I Think I Need to Write

I want to write. I need to write. I sit down and can't seem to make myself think straight so I can write something worth while. I have decided to start putting something down in words everyday. I don't really care if it is a story or not. I just need to write.

How does this pertain to Meeting Stephen King? I think I am going to have to become a famous writer to finally meet him. I am going to have to travel in the same circles to find a moment to talk to him more than just a fan. So now comes the hard part. Writing millions of words that will be published, get me noticed and maybe lead me to a function where I can meet my mentor.

The Rock Bottom Remainders

Did you know Stephen King played in a band called "The Rock Bottom Remainders?" I knew he has been a lover of rock and roll for most of his life. You can tell this by the things he writes about. I had even heard he was in a band, but it was this week that I learned he formed the band with several of his author friends: Matt Groening, Dave Barry, Roy Blount, Jr., Mitch Albom, and Amy Tan.

There was an interview I found on YouTube this week about a final concert by the Rock Bottom Remainders. In that interview he talked a lot about his inspirations in music. He talks about how music affected his writing.  You can Watch the interview here:

It is fun to watch these men and women sing songs that are raw and inspired, most are cover songs that musicians have loved all their lives. They go around the country and sing for charity.  Here is King singing Dirty Water:

2 Movies for Stephen King's "It" a Good Idea?

All the news today about Stephen King has been about the making of one of his earlier novels called "It" directed by Cary Fukunaga. The thing is, they are planning to split the movie into two parts. I am sitting here wondering if this is a good idea or not.

On the one hand there are enough Stephen King Fans out there, the movie will probably make enough money to make both movies. I know I am one of those people who will go out and pay the ridiculous amounts of money to see the films. I just hope they don't make it in 3D.

The story is long enough they will be able to fit it into two movies. I just wonder if it is necessary. Stephen King has problems with Movies and TV because he treats it like a novel. I spends so much time on the world and character building that he loses the short attention spans of people who would rather watch the film instead of reading a book-stop of a novel.

On the other hand I am not sure the story can be successfully split into two. There are so many things going on in this story. I guess they could split it into time periods. The first movie would be about the group as kids and how they all left town. Then the second movie could be about them coming back together as adults to face the one thing that changed their lives forever.

Needless to say, this is going to be a fun couple of films based on one of King's Masterpieces. It is going to be fun, scary and will remind us why we all hate clowns.

Stephen King Seems to be Writing More

I find it amazing how much Mr King is writing these days. I think it has to do with not being able to do as much as he wanted to do with TV and Movies as he was hoping to do. After his accident Stephen was not sure how much more writing he was going to be able to do. He even warned his readers that he might be cutting back on the amount he was writing. That thought was just that; only a thought.

He focused on his dark tower series and completed the seven book series. Then he started releasing nearly 2 books per year after that. The man is a writing machine. Today I got a birthday present in the mail. It was the collectors edition of his book called Under the Dome. It has been out for a while. It is a doorstop at 1074 pages. This is one that is going to take me a while to read.

He recently came out with a novel about time travel and the Kennedy assassination. Then just this month I got a copy of Esquire Magazine that has a new story by King in it. I believe it is part one. the August issue will have part 2 in it. I forgot how much fun it was collecting everything Stephen King. 

I want to take the inspiration of Kings prolific writing and apply it to my own work. I want to write something that is going to inspire me to write even more. I want to create a masterpiece that will live on in people's minds and on their bookcases. I want to inspire myself to keep writing.

To Script or Not to Script

I have been trying to brainstorm what my comic is going to be about. I want to write something that is going to be interesting to read while being fun to draw. I thought I might just start drawing and let the pictures lead me through the story. I am not sure that is the best idea for this project.

I think I have finally decided that I want to script out the comic. I think the script will help me when  go to draw the images. I won't have to second guess what I am doing. All I will have to do is make the images fit the concept of each page. Page after page will begin to shape a complete book and hopefully I will not have to go back to change anything when I am done.

How do I script the comic? I have done a little scripting in the past. None of which was ever turned into anything. I have looked though books like the one above and have determined a simple way to script my book. The first thing I have to do is determine the arc of the entire issue. Once I know that, then I can focus on each of the pages. Each page should have some sort of point. The page acts almost like a scene, a movement that leads into the next page.  

The easiest way to script the page is to go cell by cell. I usually thing about how I want the page to flow. I will sketch out the layout of the page. Then next to that little thumbnail I will write out "Cell One: Whatever happens in this cell." Then I will go on to Cell Two. Sometimes there is only one cell. Sometimes there are six or eight cells. It depends on what I am trying to do.

I think I am going to spend the next few posts brainstorming my ideas for the Meeting Stephen King Comic. I figure since I will not be trying to make money on this project, It doesn't really matter if the world sees my process. In fact making the process public might help someone else who is trying to create a book of their own.

Setting a Solid Deadline to Meet King

Everything I have read about accomplishing a goal says that I need to make a specific deadline for it's completion. If you make a goal without a deadline, then you will continue to push it off to the point of ever doing it. If you can give yourself a deadline to accomplish something, you will have a finish line, a time frame to shoot for.

To advance the concept of the deadline, you can make the finish line more effective if you can offer yourself a reward for completing the goal, and a punishment for not making it. You will find a way to make something happen if you desire the reward or dislike the punishment.

Now you can have people help you by reminding you of your deadline and the self imposed rewards and punishments. If you state your goals to others, then they can hold you accountable. They can be your cheerleaders. Some of the books say that you should not tell anyone, that your goals should be driven by your own personal desire. If you let others in on the secret, your results will be swayed by their opinion.

I think my Goal to meet Stephen King should be something public. I want you to know about my journey. I want to be able to read your encouragement on this blog or on my Facebook Page. Maybe you will have ideas that will help me meet the man. Maybe you will have suggestions to help my project be even better. Whatever the case, I want you there to cheer me on.

Here is my Deadline: I want to meet Stephen King by June 30, 2013. I want him to see my project and want to meet me. I want to be able to sit down and have a beer with him and talk about writing, baseball, music and anything else that comes to mind.

"The Reach" Movie & "The Shining" Sequal Novel

We have a new movie coming out in the theaters, hopefully sooner rather than later. If you are a fan of King's older work, one of his shorts, "The Reach" from The Skeleton Crew is about to be made. King is most proud of this story. He is often quoted as saying this story is the one he would "most like to be remembered for after his death"

The story is about an old woman who knows she is about to die and her visions of what she knows to be ghosts of people she once knew. It is a story that follows her and her journey to be with her dead husband.

I also found out the King is working on a sequel to "The Shining" called "Dr Sleep". This is exciting. I don't know if they should bother making a movie from it, unless it is undoubtedly better than the first movie (personally I love both renditions of the "The Shining". Nothing can beat Jack Nicholson and that crazy face through the door. The Miniseries was closer to the book and was interesting to watch.)

The following is a short clip of King talking about the book and what he is trying to do with it. I enjoy when he speaks to students. I am not sure why he relates to well to that demographic. Maybe it is because he has a teacher's heart. Maybe it's because those are the people who are reading his books the most. They want to know someone else is having a harder time in life than they are at the moment.