Writing for Crying Children IV [Guest Comic]

CheriAnn and Ian have used another of my scripts over at "Pictures of Crying Children," meaning they have about four left, unless my math and memory is painfully wrong. And while I've no idea if they've any plans to use those leftovers, I'm really pleased with how this one turned out, especially since it's a little more slap-stick, and a little more straight forward than the stuff I usually write.

The funny thing is, if you look at some of my earlier stuff, some of the mini-Sulks I wrote at Bennington, and some of the other short comics, a lot of them had this formula, the long, explanatory dialogue with someone getting hurt by the last panel [my and Sam's first comic ended with a punch, I wrote another with a dude getting his hair yanked out, etc]. For some reason none of those [save the first] ever got produced as real comics, and I just hadn't written anything like them in awhile -- but at PCC, causing Nixon pain is always a good time, so we have me coming home in some ways, revisiting new territory in others [as is the case when you're so early on that you're not exactly sure what your "style" is].

Head over there and read the full comic. I'm really happy with what they did with my script, and think it's a pretty good laugh to be had on this all-too-warm Friday. And most definitely flip back through a couple of comics if you're behind on your PCC reading, because not only have they been using the scripts I've sent them, but one of them -- one that might have to do with Emilio's Hot Box Thrust -- wound up turning in to something like a storyline for them. I was flattered to see they got so much mileage out of one of the few pieces of 80s minutia I had in me, with the result being exactly what you hope for when you collaborate with someone new, but rarely expect -- inspiring someone.

That got a little too close to patting myself on the back, when CheriAnn and Ian are the stars here, and I encourage everyone to head over and check out the new comic. And with their impending nuptials, I know they're looking for guest work to fill in the time when they'll be doing... whatever it is newlyweds do [...scrabble?], so any artists or writers looking to step in and join the ranks of yours truly on being a small part of their comics, this is your chance.

And thanks to them again, for giving me the opportunity to write a little for them. Good times.

Just to mix things up, I figured I'd include my usual Twitter links in the post proper today. Give you a good idea just part of what we offer here at the Mojo Wire, in case you don't frequent Twitter or look to the right hand side of this page very often.

Glen Brogan gets psyched for the new Scott Pilgrim movie in a way that, quite frankly, puts the rest of us getting psyched for the new Scott Pilgrim movie to shame.

John Wiswell is harassing giants in today's Bathroom Monologue.

Finally, Sarah Crow does the post-April Fools gossip roundup, and we all have another reason to be interested in Anna Paquin.

Keep watching this space, and Twitter, for more links and updates.

Emilio's Hot Box Thrust, or Writing for Crying Children III [Guest Comic]

A third Randall Nichols-penned "Pictures of Crying Children" has gone up today, which I encourage everyone to go check out before reading the rest of this, if for no other reason than for the added surprise.

Back now?

This was one of my favorite scripts I wrote for PCC, and CheriAnn gave me pretty much exactly what I had in mind for it, short of the screen-capping, which was a bit of genius I didn't consider. I am not one of those people who are enamored with the 80s, but there's something about the movies from the era that I will admit to being fascinated by. As a writer, plot holes drive me insane -- not only do I feel like it's my responsibility to explain how things happen, but also why, and it absolutely never fails, even when I'm writing something with say, vampires [re: The Familiar] in it, realism always feels like one of the most important things.

Movies from the Eighties really don't care. Whether it's the Illinois Nazi's car falling from above a skyscraper in "Blues Brothers," or Emilio's amazing hot box thrust in "The Breakfast Club," these things just happen, whether the screwball tone fits the world the movie's set in or not. And every one's pretty much okay with that -- I've seen film students destroy something like"Memento" or "The Matrix" for the tiniest plot inconsistencies, but anything made from 1980-1989 tends to get an immediate pass [Kevin Smith's "Mallrats" is a good example -- very much an 80s movie, and often derided for the things that were quite common in 80s comedies at the time]. I'm guilty of this too, and there are a lot of different explanations for it, from people today being too anal about realism, to just loving these old movies enough to forgive them their flaws. Myself personally have always felt like 80s flicks have an almost folklore like quality, where maybe John Henry couldn't really beat the steel driver, and maybe Emilio couldn't actually shatter that glass -- but these aren't the details that are important, these are just the incidentals of a meaningful story.

Whatever you believe, it's really rad sitting around on a couch with people talking about it. Ridiculous, but absolutely always rad.

Writing for Crying Children II [Guest Comic]

The second of my guest strips at Pictures of Crying Children has went up over at the PCC website, though I can't take 100% credit for this one. My original script was a slight jibe at myself, sort of an inside joke, but one of the interesting and helpful things about writing for other people, and other people's characters, is that you learn the intricate details of said characters, and the importance of sticking to little details about them. So what we end up with is something the lends itself better to the established characters' personalities I was writing for, and is less about me.

There's a part of every writer's work that's just a reflection of themselves. Any writer who says otherwise is [usually] either being modestly clever or intentionally thick, and I think in younger writers it's always a bit stronger, because... well, we're younger, less refined, less comfortable leaving the things we know behind when doing our work. I've always been really forgiving of myself when it comes to this -- I don't mind throwing subtle nods to personal things in, a lot of my characters have at least some aspect of my own personality in them, or they're going through things that I myself am familiar with. It's not a sin, I don't think, to have a comfort zone, particularly if you feel like the material in said comfort zone is fresh, and you want it to be said. There are drawbacks to it [not every sad-sack I write is reflection on me, not every love interest is some girl I've pined for or lost, not every douchebag is someone who's wronged me], but for now it works, and at 24 and still unfilmed and unpublished [mostly], I don't think I can be accused of going back to the well one too many times.

But.

Pictures of Crying Children isn't about me. And leaving yourself behind [or at least most of yourself] to write something? That's been a new, fun challenge. And it helps that I'm working with an absolutely brilliant artist in Ms. [soon to be Mrs.] CheriAnn Stevens.

Check out the new comic here. And definitely keep checking PCC for more comics, written by me or otherwise, every Monday and Friday.

Also, on a personal note, thank you, everyone, for the kind words during what has been another trying time for my family. I appreciate the support more than I could intimate here. Thank you.

Writing for Crying Children [Guest Comic]

I mentioned last week I'd been working on some different style comics, and the first one went up today over at "Pictures of Crying Children," run by friend of the Mojo Wire and occasional guest blogger, CheriAnn "Nixon" Stevens.



"Pictures of Crying Children" is a rad webcomic that CheriAnn writes and illustrates with her fiance Ian, and they're always asking for guest submissions, be it comics or scripts, and it just seemed like a great opportunity to do a little comic work again, which has always been what I enjoyed doing the most. Now, unlike with Justin and Sam, I'm not quite as involved with the process since they run such a tight ship over at PCC, which is fine and a lot more like how the process works on more professional level, so you're basically getting to see the finished work as I do. Which is just... amazing, to say the very least.

I want to thank CheriAnn for the opportunity to be a part of what they're doing over there at PCC, as it was really a lot of fun and a good challenge to try my hand at writing webcomics, and I'm hoping to do a few more before all is said and done. I sent CheriAnn several scripts this time, so expect to see more collaborations/guest strips pop up over time, and I encourage everyone to go and check out the PCC comic and their website [which updates on Mondays and Friday] whether I'm writing for them or not. It's great stuff.