Warning! Readers Advisory! (credits)

Script complete!

Five thousand words later, the first script for Warning! Readers Advisory! is complete.

Having played around with both my cameras, and being resolved to buy an actual video camera this summer (as opposed to just the digital cameras I'm using right now), I think I should be ready for filming this week.

My biggest thing is blocking out the script now that its written. I'm pretty spontaneous physically, and I don't think I've done a single Epic Background Fail in the last year that worked off more than the most vague framework of a script (though I edit the EBFs pretty heavily prior to posting them over on Archive.org, removing my tendency to use the words "uh", "um", "well", "yeah", and "see"), so doing this via a full script is a bit new to me.

Predicted play time for the review should be about 20-25 minutes, mainly due to adding a few minutes worth of scattered video clips to spice things up. I'm going to just use what I've got right now for the first review and see what response is from that, then refine my technique.

The big thing that I'm going to be avoiding doing in the future is blow-by-blow accounts of the plot of the books. I'm doing that somewhat with the Jon Shannow novels just to capture the sheer wackiness of their design, but hopefully with book series like Anita Blake, Elric, and Chronicles of Chaos I'll be able to do more of a prospectus of the lines as a whole rather than individual books. Play up key plot points, etc. Those reviews should hopefully be more around the 15-20 minute range, moving more towards the 15 if I can keep them nice and tight.

Folks who have heard my stuff in the past know that I talk fast. Not all of that is video editing, although if I don't practice at least somewhat I tend to have a lot of pauses between sentences. Not quite Shatner-style, but I really need to kick my spontaneity gland back into overdrive for this stuff and get my pacing back in line.

I realize I'm talking about stuff-to-come a lot, but I admit that a lot of that is due to wanting to drive myself forward. I find writing public to be freeing...it forces me to do what I say I'm going to do, and that gives me focus. Lets me push forward.

In the spirit of public announcements, The Black Library is taking submissions until the end of July. Y'know what? I think I'm going to submit something. First three chapters (minimum 10k, the way I block out chapters probably more like 15), six page chapter breakdown, and a 1000 word plot synopsis. I can do that. I'm going to do it. I may not have a great shot, but I am filled with confirmation from Karl that I can, in fact, write. So I'm gonna go give it a shot!

Well, that's about it for today. Video forthcoming (I'll post the opening credits first so people can at least have something pretty to see, shooting for those will occur this week), work on book forthcoming. I guess my submission will cut into my writing time for Bored Immortal Seeks Same and my editting of Requiem for a Fictonaut, but I really want to get this done and in.

And that is all. I'm done.

Excelsior!

Towel Day - A Tribute to Douglas Adams

I have discovered video. So...why the heck not?

Chasing the Muse...now in video!

Chasing the Muse can now be found in video format on Blip!

I sat down, considered things, and rolled out a video for Nash last night in which I announced my plans for The Deadliest Badass and Warning! Readers Advisory!. Still fiddling around with things, need better equipment and software. Still, its a step in the right direction.

So stay tuned for more stuff since...well, once I figure out how to do some screen captures and fiddling with images (finally, a use for my other laptop that basically just runs Photoshop) I think I'll start producing content for WRA. Some of my prospective participants have been emailed about TDB, and I hope to hear back from them soon so we can start talking plans.

I try to never do anything small. Even if I fail, I fail spectacularly and in ways that are entertaining to passersby. If you're going to shoot for the stars, aim in a direction that blows up something expensive in case you miss.

Excelsior!

...when the hell did it become May?

...was my last post really in December? Jeebus.

Well. Umm...ok. recap.

When last we saw our intrepid hero he had finished a semester of library school, joined the Masons, written a novel, engaged in an EPIC quest to somehow discover the magic of video, and somewhere along the way decided that catering large parties in far off cities was a good plan.

How are things going now?

Not bad, I tell you what. Almost done my third semester at the iSchool, and things are looking up there. Was able to (happily) put away my student activism cap in the second semester, as things got better rapidly. Did a practicum that involved interning at the only science fiction special collection in public hands in North America, which was *AWESOME*.

Got back into playing Warhammer 40k, which has resulted in an awesome Imperial Guard army called The Last Canadians, which are now mostly painted (a few infantry I'll probably never field and a bunch of tanks I just look at and groan with the idea of the effort that will be required), and a Dark Eldar army which are...mostly not painted. Will start up in Fantasy again once the new book comes out, probably gonna do Vampire Counts. Plans for making my Heroes and Lords sparkle was vetoed by pretty much everyone I pitched the idea to. Nobody has a sense of humour anymore.

(speaking of humour, I'm still apparently teaching Blogger how to properly use the Queen's English and not the ridiculous Deweyisms that strip out the silent letters)

Video! Well, as my listeners know (well, ok, I haven't done a show in a while, been too busy with school) I am your radiotelesymphonic god, airing on Radio Dead Air with "Epic Background Fail". However, I am on the quest to crack the magic of video. For too long have I stared at the folks over at ThatGuyWithTheGlasses.com like the monkeys from 2001 staring at the monolith. Occasionally I'll throw a rock at the screen and wonder why the people don't notice. Well, with the kindly offered assistance of Mike Dodd (This Week in Geek) I will be attempting to discover this amazing technology, and then shall engage in my most ambitious telesymphonic project yet:

The Deadliest Badass

See, for too long have people used the Camarilla wikis to make grandiose statements about their PCs. They have developed reputations based entirely on rumours that they themselves have written, and quotes attributed to NPCs who never existed. Well, its time to take the hype, take the ridiculous rumours and quotes, haul it kicking and screaming out of context, and ask that all important question: Who. Is. Deadliest?

We're putting the list together now so that I can actually start writing some scripts, and I need to start contacting people to play the roles. Then, technology and filming, then technology and editting...then I unleash myself onto the internet.

The benefit of this is that it will mean I'll *finally* have the infrastructure necessary to create my book show, which I think I've finally settled on calling "WARNING! Reader's Advisory!" The show will, as previously noted, consist mainly of me critiquing and pointing out the bizzareness of various novel series. I think I can pretty much devote an entire month to just sampling the vampire romance genre, the Valdemar novels could probably take another month (easily), and of course let us not forget that I'll have to devote an episode each to the Jon Shannow books because David Gemmel crammed so much crazy into those pages I can't do all three books justice in 20 minutes.

Oh...what else?

I have a paper to submit to the faculty quarterly on the development of science fiction in the 1930s and 40s, which the prof whose class I submitted it for suggested (well, she suggested I submit).

I went to the Merril Collection's writer in residence program, where Karl Schroeder read the first chapter of Requiem for a Fictonaut, my novel. And liked it. He had a few points to make about some of my more self conscious attempts at humour, but really enjoyed it and seemed to think overall it was pretty strong. So I have some work to do, editing it, which I'll spend the summer doing. I also have another novel in the works that should hopefully get started in the next few weeks once I really nail the pacing down. If all goes well I should get down the first drafts of two novels this year. Which makes me happy.

Oh...and I'm still holding to my pledge from September: I am not re-reading any novels. Everything is something I haven't read before. Its going well.

That about wraps it up for now. I should be posting here more regularly now.

Excelsior!