The Wordsmith's Forge

Here's an essay on what happens when a novelist approaches comics.

When I started to get interested in scriptwriting and comics, I just went out and researched the topic to learn the general infrastructure of the field.  I learned a lot, some of which is useful in storytelling generally.

I can't imagine anyone approaching this without figuring out how it works first, but apparently, that's the usual -- along with people's equally insane habit of copying art/literature from the outside in.  Just another example of me and my alien brain.  I typically start from one of the core concepts: idea or medium.  Either I have a specific kind of story I want to tell, or I want to explore a certain format.  I go from whichever of those I star with to the other one, and then work my way out from there.

Another thing I've discovered is how this affects my perspective in storytelling.  Only a few settings/characters seem to hit me as script-friendly.  I'm not entirely sure why yet; it's new territory.  But there's a definite cinematic feel to certain ideas, and it can really influence how I write about them.  I like the visual aspects of Schrodinger's Heroes and The Blueshift Troupers.  

Sometimes I find myself thinking about comic frames or camera angles.  I think about dialog differently too.  In a bifocal medium, I strongly prefer stories where the words and images are equally important, although there may be some sections where one predominates.  If you're not using them together fluently, you're wasting half your opportunity for storytelling, not to mention the potential for dynamic interest as you shift the weight from one to the other.

my_partner_doug and have completed the Tower of Orthanc.

Begin with Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7.

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peoriapeoriawhereart tipped me to this awesome collection of steampunk Lego. 

my_partner_doug and I continue building the Tower of Orthanc.

Begin with Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.  Skip to Part 6, Part 7, Part 8.

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My partner Doug pointed me to this video of a card mechanic performing.  One interesting thing about Mr. Turner is that he is blind, and controls the cards using a profound sense of touch, which developed as his sight diminished in childhood.  While losing one sense does not always  cause a reciprocal gain in some other sense(s), sometimes it does, and this is a terrific example of touch pushed to the edge of human potential.  I am reminded of how historic China used to employ blind people to unwind silk cocoons, capitalizing on a similar sensitivity.

Actress Shirley Temple has passed away.  She gave us some adorable movies, and a terrific cocktail.  She will be missed.

 Here's a discussion about canonical fanfic and noncanonical fanfic.  It matches my observations that privileged people often try to keep the limelight for themselves, while underrepresented folks use fanfic as a way to explore stories that interest them but annoy the mainstream.  This is particularly interesting given the rise of mainstream-released material with major fanfic markers such as shifting time period (Sherlock), genderbending and racebending (double-tap in Elementary), and insertion of original characters (The Hobbit Part 2).

Here's a list of Disney princess superheroes. 

Two of them are feats of epic brilliance: Pocahontas as Captain America (somebody fic this, please) and Mulan as Hawkeye.  

One is pretty good, Snow White as the Hulk.  Although I have to point out, the princess who actually showed extreme personality swings was Rapunzel.  ("Best. Day. Ever!" "I am a despicable human being.")

Two are epic fail.  Jasmine as Iron Man and Belle as Thor are just wrong.  The intellectual Belle is the obvious match for Iron Man.  Thor should go to someone with a physical aspect, for which I think Nala is the best match, but Tarzan's Jane has potential too.

One is insulting, putting the Sultan up as Black Widow.  Way to make fun of the only female on the team.  That position should have gone to a prince who plays on his looks.  Now we have options like Gaston (who is evil), Prince Hans (who actually IS a spy), and Flynn Ryder (an outlaw with a double identity and sexual wiles).

I'm willing to overlook the botches for the sheer fansquee of seeing Pocahontas with that shield.  Fanfare of symbols, ba-dum-KSH!

Begin with Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6.

Here is the conclusion of our Robie House LEGO set project ...

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