I came to the revelation that the reason why the Untitled story is so hard to map out is because I don't care. I like the ending a lot, and I like the beginning a lot. But the in between parts... the protagonist could hand down the shard of the Eternal Brother for generations upon generations so far that the universe would collapse not before the shard was ejected into a wormhole in space so that when the next incarnation of the universe took its infinite breath the shard would reappear and become the meteor that struck our Earth and wiped out the dinosaurs and then I found it one day after a complete retelling of my entire life up until the point where I turn out to be the main character that finishes the story.
Talk about your run-on sentences. But that's what the middle of Untitled feels like. "And then he did this, then this, then that, then this, and this, and then that..." His life will remain the same if he backs down from the story. So why does he do it? Maybe because he feels like he should? What if he feels like a sandwich? Should he stop? The answer is no!
Okay, let me get to the goddamn point already. There is no pressure. There is nothing at stake. The situation is not time sensitive. He can do what he wants when he wants if he wants.
Unfortunately, I don't know how exactly to fix this. But here are some ideas:
1) The demi-goddesses girl with red hair is required by an underworlder who wants to take her place in order to be closer to the Eternal Brother. The protagonists witnesses her capture during the parade that occurs during his return to town in his search for answers about the shard and is compelled to save her.
2) The underworlders raid the parade for specimens of all of the Eternal Brother's creations which they are attempting to fuse together to recreate the Eternal Brother. This can get complicated by a lot of things such as the redhead being a captive, the information that restoring the Eternal Brother will devour the rest of the planet in the process, and the fear that his colleagues from the dig might be involved somehow due to their uncanny discover of a gateway to the underworld and mysterious disappearance.
3) Underworld explorers stumble into town during the parade and cause mass panic. The overworlders begin to mobilize for a "counter-attack" to remove these abominations. The underworlders conversely attempt to teach "forced students" the ways of self transformation. Obviously these worlds cannot be allowed to fully collide and balance must be restored by isolated division or divine unity.
The protagonist has to be forced into action for more reasons than one. It makes for a much better story if you know that he has to do something. It also makes it easier to write a developing character when he is forced into action, or at the very least that the results of acting quickly will differ from the results of taking one's time. The protagonist must be allowed to explore these choices or we will never understand who he is. I will never understand who he is.
I don't create characters. I discover them. I have honestly written things where I was surprised by my characters' actions. This is far from characters acting out of character. Characters are people that live inside your head. You can collect all the paperwork in the world on them, but you'll never really know who they are or what they will do until you watch them. Characters are the children of imagination; the more you tell them what they have to do, the worse they are. The really good ones do it all on their own.
What I'm asking here is for a catalyst to let me understand who this protagonist is. I mean, I don't even know his name!
I want to put him in his world and watch him.
Showing posts with label Untitled. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Untitled. Show all posts
January 3, 2009
January 2, 2009
Untitled Origin
okay, New Years' resolution: contribute to my own fucking blog.
Untitled is the result of a dream i had about a month ago. it's strange; i hardly ever dream, and you're damn sure i never remember if i do. so the fact that i remember this, and that it was so unique, inspired this new goin-nowhere-fast project. here is what i can recall:
started out with me at an archaeological dig headed by Alex and Nik (his older brother) the dig was located in an almost endless plains-land of thick, dry grass. in the corner of the digsite, under a tree, there was a tree with a few crumbled statues underneath it. one, a half broken man with a shield had a splinter of wood cluthced in his hand, and i took it. Nik set up a tarp over the statues because the sunlight had broken through the very overcast sky and was shining on the statues. as he put up the tarp, the sun shone through it, unaffected. at this moment, from over the hills to the south, came a group of creatures that looked like a cross between a turtle and a beetle and wouldn't have looked out of place in a Zelda game. the archaeologists took to their crossbows (as was the norm in such a situation i suppose), and let fly their arrows. after the turbeetles were defeated, i was advised to take the splinter to the nearest town. as i ran over the hills in the east, Alex uncovered a large tooth roughly three feet long.
the town was small: a bar on stilts (as the town was nestled in the hills, next to a river), a watermill, and a cemetary. clearly the only logical thing to do at this point was to get a drink, so i went in the pub. the barmaid, with her flowing red hair, recognized the splinter, and took me to the cemetary. turns out, she was a ... i suppose the best way to describe her was a Demi-god. the only way she could explain to me the significance of the splinter (and subsequently the history of the universe) was not through an elaborate story (i guess my brain would have exploded), but through feeling. i had to know what she needed to tell me. and that meant sex in the graveyard!
