Tag: writing

‘Jake and the Dynamo: Dead to Rites’ Progress Update

Featured image: “The Magical Girls!” by Smeoow.

According to my arbitrarily set goal, I am not “finished” with the writing phase of Jake and the Dynamo: Dead to Writes, which is to say that the draft stands at 90,000 words. The story is not finished, however, so I think the final draft will be considerably longer.

I hope to have a review post up by tomorrow night. I was thinking of working on it today, but ended up working on my novel instead, which isn’t exactly a bad thing.

Jake and the Dynamo: Dead to Rites
Phase:Writing
Due:7 years ago
100%

Laughing through Sorrow: A Meditation on the Magical Girl Aesthetic

I have a theory that I have a hard time explaining, one I have held for years and have constantly struggled both to articulate in essays and to encapsulate in my fiction writing. A recent Amazon reviewer of my novel Jake and the Dynamo has, I think, captured it well:

There are times when the laugh lines come so fast you can’t catch your breath and other times when the insight is so deep you can feel it all the way inside you. The author is very familiar with his source material and understands the consequences of its tropes far more than the creators that develop it. Jake is very identifiable and you really feel for him. The central magical girls—Pretty Dynamo, Card Collector Kasumi, and Grease Pencil Marionette—are deep and well-drawn. You feel their triumphs and their pain. Things you took for granted are exposed from entirely new angles. But it is also rip-roaringly funny.

I am still grasping at the proper words, but what I think I want to say is that the grandest or saddest stories should begin with comedy. I take my influence largely from comics, so if I were to name the comics that best capture how I believe stories should be written, I would point first to Bone by Jeff Smith and Amelia Rules! by Jimmy Gownley. Continue reading “Laughing through Sorrow: A Meditation on the Magical Girl Aesthetic”

New Features

I’ve added a couple of features to the blog; it remains to be seen if I keep them, as this blog is already heavy with add-ons.

You’ll notice a new option in the menu at the top, one for “books.” This will take you to a book table that hosts individual pages for all my books including laudatory quotes, links to online stores, cover art, sample chapters, and so forth. There’s only one book in it right now, of course, but that will change.

There’s also a new widget in the sidebar to track my writing progress on the sequel. I’m hoping it will serve as a motivator.

Writing Update

I’m 75,000 words into Jake and the Dynamo: Dead to Rites, the sequel to The Wattage of Justice. It looks as if the second book is going to be considerably longer than the first one, as there’s still a lot of story to deal with.

Both books are similar in that, at least from the author’s perspective, it’s all about trying to get the characters to a certain place. The writing of the first novel was driven entirely by my desire to get Jake and Dana to a restaurant. The second is driven by my desire to get them to a rock concert.