There is no commentary tonight for last week's Subject 13 issue.
My apologies.
Life does its best to interfere with plans. I will get the commentary up, after the weekend. Likewise, there won't be a Lost in Translation over at Fan To Pro Saturday. I didn't realize that I would be delving into the history of computer gaming with Part V of the series.
Issue 20 will be up at its regular time tomorrow; the issues, so far, have been written far in advance.
I will pose a question for you, fair reader: Are you getting anything from the commentaries? Do you want more or less?
So, in short, Issue 20 is up tomorrow evening, as usual.
There won't be a post over at Fan To Pro by me on Saturday. Still worth going there to see what else is there, really.
I am working on a few other ideas for here at The Chaos Beast that should appear over the next month.
If you're in Ottawa this weekend, check out CanGames. Say hi to me if you want; I will be running Fluxx Saturday morning and Saturday afternoon.
Here's what I particularly like about the commentaries:
ReplyDelete-The historical perspective. Not just when you wrote them (though that's interesting) but how things would have to be updated these days, like the Homeland Security thing. Or the dot com startup you mentioned. Another one is Nasty stealing the car - with GPS these days (or even simple security tracking) the Consortium should have been able to pick her back up in a matter of hours, not have to wait until hearing from upstate police.
-The writing adjustments. I've read ahead to your remarks on #19, and how you were thinking BMW motorcycle, then changed it to something more American. Brilliant, wouldn't have thought of that angle. Or how you decided to back-fill the subject information at the end of the parts later on. You mentioned name generation too. I think that's the stuff a writer might be particularly interested in (as long as it doesn't get repetitive).
-The direct invitation to comment on something specific. Like in #19 (again) about the elevator thing... though that seems like an obvious one to me, but maybe not. I've started doing some of this when I blog myself too. It might turn a verbal "I agree with that" to a written comment of "I believe the following... by the way, I agree with you."
Less interesting is some of the plot mechanics, though at times it can be entertaining (like Maria's belated name) or insightful (oh right, it was the invulnerable guy worried about her power, yikes). Similarly, references to other works if they're not immediately accessible seems superfluous. I likely won't remember this interview scene if I stumble on Crossover a year from now - also, show me how your writing is different with an excerpt, don't just tell me stuff. But some of that may be useful to you, and if no one IS commenting, ultimately, you need to be directing that question back at yourself too.
In fact, I'll do that right now - what are YOU getting from your commentaries?
What do I get from them? Well, it gets me thinking of what I did and what I'd do differently. It also forces me to remember details and plot lines I had in mind. The details like the choice of motorcycle remind me that small things like that help make the setting feel a little more real. I could have left the motorcycle as a BMW, mainly because I really don't care much for Harleys (overpriced, badly tuned pieces of crap, IMHO), but it wouldn't reflect well on a group based on the American national animal.
DeleteWith Subject 13, doing the commentaries reminded be of small bits that I need to incorporate in other works in the line, like Peregrine's costume. They also reminded me of how far I've come in writing skill. Little things, like pacing.
I hadn't even considered GPS tracking of vehicles. You're right, she wouldn't have gotten out of NYC, let alone reach Rochester.
I need to focus less on the plot mechanics and more on the thought processes leading to what was written. I can work on that with Lethal Ladies, since I've just started that, and on future works. And an Crossover excerpt isn't a bad idea.