My art skills are woefully lacking. I did try to go back to drawing a while ago, and I was starting to freshen up my penciling skills, but then I took another long hiatus to concentrate more on my writing, and now I'm for shit again when it comes to my sketchbook.
BUT!
I've been thinking recently of putting together some drawings of the characters from "1 More Chance!" in a couple of their different incarnations. I really want to draw some Kuma, as well as the original characters that show up enough that it might be interesting for readers to see how I envision them (Kazunori, the three Hanamura shimai, Hitoshi and Hiroko). I also thought about trying to draw some of the canon characters, though they're a bit harder to pull off properly (and we all know how easily fans are offended if you paint just a few hairs out of place). My usual style trends away from super-cartoony/manga to more realistic (meaning, no huge bishoujo eyes or anything like that), but still pretty simple. (My deviantArt account has some examples, for anyone interested.)
Drawing isn't something I do particularly well - I think I'm a far better writer than visual artist - but this could also be what I need to get excited about art again. I crapped out on my drawings of the characters for my last story ("Sixes and Sevens"), but this one is interesting enough that it might be worthwhile. And, much like writing, if I don't draw what I want to see, then I'll probably never see it.
I'm in a bit of a funk with the writing, at the moment. I'm still chugging away at Chapter 59, and I'm pleased with what I have so far, but I kind of wish that some of my older readers/reviewers would come back. It's been a bit lonely without hearing from them for so long. (Of course, they may have just decided to drop the story for whatever reason, but I suppose that's just the way it goes, and there isn't much for me to do about that.)
Back to typing for now. We'll see if anything comes of the drawing angle.
29 July 2010
04 July 2010
Me and the music
Some writers listen to music for inspiration, when they're plotting or writing. I used to write in silence, but ever since I started writing more on my computer than in my notebooks, I've worked with a soundtrack.
It started in 2007, I think, when I was working on my story for National Novel Writing Month. Since I had to meet a quota of ~1700 words per day in order to reach the 50K-words-in-30-days goal, I needed motivation to keep going, and inspiration to help me focus. That story took place in London, circa 1997, so I populated a playlist with music from and inspired by that era. Yes, I popped some other great Britpop and Britrock in there, because my protagonist was a bit more of a classical rock and punk fan than his girlfriend, but the playlist started out as a slice of 1997.
For a story as long and involved as "1 More Chance!" - with romantic, dramatic, sexy, exciting, and just plain happy scenes - I have several playlists that I go back to.
The most obvious one is the Persona 4 soundtrack, of course. I use that when I'm on my commute, since I usually take that time to work out plot and conversations and events in my head. It's like a moving brainstorming session. I use the Drama CDs for the same purpose, though that's usually to get in the right frame of mind to write everyone's voices properly.
The easygoing, friendship pieces are probably the easiest to write, so I generally just stick in whatever music strikes my fancy at the moment. Usually, that's something upbeat, fast, or rocky/poppy, like Hamasaki Ayumi (especially if I'm writing something fun with Rise, as I really modeled her singing style after Ms. Hamasaki), Kanno Youko's Cowboy Bebop or Macross PLUS soundtracks, or The Killers (wow, that's random).
The fight scenes, which came later in the story, were a bit trickier. I built a specific playlist for those, with predominantly videogame soundtrack pieces to keep my brain pumping and to channel those swelling moments when a fight turns. The Final Fantasy soundtracks play a big part in this playlist, since I've got so many battle themes from which to choose. (Haha!)
When it comes to the romance and sex, though, it's nearly SCLL or Matryoshka all the way. The dreamy, flowy, melodic quality of both of these bands just lends itself to writing about those tender moments between two people. In fact, I told friends on my Last.fm page that if they see me playing lots of SCLL, that probably means I'm writing fluff-smut. :D
Drama usually requires some heavy prog-rock, and Coheed and Cambria gets put into heavy rotation for that one. Actually, a lot of Coheed's songs relate eerily closely to characters and events in Persona 4, as well as in my story. (If you're a Coheed fan and you don't know what I'm talking about, message me and I'll share my views, but it's too long to go into, here, as just a tangent.) Plus, the music is just my kind of thing. Perhaps not yours, of course, but at least I'm not telling you, "Listen to this track while you read this chapter." I'll listen to what I like, thanks. ;)
The one problem I've found with writing to music is that I sometimes rely too much on the ambience of the music for a scene. So I have to concentrate during editing without music, to make certain that the scene flows properly without the music. Because, as I said, I can't control what the reader is hearing when they're reading my story. This isn't the cinema.
