Revisions Part II

What a lovely gift I received in my inbox today. A great example of a press release that could have used another three or four revision passes. I hate to pick on Fanboys, but they're a victim of their own unfortunate timing:



Interviews are available on Beta and DVD format for the following:
Kristen Bell (by herself)
Kyle Newman (Director) (by himself)
Sam Huntington/Dan Fogler/Chris Marquette (group interview)

In addition roundtable interviews for radio/print outlets are available as well.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE ANY OF THESE MATIERALS. We also have posters available as well.
PLEASE EMAIL ME AT {redacted}

Revisions

The bride and I are working on a press release today. It's on its fourth revision and is just now starting to come together. We started off with two full pages and part of the process has been trimming the fat to get down to one page. I know I've seen a lot of two page press releases, but I can't recall many (or even one, to be honest) successful multi-page press releases.

She just handed me another sheet, so it's revision five now. Very close.

In case you're lost in the shroud of my subtlety - revisions are very important in writing.

Unless you're writing a blog, of curse.

Current Project

I present to you a clear view of how things are coming along with the story I am currently working on. They say a picture is worth a thousand words so if you get a thousand from it (or hell, even a hundred would help), please jot them down and send them to me at deverswrites@gmail.com. You could even drop them in the comments.

Thanks for your contribution!

The Relentless Pursuit of Futility

Didn't we just put out an issue?

Deadlines for the next issue of the magazine loom already. They are flippin' relentless. And when the next issue is complete, we have two sets of even tighter deadlines to close out the year. But why panic about that now, when I can panic about the Aug/Sep issue?

I'm looking forward to the Feb/Mar '09 issue. I feel pretty good about my chances of hitting that deadline. For now.

Pick One

I spent today staring at my computer and my calendar trying to decide which of 100 small fires I should put out first. Not very productive. Late this afternoon I decided to start with the one burning in the closest proximity. After dousing my right arm in water I moved on to fire #2.

I've been working on the railroad...

We're already making great progress on the next issue of the magazine, and on Wednesday a meeting is scheduled to check progress and compare notes on our special year-end issue. There's one issue between those two, but I'm sure that one will print itself.

Last week I had the opportunity to interview Heather Morgan. She grew up in Texas and did the singer-songwriter thing here before moving to Nashville to pursue songwriting full time. She's in the last year of a multi-year deal with Warner-Chappell and has hit her groove, starting to score lots of cuts.

The plan is to format the story in Q&A style and try to capture the good side of Nashville. Folks here in Texas are fond of running down the Nashville machine (and vice-versa, to be honest). I look forward to exposing the good side of Music City.

The fact that the interview serves a dual purpose - interview for the magazine and research for the WIP - is pure gravy.

How to publish a magazine

#1. Acquire an existing publication.

#2. Put out the next issue.

#3. Learn from your many, many mistakes.

#4. Have something of little value close by to destroy when #3 happens.

#5. Go back to #2 and repeat.

Put to Bed

All of my assignments are turned in, the headlines are written, and the "pretty" has been added. The next issue of the magazine has been put to bed and tucked in.

Here is a low-res of the cover (the thin boxes around the text won't be visible in the high-res file).

May 14th

430 words on the WIP novel.

I finally turned in my review. Since there's no danger of anyone reading it, I present it here in it's entirety. Feel free to comment.

Reckless Kelly
Bulletproof

I hate to start negative here, but I have a BIG complaint about Reckless Kelly’s debut disc for Yep Roc Records, Bulletproof. Where’s the rockin’ country cover of Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man”? How did the entire Reckless Kelly team whiff on this fat pitch right down the middle of the plate? The album artwork, the success of Iron Man in theaters, the title of the CD – c’mon it’s a natural! And the marketing tie-ins would be legion.

All right, marketing possibilities are probably not a concern for this group of Texans (some by way of Idaho) when it comes to deciding which songs make the cut and which songs don’t. The truth is there are no covers of any kind on this record. Every tune was written by vocalist Willy Braun with a few assists from Robert Earl Keen, Dustin Welch, and brother Micky Braun.

