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Thanks for reading.
2/16/04
Thanks for reading.
2/16/04
But in transferring several favorite bits onto the Websnark site from some previous online journal, he posted his responses to a "meme" of the sort that LJers are always posing to each other. This meme is about writing. Having no blog I thought here might be a good place for me to tackle them, when I found myself unable to resist.
What's the last thing you wrote?
The cartoon above.
Was it any good?
I think it's funny.
What's the first thing you ever wrote that you still have?
That exists, or that's in my possession? That exists: In my mother's memory
book there's something from when I was in grade school, a picture of Batman
and his dog, with a caption that goes something like: "Batman's dog is eating
outside. Batman goes out and looks at the sun."
That's in my possession: Probably the oldest of what I refer to in the FAQ as my blue binder cartoons.
Was it any good?
The cartoon? Someone stole the original. I guess so.
Write poetry?
Rarely.
Angsty poetry?
Doggerel.
Favourite genre of writing?
Science fantasy. Humor.
Most fun character you ever wrote?
I can't single one out because too many of the characters I write are
archetypes. The blind spots of the Wise Innocent (e.g., Arthur, Clark Kent)
are fun to find punchlines in, as well as the arrogance of the Omniscient
Sage (Merlin, Doctor Who*).
Most annoying character you ever wrote?
To me, or to my audience? ...I still can't think of anyone. Even the villains
I write are nice guys in their own minds. Some of my fanfiction has Wesley
Crusher in it, does that count?
Best plot you ever wrote?
The most successful that was the most work? Perhaps the Doctor
Who/everything crossover The Circle of Time.
Coolest plot twist you ever wrote?
The space arc version of the last book of Le Morte d'Arthur. Oh,
that people have read? Um ... it got a lot of reaction when, in the blue
binder cartoons, the party guy took my roommate to the bar to get him drunk.
How often do you get writer's block?
As often as seven times a week.
How do you fix it?
I write a joke anyway, or I swipe a joke from the blue binder cartoons, or I
use a cartoon from the filler buffer.
Write fan fiction?
Won't ever stop.
Do you type or write by hand?
Type.
Do you save everything you write?
Yes.
Do you ever go back to an old idea long after you abandoned it?
I'm not sure I ever abandon ideas, though there are some I let stew for a
long, long time before they get used.
What's your favorite thing that you've written?
I tend to reread most often the fanfiction stories that have courtroom
scenes in them.
What's everyone else's favorite thing that you've written?
The captionless cartoon Good Friday depicting Pooh and Piglet at
Golgotha.
Do you even show people your work?
But that's what it's for.
Who's your favourite constructive critic?
Websnark. Oh, of my work? You know who you are.
Do you have a web site for your writings?
Two.
Did you ever write a novel?
Tried once. It only reinforced that my medium is daily cartoons.
Have you ever written fantasy, sci-fi, or horror?
Yes.
Ever written romance or teen angsty drama?
There's romance in some of what I write, but I can't say I've written
capital-R Romance.
What's your favorite setting for your characters?
Toss-up between contemporary life and alien planets.
What's one genre you have never written, and probably never will?
I was going to say horror, but I've written Buffy the Vampire Slayer
fanfiction so maybe not. Romance? Teen angsty drama? Wait, Arthur, King of
Time and Space has those. Um, I've never written a murder mystery. Wait,
there was an episode of murder mystery in in the work Aihok and Effex came
from ...
How many writing projects are you working on right now?
Two.
Do you want to write for a living?
I'm of an age unwilling to give up conventional retirement planning benefits.
Ask me again ten years ago.
Have you ever written something for a magazine or newspaper?
Drawn? Yes.
Have you ever won an award for your writing?
Yes.
Ever written something in script or play format?
Yes.
What are your five favorite words?
I used to overuse basically till I noticed. Time, space,
"Oh?", ... I've got nothing else.
Do you ever parody?
Occasionally I parody in my fanfiction, sort of, but I think I keep the
characters in character.
What's your favorite thing to parody?
A common motif in a work I write fanfiction of.
Do you actually like that thing, or are you spitefully making fun of
it?
I love that thing.
Do you ever write based on yourself?
The leads here at Arthur, King of Time and Space all have something of
me, as it says in the relevant FAQ question. Then of course I myself was the
protagonist of the blue binder cartoons.
What character that you've written most resembles yourself?
The protagonist of the blue binder cartoons.
Where do you get ideas for your other characters?
I use the ones I like best from my experience as an audience. On the rare
occasion I invent a character, it's as a plot device and as such is developed
according to the needs of the story or the cartoon. Well, now, I did invent
some characters for the blue binder cartoons. One was an astronautical genius
so that I could draw cartoons about myself and my friends engaging in space
travel, so I suppose he was a plot device. But the other was an elephant
genetically altered to talk and walk upright - so I suppose the idea for him
came from science fiction and Aesop.
Do you ever write based on your dreams?
As a rule I don't remember my dreams.
Do you favor happy endings, sad endings, or cliff-hangers?
Happy. Well, not necessarily (though usually) happy, but appropriate.
The endings of my stories could perhaps be characterized as just
whether they're happy or not.
Have you ever written based on an artwork you've seen?
Can't think of an example.
Are you concerned with spelling and grammar as you write?
Always.
Ever write something entirely in chatspeak? (How r u?)
Cartoons about chatters.
Entirely in L337?
|\| 0.
Was that question completely appalling and un-writer like?
I give up. Was it?
Does music help you write?
Having or not having music on while I write has no observed influence.
Do you have a weblog or livejournal?
No.
Are people surprised and confused when they find out you write
well?
I can't say I've ever noticed that, though often they're impressed that I
draw well.
Quote something you've written. The first thing to pop into your
mind.
"Making a difference to only one person was never enough for you." [Doctor
Who* to Captain Kirk.]
* I'm fully aware, fellow Doctor Who fans, that Doctor Who is the name
of the program, not of the character. But I can't assume that everyone
reading Arthur, King of Time and Space would know who I meant if I
were only to say "the Doctor", so ...
Arthuriana sources I use or recommend:
Arthurian
Legend
Arthuriana - the
Journal of Arthurian Studies; the website of the quarterly journal of the
North American Branch of the International Arthurian Society.
The Camelot Project at the University of Rochester.
Camelot In Four
Colors: A Survey of the Arthurian Legend in Comics
Mystical-WWW -
The Arthurian A2Z knowledge Bank which has encyclopedically-arranged
entries on the characters of the Arthurian legends.
Le Morte Darthur: Sir Thomas Malory's Book of King Arthur and of his Noble
Knights of the Round Table,
Volume 1 and
Volume
2.
