from a mountain in the middle of the wrimos

Ho-lee shit, it’s been nearly two months since I last posted on here. I was planning on June being an UPDATE THE BLOG EVERYDAY month, but that never happened. Hell, I never even wrote a Phoenix ComiCon recap.

So, I will get you up to speed:
– Transmagical and Ghost Runners are updating. I sold a few of the TM prints at PCC.
– PhoCo went by faster than it ever has. The two-day-long Tucson ComiCon felt longer. It was brilliant, though, despite sleeping on the floor and having nasty headaches.
– In June, I wrote a 61000-word novel for this thing called Camp NaNoWriMo. It’s like NaNoWriMo, but in June. I finished with a total of 87k, the remaining 26k coming from two kind of shitty unfinished novels.
– That novel I finished last month was called Figment Wilson and the Door to Oblivion. Unlike most of my novels(‘ ideas, since this is my first complete novel), it’s not getting scrapped! I’m giving copies to friends and family to edit. I plan to enter it into the 2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards as YA. If I lose, then I’m getting an agent and pitching the shit out of this. (My wonderful 7th grade English teacher– who once told me that I was one of two students from whom he wanted a 10pg story– told me that I wouldn’t get published until 18. I will rub this book in his face when it’s published.)
– That 245pg book is about a kid, Figment Wilson, who thinks he’s perfectly normal until aliens crash into his school and he’s told that he’s an alien. It’s fucking awesome, fairly well-developed, and pretty coherent for a first draft written during a WriMo.
– And this month, I’m doing that crazy JulNoWriMo thing. I’m writing some more weird YA, this time in the form of a novel entitled Last Train to Summerville. It’s about Callahan Teague reuniting with an old friend and getting sucked into an alternate dimension ruled by carnivorous (and very hungry) faeries.
– I’ve discovered the magic of this thing called Scrivener. It’s basically WRITING YOUR SHIT: THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT. Seriously. Try the free trial. It’s the coolest thing ever and so totally worth $40 (or $20, if you’ve won NaNoWriMo).
– I’m also going to San Francisco for a couple weeks.

Writing novels is a tireless job. It’s sort of like a death match: either you’re going to write this novel, or it will guilt you for the rest of your life with how unfinished it is. You also tend to become the novel. You can be talking about the benefits of styrofoam food (like Cheetos Puffs) when you suddenly blurt out a fact about your invented species’ reproductive methods. “Oh, yeah, I love the way they melt– holy shit, did you know that faeries typically reproduce in threesomes but can reproduce with anywhere from two to infinity participants?” The worst part is when you’re in the middle of a public space (like the Dollar Tree) and that just pops out. Congrats, writer. You are now known by the Dollar Tree staff as “that freak who talks about faerie orgies.”

Interestingly enough, despite my depression, I’m able to write. It’s all I’ve been able to do since I’ve been depressed. The only thing for which I have motivation is sitting in my room, writing. Play one of my instruments? Too much effort. Practice karate? Do I look like I have the spoons for that? Shower? Why bother? Hang out with my girlfriend? Can’t we just hang out some other time? But when it comes to writing, I can sit down and motor out fifty thousand words in twelve days. I can write the rough draft of my novel in exactly two weeks.

How have you guys been lately?

– Jimmy

P.S. I totally just wrote 642 words of a blog post instead of my novel.

hot tramp, i love you so!

I’m going to start this off by being a horrible blogger and apologize for how horrible I’ve been at blogging. School (and depression) has totally inundated me as of late. I took my first AP test last week, I have finals next week, and a lot of studying to do between then and now. Regardless, I felt like I had to update on here because next week is Phoenix ComiCon.

Yes. One week from today, I will be packing my bags for the Hyatt, securing my freebie prints with many rubber bands, and making sure everything is set on Transmagical‘s debut. I’ll probably post an update or five throughout PCC and talking about Transmagical and stuff. You have just over a week until Transmagical makes it official debut and you get to see that thing about which I’ve been talking. Then Ghost Runners launches. June, under Camp NaNoWriMo, is dedicated to The Secret of Giraffe Island, a serial adventure novel that I will be posting as chapters are finished.

Alongside that, I have just started another serial novel, concerning one of my favorite subjects. The World According to Loki (which has no relation to Marvel Comics, surprisingly) is a humorous (I hope) take on Norse mythology. The first part basically consists of Loki retelling Norse myths from his perspective. It gets weirder. It’s basically a sacrilegious funfest of doom with alcohol, crossdressing, and laughs (according to my friends). The title is a link, but you can also click here to read what I have posted. That one will update less frequently because of the massive chapters– chapter one, including its Scribe’s Note (my notes on alterations and translations), is nearly 4000 words long. Consider that one chapter is half the length of “Forged in Fire” (that’s a link, too) and realize how long that is.