the splinter was all that remained of the creator of the world. he had floated out in space and created the world, and everything in it, from his clay flesh. when he was done, there enough left of him to walk amoungst the people. after the sorrow of outliving his children, he turned into a tree to watch over his world. over time, he was forgotten, and cut down. all that remained was the splinter.
as i arrived back at the dig, i saw that everyone had vanished into the ground. all that remained was the jawbone of an enormous fanged creature which served as the entrance to the underworld.
and so i woke up. god damn.
so this is the basis of Untitled. we're really working throught the creation and way the world is rather than characters at this point (probably cos it was me in the dream) and that given what we know in the project, the myth is the best bit.
so stay tuned for updates and drawings (will update with a map, the splinter, the statues, and the dig). they are coming.
Untitled is the result of a dream i had about a month ago. it's strange; i hardly ever dream, and you're damn sure i never remember if i do. so the fact that i remember this, and that it was so unique, inspired this new goin-nowhere-fast project. here is what i can recall:
started out with me at an archaeological dig headed by Alex and Nik (his older brother) the dig was located in an almost endless plains-land of thick, dry grass. in the corner of the digsite, under a tree, there was a tree with a few crumbled statues underneath it. one, a half broken man with a shield had a splinter of wood cluthced in his hand, and i took it. Nik set up a tarp over the statues because the sunlight had broken through the very overcast sky and was shining on the statues. as he put up the tarp, the sun shone through it, unaffected. at this moment, from over the hills to the south, came a group of creatures that looked like a cross between a turtle and a beetle and wouldn't have looked out of place in a Zelda game. the archaeologists took to their crossbows (as was the norm in such a situation i suppose), and let fly their arrows. after the turbeetles were defeated, i was advised to take the splinter to the nearest town. as i ran over the hills in the east, Alex uncovered a large tooth roughly three feet long.
the town was small: a bar on stilts (as the town was nestled in the hills, next to a river), a watermill, and a cemetary. clearly the only logical thing to do at this point was to get a drink, so i went in the pub. the barmaid, with her flowing red hair, recognized the splinter, and took me to the cemetary. turns out, she was a ... i suppose the best way to describe her was a Demi-god. the only way she could explain to me the significance of the splinter (and subsequently the history of the universe) was not through an elaborate story (i guess my brain would have exploded), but through feeling. i had to know what she needed to tell me. and that meant sex in the graveyard!
the splinter was all that remained of the creator of the world. he had floated out in space and created the world, and everything in it, from his clay flesh. when he was done, there enough left of him to walk amoungst the people. after the sorrow of outliving his children, he turned into a tree to watch over his world. over time, he was forgotten, and cut down. all that remained was the splinter.
as i arrived back at the dig, i saw that everyone had vanished into the ground. all that remained was the jawbone of an enormous fanged creature which served as the entrance to the underworld.
and so i woke up. god damn.
so this is the basis of Untitled. we're really working throught the creation and way the world is rather than characters at this point (probably cos it was me in the dream) and that given what we know in the project, the myth is the best bit.
so stay tuned for updates and drawings (will update with a map, the splinter, the statues, and the dig). they are coming.
December 30, 2008
The Ìkaron Seed
From the Latin Ìkaros, better known as Icarus.
Often times in life we will experience something once, something grand and magnificent, that we will never experience again. Not because it does not exist, but because it is no longer available to us. For example, driving someone else's car with heated seats in the dead of winter is enjoyable, but then you return to driving your own car that only manages to heat up by the time you reach your destination. One might say you would be better off not having experienced the luxury of heated seats in the first place. But the feeling isn't congruent with that logic. Rather, you find yourself longing for heated seats and cursing the worthlessness of your unheated seats. Something that once was an annoyance (in this case, a cold bum) is now a cause of frustration.
