I was going to talk about my new years resolutions in this post, as a way of holding myself accountable if I don't manage to stick to them, but as I sat down to write it, I realised the main one is going to be "learn from my mistakes," which isn't really going to fill much space on this here page. So, shamelessly copying taking a leaf out of James Moran's and Paul Cornell's books, I thought I'd post something about things I'd like to try and make happen in 2011. Here goes:
Land a third graphic novel: There were several aborted attempts at this during 2010 that left me wondering if I was only ever destined to write the two I'm working on now (the closest I managed to get is having a pitch sitting in limbo while the artists schedule clears up enough to do some sample pages, and even then I'm wondering if it's actually going to come together, or whether they'll be poached by someone else before it happens). I've got the ideas for a couple of new projects, so I think I'm going to have to push them and try and maybe try and convince some artists that I do actually know what I'm doing, and can get stuff picked up for publication. But, of course, I have to convince myself first...
Get a work-for-hire writing gig: And by that, I mean writing an existing property for an existing publisher, rather than more creator owned work - not that there's anything wrong with creator owned work, but getting financial rewards for something I've written would be nice. The more I think about this one, though, the more unlikely it seems...
Write more prose stuff: Pretty self-explanatory this one. I haven't done much in the way of prose writing of late, and it's something I want to get back to and work on. It's a different set of tools than writing comic scripts, and I want to try and improve and build on whatever skills I may or may not possess. Also, it would be a great help with:
Finish plotting The Novel: Every writer has a novel inside them, apparently. I managed to plot half of mine a while back, but never managed to get the rest of it done. I'd like to try and finish it this year - the plotting, I mean. The writing of it would have to wait until I can gather up enough confidence to try it. So don't hold your breath...
Work on something with Kev Levell: Yeah, this is me being totally shameless, in the vain hope that Kev's actually reading this (hey, this kind of thing's worked before!). Anyone that's familiar with Kev's work can see that he's on the cusp of stardom and if I don't try and grab the opportunity to work with him before the big money offers come rolling up to his front door, I'll never forgive myself. Yes, we've got a Dredd strip lined up for Zarjaz, which I am stupidly excited about, but I'd love to be able to do something with him before he's whisked off to stratospheric levels of fame, and see what kind of magic he'd be able to work. So, Kev, if you are reading this, what do you say? No? OK, then... Worth a try.
Work more with Bryan Coyle: I make no bones about the fact I love working with Bryan; what he brings to the table creatively just constantly blows me away. Whether it's breathing life into a previously written script, or bouncing around ideas at the plotting stage, he just brings it each and every single time. Oh, and he introduced me to this:
To my eternal shame, I still haven't seen Karate Bearfighter, but it's something I plan to rectify this year.
It's been a pleasure to watch Bryan's work change and evolve as he grows as an artist, and he's only going to get better. The talented bastard... If he's not up to his ears in work offers by this time next year, then there's something seriously wrong with the world.
Actually, this is the one thing on my list that seems to have a very good chance of working out; there's a couple of fresh things in the pipeline from us, and, fingers crossed, they'll see the light of day. Yeah, we've got some fresh stuff coming out in 2011, but some of it was actually done last year (and in the case of our Predators contribution, 2009), but I'd love to start a brand new project with him, before he's lost to the professional world.
Lose some weight: The age old chestnut. This, of course, takes discipline and willpower, which I am sorely lacking, so I may fall at the first hurdle on this one, but it's something I have to do for myself. Don't hold your breath.
So, there you go. A very short list of things I'd like to do in 2011. Wish me luck, because I think I'm going to need it...
Land a third graphic novel: There were several aborted attempts at this during 2010 that left me wondering if I was only ever destined to write the two I'm working on now (the closest I managed to get is having a pitch sitting in limbo while the artists schedule clears up enough to do some sample pages, and even then I'm wondering if it's actually going to come together, or whether they'll be poached by someone else before it happens). I've got the ideas for a couple of new projects, so I think I'm going to have to push them and try and maybe try and convince some artists that I do actually know what I'm doing, and can get stuff picked up for publication. But, of course, I have to convince myself first...
Get a work-for-hire writing gig: And by that, I mean writing an existing property for an existing publisher, rather than more creator owned work - not that there's anything wrong with creator owned work, but getting financial rewards for something I've written would be nice. The more I think about this one, though, the more unlikely it seems...
Write more prose stuff: Pretty self-explanatory this one. I haven't done much in the way of prose writing of late, and it's something I want to get back to and work on. It's a different set of tools than writing comic scripts, and I want to try and improve and build on whatever skills I may or may not possess. Also, it would be a great help with:
Finish plotting The Novel: Every writer has a novel inside them, apparently. I managed to plot half of mine a while back, but never managed to get the rest of it done. I'd like to try and finish it this year - the plotting, I mean. The writing of it would have to wait until I can gather up enough confidence to try it. So don't hold your breath...
Work on something with Kev Levell: Yeah, this is me being totally shameless, in the vain hope that Kev's actually reading this (hey, this kind of thing's worked before!). Anyone that's familiar with Kev's work can see that he's on the cusp of stardom and if I don't try and grab the opportunity to work with him before the big money offers come rolling up to his front door, I'll never forgive myself. Yes, we've got a Dredd strip lined up for Zarjaz, which I am stupidly excited about, but I'd love to be able to do something with him before he's whisked off to stratospheric levels of fame, and see what kind of magic he'd be able to work. So, Kev, if you are reading this, what do you say? No? OK, then... Worth a try.
Work more with Bryan Coyle: I make no bones about the fact I love working with Bryan; what he brings to the table creatively just constantly blows me away. Whether it's breathing life into a previously written script, or bouncing around ideas at the plotting stage, he just brings it each and every single time. Oh, and he introduced me to this:
To my eternal shame, I still haven't seen Karate Bearfighter, but it's something I plan to rectify this year.
It's been a pleasure to watch Bryan's work change and evolve as he grows as an artist, and he's only going to get better. The talented bastard... If he's not up to his ears in work offers by this time next year, then there's something seriously wrong with the world.
Actually, this is the one thing on my list that seems to have a very good chance of working out; there's a couple of fresh things in the pipeline from us, and, fingers crossed, they'll see the light of day. Yeah, we've got some fresh stuff coming out in 2011, but some of it was actually done last year (and in the case of our Predators contribution, 2009), but I'd love to start a brand new project with him, before he's lost to the professional world.
Lose some weight: The age old chestnut. This, of course, takes discipline and willpower, which I am sorely lacking, so I may fall at the first hurdle on this one, but it's something I have to do for myself. Don't hold your breath.
So, there you go. A very short list of things I'd like to do in 2011. Wish me luck, because I think I'm going to need it...
Stuff wot I wud like to happen in 2011...
![Stuff wot I wud like to happen in 2011...]()
Reviewed by Unknown
on
11:39 am
Rating:
