Jason Franks's Blog, page 40

Ideas and The Sixsmiths

 
J. Marc Schmidt has written an essay, over on his blog, about where ideas come from, and he talks in particular about The Sixsmiths. Here's my take:

Ideas come from everywhere. There's no shortage of them. For me I find stories everywhere: in the news, in history, in music; at the beach, on the train; in the dictionary, in my dreams. I feel like a bit of a tool for saying it, but I have, in fact,published a couple of stories that I 'found' most of in dreams. I also find a lot of inspiration while consuming other people's stories.

I'm one of those irritating people who can usually guess the end of a movie or a book. It's one reason that I am not particularly fond of mysteries: either they're too easy, or they pull a twist ending out of their arses. I'm a software engineer; deductive logic is the major part of my day job and I'm quite good at it. Plots have a logic, characters have a logic. Good stories are built as much on logic as on whimsy.

Also, in my day job as a software wonk, I need to examine logic and try to extrapolate what it might do under different circumstances: how it might go wrong, or at the very least, weird.  This, I think, you can see in most of my work, which is often about how genre tropes, presented in a certain way or exposed to a particular kind of character, can lead to surprising story conclusions. This is very much the case with The Sixsmiths.

As Marc describes, we came up with the concept sitting in the coffee shop at Borders Camberwell one year when Marc was visiting Melbourne. That Borders has just closed down, part of the first wave of closings that will soon see all of Borders Australia gone, barring perhaps the (unreliable, lying and conniving) web sales department. Marc said "Let's do a graphic novel." We'd already planned and plotted one a few years prior, but I guess Marc fell out of love with the concept and we were starting afresh. Marc drew a character in his sketchbook, and I  could immediately tell that he had stories in him. That scribble became Cain Sixsmith. I don't think the design changed one iota. "Let's do a thing about a family of Satanists with troubles," I  said. Marc did some more sketches and I think, by the end of the session, we had Melmoth down as well. Over the next few days we came up with the look of the other characters:  Annie was all Marc's; I suggested that Lilith would have  the white streak.  For Ralf we returned to Borders and tried to cast him from the people who were sitting around us. In many cases it was Marc's depictions of the characters that suggested to me how they would act and feel.

Marc and I had earlier worked together on some short stories and the webcomic, Nannah Laveaux, which is about a suburban witch who solves the sort of problems that the Sixsmiths encounter. This was very much a precursor idea, and we actually did a bit of a crossover strip on the Sixsmiths site Nannah herself does not appear in the story, but the coven that moves into the neighbourhood show up to defeat Annie and her friends in a croquet tournament. As Marc observes, Nannah was a quite flawed in execution. We had some good stories, but putting the lettering below the captions was a mistake. Still, it was the first time I saw a webcomic that was intended to run in 'seasons' and I still don't know of many that are formatted explicitly for the computer screen: landscape orientation, no scrolling, fixed grids. At the time we started, all of the popular webstrips were in the format of newspaper strips, or traditional comics pages.

Marc mentions that I am a big metal fan, and the book is indeed peppered with references to the genre. More of the American classic metal variety than Scandinavian Black Metal, it must be said: I like Black Metal, but it's pretty grim, and the Sixsmiths is a comedy book. But the Sixsmiths isn't really 'metal', at the end of the day… it's the blues. It's not the Addams Family; its the Simpsons and South Park.

Marc's also quite accurate when he mentions that I have a strange obsession with the Devil–not news to ay of my regular readers, I'm sure. I do think that villains are the most interesting characters: in most popular fiction they seize the initiative and trigger the action. They're creative and proactive and usually quite competent. The Devil is the ultimate villain, and he appears frequently in my work–although he is noticeably absent from The Sixsmiths. 

So there you have it: a case study on where ideas come from and how they can develop into a full length book. Marc says that coming up with ideas is fun, and easy, and you should give it a try. I myself cannot imagine why you would need somebody like me or Marc to encourage you: if you want to write, you should be writing. If you're not writing you don't really want to write, you only think you do. And if you think you can just go and meet the Devil at the crossroads and he'll teach you how, same as bluesman Robert Johnson is supposed to have? Well… think again, friends.

The Devil won't treat with you if you don't already play.

– JF
 

Ideas and The Sixsmiths

 
J. Marc Schmidt has written an essay, over on his blog, about where ideas come from, and he talks in particular about The Sixsmiths. Here's my take:Ideas come from everywhere. There's no shortage of them. For me I find stories everywhere: in the news, in history, in music; at the beach, on the train; in the dictionary, in my dreams. I feel like a bit of a tool for saying it, but I have, in fact,published a couple of stories that I 'found' most of in dreams. I also find a lot of inspiration while consuming other people's stories.

