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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)