Binge-Watching Game of Thrones

The Game of Thrones TV series deserves all the hype and all the accolades its received over the past year. As a fan of the books I had some sizable expectations but the people behind and in front of the camera managed to create a very faithful yet cinematic adaptation that succeeded on every level.

I’ve only just now gotten around to watching the series and did so in one giant-size chunk in which I watched 9 of the 10 episodes in one day. Having done so I can say that the addictive quality of the books fully translates to the small screen; often times I couldn’t believe an hour had already gone by when the credits started rolling. Martin’s complex narrative is excellent and is even fleshed out further with additional scenes created for the television series, usually featuring characters that weren’t given a POV focus in the book. These were some of my favorite scenes and did a lot of humanize certain despicable characters.

Overall the actors did a great job portraying their respective roles and its far easier to list the few that I felt didn’t quite fit their characters than the many, many that did so wonderfully. Shae, Tyrion’s whore, was not like I expected her to be after reading the books. I’m not sure if it was the class she maintained with her presence or the vaguely foreign accent but something felt weird. The Mountain that Rides was truly a monster but will never, I feel, be accurately portrayed outside our imagination. Other than those two minor gripes I thought everyone did an excellent job; it truly was a marvelous ensemble cast.

The series also pulled off the spectacle of the world of Westeros and beyond with one notable exception. Sitting down to watch the series I expected to be let down more often than not but the Wall looked great, the Others and the Wights were smartly and seldom shown, the Direwolves fit in well, and the baby dragons were spot on. The only real notable thing missing was the battle between the Lannister and Stark forces in which Tyrion fought from the front line; I was instantly disappointed to see the series pull a quick, comical cop-out. I’m sure the budget had something to do with the scene’s exclusion, but if we’re lucky a much more epic battle will be shown in season 2.

In conclusion there’s just a whole lot to love about Game of Thrones whether you’re a die-hard fan or a curious newcomer. Check it out and get caught up on all the bloody, dramatic, twists and turns as the show heads into whats sure to be an explosive second season.

The Path to Publication: Part 4

I’ve got my new revision; even better, I like my new revision. I’ve been working on and thinking a lot about my query letters and to be truthful the process has been a bit difficult. Since these letters will be my one chance to make an impression on several of the top agents for YA fantasy literature I’m mindful to make sure I send out the very best letter I can. Right now I think I’ve crafted a good core to my letter and just need to get some last additional personal touches in before sending them off. At least, I think that’s where I’m at. The next time I look at the query letter I might just change the whole thing, again. I still hope to start sending queries out before the year ends but I’ve only got so much more time to make that happen!

The Freelance Texan

The Path to Publication: Part 3

Revise, revise, revise!

After moving into my new abode (it is still a work in progress) I knocked out the third revision of the Pawns of Concilia manuscript in no time flat. It turns out it’s pretty easy to get in a groove when you have no television, internet, or any gamer roommates to distract you from making forward progress. However, once I had a third revision I realized that I still wanted to do some major work to the beginning sequence before sending anything off to a literary agent. Usually agents want to look at the first few pages of your manuscript to get an idea of how you write and what the book is like; I came to the hard but necessary judgment that what I had written as the first chapter wouldn’t convince anyone to represent me. So we’re now into revision 3.5 with emphasis on my “beginning sequence”. Here are the major items I wanted to accomplish:

1. Generally improve the writing of the first two chapters or so. I have a specific point in mind to revise up to when it comes to the story but to anyone else it would be an unknown reference, so I’ll just say the first couple chapters.

2. Redo the protagonist’s introduction and make him more likable. The way my story is now I don’t think he is necessarily all that….. Hero-esque up until way later in chapter five or so. It’s gotta happen sooner.

With the advice of a confidante I decided to actually rewrite the whole beginning sequence from scratch, with my Manuscript 3.0 as notes, and without touching 3.0 at all. The result has been very refreshing and a definite improvement over what came before. Perhaps its that I’m a better writer now than I was when I originally wrote the material or maybe I just needed a fresh start but I’m really liking what coming out on the page….screen….whatever. At the moment I’ve written up to where the protagonist and the narrator meet for the first time. What I’ve planned for that meeting is a scene that intimidates me greatly. In one scene I want to establish who the protagonist is, make him the character the audience will root for, delve into the narrator’s beliefs, and establish the mood for the entire freaking book/series. No pressure or anything.

Wish me luck.

The Freelance Texan

Reflections on Pokemon Pals

In early 2010 I walked into the core auditions for an interesting project to be broadcast on Youtube. Looking back, I think the people that showed up that day all had pretty varied expectations about how it was all going to go down and what exactly it was going to turn into. As for me, I just figured the project would be a good time and a hell of a story to tell later. I ended up being right; that project turned out to be Pokemon Pals and it was quite an adventure.

