Dang It, Google, STOP IT!!! September 2, 2008
Posted by tonywgoodwyn in Weblogs, Writing.Tags: Google, Myspace
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I was writing some reviews on my MySpace blog, and noticed something really annoying while doing it!
I try to link to a few useful places in my reviews, to provide the reader some context and generally be helpful. Generally I go to Google, and google–for instance–Stephen King. The first site that comes up is http://www.stephenking.com, like I’d expect. It even gives that as the link, like I’d expect and prefer. But when I right-click on the link and select the Copy Link Location option, the code I end up pasting into the hyperlink is some long, convoluted mishmash of letters that Google has obviously tacked on.
This is supremely annoying! I want my viewers (all 2 of them!) to be able to see the simpler code, not this “Courtesy of Google” BS! I think it’s more than a little absurd that I have to end up typing the URL in myself.
What ever happened to the convenience of the net? Did it give way to the tyranny of the name-brand?
Crap I Drew on MY Lunch Break* September 1, 2008
Posted by tonywgoodwyn in Comics and Graphic Novels, Geekery, Writing.Tags: drawing, Rand, webcomic
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This represents a first for me, and I’m (probably overly) proud to share it here.
See, I’ve talked about doing a webcomic for a couple years now, and I think I’m getting to the point where I have enough material to write something that’s at least sustainable. Now, most of you who know me have heard me say that I think of myself as a much better writer than illustrator, and believe me, it’s true. But I have been honing my skills, on and off, for the last few months, enough that during a lunch break last week, I started an illustration of a cartoon face that seemed to grow right into the strip below right before my eyes. Seriously, I couldn’t stop drawing and writing.
Now, keep in mind, this is literally the first strip I have started and completed EVER. I can tell I’ll need to work on a few things (like lettering, backgrounds, etc.) before I could take this to a regular level, but I hope by sharing it you’ll see that I have reason to be as giddy and excited that I just got something done and up! Please enjoy.
No Inks, No Tablets, No Talent... But ALL Finished!
*Entry title used with all due props to Jin Wicked. And NO, the webcomic would not ever be called that.
SCRIPT IS FINISHED!!!! :-D March 18, 2008
Posted by tonywgoodwyn in Geekery, Writing.Tags: Nighthunter, Writing
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Well, at least the first draft is.
At 86 pages, this sucker belongs squarely in the graphic novel camp–way too long for a comic book. 
This story is the first of the Nighthunter saga, entitled Dead Reckoning. I’ve been working on the series concept, off and on, for about 2 years now, and have been developing this script for about a full year.
Now that this portion is finished, I’ll have to start searching in earnest for an illustrator and start finding a way to assemble a creative team for this project somewhere down the line. This ought to prove an interesting challenge for me, as I certainly don’t have the illustrating chops to create a product worthy of the comic book/graphic novel market.
In the mean time, I’M DONE WITH IT!!! **does happy dance** It really feels good to work on something of this scale and actually finish it. I’ve never sustained a writing project this ambitious to this point, so the fact that I’ve finished a full script at all (and have more on the way, storywise) represents a big step forward for me!
Stick a fork in me, I’m done for the day. G’night!
182,500 So Far January 13, 2008
Posted by tonywgoodwyn in Geekery, Weblogs, Writing.Tags: 182500, new year, Nighthunter, resolutions, script
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So at this point, I’m slightly behind on the 500 words-a-day thing. As of just before this post (which counts), I’m at about 480 words a day, and hoping to break myself back up into the 500-level within the next day or two. So far my eligible writing has consisted of blog posts, continued work on the Nighthunter script, and various writings of prose, poetry, etc. that will likely never see the light of day.
Ineligible writing has included letters of recommendation for people, proposals for work related items and programs, and some online “assignments” that I do for continuing education. All things considered, I’ve been doing a lot of this stuff.
Still, I’m very pleased with my progress so far. When you consider the following, my 480-word-per-day streak is pretty remarkable:
- The amount of ineligible material I’ve also written;
- That I’ve been sick (and I mean seriously ill) for a good portion of the last week;
- That I’ve made about 10 pages worth of progress on the script since the New Year; and
- I’ve also been in the process of trying to locate housing for the near future.
Once I’m actually able to barrel down and get my life in some semblance of order, I should be able to maintain some healthy writing levels in no time!
Ah, the little things that make me happy…
AMPTP May Have Money and Power, But No Public Sympathy January 5, 2008
Posted by tonywgoodwyn in Geekery, Television, Writing.Tags: AMPTP, DGA, SAG, Scrubs, WGA, writers strike
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What I’m about to say may sound ludicrous, considering that I’m desperate to see more of the final season of Scrubs, but…
I hope the writers’ strike continues. Or that the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers breaks because of it.