All metaphors aside, I see this concept in Untitled. The seed grows in a man who comes to know the Eternal Brother, or perhaps one of the many angels. (Side note. Angels the wives of the Eternal Brother; the mothers of the First Sons whose deaths caused the Eternal Brother to return to the Earth? Might get a little weird with the "expressive storytelling" later. A matter to discuss.) So, a man receives the Ìkaron Seed and begins to separate from the world. First he seeks comfort in his fellow man, but grows weary of their insignificance and of their impurity. The man escapes civilization and attempts to surround himself in pure, untainted earth, be this in caves or forests or even the unending oceans. But the man cannot escape civilization; it exists in him. So the man finally attempts to separate himself from the World; transcending to a place not known to the world. The World itself reaches a twisting spire of earth skyward after the transcendent man. Civilized man knows only stories of these remote spires, and knows less about what lies at the top of them.
Men can only see the physical result of the Ìkaron Seed. They see their sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, parents and grandparents afflicted with this seed abandon all earthly relations never to be seen again. The Ìkaron Seed is seen as a terrible curse by many in civilized society. They understand the effects to be the afflicted's desire to escape civil duties.
Perhaps the Ìkaron Seed refers to the name of the Eternal Brother, possibly one of many. For it would make sense that one who stands before Ìkaron might be infected with his seed.
That's all for now. We had better start laying some solid story out of these assets.
Often times in life we will experience something once, something grand and magnificent, that we will never experience again. Not because it does not exist, but because it is no longer available to us. For example, driving someone else's car with heated seats in the dead of winter is enjoyable, but then you return to driving your own car that only manages to heat up by the time you reach your destination. One might say you would be better off not having experienced the luxury of heated seats in the first place. But the feeling isn't congruent with that logic. Rather, you find yourself longing for heated seats and cursing the worthlessness of your unheated seats. Something that once was an annoyance (in this case, a cold bum) is now a cause of frustration.
All metaphors aside, I see this concept in Untitled. The seed grows in a man who comes to know the Eternal Brother, or perhaps one of the many angels. (Side note. Angels the wives of the Eternal Brother; the mothers of the First Sons whose deaths caused the Eternal Brother to return to the Earth? Might get a little weird with the "expressive storytelling" later. A matter to discuss.) So, a man receives the Ìkaron Seed and begins to separate from the world. First he seeks comfort in his fellow man, but grows weary of their insignificance and of their impurity. The man escapes civilization and attempts to surround himself in pure, untainted earth, be this in caves or forests or even the unending oceans. But the man cannot escape civilization; it exists in him. So the man finally attempts to separate himself from the World; transcending to a place not known to the world. The World itself reaches a twisting spire of earth skyward after the transcendent man. Civilized man knows only stories of these remote spires, and knows less about what lies at the top of them.
Men can only see the physical result of the Ìkaron Seed. They see their sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, parents and grandparents afflicted with this seed abandon all earthly relations never to be seen again. The Ìkaron Seed is seen as a terrible curse by many in civilized society. They understand the effects to be the afflicted's desire to escape civil duties.
Perhaps the Ìkaron Seed refers to the name of the Eternal Brother, possibly one of many. For it would make sense that one who stands before Ìkaron might be infected with his seed.
That's all for now. We had better start laying some solid story out of these assets.
December 29, 2008
He created the World of his flesh...
The text reads:"He created the Earth of his flesh; the rocks ans stones of his body, the rivers and oceans of his blood, and finally the air of his very breath. He then created all manners of life, grand and small, of plants and beasts and men. He breathed life into all that was created.
Satisfied, he turned to rest, and the world turned with him. All that he created slept sound that very first night.
Upon day, the world awoke and so did he. All that was left of him was the weight of a man. So he awoke and walked amongst all that he created; not God, the Lord, or Heavenly Father, but the Eternal Brother of Man.
For many years he walked amongst the people he had created. But a great sorrow grew inside him as he began to outlive his children.
That which he created, he was not. For a thousand days he stood unmoved, arms stretched out to the sun. Many thought he longed for that which he did not create. He returned to the Earth, whole once again."
I'll be honest. After re-reading it, I don't like it. It kinda flows like cinder blocks out of a cement mixer. I'm going to work at it.
Things I do like: "Eternal Brother of Man" and that he becomes a tree and some people take this as a sign of him longing to escape the world he created.
Hopefully I'll have a better draft up soon. I'm seeing something like this as backstory text rather than actual scripture.
December 27, 2008
Untitled
A page from my sketchbook.
I really need to not draw things like this right before I go to bed. I don't know how I'll sleep. E.T. scares the shit out of me.
I really need to not draw things like this right before I go to bed. I don't know how I'll sleep. E.T. scares the shit out of me.
