Writing

June 30, 2012 0 comments

Superhumans

I love metahuman stories. I’ve written several of them and will continue to write many more. So you can probably tell that I’m a big fan of comics and movies featuring superheroes and supervillains. I love watching amazing things and seeing splashy pictures.

But when I write them, I like to find out the secrets that no one else knows. Slice of life segments of heroes and villains, explaining why they do some of the crazy things they do. Because when you’re just looking at some guy, you don’t get the ideas running through his head. You just see the peerless hero or the cackling madman.

You don’t see the guy that has to go buy milk, but has to hide the fact that he’s got one giant gorilla arm under a trench coat. You don’t see someone like Sunfire [Supergroup] washing dishes and doing his own laundry. You don’t see the feelings that run through a superhero like Blue Ice when he realizes he loves a supervillain.

There’s something so awesome about reading a superhero novel. And there’s something awesome about writing one too.

I really like this “Patriot” trailer from Bleeding Cool Ink, so I thought I’d share this too.

This is one comic I can’t wait to read. The premise is so good, and if it’s done right it can be so good.

June 27, 2012 0 comments

Rewriting a story

Wrote these tweets, got to thinking.

I look at old stuff I’ve written and I can see a definite improvement between then and now. But does that mean I should change things?

— Harper Kingsley (@HarperKingsley0) June 27, 2012

I’m not talking about simple edits either. I’m talking about ripping the guts out and rearranging things. Rewriting history

— Harper Kingsley (@HarperKingsley0) June 27, 2012

If I decide to completely rewrite part of a story, what should I do about the original? If I completely change the end of a story, what responsibility do I have to people that read the first version? It’s not currently something I’m doing now, but I can possibly see me wanting to do it in a few years if my writing style keeps evolving.

Both versions would have to be made available because there’s always someone that loves the original more. There’s nothing so painful as re-reading a beloved story and find out you’ve gotten hold of the “Special Edition.” Which makes me wonder if George Lucas ever stops to think about what he’s doing before he changes Star Wars again. Is there ever going to be a time when he tells himself “No, that’s enough” and just stops?

Anyways, I’m currently reworking a story I wrote a long ass time ago. I love the idea of such a crazy sewer rat kind of future. Unfortunately, I didn’t have very much skill at writing when I penned it. There was some beautiful imagery, but it was mostly written in a truly crap style. The characters need a bit more development and some of the stuff is very Mary Sue. But I can fix that!

Picture it: Dystopian future where everything’s dark and grim. It’s like the whole world was taken over by Gotham — the Tim Buron version of Gotham. Dark, but not too depressing, with people wiling away their days and hoping the future is going to be better.

There are gangs everywhere and violence and it’s just the way things are.

One of the gangs is the WoD led by a beautiful girl with the nickname “Angel of Death.” Her teenaged followers are a band of murderous misfits that run their section of The City with an iron fist. They take no prisoners, they are an army, and in the darkest of times they are a beacon of light.

Yeah, so I’m trying to make it into something readable. I hope it goes well because it’s a story I really want to share.

~Pax

April 30, 2012 0 comments

Why I Write

Why do I write? Because writing makes me happy and gives me something I desperately crave – an outlet for all of the people and worlds living in my head.

Writers aren’t exactly people…they’re a whole lot of people trying to be one person.
-F. Scott Fitzgerald

To be honest, I don’t ever expect to become rich off of my writings. I don’t exactly see myself as being the next J.K. Rowling or Laurell K. Hamilton or Stephen King.

I just like to write.

I do hope to reach the point – soonish rather than later – where I will be able to pay off all of my debts and make a fairly comfortable living. I would like to be able to give the Kid a good education and a nice place to live. Most of all, I never want to worry about him going hungry again.

But even if I was living in a gutter somewhere, I would still write, because it is my passion and my joy.

Even if there was no one to read the words, I would still write them down. On a computer, in a notebook, in the dirt on the floor… the words would still flow out of me and always will.

That being said, I really do appreciate it when someone reads something I’ve written. Whenever I sell a book, I feel a jolt of pleasure at the idea that someone out there is meeting the people I created and traveling the world they live in. And I hope they experience the same richness of feeling that I did as I wrote every word and imagined every action or scene.

Feedback is always appreciated, but to just know that someone is reading something I’ve created… that’s enough.

~Peace, love, joy

April 29, 2012 0 comments

Teaser 01: “Idlewile” [musician, drama, novel]

Okay, so “Idlewile” is the band story I’ve been working on. Though to be honest I don’t really know if I would call it a “band” story, since Idlewile is a solo singer. It’s just that “song story” seems like an awkward description for it.

Anyway, “Idlewile” is my latest passion and I’m fairly racing through getting it done. It’s like I’ve been struck by a mad case of the prolifics. Hopefully it’s easily transmitted.

I came up with the idea for “Idlewile” after watching a bunch of kdramas and catching up on some celebrity news. I just suddenly decided that I wanted to do a story based on the life of a pop idol. And from there, my brain created Idlewile – whose real name is George Idleston – a young man with a rather bleak past. He was raised in an orphanage until he was recruited into the boy band Anathema at 14.

And right there is where I run into trouble. “Anathema” is the name of a UK band! So I need a new band name – one that hasn’t already been used.

That’s where I need help from you. I am currently asking if anyone can think up a good name for a boy band that hasn’t already been taken.

Leave suggestions in the comments and I’ll choose. Whichever suggested name gets chosen, the person that came up with it will receive a free copy of “Idlewile” when it comes out and I promise to acknowledge you in the foreword section.

Any help is much appreciated, though I’ll probably need to ask for more help in the future.

The world of Idlewile – pop stars and soap operas – is such an alien world to me that there are many things that leave me questioning. I know what I want to see happen, but there’s just a couple of things I might not be able to work through on my own.

~Peace, love, joy

Idlewile hadn’t donned a costume like the other singers and was still wearing his customary jeans and leather jacket, though he had put on a dark purple top hat and a silver and green feathered eye mask. Even from the back, his strut was all arrogant confidence and his hips rolled in an interesting manner.

Whatever Idlewile was singing, it wasn’t in English. It might have been Swedish or German, though Chris’ tin ear couldn’t be sure. All he knew was that it sounded really catchy and it was probably going to become the next hit song. The kids would totally love it, even though they didn’t understand a single word.