Now that the show has officially wrapped up its production and Nate is embarking on a new and grand adventure in California, I think it’s finally an appropriate time to reflect on the entire chaotic process. I say chaotic because during the near year and a half in which we filmed the show there were good days and there were bad days, and more than a few obstacles in our path. In the end, despite doubts, frustrations, and a healthy share of bad luck, Nate produced thirty-four episodes of the core series, a half episode designed to hold the project over during its darkest days, 2 stand-alones (I like to call them “what-if” episodes), and four videos that fall under the “Pokemon Pals Presents” banner. That’s an impressive accomplishment, especially considering the struggle to took to get us there.

I’m sure some of you noticed the bumps, those that have been watching the show since episode one. During those early days, and really as much as could throughout the show’s production, we filmed episodes and scenes out of order, which made scheduling actors much easier and filming more efficient. So we filmed the entirety of episode 9, for example, before we had finished what would have been episode 4. Unfortunately, at about that time we suffered what would be the first of many cast resignations, which is a real fancy way of saying somebody quit the show. Keep in mind that nobody was paid to do a thing, so there was no real encouragement to stay if we weren’t enjoying ourselves to some degree. Still, it sucked to lose a character that was key to an episode or story arc and meant we had to quickly improvise, cast someone new and keep going. Believe me, we heard your disappointment when a familiar face disappeared but for us it was either replace the actor or eliminate the character entirely, which was simply something we couldn’t do and still be a show about Pokemon. True, the series that we parodied would eventually replace important characters with every new region, but Pokemon Pals just had to have Ash, Misty, Brock, Jessie, James, Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny to exist as it was supposed to be. In order to keep those characters we had to do what we had to do.

To me the core cast of the series consisted of Nate (Ash), Paige (Misty), AJ (James, Butch….half of Team Rocket) and myself. Not to discount the efforts and talent of the countless others that worked on the series, but the four of us were there from beginning and at the end, carrying the load for the show despite others quitting. Sitting at our wrap-party recently, it was strange to think of how the four of us had grown, changed, and matured since we met at the auditions early last year. Then and now I think of Nate as my own personal Paul Heyman. AJ at first seemed to be a crazy bible kid, but now I don’t think I could easily or quickly summarize him. As for Paige, I wasn’t quite sure why she doing the show in the beginning, but today I realize she did it because she enjoyed it; maybe it just took me a bit to get past my early impressions and figure that out. I’m pretty sure she’ll give me crap for that statement if she reads this.

Side by side with the aggravating shoots and the pure bad luck were plenty of fun experiences and absolutely ridiculous episodes. I had so much fun filming some of our sillier stuff, episodes like 10, 13, 15, or 16, where I got to work with Chris (Hilarious Redneck, Hilarious Poke-Preacher, Voice of Alakazam), Abigail (Dawn, Ash Groupie) and of course Nate, really exploring Ash’s daddy issues in fun ways. Then there were the Giovanni shoots and the infamous Nurse Joy closet scene, part of one of the first really good episodes we finished. Behind the scenes and between takes there was always the goofy banter and the times we spent just hanging out, at the anime convention or at Blueberry Hill with AJ and Ben (Snorlax, Diglett). Looking back, I think I’ve been ready for Pokemon Pals to end for a while but I definitely had some good times doing the show.

Of course, I have to be thankful for the opportunity Nate gave us all by writing, directing, editing, casting and producing the show. We’ve had our disagreements, certainly, but at the end of the day I respect Nate for making Pokemon Pals happen. The fact is that I got to play Brock, Giovanni, Zeus, the Joker, and Eric from That 70s Show because of Pokemon Pals; that’s pretty cool.

As for the future, Pokemon Pals fans might be wondering what will happen next. Your support is never taken for granted; you are the reason why the series has so many views. Do us all a favor and make sure you watch every episode of the show and send the links to your favorite episodes to friends. Keep spreading the Pokemon Pals love, who knows how many views we’ll get? Like I said, Nate is heading to California to go to film school; if he works hard and plays the game, we might see big things from him. I’ve still got my Youtube channel (youtube.com/phoenixkane1986) and will soon be working on another youtube series with AJ and Aaron (Team Rocket Accountant), so look for that in the coming months. Pokemon Pals was a very interesting chapter in my life and now that it’s done I’m excited to see what comes next. Hope you enjoyed the ride.

