.h.ellis71@gmail.com'
And of couse, on this very blog.
Until next time,
James
On a related note a few months ago my regular collaborating artist/ illustrator had to drop out due to personal reasons, so i've now put out a call to any artists out there ( as well as fellow writers ) to work with me on both 'Modern Days' and other projects i have planned, such as an anthology comic book.
The call reads as follows;
Writer/ creator looking to work with writers/ artists/ illustrators on creator owned projects in the comic book medium.
The idea is to work as a group under the umbrella title of DreamStorm Comics. This is a labour of love, independent project with the ultimate aim of selling our work and getting our names out there.
Essentially it would involve writing and illustrating as well as character designs and sample art pages.
Full scripts, character profiles and synopsis will all be available when needed.
Anyone interested can contact me on my Facebook site under 'James Ellis/ Pilgrim's Progress', on my Twitter site under 'jamesellis71'
And also on my National Theatre Wales pages under the name of 'James Ellis' & 'James Ellis- DreamStorm Comics- Writers & Artists' or my E- mail address, 'james.h.ellis71@gmail.com'
And of couse, on this very blog.
Until next time,
James
Friday 27 January 2012
Sunday 22 January 2012
When The Unexpected Comes knocking ...
Wherever you were last night, if you heard a distant sound that was part surprise, part delight, and part 'oh, that's why i love being a writer!' then that, gentle reader was me. Without warning I had that moment when what i was writing truely surprised me, that what the character said truely surprised me, what the character did truely surprised me, and where this surprise then took the story truely surprised me.
Wait, what? That's not what i planned is it? But of course if the story follows your exact plan then you're doing something wrong, you're just joining the dots aren't you, just slogging out the story, just going from A to Z.
You're not feeling it.
That moment when you suddenly find you're not as sure the story is going where you thought it was going is both the best and the scariest feeling a writer can feel. It's the moment when the story and the characters truely come alive, when something happens you truely hadn't expected. Suddenly you're not feeling as comfortable with where its going and so in turn the reader shouldn't feel comfortable either.
If you never expect it to happen in the writing of it, then the reader hopefully shouldn't expect it to happen in the reading of it.
The effect of these moments can sometimes be small, or they can take your story on a truely different course. Hence, that distant sound last night when i realised that just a few unexpected moments had completely changed what i thought the story for Volume Two of 'Modern Days' was going to be. With just a few unexpected decisions my whole idea for the next seven issues had taken on a completely different shape, and most important of all, the story was a lot better for it, better than what i'd planned.
When that distant sound of the unexpected comes knocking, listen to it, it might be scary but it's great too, and that, gentle reader is what being a writer is all about for me.
James
Wait, what? That's not what i planned is it? But of course if the story follows your exact plan then you're doing something wrong, you're just joining the dots aren't you, just slogging out the story, just going from A to Z.
You're not feeling it.
If you never expect it to happen in the writing of it, then the reader hopefully shouldn't expect it to happen in the reading of it.
The effect of these moments can sometimes be small, or they can take your story on a truely different course. Hence, that distant sound last night when i realised that just a few unexpected moments had completely changed what i thought the story for Volume Two of 'Modern Days' was going to be. With just a few unexpected decisions my whole idea for the next seven issues had taken on a completely different shape, and most important of all, the story was a lot better for it, better than what i'd planned.
When that distant sound of the unexpected comes knocking, listen to it, it might be scary but it's great too, and that, gentle reader is what being a writer is all about for me.
James
Friday 13 January 2012
Tuesday 10 January 2012
What's In A Title? ...
What's in a title, well, for me, quite a lot actually. A title can be many things. It can be a statement. It can invoke a feeling. It can set the tone, and it can ignite the imagination and the curiosity, or it can sum up the story you're telling in a few simple words.
So once you have a good idea of what it is you're writing and what it's all about then coming up with a suitable title should be easy right? Yeah, if only it were that simple.
This age old problem has been brought into sharp focus again for me lately while i've been working on the possibility of a comic book anthology of origin stories. The ideas and the characters for each of the five series to be included came pretty fast and surprsingly easy, but the titles, oh the titles, they were a different story altogether.
The title of the anthology was also problematic as i wanted to invoke the feeling of those classic anthology series such as Detective Comics and Amazing Fantasy. I wanted to invoke a certain feeling. I came up with numerous titles, most of which were awful, titles which ranged from the uninspired 'Comic Anthology' to the more interesting 'Amazing Worlds', 'Universal Stories' and 'Tales of the Modern Age.'
I had all of these titles bubbling away in my head for days. Most of them were interesting, but none of them were right. And they weren't right because they didn't feel right, they didn't bring to life what i was aiming for. Nothing worked, not until the moment i was doing something else entirely and two little words popped into my head.
' Tommorrow's Tales.' They were perfect. They felt right. Somehow these two words together perfectly invoked what i was after. Somehow it told you what i was aiming for.
I'd love to say this has just been an isolated case, but oh no, every single time i put myself through the same thing, whether it's an overall title, an issue or chaper title or even the name of every character within them.
So what's in a title? For me,
everything ...
James
So once you have a good idea of what it is you're writing and what it's all about then coming up with a suitable title should be easy right? Yeah, if only it were that simple.
This age old problem has been brought into sharp focus again for me lately while i've been working on the possibility of a comic book anthology of origin stories. The ideas and the characters for each of the five series to be included came pretty fast and surprsingly easy, but the titles, oh the titles, they were a different story altogether.
The title of the anthology was also problematic as i wanted to invoke the feeling of those classic anthology series such as Detective Comics and Amazing Fantasy. I wanted to invoke a certain feeling. I came up with numerous titles, most of which were awful, titles which ranged from the uninspired 'Comic Anthology' to the more interesting 'Amazing Worlds', 'Universal Stories' and 'Tales of the Modern Age.'
I had all of these titles bubbling away in my head for days. Most of them were interesting, but none of them were right. And they weren't right because they didn't feel right, they didn't bring to life what i was aiming for. Nothing worked, not until the moment i was doing something else entirely and two little words popped into my head.
' Tommorrow's Tales.' They were perfect. They felt right. Somehow these two words together perfectly invoked what i was after. Somehow it told you what i was aiming for.
I'd love to say this has just been an isolated case, but oh no, every single time i put myself through the same thing, whether it's an overall title, an issue or chaper title or even the name of every character within them.
So what's in a title? For me,
everything ...
James
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