Honestly, Beautifully : honey blade

2002-09-26 - 11:28 a.m.

Ah, today is the day of nothing.

I don't have to go to work tonight and my lack of cash means I can't go drinking with the usual crowd, which saddens me because that's the high point of my week in many respects.

I'm comforting myself by telling myself that it'd be a bad idea to get drunk the night before I'm supposed to register for uni. And besides which, Neko's coming over later and the third series of The League Of Gentlemen starts tonight. So staying in = good.

I'm going to go out and buy some food-type stuff so Neko and I can eat tonight, but other than that I don't have any plans at all. I'm going to do some drawing, I think. I'm once again attempting to complete a manga, and up till this point I've mostly been sorting the story out in my head. It's about time I attempted drawing things.

I do have some added motivation to finish this particular one but I'm not going to go into that, I might hex things.

If, as and when it all comes together, I'll be asking certain people to tell me what they think of it. So far that list consists of Lily, Nii-chan, Miranda and a handful of people from UKA. Oh, and Neko, and possibly X. I'm selecting people based on their likely understanding and appreciation for the genre and subject matter, see. Hence why X is only a "possible".

I need to dig out some of my books and stuff too, as the story is a little on the complicated side and I don't want to be accused of inaccuracy.

I've discovered a funny thing, though. When I was a child I could write amazing stories. I mean, actually write them down and express everything wonderfully. My teachers absolutely loved any creative writing I used to hand in because it was a damn sight more interesting to read than anything anyone else turned in. And yes, I do know this for a fact.

But then I started reading manga. And I read so much manga that I eventually began to see my stories unfolding in panel form, which meant that I began to find it hard to actually write about what happened.

Now I've hit the next phase. As part of my minor I've had to draw no end of storyboards for the projects that we do. Now, the thing about storyboards is that they don't have to tell a story, all they have to do is demonstrate what order your shots are in, what kind of shot you'll be using and what happens in each. You draw a guideline picture and write a commentary underneath detailing the shot size and what the subject matter is. It helps you to imagine how the film will look after you've edited and printed it.

So, last night I was trying to make a panel list for this manga, and realising that I'd also lost whatever understanding of manga panelling I used to have. I now imagine my story as a film, not as a series of pictures, so I have to stop myself every so often and ask if it's coming out too much like storyboards, leaving out too many actions and therefore risking continuity.

Having a good story is one thing. And damn, this is going to be a great story. Expressing it one way or another is where it gets difficult.

Anyway, I need to shower and get dressed so I can do the few things I really have to do today...

.

previous - next

.