QueenieChan.com - LiveJournal

Lucid Walking: The Dreaming Writing Competition Entries

2008-06-30T13:20:34Z

Folks, I'll be attending GenCon in Brisbane from the 4th to 7th July. Enthusiasts, see you there!

In Odd We Trust: Is out in bookstores and Amazon, and has been since the 24th June. The book has gone back to print due to requests from Amazon, Borders and Barnes and Noble, so that's probably a good sign (cue baffled reactions from Koontz fans who can't grasp the idea of a "comic"). I also have a Publishers Weekly interview here with Brigid of Mangablog in regards to the book. Thanks to Brigid and Publishers Weekly.

The Dreaming Writing Competition: TOKYOPOP finally announced the winners last Friday, and now I get the honour of posting all winning entries up for everyone to enjoy. I'm cross-posting the content of the TOKYOPOP announcement post, complete with comments and all.

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First Prize: The Sketch Album by Conda V. Douglas, Boise, Idaho
Comments: I awarded this because it gave me the creeps—an admirable achievement considering I wrote the story that it's based on! It's a fantastic idea, and executed quite well. The other stories were also very good, but I had to give this one the top prize because of the 'creep' factor, which I think is crucial because The Dreaming is a horror story after all.
Second Prize: An End by by Chelsea M. Smith (18), Woodlands, Texas
Comments: This was probably my favourite one in terms of writing style—I think it has the best writing out of all the entries (my personal opinion, and I'm biased). I also like the interpretation of Amber's 'state of being' too. I only wish the reader was told the content of the paintings that Amber had in the suitcase—that is my only complaint (because I wanna know badly!)
Third Prize: Retrospect by by Xandria L. Johnson (14), Ocala, Florida
Comments: I liked how this one took the perspective of Miss Anu—it does a pretty good job of exploring her as a character. I loved the way the story ended. It also mentioned some things about the art I never noticed myself, despite having drawn the book!

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And here are some of the wonderful honourable mentions:

The Coffin by Elizabeth Napoletano (26), Cicero, Illinois
Records Keeper by Allegra Condiotte
The Cost of Living by Sarah Lamb (28), Houston, Texas

Thank you to everyone who entered this writing competition. Your entries were all so very fantastic, and I hope you all continue writing. It's certainly inspired me to attempt writing prose again.

If anyone else has an entry they'd like to be posted up here, please post your email address in the comments, and I'll contact you to get a digital copy of your story. I think we'll all love to read the stories - I for one am darn curious about the stories that didn't quite make "the cut".

All 6 finalists, please post your email address (again) in the comments, or email me to organise the prizes. I'd like your mailing addresses for sending the prizes to. I'll be giving out copies of the new "In Odd We Trust" book, and original art from "In Odd We Trust" for the top 3 winners (unless you don't want art from that, please let me know).

Lucid Walking: Borders Appearance

2008-06-23T12:48:57Z

Borders in Melbourne: I'll be doing a Borders talk and book signing for all those interested on Wednesday the 25th June, 5-7pm. There will be a 15% discount on all full-price stock in Borders, so those in Melbourne looking to score some cheaper books (and say hello to me), come on by.

Location: Borders
Address: 106 Melbourne Central Shopping Central, 211 Latrobe Street, Melbourne

Date Wednesday 25 June, 2008,
Time: 5:00 - 7:00 pm
RSVP: Call Jayne Margett on 9663 8909 or email melbcentral@bordersgroupinc.com

>>> The Winners Have Been Announced!! Congrats all!! <<<

"The Dreaming" Writing Competition: Apologies for the delays on this. I guess you all know that TOKYOPOP is currently in the middle of a restructure, and thus in a difficult situation. I'm unsure whether the marketing department has the time to handle the results of this competition, so I'm going to take matters into my own hands. I've sent an email to TOKYOPOP on Friday the 20th, and if they don't reply by Wednesday the 25th, then I'll send another email. If that gets no replies by the 30th June, then I'll announce the winners on my blog on the 1st July. But as we now know, the winners have been announced.

But For now...
I announce the 6 finalists in no particular order:
Drumroll...

