So it Begins

Okay, so today is the first of many in my trip to (hopefully) becoming a screenwriter for an animated series. What is the series about? Why should you care? Well, I can't tell you. That's right--I'm keeping the actual content of the series under tight wraps for now. Instead, I am going to blog about my journey from being a "writer" to aiming for something a bit bigger, where I can combine my love for art and literature.

This morning, I awoke early and continued my research on what I need to do in order to approach a company with my idea. I found tons of amazing information about writing a proposal for an animated series and how to go about developing the proposal so it focuses on the main character and how s/he sees the world and interacts with it. I discovered that related to one of the biggest mistakes people make when they work on a proposal.

People are creative, and because of that, we want to lay out the world our story takes place in right away. We want to give away all of the secrets and show off how complex the setting is before actually giving our audience a reason to care about it. This is why you should introduce the main character and have the setting unravel naturally--that way, the audience has someone to like and follow. They have a point of view to sympathize with.

I also found a few resources that might help me get my proposal out there once it's complete; that's pretty far down the line, though, and I am just nosing around now to make sure the goal I have in mind is actually achievable. So far it seems I have as fair of a chance as anyone else. Maybe a bit better, because unlike some people, I know how to write and I can draw (I am in no way a fantastic artist, but my work is clear enough that I won't need to hire an artist and spend countless hours trying to iron out the details of the characters). Visuals are pretty important because they give the audience something to relate to more than just the words.

At the same token, I know I am nowhere near talented or trained enough to animate (though I have tried my hand at it, and was pretty pleased with what I came up with). Sources say that if the company you propose to asks, "What would you like to do?" saying, "A little of everything," is a bad idea. I agree! I don't want to do a little of everything. Can you imagine how long that would take? Yeah, I'd like to be involved in design and see how my characters are being portrayed, but I also trust the animators and designers to do their job. After seeing my initial sketches, they will simplify and streamline the characters and settings much better than I ever could.

Okay, where do I want to be then? Writing. I want to be the one working with the writers, developing the world and the scenes and the characters through text. I want to be the one who hears someone speak the lines I wrote. So if you ever want to do something like this, ask yourself where you want to be. If you say you want to do "a little of everything," rethink that. Do some research; maybe production is your best fit, or design.

Speaking of animation, I'd love to hire the people who did "Avatar: The Last Airbender" to animate my series, but that's way down the line! (not to mention a little bit of a dream...)

I have the story mapped out in detail already, so I just need to do the art and write episode synopses (most sources suggest having 13-15 episodes outlined), and write a 22-23 page episode sample. Since I know exactly what is going to happen in the first season, writing out the synopses won’t be too difficult. The part that will take the longest is going to be the art. So, I am off to get a sketchbook (one that doesn't have a dozen pictures in it already). Oh, and I am making daily goals, small ones that let me stay on track and give me a reasonable deadline.

Today's goal: Start working on the series bible, specifically, focusing on beginning the sketching process.

Monthly Book Review: Farsighted by Emlyn Chand

Last month, I reviewed Lauren Clark’s “Stay Tuned,” which falls under Women’s Fiction. This month, it’s Young Adult Paranormal—with psychics!

Today’s YA Paranormal market has become oversaturated with vampires, werewolves, trolls, faeries, and just about any other creature you can think of. In “Farsighted” Emlyn Chand decided to return to an original not-so-beastly paranormal—psychics.

“Farsighted” is about seventeen-year-old Alex, whose last name is Greek and incredibly difficult to pronounce, and his journey of learning that he is psychic. Unlike some psychics, Alex can’t read other people’s minds. He sees the future. There’s one problem, though. Alex is blind, so he sees the future how he experiences the rest of the world—through sound, touch, and smell. Oh, and Monster energy drinks help him reach that psychic state.

Chand does a great job of building suspense and mixing flashes of the future with Alex’s everyday life. The first time Alex experiences a vision, he doesn’t know what’s happening, which makes for a very interesting interaction between him and a bully. As his powers grow, Alex comes to work with them. At least, in some cases. While most of us probably think it would be awesome to have psychic powers, Alex doesn’t believe he has them at first, and has a difficult time understanding his powers throughout the novel.

The challenges Alex undertakes helps build him as a character and round him out. I found him to be a believable high school student, struggling to come to terms with his newfound abilities. Another thing Chand does well is make sure that school is continuously in Alex’s life. In some YA Paranormal novels, school gets shoved into the background and somehow students manage to magically pass every class. For Alex, school is a very real place and homework is a very real obligation.

