Mr. James ([info]mrjames) wrote,
@ 2002-11-12 15:09:00
Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend  Next Entry
Time for a new Collaboration?
Right, then.

I think it's safe to say Dr. Celestine's Carnival of Souls is dead.
There's some good stuff there. Real good. I'm particularly proud of the direction Aimee and the Wax house went, of B.B. Wolfe, and of the Molly banter with the Doc, but I think we're tapped out.

What did we do right? That's easy. We did some damn fine characterization and dialogue.

What did we do wrong? That's easy, too. We rambled. We beat dead horses. We contradicted each other and stepped on plotlines that we didn't understand. There's some serious confusion in there, particularly between story arcs.

I think.

I think we could do it better if we tried again.

Marci, G.A., Dave, Clay (especially Clay. He made a zombie character live.), and everybody. Let's get something going.

I suggest we stick to the supernatural angle. We've demonstrated a flair for horror. But we should back it off a little. G.A., that means you don't get to be a GOD. And I don't get to work for one. Two, in Mr. James' case.

What we need is a theme.

Contradicting myself after only two paragraphs, how about gods? Anybody read American Gods, by Neil Gaiman? No? Read it. Even if we don't use it, it's a damn fine book. We could do someting with that kind of concept. Anansi, Czernobog, Hel, and Television, and the adventures of the modern day.

How about immortals? Nothing so gaudy as Highlander, but something along that line. You could have some fun with that...

How about an alien setting instead?

Fun in the Phantom Zone?

Superheroes with grit? Anybody else read The Pro, a one-shot comic from Image? Read it. Especially you, G.A.

How about some suggestions, people. I've missed the interaction and creativity.

(5 comments) - (Post a new comment)

well...
[info]aniasch
2002-11-12 05:15 pm UTC (link)
There's always the Harry Potter direction... wait.. no.. that's been overdone.

I've been watching too much Law & Order (that direction came to mind).

I'm not a big book reader.. though at times, I wish I was... sometimes, I just can't get into it. Though I do want to read 'Riding a Pale Horse' Piers Anthony. I read a part of it. Shooting Death in the forehead just seemed interesting.

Supernatural? How bout reality? Drugs, sex, rock & roll?

You wanted a comment!

(Reply to this) (Thread)
Re: well...
[info]mrjames
2002-11-14 08:35 am UTC (link)
Supernatural? How bout reality? Drugs, sex, rock & roll?

Ideally, what I'm hoping for is a blend of both. Incarnations, by Piers, was a good concept, I'll give you that. But it's a concept that only allows one character at a time to take center stage. Each book in the series highlights one character. In On a Pale Horse, the main character kills Death, and in so doing, he gets the job. Now he's gotta learn how to be Death, before Satan can use his inexperience to gain an unfair advantage.

In Bearing an Hourglass, a guy happens to be there when the next Incarnation of Time finishes/begins his term in office. He picks up the Hourglass, and becomes the next/previous Chronos. Now he has to figure out how to be Time, before Satan uses his inexperience to gain an unfair adantage.

In Wielding a Red Sword, a man inherits the Blade of War, by virtue of being the most violent man in the world at a time when a war somewhere breaks out. Now he has to learn how to be War, before Satan....

You see where this is going? The whole damn series does that. For seven books.

Piers didn't exactly bust himself thinking of a new plot for each book. He just changed the character, and used the same setting, concept and plot over and over and over.

Still...
Cool concept.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

(Deleted post)
World of Marci
[info]mrjames
2002-11-14 08:25 am UTC (link)
I don't like the idea of us taking characters you wrote. Firstly, it would mean you couldn't publish your stuff as is, since we'd be laying claim to your people, and secondly it would mean we couldn't have free reign to make our own creations. Even in the Carnival, we each created our own characters, with our own histories, abilities, quirks and foibles.

Give us an idea what sort of characters you've got in your setting, and we can go from there. Inspired by your setting, but not shanghai-ing your ideas, capiche?

But before the characters can be designed, we need a concept. A way to unite the characters, and a reason to involve them, together, in whatever plot we devise. Here's the sequence I'm hoping for:

1. Setting
2. Concept
3. Characters
4. Plot
and if possible,
5. Next Plot
6. Next Plot
and so on.

God knows how many of our tabletop games have been botched all to hell because the players put characters before concept. Or when the ST put plot before characters.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]ga
2002-11-12 11:34 pm UTC (link)
Before I started my catch-up games with Terry Pratchett's books, I just read Neverwhere.

Enjoyed the book and concept tremendously.

Anyway, I started the Carnival, I'm fully prepared to follow the lead on whatever is next.

I will, however, be continuing the carnival.

It may be my retarted child... but it's still my child.

(Reply to this) (Thread)
Good
[info]mrjames
2002-11-14 08:18 am UTC (link)
If the carnival isn't dead, just...er...sleeping, that's great.

It'll need some editing, but there's a lot there worth saving. I'll help. But I still want to do something different. Mr.James always makes me feel a little lousy...he's so much like me, and he's such a complete and utter bastard. It's fun, but a little revealing, you know?

Drop me a line when you're ready to go on with it.

Drop me some good concepts for the new story, while you're at it.

Oh, and have you performed Dr. Seuss yet? Remember, Green Eggs and Ham sung to the music of Iron Man? "I...am...Sam I Am! I do not like Green Eggs and Ham!" I must have a copy of that.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

(5 comments) - (Post a new comment)

Create an Account
Forgot your login or password?
Login w/ OpenID
English • Español • Deutsch • Русский…