An End
by Chelsea M. Smith (18), Woodlands, Texas

Records Keeper
by Allegra Condiotte

Retrospect
by Xandria L. Johnson (14), Ocala, Florida

The Coffin
by Elizabeth Napoletano (26), Cicero, Illinois

The Cost of Living
by Sarah Lamb (28), Houston, Texas

The Sketch Album
by Conda V. Douglas, Boise, Idaho

All others who entered the competition: please also email your entries for me to post up (if you wish for it). I would love to read all your entries, since TOKYOPOP only sent me six stories to pick the top 3 winners from.

*An additional 10 people were supposed to get original art pages from "The Dreaming" as prizes. I've already sent the 10 pages to TOKYOPOP, but I haven't heard back from then on that yet either, so I don't know what's happening. Personally, I'll rather sort out the winners first, so thanks for your patience.

Lucid Walking: Comics for Telepaths

2008-06-09T12:36:23Z

First Review for In Odd We Trust: Coming out on the 24th of June (at least on Amazon.com), this book just got its first review. It's in the Icv2 glossy magazine (so not online), and it's a great 4-star review.

I quote: "The pairing of Dean Koontz with Australian manga-style artist Queenie Chan was a match made in graphic novel heaven. Together, they tell a great story in a genre halfway between Psyche and Nancy Drew, with marvelous dialogue." I'll be posting my long-awaited post on "In Odd We Trust" once I run it by Del Ray's publicity agent David, so please keep an eye out for that. Here's also an interview with me about the book on Jazma Online, done by Allen Klingelhoets.

Comics for Telepaths: And onto what else I've been doing for the past year. I've just recently wrapped up a long-running comic work, a fantastical techno-space opera which ran bi-weekly for the past year in Telepathy Tales telezine. For those unaware of this story on the telestream, I posted the first page of it up here.

The uninitiated may be wondering why this story involves both thoughts and images, when it's generally believed that telepathy involves only thought-transference. Well, that was Telepathy 1.0 - this story was broadcast on Telepathy 2.0. If you're a telepath and you're still on Telepathy 1.0, you probably already know where to get the upgrade.

Many thanks to editor Henrietta Max, and for The Daily Telepath for giving it a 4-star review. Thanks also to Melandril Moose and Telepathy Tales for giving this story a permanent home in the Vorpal Tex. For those interested in the adventures of Mr. Alabaster Curly and Luci Dworkin, I just told you where you can read all the back issues of the story.

In terms of influences, this story was inspired by Michael E. Blake's "Science Fiction for Telepaths" (1977), a story whose entire text consisted of: Well, you know what I mean. An extremely long and complex piece of science-ficton this was, yet ironically, it's often referred to as one of the shortest science-fiction stories in existence (according to everything2.com anyway). Hey, it took me a whole day to get through it, you know.

TOKYOPOP and "The Dreaming" Writing Competition: Everything that can be said about TOKYOPOP's situation has already been said, and my heart goes out to those who lost their jobs in the corporate reshuffle. I wish you all the best of luck for the future. As for "The Dreaming" writing competition, I apologise for the delays - the winners were suppose to be announced at the BEA, but since TOKYOPOP's restructuring got announced instead, there is obviously some confusion. I emailed TOKYOPOP and Marco Pavia of marketing replied, saying that they're planning to announce the winners soon, so thanks for all your patience. Hey, if all else fails, I'll just post up the 6 finalists and the winners on this blog. Once again, I apologise to everyone who entered the competition for this. Your entries were wonderful and a joy to read, and I hope this can be sorted out ASAP.

It's Been A While: Sleeping Chick

2008-05-25T08:00:12Z

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I like to imagine chickens breaking out of their eggs not because they have to, but because they find it so quiet and lonely in there. This flies in the face of common sense (as does this whole strip), but unlike us human observers, newly-woken baby chicks don't quite know they're inside an egg. It's a silly thought, but apparently worth doodling something on.

The Dreaming: "The Dreaming" writing contest is over, the winners have been chosen, and thankyou to everyone who entered it! I will write a longer post about it later - picking the winners were an extremely difficult job and it deserves an LJ post all on its own. I believe the winners will be announced at the Book Expo America.