Turning my attention to the songs that do appear on the disc – I can think of no better compliment than to say it’s a Reckless Kelly record. One of the qualities that has set this quintet apart over the years is their remarkable consistency. Reckless Kelly delivers a dynamic live show and – unlike many others – they have no problem capturing the same vibe and raw energy on their studio efforts.

I’ve heard my share (and yours too – trust me) of bands singing about life on the road. With a studio record titled Wicked, Twisted Road, this is hardly new ground for Reckless Kelly either. Yet somehow the band brought a fresh approach and sound to “Ragged As The Road”, the track that kicks off Bulletproof and one of the standout songs on the disc. Other highlights on the record include “You Don’t Have To Stay Forever”, “One False Move”, and “Don’t Say Goodbye”.

A personal favorite on the CD is “How Was California?”. The singer asks a friend how their trip to California (and Austin and New York City) went, though he already knows the answer. No matter how exciting the destination, when the company you can’t escape – yourself – is miserable, the outcome is predetermined.

“American Blood”, Willy Braun’s attempt at his own melodic Jerilderie Letter (a protest letter penned by the band’s namesake), is already receiving attention. The song takes the viewpoint of one soldier’s journey through Iraq, and questions – legitimately, in this reviewer’s opinion – the sacrifice of the many for the profits of the few. Willy has already written a disclaimer that appears on the band’s website. Unfortunate that he feels it’s necessary, but such are the times in which we live. With a brother who has been through two tours in Afghanistan and three tours in Iraq and no guarantees he won’t be back for more, I can appreciate the song on a couple of levels – one for the message, but also because it’s a great tune. If it were a throwaway I doubt it would be generating as much interest, but as it stands, this is a song that you’ll hear more than once on the radio this summer.

The one misfire on the record is “God Forsaken Town”, an acoustic ode to New Orleans and the victims of Hurricane Katrina. While the band saved themselves from cliché on the aforementioned “Ragged As The Road” they fell short of the mark on this one, despite the excellent work of Ephraim Owens on trumpet.

Longtime record executive Bill Straw once told me that solo artists come and go every day, but when you find a great band, then you really have something. Experience has shown me the truth of this statement. When the right group of musicians comes together, something magical happens – a whole emerges far greater than the sum of the individual parts. Bulletproof captures just that. The disc documents a great band still on an upward swing. As far as that “Iron Man” cover goes – I can wait for the next live album.

Character Voice

0 words today on my WIP novel. There was a Law & Order marathon on TNT (please tell me you saw that one coming).

The truth is my next paragraph in the book introduces a major supporting character. I had a good idea of her voice, but I spent a lot of my writing time today refining it. Now I can hear her in my head as clear as a bell. All of her habits and mannerisms are well-defined. I'm sure as we progress through the book she'll let me know where I didn't get it quite right, but the foundation is solid.

I do this because it annoys me to no end to read a book where everyone speaks with the same voice. I do not want to create a world where everyone says "to-may-to" and no one says "to-mah-to".

I also finally figured out the hook to get into the CD review that remains overdue at the day job. It should be finished before noon tomorrow. Only two days late. Or three. Who's counting?

Life Wins This Round

This past week saw little progress on my novel WIP. Home life and the day job threw up some substantial obstacles.

On Tuesday, my wife had a tonsillectomy. No big deal for a teenager, but my bride is in her early thirties. As a result I was chosen this week for the roles of dad, mom, and nursemaid. The costume changes were brutal.

On the day job side of the ledger, I had three different assignments due. A 3000 word article, a 750 word article, and a 500 word CD review. I finished the first two and can't find a hook for the third.

Overall, I hate excuses. When you allow even a legitimate one through, then it makes it easier for lesser excuses to get through until you're at the point of saying "I couldn't get any writing done yesterday because there was a Law & Order marathon on TNT."

So though Life won out last week, I didn't make much progress on the novel WIP because I didn't make time for it. I'm not going to beat myself up about it (more), but even 100 words a day would have been something.