I'm one of those irritating people who can usually guess the end of a movie or a book. It's one reason that I am not particularly fond of mysteries: either they're too easy, or they pull a twist ending out of their arses. I'm a software engineer; deductive logic is the major part of my day job and I'm quite good at it. Plots have a logic, characters have a logic. Good stories are built as much on logic as on whimsy.

Also, in my day job as a software wonk, I need to examine logic and try to extrapolate what it might do under different circumstances: how it might go wrong, or at the very least, weird.  This, I think, you can see in most of my work, which is often about how genre tropes, presented in a certain way or exposed to a particular kind of character, can lead to surprising story conclusions. This is very much the case with The Sixsmiths.

As Marc describes, we came up with the concept sitting in the coffee shop at Borders Camberwell one year when Marc was visiting Melbourne. That Borders has just closed down, part of the first wave of closings that will soon see all of Borders Australia gone, barring perhaps the (unreliable, lying and conniving) web sales department. Marc said "Let's do a graphic novel." We'd already planned and plotted one a few years prior, but I guess Marc fell out of love with the concept and we were starting afresh. Marc drew a character in his sketchbook, and I  could immediately tell that he had stories in him. That scribble became Cain Sixsmith. I don't think the design changed one iota. "Let's do a thing about a family of Satanists with troubles," I  said. Marc did some more sketches and I think, by the end of the session, we had Melmoth down as well. Over the next few days we came up with the look of the other characters:  Annie was all Marc's; I suggested that Lilith would have  the white streak.  For Ralf we returned to Borders and tried to cast him from the people who were sitting around us. In many cases it was Marc's depictions of the characters that suggested to me how they would act and feel.

Marc and I had earlier worked together on some short stories and the webcomic, Nannah Laveaux, which is about a suburban witch who solves the sort of problems that the Sixsmiths encounter. This was very much a precursor idea, and we actually did a bit of a crossover strip on the Sixsmiths site Nannah herself does not appear in the story, but the coven that moves into the neighbourhood show up to defeat Annie and her friends in a croquet tournament. As Marc observes, Nannah was a quite flawed in execution. We had some good stories, but putting the lettering below the captions was a mistake. Still, it was the first time I saw a webcomic that was intended to run in 'seasons' and I still don't know of many that are formatted explicitly for the computer screen: landscape orientation, no scrolling, fixed grids. At the time we started, all of the popular webstrips were in the format of newspaper strips, or traditional comics pages.

Marc mentions that I am a big metal fan, and the book is indeed peppered with references to the genre. More of the American classic metal variety than Scandinavian Black Metal, it must be said: I like Black Metal, but it's pretty grim, and the Sixsmiths is a comedy book. But the Sixsmiths isn't really 'metal', at the end of the day... it's the blues. It's not the Addams Family; its the Simpsons and South Park.

Marc's also quite accurate when he mentions that I have a strange obsession with the Devil--not news to ay of my regular readers, I'm sure. I do think that villains are the most interesting characters: in most popular fiction they seize the initiative and trigger the action. They're creative and proactive and usually quite competent. The Devil is the ultimate villain, and he appears frequently in my work--although he is noticeably absent from The Sixsmiths. 

So there you have it: a case study on where ideas come from and how they can develop into a full length book. Marc says that coming up with ideas is fun, and easy, and you should give it a try. I myself cannot imagine why you would need somebody like me or Marc to encourage you: if you want to write, you should be writing. If you're not writing you don't really want to write, you only think you do. And if you think you can just go and meet the Devil at the crossroads and he'll teach you how, same as bluesman Robert Johnson is supposed to have? Well... think again, friends.

The Devil won't treat with you if you don't already play.

-- JF
 

The Wolf Letters

My friend Will Schaefer's debut novel, THE WOLF LETTERS, just came out, and you should check it out.

When a small artefact--a broach in the shape of a wolf, carved from jet--that goes missing from an English university in mysterious circumstances, George Hay, a PhD student who is particularly handy with his fists, is asked to assist the police in locating it. Soon, however, people start dying and Hay finds himself in over his head and on the run, looking for a way to stop an evil he doesn't properly believe in, much less understand. A series of 8th century missives between an English bishop and a warrior-turned-missionary monk are his best clues, but the longer he spends chasing down the letters the more people are murdered and the more remote his chances of locating the jet wolf. 

www.thewolfletters.com

Will Schaefer takes us on an epic journey that alternates between 1930s Britain and 8th century Europe, handling both periods and locations with assurance and vigour. Schaefer's meticulous research permeates the book, but he never allows the story to become bogged down with dry facts--this is a thrilling, fast-paced read full of realistic, bone-crunching action, dripping with atmosphere and wit.

