Saturday, June 25, 2011

STARPOINT VIDEOS

I'm getting more involved with the videos and starting to do more of it myself. I'm going to take some workshops at PATV on using Final Cut Pro to edit and then get certified to use the HD camera. I figure that will make things a lot easier cause it's one less person to organize.
I finished the script on Thursday and I'm really excited about it. It's titled Changing Fortunes and goes back to the theme that I used in the books. It only takes one person to change the world.
I met with Susannah and Jessica this morning and they are both thrilled about the shoot. I have one more character to cast and have been trying to get a hold of a woman I met at PATV but haven't heard back from her. They are amazing in what they are doing so I want to make it as easy as possible for them. Also got a hold of Josh to see if he can do some of the effects.
The plan is to do the studio footage, about 90% of the script, in August and wrap everything up by the end of September.

Monday, June 20, 2011

STARPOINT VIDEOS

Had a good week of writing and it's really coming together quite well. It's a lot simpler and straightforward way to tell the story.
We were going to shoot a few minutes of footage over the weekend but it just didn't work out. It was Gay Pride Day in Iowa City so two of the three locations I wanted to shoot at would have been crowded and really difficult to get too.
On the other hand I've got Jamen cast now so my three leads are in place.

Monday, June 13, 2011

STARPOINT VIDEOS

I spent two weeks working on the script for the video. Lots of ideas were coming together and it felt like I really good start. Last week I spent a good chunk of time rewriting the same scene about a half dozen times. It just wasn't working right and I finally had to admit it was falling apart. Neither the story nor characters were going anywhere and nothing was flowing like I thought it would be. Thursday night I finally admitted it was crap. No other way to look at it. It was crap. Luckily, on Friday night, the sky opened and a bunch of things fell into my lap. It's fun being an author.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

WELCOME TO NOWHERE WEEK 22

Finished the last page of this book on Tuesday, May 31. I started it January 1 so it came in 5 months exactly. At about 97,500 words it turned out a lot longer than I expected. I'm very happy with it, I think it works quite well, but I have to admit it may actually be a script in disguise.
It was really an experiment in writing when it comes right down to it. I wanted to do something different from Starpoint Mountain in every way. Instead of doing it in chapters I just kept going and did it non-stop. Maybe that's why it feels like a script.
The other big difference is it's a smaller canvas, on the space station, with a set number of locations and characters. I was really constricted and couldn't add anything like I could in Starpoint. I spent a full month before writing just working on the characters, creating more than I needed then scratching them. Also spent a lot of time giving each of them their own back story so I knew exactly when they were born, family, where they went to school, etc. Working this way there really ended up being no surprises in characters. They ended up exactly the way I intended them to be. I like them, I think they are original and distinct characters but, at the same time, they didn't surprise me that much. Doing Starpoint I had always expected Jakobus to be a comic relief character but he refused to be written in any way other than a noble dwarf. I ended up totally rethinking him and giving him a name that felt better for the character.
Something else I kept in mind was that this was a one spot story. That was it. A beginning, middle and end and no loose ends to go back to. It's really the first time I've ever done that. I knew Starpoint was going to be an epic when I started and left loos threads to go back too. Time Web Tremors was originally going to be a trilogy but it just didn't work out that way. Even the Doctor Who novel was supposed to be part of a trilogy. Perhaps, had it actually sold, I would have followed through on it, but it's going to stay a one shot forever as long as I can tell.
I think I need to change my writing habits for a while. Doing this by hand is fun and it gives me lots of time but it's harder to concentrate on two completely different worlds. I'm way behind on the 3rd Starpoint book and it should have been out by now but I've got a long way to go. Need to concentrate on that a while.
It's a pity cause I have so many ideas bubbling around wanting to be told. The strongest one, the next one I will eventually write, is called November Girl. The way it's shaping up I'll be going back to the fly-by-night writing I did for Starpoint. Toying with the idea of doing it first person,