Monday, December 8, 2008

Something new

I'VE just had two weeks off work which has given me a chance to catch up on a few things. I've also started writing something brand new which, as things stand, I'm rather pleased with. At this stage I'm not sure whether it will end up as a standalone graphic novel or even a two or three issue mini-series. I'm just having fun writing it and am quite happy to just let the story take its course and see what I end up with.

I've been experimenting a bit with the way I write. I had a pretty good idea where I wanted to go with the story and characters but, instead of planning everything out meticulously, I just decided to start writing and see if anything interesting occurred. So far I've found it a really useful exercise for developing the characters - I've discovered what kind of people they are by just getting on with writing them rather than sitting down and thinking through individual traits, motivations etc.

When I'm a bit further into the first draft (I've only written a dozen or so pages so far) I'll provide a few more details about what I'm up to - all I'll say at this stage is that it's rather more sci-fi than anything I've done previously and that it's very much a "group book".

Of course it means that the other stuff I was writing - particularly Kurse - remains annoyingly unfinished. Kurse is a decent idea that I can definitely do something with but I ended up writing myself down a particularly tricky cul de sac with the book that really needs a lot of work to resolve. I'll return to it at some point next year but for now it rests in limbo...

* THE lovely people at Comic Related have interviewed my Hero Killers and Tim Skinner collaborator Mr Declan Shalvey. You'll find it here: www.comicrelated.com/display.php?item=243

In the interview Dec mentions that there are no plans for a Tim Skinner sequel and, as things stand, he's quite right. However, the words "Tim Skinner sequel" are now loose in my head and I've come up with a few ideas for how to continue the story past the original one-shot. I've even caught myself in odd moments day-dreaming bits of dialogue.

On the subject of Skinner, I was a bit unprepared for the high number of enquiries I got from comic fans following the book's positive mention by Rich Johnston in Lying In The Gutters last week. The first print run of 100 was meant to be little more than a marketing tool to get a bit of a buzz going before the book's appearance in Previews. I hadn't even set up a PayPal page for it on the Moonface Press website so people could buy the book. I suspect I won't be troubling Sir Alan Sugar for a job any time soon...

* TOMORROW I have a day off and will spend a bit of it watching The Dark Knight (I missed it at the cinema so have had to wait for it to come out on DVD). I thought Batman Begins was good but overrated so I'm a bit worried TDK won't bowl me over either. We shall see...

12 comments:

jamie said...

if TDK fails to bowl you over,you must be catatonic!
it is,in my opinion,the greatest film ever made.
even better than deep rising.

jamie said...

has it got an assigned artist?

jamie said...

/chuckles...
i'm kidding.

Unknown said...

OK, now I've seen The Dark Knight and have to say I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. It's an above average superhero film with some fine moments and a couple of decent performances, but that's all. Bale is terrible as Batman, by the way, every time he spoke in that silly "Big Bad Wolf" voice of his I just wanted to laugh. Ledger is indeed wonderful as The Joker, I'll give you that.

jamie said...

i'm sorry you didn't enjoy it,
if we get a chance over christmas you'll have to come round and tell me scene by scene what you thought was wrong with it.
seriously,i loved it... i honestly can't think of a bad word to say about it,at all.
and batmans voice,well... i suppose he's really really angry!
or something.
you like batman and robin,don't you!

Unknown said...

I DID like it - I just don't think it's the masterpiece it's been hailed as. There are quite a few things I enjoyed about it - some great lines for a start - but somehow it just didn't blow me away. I preferred Iron Man to be honest.

jamie said...

philistine.
(whatever one of those is.)
although,i will give you iron man completely,
despite the fact that there's no way a sequel is going to be any good.
how's that new story going?

jamie said...

write a batman story!

jamie said...

i eagerly await your views on indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull.

jamie said...

have you seen the wolverine trailer?

Unknown said...

Yep, I had a look at it this morning. It looks okay but nothing special.

jamie said...

hi andy,
shame we never got to meet up over xmas but between both of us having bouts of this poxy flu and just being generally lethargic post xmas and boxing day,we haven't been out the house mush at all,lol.
anyway,hope you and your family have a great nye,and hope the kids haven't run you ragged with thier wii.