The books is out now from Hybrid Publishers, and you should be able to find it in most Australian bookstores. It's also available for Kindle from amazon.co.uk. Don't miss it.

10 Year Anniversary

 
It's just over 10 years, now, since I sold my first short story.

It's been a rocky road since then. A couple years after that  I started splitting my attention between prose and comics, and, while perhaps that was a mistake, I think I've been making progress on both fronts. Not as much as I would like, but progress nonetheless. I hope this will continue; I hope this will become a proper career for me and that I will be able to make a living writing full time... but at this point I still don't know if or when that will be possible. The world of publishing is in a massive state of flux and who knows what will happen next? Certainly not me. All I can do is to keep working. 

I was told this years ago, but I'm only now starting to appreciate how much of this job is in the hustle: the work by itself is not enough. You have to wheel and deal and hype and sell, and you just have to accept that people you work with will be unfair, unreliable, disreputable, distemperate, recalcitrant, reluctant...  Shit just isn't going to go your way most of the time. Like in real life, some people get lucky, but the rest of us have to work for it. One thing I have going for me: I have never been afraid of hard work.

My career (as it were) has been characterized by a lack of focus. I take on too many projects and it takes too long for me to complete them all. Over the last couple of years I have been concentrating on improving that, trying to narrow my workload down and avoiding starting big new projects--with limited success. I have had a pretty big output over the last couple of years but a lot of it has been in the pipeline for a long time. I don't want to abandon good projects but scheduling them around a real life and travel has been tough. I do still believe that it's desirable and necessary to have a number of projects underway at once--it keeps me productive--but I need to keep that number to a manageable level and I believe that will happen this year. Bloody Waters is done and being prepared for release. Faerie Apocalypse will be completed soon. After that it's new work, baby. The other projects I have underway are small (well, except for XDA Zai, but there is a lot of 'new work' still to be done on that one, too).

What else has changed?I guess my approach is the same, which is to say that I don't have a particular method for writing all of my stories or scripts. Sometimes I start on page 1. Sometimes I write bits and pieces and then later work out how to glue them together. Sometimes I outline everything before I start 'writing'. Sometimes I just write dialogue and then build everything around it. One thing I have certainly learned is that the real craft is in the cutting. I've never been afraid of putting words on the page; I've never lacked for ideas... but it's taken a long time for me to learn to enjoy swinging the scythe and letting the bodies fall where they may. Writing the first draft is still far and away my favourite part of the process. That's when I feel powerful. The rest is just work. 

Ten years ago I was very very interested in sucking up information about the craft of writing. Books, classes, workshops, discussion groups... now I don't do any of that. Not because I believe that I've learned all there is to know, but because I feel that I have proven my competence as a writer (most days) and that I need to spend my time writing, rather than talking about writing. You learn by doing. I do miss those workshops, but I just don't have the time anymore. Perhaps next year.

I have never been attracted to the 'lifestyle' of a writer. Coffee shops and berets and awards ceremonies... I do not give a rat's arse. I do, of course, want recognition from my peers... but mainly I care about writing good stories and getting them in front of readers. That's all I've ever really wanted to do, and I'm going to keep doing it until somebody finds a way to stop me.

Well, come on, then, if you think you're hard enough.

-- JF

My Pretty Rose Tree

Luke Pickett has posted a piece that we did for KAGEMONO: FLOWERS AND SKULLS on his website. This version, unlike the one in Kagemono, is in full colour.

The story is "My Pretty Rose Tree"-- based, obviously, on the William Blake poem.  Luke's posting quickly drew attention from some of the lovely Blake-a-holics. you can view the story here. Check it out, it's free and all, and Blake is Great Literature.

This is not the first time I've sourced Blake in my work--his writing and his art have both been huge inspirations to me since I was in high school. Sixsmiths readers will observe that the graphic novel closes with a quote from Blake's Satanic Proverbs.

-- JF

A MIND OF LOVE by Bruce Mutard

 
I've spoken before about Bruce Mutard's work, THE SACRIFICE and THE SILENCE. Bruce is, without question, one of Australia's most important creators of original, literary graphic fiction.


Bruce started out in comics by self-publishing  the indie series STREET SMELL, which included the start of a serialized graphic novel called LOVE TO KNOW YOU. Although Bruce has moved on to bigger and better things since then, he has periodically returned to this story and now, thanks to Black House Comics, it's complete and available, with the earlier chapters remastered. Now titled A MIND OF LOVE, this is not just a compelling story but it's also a document if Bruce's development from a highly talented amateur to a top flight professional. 


I'd say more about it, but I already wrote the introduction for the book, and I can find no better way of praising it than that.