I also hope to resume more frequent work on Another Sleepless Night this summer. I adore the characters and the plot, along with the stories that come in between what I have posted.

I have a lot of writing to do this summer: Transmagical and Ghost Runners, first and foremost, then Mindwarp & Eris, Compass Rose, The Secret of Giraffe Island, The World According to Loki, and Another Sleepless Night. There are also going to be short stories, of course, and maybe poetry. I do not know. I have two and a half months alone (aside from online econ, ew), and I plan on using them to their full extent.

And that’s how I’ve been.

-Jimmy

this may call for a proper introduction

Exciting news! I have the official release dates for Transmagical and Ghost Runners! The prologue for Transmagical debuts somewhere between May 24th and 27th, with the first chapter beginning on June 12th. Updates every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Ghost Runners starts on June 4th, with updates every Monday and Friday. Not a day without a webcomic– perfect! I set up their websites, which will be linked on the Read the Writing page shortly. All under construction, but that’s fairly cool.

I submitted for a Phoenix ComiCon Professional pass, keep your fingers crossed on that. I will be sitting at SpazDog Press’ table for some of the day with some Ghost Runners prints. Full-color! I’m really excited. Even if I’m not at the SpazDog table, keep an eye out for me. I’ll be running around the Convention in cosplay (as a humanized Turret from Portal and John Egbert from Homestuck). PCC is the best convention ever and, if you can, I strongly advise you to attend. There’s some really great guests this year, as well as an amazing roster of local comic artists. Shay (Jared’s character artist on Transmagical and an artist on Ghost Runners) will also be there and I might make her sign things.

I’ve been writing a bit, nothing huge. Just a few ideas I’ve had recently. I found a really great collection of prompts here, you should really check them out. Keep your eyes peeled for new short stories from me, as usual.

End ramble.

-Jimmy

one month

Wow, I’ve been using this blog for a whole month. That’s much longer than I usually stick to blogs (as seen with my last writing blog, which was a total failure of blogging). And I’ve actually been updating this one! I have over eight posts or something. Amazing, right? So I basically have my blog and am posting, too.

I’ve resolved to buy myself a new Moleskine notebook for every writing contest I win. I bought my first (large, ruled, red) with the Amazon giftcard I received from the poetry slam. This is seriously the best notebook I have ever owned. In my whole life. And I’ve owned some pretty cool notebooks. It’s dedicated solely to my most current (Private I, The Dark Quest, Starstealers, Bright Outside, etc., etc. are all on hiatus for the time being) novel, which I plan on finishing. I think once I hit part two I’ll edit and post the first few chapters of part one. Or, at least, the part one playlist.

I have also just discovered that my current favourite pens (Uniball Vision micro) decide to utterly crap out on you if you use them to draw on skin. I lost two (of four) pens on accident that way. I’m thinking of trying the Pilot equivalent (a.k.a. black ink, rollerball, .5mm) for my next set, my dad got a .7mm Pilot from his coworker and it was lovely; though I also might go back to the Bic “needle” points that I started with (though they tended to run and weren’t as smooth). But the Uniballs last a while and I have two remaining (I got the first one in late December/early January and it lasted, with heavy use, until I messed up), so I’ll just wait it out. All of a sudden, I’ve found .5 roller balls (in three-packs of black, red, and blue) at the Dollar Tree. They’re everywhere now.

Over Spring Break, I completed the first two chapters of Ghost Runners (“Master Masa” and “Natsu and Umeko”). In Creative Writing, we’re doing superhero radio plays! Mine is about the %-Men (Percent Men), a dual X-Men/Avengers parody set in the Mindwarp and Eris universe. I’m beyond psyched for that, I just finished with the opening narration/monologue. Captain Phoenix, Molverine, Monsoon, Zeus, and Magnesium Lad will be embarking on a tense fight against the Politician soon enough.

That’s been my stuff for the past while, I suppose. I haven’t been doing well mentally, but that’s what the writing is for (I’m on a bit of a frenzy with prose at the moment, probably because I love escapism).

How are you, imaginary readers?

-Jimmy

web comics and print comics and script frenzy, oh my!

The time has come.

Yes, my dear friends and non-existent followers. The time has come for me to start planning for my departure into Script Frenzy (bam! my fancy Screnzy profile!).

April is going to be one hell of a month.

This year, I’m adapting my NaNoWriMo (that’s a link to my NaNo user page) novel Transmagical into comic script format. It was supposed to be a webcomic in the first place, but after my original idea (Saturday Night of the Living Dead) tanked 12,000 words in, I took a new approach and wrote that plot bunny as a novel. And immediately regretted it, as it was incredibly poorly written. I did win NaNoWriMo ’11, with 72,000 some words (not reflected on my NaNoWriMo page, as I logged it all on my YWP account). I actually haven’t finished a NaNoWriMo novel since my first year (2009) with a poorly written fanfic.