I'm pulling together the end of Chapter 58 right now, and hopefully can have it ready to go by Wednesday. The story is getting decent hits so far this month already, but of course, nobody's saying anything. You don't have to leave reviews or send messages, of course, but if you've never done so, I urge you to let your favorite authors know that you're enjoying their story. If it's me, that's great; if it's not me, then at least make somebody else's day. Even if it's just to say, "Nice job!" That kind of support really means a lot to us.
It started in 2007, I think, when I was working on my story for National Novel Writing Month. Since I had to meet a quota of ~1700 words per day in order to reach the 50K-words-in-30-days goal, I needed motivation to keep going, and inspiration to help me focus. That story took place in London, circa 1997, so I populated a playlist with music from and inspired by that era. Yes, I popped some other great Britpop and Britrock in there, because my protagonist was a bit more of a classical rock and punk fan than his girlfriend, but the playlist started out as a slice of 1997.
For a story as long and involved as "1 More Chance!" - with romantic, dramatic, sexy, exciting, and just plain happy scenes - I have several playlists that I go back to.
The most obvious one is the Persona 4 soundtrack, of course. I use that when I'm on my commute, since I usually take that time to work out plot and conversations and events in my head. It's like a moving brainstorming session. I use the Drama CDs for the same purpose, though that's usually to get in the right frame of mind to write everyone's voices properly.
The easygoing, friendship pieces are probably the easiest to write, so I generally just stick in whatever music strikes my fancy at the moment. Usually, that's something upbeat, fast, or rocky/poppy, like Hamasaki Ayumi (especially if I'm writing something fun with Rise, as I really modeled her singing style after Ms. Hamasaki), Kanno Youko's Cowboy Bebop or Macross PLUS soundtracks, or The Killers (wow, that's random).
The fight scenes, which came later in the story, were a bit trickier. I built a specific playlist for those, with predominantly videogame soundtrack pieces to keep my brain pumping and to channel those swelling moments when a fight turns. The Final Fantasy soundtracks play a big part in this playlist, since I've got so many battle themes from which to choose. (Haha!)
When it comes to the romance and sex, though, it's nearly SCLL or Matryoshka all the way. The dreamy, flowy, melodic quality of both of these bands just lends itself to writing about those tender moments between two people. In fact, I told friends on my Last.fm page that if they see me playing lots of SCLL, that probably means I'm writing fluff-smut. :D
Drama usually requires some heavy prog-rock, and Coheed and Cambria gets put into heavy rotation for that one. Actually, a lot of Coheed's songs relate eerily closely to characters and events in Persona 4, as well as in my story. (If you're a Coheed fan and you don't know what I'm talking about, message me and I'll share my views, but it's too long to go into, here, as just a tangent.) Plus, the music is just my kind of thing. Perhaps not yours, of course, but at least I'm not telling you, "Listen to this track while you read this chapter." I'll listen to what I like, thanks. ;)
The one problem I've found with writing to music is that I sometimes rely too much on the ambience of the music for a scene. So I have to concentrate during editing without music, to make certain that the scene flows properly without the music. Because, as I said, I can't control what the reader is hearing when they're reading my story. This isn't the cinema.
I'm pulling together the end of Chapter 58 right now, and hopefully can have it ready to go by Wednesday. The story is getting decent hits so far this month already, but of course, nobody's saying anything. You don't have to leave reviews or send messages, of course, but if you've never done so, I urge you to let your favorite authors know that you're enjoying their story. If it's me, that's great; if it's not me, then at least make somebody else's day. Even if it's just to say, "Nice job!" That kind of support really means a lot to us.
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