The Freelance Texan…….or Brock

The Path to Publication: Part 2

Good news on the publication front. No, I’m not officially any closer to getting my work published but I did get some answers on the questions I have about book one. First of all, I have it on good authority that a book of YA fiction from a first time author should be anwhere from 45K to 80K words. Mine will be sitting very pretty at about 60K, so I am now officially comfortable with the length of my book. I’m also more confidant in my work best fitting the label of YA Fiction instead of Adult Fiction. Just a few days ago I finished The Hunger Games by Suzanne Harris and I was struck by certain similarities to my style of writing when compared to something like Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones. Theres a certain way in which Harris writes that readers who a little too stuffy about their sentence structure might not necessarily agree with, but what she writes is effective and exciting. That style is something a little closer to what I like to write and knowing that theres a successful author out there in YA fiction doing similar things makes me feel a lot more confident about my style and what I have to offer. The more I look at writing the more I realize that if its good, it works. Hopefully whatever it is I do will be good enough for someone.

The Freelance Texan

The Path to Publication: Part 1

Alright, here’s the deal. This amateur writer is bored out of his mind right now, having officially reached the lull period between both his jobs’ seasons of work but still being in the “work zone” where he feels like he needs to be productive. On top of that he has been on an editing tear the past couple of days and has been blowing through his most recent edit of his first book and has finished up a blog entry for both his personal blog and the wrestling blog he writes for (thejohnreport.net). He’s officially satiated with all his distractions and is just randomly creating content now. Good thing he left his camera in another state.

But back to that editing process. It’s currently my goal to shape up this first book in order to shop it around to potential literary agents in 2011. The faster I get through this edit the more obvious it becomes that the search for representation will begin sooner rather than later. Everything I’ve ever heard about the query letter process suggests, neigh, straight up tells you that its a stressful, depressing, soul-sucking affair that is unfortunently the only real way to get a book published without spending a ton of your own money for little reward. The thought of that stress induces fear and brings back the old questions about what I’ve created.

Is my series Adult Fantasy or Young Adult Fantasy?
Should I combine my first two books into one product?
What if what I’ve written just isn’t good enough?

Of course I think what I’ve created has entertainment value, but thinking about the raw numbers game that is the query process is enough to make anyone second guess their work. Also, just as important as what you’ve created is how you sell it. Your query letter is your cover letter for the publishing world. Who are you, what do you have, why should I bother trying to get you and your product sold? Over time I think I’ve developed a better understanding of what I’ve created and how I will pitch it to agents but I have never felt that I am very good at selling myself, my skills, or what I do. Perhaps its my natural bull-shit radar or maybe I just need more confidance, if only to make others more confidant about me. Either way, soon the day will come when I will start to play the game and send out the cursed letters that might just change my future. Right now I have two rejection letters up on my wall by my desk and I’m sure to get many more before the year is out. To keep my sanity and to encourage myself along this journey, for every “no” I tape up on the wall I’ll remind myself that I only need one “yes” to move on to the next step.

The Freelance Texan

Macho Man is Dead and the Followers Remain

If you’re a fan of wrestling then you’re no doubt aware that the Macho Man Randy Savage died last week at the age of 58. The best information surrounding the incident suggests that a heart attack caused him to crash his vehicle into a tree and until I am told otherwise this is what I will believe. Rajah.com made sure to point out that toxicology results won’t be available for a few more weeks, but I’d like to think that the heart attack was the only real factor. Savage has so much respect from both those inside the industry and those who appreciate it that I hate even the suggestion that he was brought down by some combination of chemicals inside his body.

Even though I consider myself a fan of wrestling, I am hardly an expert on the Macho Man’s era and have only really seen one match that he was involved with, that being his legendary battle with Ricky the Dragon Steamboat at Wrestlemania 3. From an outsider’s perspective, let me tell you that it indeed holds up to today’s standards of athleticism, speed, and intensity. Yet though my knowledge of his work is extremely limited, I am fully aware of his character, presence, and legacy. Savage was a true icon in a field of entertainment that tosses the word around as if it were dispensible and cheap. As someone else said in a way more eloquent than I could, Savage personified what the general public thought of when they picture a professional wrestler. Hogan, Stone Cold, and the Rock may be the superstars that eclipse the industry, but Savage is who personified professional wrestling. I don’t think there can be a higher compliment for a wrestler.

From the outpouring of kind words and stories of Savage from the industry and combined with what I see from wrestlers applying their craft today, I know that Randy Savage inspired many of my favorite wrestlers from the past and the present. His passion and his athleticism promoted the same from the wrestlers that would come after him and for anyone who likes fast paced, hard hitting action in their wrestling you have to respect the man for his contributions to the sport and the art of WWE and the greater genre of professional wrestling. He certainly has my respect.

RIP Randy Savage. You deserve it.

The Freelance Texan