We launched this book at the Big Arse launch back in February and it outsold every other book we had for sale. I have been waiting ever since for it to appear for sale online before writing this post, and now it's here! A beautiful package and an absolute steal at $20.00 AUD from Blackboox.net.
 
http://www.blackboox.net/products/A-Mind-of-Love.html
-- JF

Moratorium

Folks,

I've been watching a bunch of horror movies lately and I think it's time to call a moratorium on certain tropes. Most horror films (and books and TV shows)  made over the last forty years employ at least one, and usually several of the following set pieces, and now they just make me groan.  

1/ The Cat Scare
You know the scene, which I think was probably invented by Ridley Scott in ALIEN. A character is alone and some dim environment. They're scared, they know the monster is close. They're searching, searching, the music builds... suddenly, a screech and, probably, a jump cut! Aaaagh!

No, wait, sorry,no monster--it was only a surprised cat. See, now, Ridley Scott made Jonesy the cat a character (he even has a name) and the scare was actually a payoff, and was paid of again  later in the film. Every fuckin' movie since then? Well, they just have a random startled cat. Even though there's no setup, by this point you can see it coming from a mile away. I admit, I did once in real life happen get startled--and scratched--by a stray cat while alone in a dark place at night, but I assure you that my judgement has been in no way biased by the incident.

2/ The Bathroom Mirror
The protagonist is performing his or her ablutions in the bathroom--probably shaving, but maybe just looking searchingly into their own eyes. A tap is dripping. The music swells. Something isn't right. Perhaps their very sanity is slipping away... much like my attention.

This one has been done to death in dozens of different ways. Something appears in the mirror behind the hero, who turns away just in time to miss it. Something appears behind the hero that DOESN'T cast a reflection. The mirror cracks. The reflection is distorted. The reflection speaks--usually in a standard-issue demon-growl. Something comes out of the mirror. Something goes into the mirror. Yawn. 3/ The Crotchety Old TimerThis one goes all the way back to Bram Stoker's DRACULA. A supersititious old local--invariably male--warns the protagonists, but do they heed him? No! He's just a senile old fool. Sometimes this character will also turn out to be a wizard or a guardian--because he's old, liek all wizards outside of Harry Potter. In a small town, this character is usually an old mariner. If the film is set in an urban environment, look for a creepy janitor. 4/ The Magic NegroThis trope at least goes back to Stephen King's novel, THE SHINING. There's this old negro, right? A nice and unthreatening guy who is probably a (non-creepy) janitor or a gardener or has some other menial job that is ripe with metaphor. This character will also have, like, has Magical Negro Powers... because, well, because he's an old negro and they often do, right? The Magic Negro has an idea that something is going wrong and will always wind up sacrificing his life to so that the white people (or at least their innocent  children) can live. 5/ The Power of Love
This has been on endless repeat since the sixties, but, after Ghostbusters (and its sequel) demonstrated this trope in terms of city-drenching explosions of sticky, viscous fluid, one might have hoped that filmmakers and writers would be embarrassed to continue to exercise it in public. But no, we see it over and over, and every time it's supposed to be this huge revelation, the Ultimate Secret. Jism explosions are great for selling porn movies. Horror? Not so much. 6/ Superhero Monster Fight! The monster is evil and vicious and supernatural, as monsters tend to be... how can you fight it? Well, an increasing number of movies have taken the power-up option. Give the hero powers of his own, and let him go at it with the monster, WWE style. Uh, no. when the hero is physically more powerful than the monster (often because he's pumped full of Love Juice, see 5 above) the viewer's sense of jeopardy goes out the window and we're no longer watching a horror film, we're watching dues in costumes wrassling. It's not the WWE, folks.  Also under consideration for moratorium: the Dripping Pipes, the Thump on the Car Roof, and the Fake POV shot. -- JF
 

THE SIXSMITHS in "Christ Church"

A bit late to the party, but anyway. The Sixsmiths' church deals with the earthquakes in Christchurch. Guest artist is the amazing Mike Athey:

http://www.thesixsmiths.com/wordpress/?p=570

-- JF

Smiling, Damned: Darth Vader

I've written an essay about Darth Vader over on Smiling, Damned.

Darth is the only villain to be the subject of six Hollywood blockbuster movies, and I've been having a think about why that is:

http://smilingdamned.blogspot.com/2011/04/darth-vader.html

I know there are much bigger Star Wars fans than me around here ( 9mmed  , I'm talking about you)--love to hear what you folks think.

Cheers,

-- JF

XDA Zai @ Utility Fog

Rambling about the genesis of my story "XDA ZAI: The Wild Hunt" (ASSASSIN'S CANON 2009) over at the Utility Fog Blog:

http://utilityfogblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/character-assassin.html

Check it if you're interested in that kind of thing.

-- JF