December 15, 2008
Okay, okay, business
Okay, so I read Hellboy the other day and it came across as a very real story for several reasons. These reasons I think each apply to one, if not more, of our projects.
Hellboy is not an extreme character. He is rational, but gets mad. But getting mad doesn't mean he loses all rational thought. Part of his brain is always thinking. Untitled needs this kind of middle ground character. Not pathetic, not God, not painfully average, not a prophecy... a protagonist that you actually like right from the get-go.
The story integrates and manipulates history. In fact, a grade school education would supply you with all the historical knowledge you need to follow what they allude to. Things aren't stated unless the story wouldn't make sense without it. In other words, being clever isn't overt. I think that's what I need to focus on when I write FbfM. Yeah, I've thought everything out, but I don't need to explain everything in detail, so long as everything is consistent.
Finally, Hellboy is the protagonist, but you love and appreciate Liz and Abe. They're all important, powerful, capable, and useful in their own ways. The protagonist just happens to be Hellboy. These secontagonists, or possibly cotagonists, are exactly what Untitled needs. Like this guy: The man with the long sided face.
So there are just a few things I noticed that I want to make sure we do. Also, I want to doodle more. This little guy is pretty fun.
Oh, also, I totally made up the words "secontagonist" and "cotagonist," although I think "cotagonist" should actually be a word... "Contagonist" is a word (sort of), but you heard it here first!
Cotagonist, (noun), \kō-ˈta-gə-nist\ - A character that is of equal importance to a story, but is not the protagonist.
Hellboy is not an extreme character. He is rational, but gets mad. But getting mad doesn't mean he loses all rational thought. Part of his brain is always thinking. Untitled needs this kind of middle ground character. Not pathetic, not God, not painfully average, not a prophecy... a protagonist that you actually like right from the get-go.
The story integrates and manipulates history. In fact, a grade school education would supply you with all the historical knowledge you need to follow what they allude to. Things aren't stated unless the story wouldn't make sense without it. In other words, being clever isn't overt. I think that's what I need to focus on when I write FbfM. Yeah, I've thought everything out, but I don't need to explain everything in detail, so long as everything is consistent.
Finally, Hellboy is the protagonist, but you love and appreciate Liz and Abe. They're all important, powerful, capable, and useful in their own ways. The protagonist just happens to be Hellboy. These secontagonists, or possibly cotagonists, are exactly what Untitled needs. Like this guy: The man with the long sided face.
So there are just a few things I noticed that I want to make sure we do. Also, I want to doodle more. This little guy is pretty fun.
Oh, also, I totally made up the words "secontagonist" and "cotagonist," although I think "cotagonist" should actually be a word... "Contagonist" is a word (sort of), but you heard it here first!
Cotagonist, (noun), \kō-ˈta-gə-nist\ - A character that is of equal importance to a story, but is not the protagonist.
December 13, 2008
Official News I
The Projects:
The Company, if you can call it that, feels it necessary to divulge some information about our projects to you, our non-existent audience; rather than complain about the lack of climbing for a change.
Thom and Alex met in late 2002 and have been working on numerous writing projects since mid 2003. A few of these were somewhat short-lived, but many aspects of these evolved into larger, more large, and extremely larger large projects.
Two days ago, the executives met about the current state of The Projects and have concluded the following:
Chronicles (volumes I – V)
Vectorevolution’s oldest project. A series of five dealing with the nature of friendship and the strain that time travel has on that bond. Currently, the first three volumes (Déjà Vu, Vhere's ze Dänger, and Vous N’étiez Jamais Aussi Futé; respectively) are written with the fourth script’s plot detailed. Currently, the first two scripts are deemed unworthy of the respect the company gives them; they are the oldest and despite having been subjected to numerous re-writes, they still reflect the style and humour Thom and Alex shared over five years ago. Chronicles currently sits on the backburners simply because the writers feel too pressured to be hilarious with every other line of dialogue and the fact that CI and CII need a screenplay’s equivalent of brain surgery.
Fireballs from Mercury
This is a project that has recently taken up the mantle of Thom’s oldest creative endeavour; FbfM was conceived sometime in 1996. This series is about the relationships that people have and how they change when an outsider begins to live with them. In space. Originally set as a space-comedy, FbfM has evolved into more of a space drama. The Company feels that the problem with Fireballs, again, is the restraints that the writers have placed on the project: it’s serious, it’s romantic, it’s funny, and it’s not going anywhere fast right now. Vectorevolution regrets to inform you that Fireballs from Mercury is sitting next to Chronicles on the backburner due to an extensive case of space-writer’s-block.