Also differing from the YA Paranormal scene is the lack of romance in this novel. There is a love interest, Simmi, and as a reader, I really wanted her and Alex to get together in the end. Sadly, I felt like the romance wasn’t paid enough attention to. The tension that Chand tried to build between Alex and Simmi was often rerouted into psychic training or family problems, which is understandable, especially since this is not a YA Paranormal Romance—it’s just Paranormal. I do hope that Chand builds off of the foundation she began in “Farsighted” and that Simmi and Alex have a chance to become more romantically involved.

My only other concern is the rising action. The visions are very well done, but when the end of the novel comes around, I feel that the climax doesn’t quite match the rising action. It’s not as climactic as I would have hoped, and the antagonist, Dax, feels like he doesn’t have enough meat on him. I’m excited to see if Chand will add more to Dax in the sequel.

All in all, “Farsighted” gets 4 out of 5 stars. It was a quick, enjoyable read, and Alex was a fun character to “see” the world through.

“Farsighted” is available now as an e-book! Click here to get your copy of “Farsighted” today!

 

Blog Tour Notes

THE BOOK:  Alex Kosmitoras may be blind, but he can still “see” things others can’t.  When his unwanted visions of the future begin to suggest that the girl he likes could be in danger, he has no choice but to take on destiny and demand it reconsider. Get your copy today by visiting Amazon.com’s Kindle store or the eBook retailer of your choice. The paperback edition will be available on November 24 (for the author’s birthday).

THE CASH PRIZES:  Guess what? You could win a $100 Amazon gift card as part of this special blog tour. That’s right! Just leave a comment below saying something about the post you just read, and you’ll be entered into the raffle. I could win $100 too! Please help by voting for my blog in the traffic-breaker poll. To cast your vote, visit the official Farsighted blog tour page and scroll all the way to the bottom. Thank you for your help with that.

THE GIVEAWAYS:  Win 1 of 10 autographed copies of Farsighted before its paperback release by entering the giveaway on GoodReads. Perhaps you’d like an autographed postcard from the author; you can request one on her site.

THE AUTHOR:  Emlyn Chand has always loved to hear and tell stories, having emerged from the womb with a fountain pen grasped firmly in her left hand (true story). When she’s not writing, she runs a large book club in Ann Arbor and is the president of author PR firm, Novel Publicity. Emlyn loves to connect with readers and is available throughout the social media interweb. Visit www.emlynchand.com for more info. Don’t forget to say “hi” to her sun conure Ducky!

MORE FUN: There's more fun below. Watch the live action Farsighted book trailer!

 

 

Monthly Book Review: Stay Tuned by Lauren Clark

This month's review has sparked a new tradition! Every month, I will write a review on a novel, whether it's indie or mainstream! This month, I'm taking you inside Lauren Clark's "Stay Tuned."

While "Stay Tuned" is not yet available to the public, when it comes out, I highly recommend it! Melissa Moore is a behind-the-scenes producer for the news at WSGA in Macon, Georgia, and she enjoys her job. Things get ugly, and they get ugly fast when one of the snarky co-anchors for the news, Alyssa, throws a punch on the ten o'clock news. Melissa directs to commercial while she pulls Alyssa off of her co-anchor. With only a few minutes left, Melissa can either let the commercials run out the clock, or...she can take over.

She nabs an earpiece, settles behind the desk, runs through the prompts, and completes the ten o'clock news, much to her manager's relief. Calls come flooding in. Melissa is a hit! She's helped save WSGA's reputation and has landed herself a new job--though only temporarily.

Pulling into her garage, Melissa considers how she's going to break the news to her husband, Chris. Yet, as usual, the only thing she finds from him is a sticky note stating that he's working late. Again. Chris seems to be working late an awful lot recently, and Melissa has her suspicions. Everything falls out of place as Melissa tries to do her very best as the new co-anchor for WSGA and save her marriage. Nothing goes right, and she finds herself on the top of the station being wined and dined by her co-anchor, learns her husband's competition for a raise is a sexy, slinky woman, and Alyssa is trying to kill her. Yup. What a handful.

"Stay Tuned" is fast-paced, fun, and a downright treat. Trust me, you'll love Melissa's hectic life and want her best friend (and Dr. Phil devotee), Candace, to give you all the right tips for staying on top.

"Stay Tuned" to find out when this fantastic book is released!