Take whatever side you want in this debate, it’s plain as day that the writers have pretty much won the public relations side of the conflict. Not only are they utilizing their talents to produce plenty of amusing and informative (and, of course, biased) videos explaining their side of things; not only are the picket lines of striking writers (and often, famous actors beside them) drawing plenty of sympathy from the general public struggling to understand why their favorite shows aren’t on TV right now; not only have the Directors Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild already made implicit gestures of support to Writers Guild America; but most importantly, the writers as a whole have actually made an effort to communicate their side of the story themselves, and not through the spokespersons, negotiators, and lawyers that we typically expect to come from gigantic, faceless corporations.
It’s just not possible to feel much sympathy when a spokesman for a multi-million-dollar conglomerate (or consortium of them) essentially tells everyone that they have to protect their bottom line for the future good of the industry. I mean, talk about an answer that says absolutely nothing! “We have a greater insight to the future of this industry than the people who work in it, and you just have to trust us,” is what they may as well say, along with, “We will be here FOREVER, and we’re just going to wait you out.”
Such a lazy stock answer also conjures visions of rich old white men sitting in a board room somewhere, drinking their wine and telling their board chairmen to protect their money and lifestyle no matter what the cost to the little folk. And of course, the chairmen don’t want to deal with the public scrutiny. The answer? Send a lawyer with a stock answer; it’s not like people don’t already dislike lawyers.
I’m no professional writer, and in this climate I’m not sure I’d want to be one in this industry. But I do sympathize with creative professionals who need work as well as the capability to protect the rights to their intellectual property down the road. So my stance on the strike isn’t difficult to figure out. But I doubt even the most rabid supporter of the AMPTP can make a convincing argument that they’ve done everything they could to reach out and make themselves look good, or at least sympathetic, to the public, the writers, and the rest of the industry.
And I think that’s a big part of why the writer’s have held out so long and done as well as they have against the money-laden machines they oppose.
Word Processor, Part Deux January 5, 2008
Posted by tonywgoodwyn in Web/Tech, Writing.Tags: lost file, MS Office, MS Word, OO Writer, OpenOffice, script
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Well, it looks like I’ve finally recovered re-typed the work I lost in yesterday’s MS Word debacle. The script isn’t exactly the same as I’d previously written, but it’s close enough that I feel good about it. Hopefully I won’t have any more file saving issues.
In the mean time, I’ve started using the OpenOffice word processor program, Writer, for my script. It functions in mostly the same ways that Word does, but is an open source version with some slight differences. It opens and saves programs in Word format if you wish, which already makes it a lot more flexible than Microsoft’s product.
I don’t claim to know much about open source software, but I’ll say this much: if OpenOffice is to Microsoft Office even half of what Mozilla Firefox is to Internet Explorer, then I won’t have any problems leaving Microsoft and not looking back.
Your Word Processor Did WHAT?! January 4, 2008
Posted by tonywgoodwyn in Rants, Web/Tech, Writing.Tags: flash drive, lost file, MS Word, script
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I had an extremely frustrating encounter last night. Preliminarily, I blame MS Word.
After writing another couple of script pages for my graphic novel, I saved it to my flash drive. Then, I went to save another copy of it on my computer’s hard drive, but instead clicked ‘Save’ by accident, initiating another save on the same document. I immediately got an error message (something to do with file permissions, I believe) and lost the entire document from my flash drive.
No prior draft, no warning, no nothing. The document was simply gone, erased from the flash drive. Thank goodness I’d thought to keep a copy on the hard drive.
A little research told me that this isn’t an uncommon problem, but that there are also no ways to recover documents lost in such a way. I can re-visit the script on my hard drive (breathes a sigh of relief), but the pages I was working on last night are gone.
All because I (accidentally) saved twice in a row.
I’ll re-type and recover the pages, more or less. I remember enough of the script not to worry too much about the minutiae of how it was composed. It’ll take a little extra effort to maintain 182,500, but hey, it’s early in the game. Just push through and do a little extra writing.
Still, I’m pretty upset with Word. It’s just left a pretty bitter taste in my mouth. Somehow, the punishment just doesn’t seem to fit the crime.
Help With 182,500 January 1, 2008
Posted by tonywgoodwyn in Geekery, General Incoherency, Web/Tech, Writing.Tags: 182500, spreadsheet
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I’m wondering if there’s a more efficient way of keeping track of my word counts for this year. When I last failed attempted this feat, I tried keeping notes on an Excel spreadsheet, which wasn’t terribly difficult, but a little cumbersome. I’d like to see if there’s a way I can better automate the task and still keep accurate tabs on my progress.
Any suggestions?
Graphic Novel Character Illustration Online! December 4, 2007
Posted by tonywgoodwyn in Comics and Graphic Novels, Nighthunter, Writing.Tags: Illustrations, Nighthunter, Sarabeth, Writing
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Sarabeth has made progress illustrating some of the graphic novel I’m still scripting. The main character, Rick Flores, has just been immortalized in a panel on her DeviantArt page! Take a look and see what you think!