So, for my Screnzy challenge for 2012, I’m tackling Transmagical. Though I’ve participated in Screnzies ’10 and ’11, I’ve never won. I’m kind of bad at keeping up my script writing. This year, however, I actually have to finish to get a good grade in Creative Writing. I also have eight artists breathing down my neck, a prologue chapter deadline of May 24th (and that’s for the art), and a story planned to the end (and almost written there).

So that’s the status on Transmagical. I like my charming logline and x meets y (Neon Genesis Evangelion meets Sailor Moon). If I could make it so, it would be w meets x meets y meets z: the Cthulhu Mythos meets Neon Genesis Evangelion meets Sailor Moon meets [insert your favorite trans*-themed work here]. Lovecraft would be so disappointed. Funny thing is, I hadn’t even seen a second of NGE before I started writing/planning Transmagical— it even has an (unintentional) almost Rei Ayanami Expy character (her name is Winter Dresden and she is Sailor Wintershine).

And on to the next thing, which is my web comic-in-production Ghost Runners, since I can’t write blog posts in order of their titles!

I finished the first chapter’s script the other day and got it in to Odd Artist. I’m five pages in to the second chapter for the Even Artist. I hope to finish it tonight or tomorrow night. Yess. Chapter one is titled “Master Masa” and that’s really the only sneak preview I’m willing to give. There’s also “Some Nights“, which is the prequel short story, and you can read it from that link there.

The actual comic itself is pretty under wraps at the moment, but I’m so psyched for it! I can’t wait to get it up and running. I’m investigating Comicpress for use with both Transmagical and Ghost Runners.

Excitement!

And on to the Print Comics section of this post.

So The Infamous Adventures of Mindwarp and Eris the Boa Wonder is so ON for print. Jenn Fuguet (that’s her dA, and she’s also on Transmagical) is working on it. Issue One is going swimmingly and should debut– on an incredibly limited mini-sized print run, mind you– at Phoenix ComiCon this year. Hooray! It’s about these rather incompetent superheroes, Mindwarp and Eris, who have to battle a vampire/zombie apocalypse while the moon Waynes. There are disco-dancing vampires, wings made out of feather boas, and the enigmatic Random Man. It’s a lot of fun, take it from the guy who wrote it. I’m planning for an initial 6-issue arc (detailing the vampire/zombie apocalypse) with more to come in the future.

Also, I should probably talk about Phoenix ComiCon.

It’s May 24th-27th (Memorial Day Weekend) in Phoenix, AZ at the Phoenix Convention Center. This year, it’s shaping up to be massive! PCC was my first comic convention ever; I went in 2009 when it was still in January and still at the Mesa Convention Center (that slot is now taken up by Amazing Arizona). PCC is an absolutely amazing convention.

This year, I’ll be working at the SpazDog Press table for part of the Con! I will most likely have Mindwarp and Eris #1, an uber-limited print run of however many Ghost Runners chapter are out then, and some promotional material for Transmagical (did you notice the dates? I’m springing the prologue chapter on Preview Night). I’ll also be signing copies of Unite and Take Over volume 1 (my story is “That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore” and Jenn illustrated it). Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond anyone’s control, “Death of a Disco Dancer” won’t be in UaTO 2. I promise it will see the light of day eventually, though. I’ll also be hanging out at the Smiths Party that night, where a lot of awesome bands are playing Smiths songs. It’s free with an event pass, or you can buy tickets from the artists themselves.

Unite and Take Over volume 1 was submitted for the Eisner and Harvey Awards, both of which are in voting now (if I remember correctly). I’m beyond stoked for that. Prepare for massive celebrating if it gets nominated for either, and loads of tears if it wins anything. I’ll be up in San Diego for the Eisner (my mom was the Associate Editor on the book, as well as having the story “Cemetry Gates,” illustrated by the magnificent Eric Schock).

I think that’s all for now on the comics thing. Sorry for all of the rambling, as well as the looong five days between posts.

-Jimmy

some nights

I just posted a new story, entitled “Some Nights.” Yep, same one that I was talking about the other day on my obligatory absence post.

You can read it by going to that neat “read the writing” tab above this post, or by clicking on this link to  get to that page, or by just clicking here to open the PDF. It’s a prequel to an ongoing web comic series that I’m developing with two artists (both of whom, coincidentally, are also artists for Transmagical).

Some background that might help with deciphering the story, if you’re stuck:

• It takes place in post-apocalyptic Japan, some 150-200 years after 2012.
• Mekazumi are rat-like aliens who wear mechanized armor; they’re around 7′ tall and are vulnerable to Earth sunlight and “spirit energy” (you figure that part out).

Enjoy! And please, do tell me if you’d like to see this concept expanded upon. That’s what this story is for.

-Jimmy

P.S. I’ll be posting a blog post later tonight asking for a hand with a thing or two, so keep your eyes peeled for that.