Let me start by saying this is still a work in progress.  It’ll always be a work in progress, both the site, and my writing.  One thing I need to do is add an “About Me” section so that these ramblings will be seen as more eccentric thoughts, and not a manifesto.  On to writing…

            Challenges.  I don’t really try to challenge myself, but more to the point, I tried to experiment with different ways to tell stories.  Which voice and style fits best with the story I’m trying to tell.  (Me)chine and The Secret Life of God are attempts to approach storytelling from a different facet.  Like that scene in Donnie Brasco where he explains what “feggedaboudit” means.  The stories the same, but which way of telling it is going to have the most impact?  Which way is going to make the audience feel the way you want them to?  Do you want them on the rollercoaster going up and down, or standing at the fence watching it go around, or sitting at home looking at an ad in a magazine?  It all depends.  It’s not like you don’t already know this, but these are things that I consider when an idea hits me.  I ask, “Who’s story is this?”  Many times, though, the idea comes to me with a voice and tells me how it should be told.  The other times are me with a voice and I have to find a story to tell with it.  Games People Play is the latter.  Then you have me taking a concept that someone else has done and trying it out for myself.  Often times it’s because I really liked it.  Sometimes it’s because I think I could do it better.  In this case, the latter doesn’t happen very often.  Generally that happens with story concepts, where I see so many other avenues that could have been pursued, but instead were left to die.  The Unknown (which started on the original Minds Eye Chronicles site.  RIP) was originally me trying out two new things.  One, was me trying to write a weekly story with no idea or concept in mind.  Just free forming the entire thing.  I had no idea what the story was going to be about, or where it was going to go.  I was just going to write a new chapter every week, and eventually something would form.  Two, was me trying out chapter headings that would essentially sum up what that chapter was about.  This was originally tried in Secret Life of God, but I thought that it fit well with this idea, too.  First, you have to figure out exactly what the title means.  This idea I borrowed from Christopher Priest during his run on Black Panther (If you can find it in a trade or, perish the thought, the issues in cheap bins, grab ‘em and read ‘em.  An incredible mix of humor and smart storytelling.  Not to mention the art.  Mark Texiera, Joe Jusko, Sal Velluto.  Sweet!).  The story was broken into mini segments with headers.  To be fair, he did this in Quantum and Woody, but I feel it was perfected in Black Panther.  Sadly enough, I never got passed chapter 5, or so, in The Unknown before the story went unfinished for a little over a year.  Overall I consider it a success.  I was able to continue with the chapter title concept, and had a storyline that could be finished.  It’s one of my favorite stories.  I even plan to do more stories with Oz and Trent in the future.  Like Peter David, I digress. 

If I ever say that I’ve learned everything there is to writing and storytelling, then that’s the day I should quit, because obviously I’ve learned nothing.  There are only so many stories hat can be told, but there are millions of way to tell them, and each one can be done with a different voice and style, and none of them will ever be perfected.  I can only hope that someone will approach my work the way I approach others, both good and bad.  Borrow a concept of mine and try it for themselves (I probably borrowed it from someone else), or see a path I left open and take an audience down that road. 

 

Gotta go, Gooshie says I can leap now. 

Jerale

mindseyechronicles@comcast.net

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