Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month

Gail Simone's Blog, page 1135

November 23, 2011

Have you ever had an idea you started to explore and it was only halfway through that you found you couldn't quite make it work so you just tie up loose ends and go with what you already have?

Usually I know what the ending of a story is. If I understand your question correctly, I wouldn't usually start writing a story while it's still just an 'idea.' Part of being a professional is that you don't go sailing with just the compass, it's kind of expected that you also build a boat.


That said, I've had stories where the central conceit didn't come across as clearly as I'd hoped, and occasionally a story will be hijacked for editorial reasons, although I do tend to plant my feet to avoid that last one.


The "tying up loose ends," thing, that does happen sometimes in serial fiction, it can't really be avoided. It sucks when it's a bad situation like the second volume of Birds of Prey, but when I'm given enough time and space, it can be meaningful, like the first volume of bop or the end of the Secret Six series.

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Published on November 23, 2011 19:08

I am very proud of this book, and yet, it's a cover that...



I am very proud of this book, and yet, it's a cover that almost always makes me want to cry.



I've talked about the great Steve Gerber before, he's a hero of mine, and a brilliant writer, who passed away just a couple years ago, WAY before his time. He was a writer whose message always seemed to speak to me directly—he said it was okay to be odd, to be different. He had ideas about heroism that were about REAL courage and bravery, not comic book fisticuffs. I dearly loved his work and when I met him much later, I loved him even more.


He was working on his first ongoing DC book in a long time, a Dr. Fate revival, and part of the idea for the launch was to have several one-shots featuring the helmet of Fate, and DC's magic characters. He asked several writers he liked to each do a one-shot, and at the time, I was severely busy and behind, and I immediately agreed anyway because it was Steve Fucking Gerber and in no sensible version of the world does a Steve Gerber ask an Oregon hairdresser to write a book for his event. But that's what happened.


He wasn't just supportive, he was amazing. I wrote my heart out on that thing, Duncan did an amazing job on the visuals, and Steve wrote this mock insulting letter because he thought the book turned out so good he had to rewrite HIS chapter.


He was that kind of guy. It wasn't just lip service, he was a genuine fan of my work, which blows my mind to this day. I still think he was one of the smartest, most original writers this business has ever had. Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison, these guys owe a huge debt to Steve, and he did most of his work under a vastly more restrictive medium at the time.


So this book was important to me, I didn't want to let him down. And I remember him nervously sending me his script, which he wasn't sure was up to snuff…totally ridiculous, of course, it was brilliant.  Important lesson there, that even the great ones can get insecure. Maybe that's part of what makes them great.


I miss Steve a lot. But I'll always be grateful I actually got to work with him in a small way.

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Published on November 23, 2011 19:04

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