I went on author David V. Stewart’s youtube this weekend which did really great, over 1000 views. We delved deep into writing and genre, and I think it was one of the more interesting streams I’ve recorded.
Now we’re about one week into The Stars Entwined‘s launch, which has gone really fantastic. Though I didn’t have as many guest blogs and the like as I did with For Steam And Country, the release was on par with it — and for Steam itself went crazy over the weekend, up to #2 in Steampunk, which is the highest it ever has been. So thank you everyone for checking out my books. Reviews have been stellar (pun intended) on The Stars Entwined also, which is really exciting. This universe really is my baby.
A lot more work ahead both with marketing and books, but the SF Elites out there are fast finding they can’t stop the signal because I produce too good of work for them to shut it down. And my readers are the best!
Here’s our chat if you missed it:
This was a good discussion.
1. The screenwriter Eric Roth’s characters (major and minor), arc beautifully. Read Benjamin Button or Forest Gump. In some instances, for example, the captain in Benjamin Button, it’s very subtle, but absolutely beautiful nonetheless.
2. I browsed screenwriters on Twitter and was disgusted with the leftist political uniformity. I couldn’t find one screenwriter—not one—who wasn’t mouthing anti-Trump nonsense every other tweet. The writer for the new Toy Story had a screenshot of a letter from another screenwriter talking about a call to artistic arms against the Trump presidency.
It made me feel like my work will be rejected outright by the gatekeepers in the movie biz. These people seem to think writing about transgender vampire moon bats is transgressive or daring!
3. Outlining at a certain point becomes tedious, but it does pay dividends. I have to discipline myself to the process, which has been a major challenge, because I find myself wanting to write write write after I sketch the major turning points in the story and I have the resolution. I’d like cultivate the discipline to write a complete step outline, then from that, a thorough treatment, and from the treatment, the actual story and dialogue. What Robert McKee calls “writing from the inside out”.
Again, good discussion. I really enjoy these shop talks. It concretizes the dream.