Losing Battles, Winning Wars

Well, I only got to sixty-six pages for Script Frenzy this year.  However, the project looks like it will be over one hundred and fifty pages of script in two volumes, at least.
But with over two thirds of this volume written, I am now committed to finishing Bedlam.  Which is just as well, because I’ve really enjoyed it.  Thinking much more visually and considering layout as a narrative tool has been really interesting.
I can slacken off somewhat now, reducing my aim to only a page a day for as long as it takes to get done.  Then it’s a matter of finding an artist.  I have a distinct idea of how I’d like Bedlam to look and, if I find an artist that is interested in the project and has the right style, I can trust the rest to them.
And start the next volume…

Right back at the beginning of April, I did a short interview with Chris Kelworth for his blog.  It’s worth noting that not only has Chris managed to make over two dozen blog posts, but he’s only a page away from “winning” this year, with hours to go.

Radius of Action

After having a fairly rotten cold for two weeks, I’ve not been able to get nearly the page count down I’ve wanted for ScriptFrenzy.

This means that I’m not going to “win” this year.

Which, by extension, means that I’m going out fighting.

I’m sixty-three pages into the script and the die has been cast.  I am going to finish this - most likely in the middle of May- and it has resolved itself into a much clearer project.

What I’m writing now is only going to be volume one of the Knights of Bedlam’s story.  And when that arc is resolved, there is the possibility of looking at what happens with the Knights down the ages.  And a character has appeared who has only so far been lurking in background of notes for other projects and they deserve their own story.

I have the luxury of setting my own deadlines, so nothing is lost on this project.

Ice That Melts The Tips

Bedlam is really underway now.  By tomorrow night, I’ll be a third of the way through.  This bank holiday weekend has really placed me ahead of the curve.

There’s a lot that is not going in to this story now.  I’ve been able to maintain the feeling of an ensemble piece, but it’s really the story of one man.  I’m also beginning to wonder how much of what I’ve got planned will fit in one hundred pages.

This volume will probably end in the Holy Land and I’ll continue on with their journey across Europe in another story.  There are two fairly powerful enemies that they (so far) don’t know that they have who can provide the conflict for that.  And we know for a fact that at least one character is still around in modern times…

A Rational Quotient

The first working week of Script Frenzy is now over.  I’m one fifth of the way into the script and one quarter of the way through my allotted time.  This would bother me more if I didn’t have two whole Mondays allocated to the project later in the month.
As it currently stands, I’ve just played the inciting incident, introduced one (possibly two, depending on your point of view) of the antagonists and started fleshing out the characters.  There are two I want to do more work with, but they’re just about to reach prominence.
Now the story is to begin in earnest…

Wasting another night on planning my revenge

Eight pages in, and almost one tenth of Bedlam has been written.

I wasn’t feeling especially confident last night as it opens with a big single page introducing the main character and a double page spread which introduces everyone else.  I think I got about three pages done.

However, tonight I hit the earmarked “five-a-day” I’ll need to complete the one hundred pages by the 30th of April.  And with two Bank Holidays and a day off work for my birthday, I’m much happier about being able to finish the whole thing in a month.

Going to Bedlam

After another long lapse, I’m back again.

The second draft of Teratogenesis is finished and I know how much writing and rebuilding I want to do on the third draft.  The short answer is: a lot.  I’m essentially allowing a year per draft at this point, considerably more than the 4 months of editing I first thought, but you keep going until it’s right and time is no longer a factor on this project.

But it is on Bedlam.

I’ve decided to try my hand at Script Frenzy this year.  Essentially, it’s NaNoWriMo but for 100 page scripts.  I’m aiming to get around 5 pages of script written per night, which is immensely optimistic, but this is aimed around only writing on “school nights.”  I can see there being huge weekend writing binges…

It’s actually going to be the script for a graphic novel (which, as a term, provokes a whole different debate) or web comic.  This end of things won’t even start until I’ve got a finished script, though, and may never will (if I can’t find the right artist at the right price).

Bedlam is the story of a knightly order sent to re-establish the Bishopric of Bethlehem in the wake of the Sixth Crusade.  History fans will note that they were not entirely successful.  It’s set in the same continuity as my other writing and will serve as something of a prequel to Teratogenesis and the Madison short stories.  There is a whole cosmology at work behind these which I hardly ever get to use, so Bedlam is an excuse to showcase some of this.

If you want to follow me on Script Frenzy, my profile is here.  Expect a few more blog updates as I suddenly become eager to distract myself.

Finally...

It has taken three hundred and seventy-eight days, but I've just completed the second draft of Teratogenesis.

This means I've now got to fill in the missing sections and write the framing story...