Well everyone, here we are. The last day of May. There were two big changes this month. My blog stories and my art. I know that I've been flaky about my updates in the past. But I do believe that I have figured it out, as evidenced by these recent updates.
The turning point was when it was pointed out to me that I posted more creative things on my facebook page more often. I realized that I had to stop making things perfect and just go for it. That is how the teeny tiny blog stories began.
My "Blog Stories" are not easy for me to write. But I have been working on the system. 1) I start with a limited piece of paper, be it a sheet, the back of a menu, or the back of a receipt. 2) I think of a hook, one twist and an ending. The ending usually ends up being the twist, so often I just start with the hook and an ending. 3) I only allow myself one edit.* This edit is when I type up the story. 4) I post it.
*From an early age I learned that things could always be better. While true, I feel this has held me back from posting, because I never feel something is finished
The turning point was when it was pointed out to me that I posted more creative things on my facebook page more often. I realized that I had to stop making things perfect and just go for it. That is how the teeny tiny blog stories began.
My "Blog Stories" are not easy for me to write. But I have been working on the system. 1) I start with a limited piece of paper, be it a sheet, the back of a menu, or the back of a receipt. 2) I think of a hook, one twist and an ending. The ending usually ends up being the twist, so often I just start with the hook and an ending. 3) I only allow myself one edit.* This edit is when I type up the story. 4) I post it.
*From an early age I learned that things could always be better. While true, I feel this has held me back from posting, because I never feel something is finished
I'm not really sure I'm going to revisit my Blog Stories. Lengthening them sort of defeats their purpose and I have several long stories in the work I'd rather work on. There has been a lot of interest in a continuation of Prince Charming's Daughter. While I have considered it (to the point that I have named the princess and her rival) I see two problems with it.
The first is simply time, a continuation means a longer story means more complex characters. I don't feel I have the time (or maybe just skill for now) to explore their characters in such a short time. They are about, what, three paragraphs? With a length like that, I don't have time for the details.
The second problem is more of a personal one. It's something that I noticed about the story and something that my mother noticed. "It would be good in a magazine for fathers." If you view the story from a father's point of view, or from a teaching point of view, the message is clear. You can't protect your child from all of the evils in the world. You can't protect her from the men (or women). You can just teach her to protect herself. Though I noticed the relevance to fathers; it took my mother's notice for me to realize how applicable the story was to the real world. Any follow up would focus on the daughter, and even if it's entertaining, I don't think it will have the strength of the first. Even if readers are okay with that, if I'm not satisfied, I probably won't do anything with it.
The other big moment of the month was, of course, the art. I've been illustrating my work with Artist Trading Cards. I have made around 103 to date. They take me a lot less time than other pictures but look beautiful, so I realized that they were perfect for my illustrations. Most of them I already had done before I even started this website. I made a few specifically for the site, like the one for the Crestwood Chronicles and the Snow Demon's Daughter.
I will do another post on Artist Trading Cards in the near future.
Now, the Excelsior script is due tomorrow. And I have about 5 two page scenes to go, plus some serious editing. Wish me luck!
The first is simply time, a continuation means a longer story means more complex characters. I don't feel I have the time (or maybe just skill for now) to explore their characters in such a short time. They are about, what, three paragraphs? With a length like that, I don't have time for the details.
The second problem is more of a personal one. It's something that I noticed about the story and something that my mother noticed. "It would be good in a magazine for fathers." If you view the story from a father's point of view, or from a teaching point of view, the message is clear. You can't protect your child from all of the evils in the world. You can't protect her from the men (or women). You can just teach her to protect herself. Though I noticed the relevance to fathers; it took my mother's notice for me to realize how applicable the story was to the real world. Any follow up would focus on the daughter, and even if it's entertaining, I don't think it will have the strength of the first. Even if readers are okay with that, if I'm not satisfied, I probably won't do anything with it.
The other big moment of the month was, of course, the art. I've been illustrating my work with Artist Trading Cards. I have made around 103 to date. They take me a lot less time than other pictures but look beautiful, so I realized that they were perfect for my illustrations. Most of them I already had done before I even started this website. I made a few specifically for the site, like the one for the Crestwood Chronicles and the Snow Demon's Daughter.
I will do another post on Artist Trading Cards in the near future.
Now, the Excelsior script is due tomorrow. And I have about 5 two page scenes to go, plus some serious editing. Wish me luck!
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