Remorse
This is the as “normal” as Vectorevolution gets. This project deals with the nature of romantic relationships and whether to sacrifice... wait no, that’s not right. This project deals with the strain a romantic entanglement puts on established relationships with... hold on, that’s not it. This project deals with romance and stuff. This project has actually been on the backburner since late 2005 simply because we feel that there is nothing more to add to the project and even if there was, we do not feel competent enough to complete it simply because we feel that it has to be that damn good. This is what the industry refers to as “development hell.”
[Untitled Fantasy Project]
This newest project has only surfaced in the past week, and deals with Old Gods that created the world only to have people lose faith in them, and sight of their humanity. We feel that it needs to exist in a very contained environment (as in no ludicrous amount of scripts, plots, and/or spin-offs) and scarily enough this will be the first project that does not include an overlapping character. Rather than putting restrictions on this project, the writers (and artists in this case) are going to... what’s the phrase? Go bat-shit crazy with the artistic and creative direction of the project. This is not a romance; this is not a space-drama; this is not a comedy. This is a new direction for the creative minds at Vectorevolution, and we are very, very excited.
So, we hope that this information session has sparked some interest in our projects and the nature of the Company, and we promise to actually get something done real soon. We promise. No, really.
VR out.
The Company, if you can call it that, feels it necessary to divulge some information about our projects to you, our non-existent audience; rather than complain about the lack of climbing for a change.
Thom and Alex met in late 2002 and have been working on numerous writing projects since mid 2003. A few of these were somewhat short-lived, but many aspects of these evolved into larger, more large, and extremely larger large projects.
Two days ago, the executives met about the current state of The Projects and have concluded the following:
Chronicles (volumes I – V)
Vectorevolution’s oldest project. A series of five dealing with the nature of friendship and the strain that time travel has on that bond. Currently, the first three volumes (Déjà Vu, Vhere's ze Dänger, and Vous N’étiez Jamais Aussi Futé; respectively) are written with the fourth script’s plot detailed. Currently, the first two scripts are deemed unworthy of the respect the company gives them; they are the oldest and despite having been subjected to numerous re-writes, they still reflect the style and humour Thom and Alex shared over five years ago. Chronicles currently sits on the backburners simply because the writers feel too pressured to be hilarious with every other line of dialogue and the fact that CI and CII need a screenplay’s equivalent of brain surgery.
Fireballs from Mercury
This is a project that has recently taken up the mantle of Thom’s oldest creative endeavour; FbfM was conceived sometime in 1996. This series is about the relationships that people have and how they change when an outsider begins to live with them. In space. Originally set as a space-comedy, FbfM has evolved into more of a space drama. The Company feels that the problem with Fireballs, again, is the restraints that the writers have placed on the project: it’s serious, it’s romantic, it’s funny, and it’s not going anywhere fast right now. Vectorevolution regrets to inform you that Fireballs from Mercury is sitting next to Chronicles on the backburner due to an extensive case of space-writer’s-block.
Remorse
This is the as “normal” as Vectorevolution gets. This project deals with the nature of romantic relationships and whether to sacrifice... wait no, that’s not right. This project deals with the strain a romantic entanglement puts on established relationships with... hold on, that’s not it. This project deals with romance and stuff. This project has actually been on the backburner since late 2005 simply because we feel that there is nothing more to add to the project and even if there was, we do not feel competent enough to complete it simply because we feel that it has to be that damn good. This is what the industry refers to as “development hell.”
[Untitled Fantasy Project]
This newest project has only surfaced in the past week, and deals with Old Gods that created the world only to have people lose faith in them, and sight of their humanity. We feel that it needs to exist in a very contained environment (as in no ludicrous amount of scripts, plots, and/or spin-offs) and scarily enough this will be the first project that does not include an overlapping character. Rather than putting restrictions on this project, the writers (and artists in this case) are going to... what’s the phrase? Go bat-shit crazy with the artistic and creative direction of the project. This is not a romance; this is not a space-drama; this is not a comedy. This is a new direction for the creative minds at Vectorevolution, and we are very, very excited.
So, we hope that this information session has sparked some interest in our projects and the nature of the Company, and we promise to actually get something done real soon. We promise. No, really.
VR out.
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