In Odd We Trust: The release date is in June, not July, so I shall post my penultimate "In Odd We Trust" post soon.

Move to Melbourne: The reason why I haven't posted for so long is because I've been moving house to Melbourne (from Sydney) for the past 2 months. I'm still not done, would you believe. There is alot of catch-up posting to do.

The Dreaming: Competition Reminder

2008-03-19T09:53:30Z

Odd Thomas: Long time no update. "In Odd We Trust" was finished last month, and well on its journey through production. The release date is mid-July 2008, 2 weeks before the San Diego Comic-Con, where Dean Koontz will be special guest. I also will be attending. More on that as the shelf date approaches.

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Hopefully most people know, but here's a reminder for "The Dreaming" Writing Competition:
The Rising Stars of Prose Competition

It's a writing competition based on the characters and universe of "The Dreaming" manga.
TOKYOPOP is running the competition from: 1st February, 2008 ~ 15th April, 2008
Visit their website for the Official rules, Submission Guidelines, and also the entry form.

Buy vol1, vol2 and vol3 off Amazon.

What is this competition about?
If the "Rising Stars of Manga" competition was to discover new manga talent, then the "Rising Stars of Prose" competition serves the same purpose. Part of the reason for running this contest is to (hopefully) find some great prose writers who can adapt certain TOKYOPOP manga into novel form. If you have any interest in becoming a professional writer of fiction, this sort of thing may be one of the ways to get your foot in the door and get noticed.

What are the Prizes?
The winner gets $500 cash, and a chance to be considered for the novelisation of "The Dreaming" and other TOKYOPOP works (depends on the quality of the winning entry). Other runners-up will get a free copy of "Tarot Cafe", and also a piece of original "The Dreaming" art. There are 10 pieces of these original art to give away. I never sell my original art, so these will be the only copies out there. Perhaps it'll be worth alot someday! *laughs*

Why does it use "The Dreaming"?
What, you mean apart from the fact that it's a good story? Well, it's also to give the fans of the series a chance to flex their creative writing muscles. "The Dreaming" is a good series to base a writing competition on - it has a definate beginning and end, the timeframe of the story stretches over 70 years, and it's a self-contained universe with its own mythology.

Most of all, it gives an equal platform for all the prose entries to be judged by. This is because a prose competition differs from a manga one. You can ask people to submit 20-page manga stories on anything and judge them somewhat fairly against each other, but such a thing would be impossible to do for a prose contest. A manga is judged on art and panelling as well as writing, whereas prose is judged purely by the writing. How can you ask people to write short stories about anything, and then judge them against each other? The entries would be too diverse for it to be possible. You need some kind of measuring yardstick.

Does it have to be a horror story like "The Dreaming"? What does "based on the universe of 'The Dreaming'" mean?
I don't think the competition rules mention anything about your story having to belong in any genre. If I'm wrong, please correct me. Your entry has to encompass something from "The Dreaming" universe, be it the characters, mythology or anything else - much like writing fanfiction - but that's about it. As a final judge, I would much rather look for good ideas, writing skills, characterisations and story structure rather than whether it's a horror story or not. If horror's not your forte, then don't write horror.

Not contradicting the "canon" (ie. the events that occur in "The Dreaming" manga) is also extremely important - it proves that you have absorbed the story properly and can write within a defined set of rules. That's necessary if you're asked to adapt a manga into prose form - otherwise, it'll be like adapting Harry Potter into a movie and getting the characters names/histories wrong. No one wants that.

Is this competition open to international contestants?
Sorry. I pushed hard for this, but I'm afraid the complexities of running an international competition is just too great. All those different rules and regulations will make it seem like running parallel competitions, so I'm afraid this contest is restricted to American residents only, much like RSOM.

The Dreaming: The End, or is it?

2007-12-19T12:15:19Z

It's seven days from Christmas Day, and I gotta announce that "The Dreaming" vol. 3 is finally out, both on bookshelves and online!

You can buy vol1, vol2 and vol3 here on Amazon.com! Previews are here at TOKYOPOP's site.

IMPORTANT: Please look on the VERY LAST PAGE of volume 3. There's a SECRET there, to be revealed on the TOKYOPOP site soon, hopefully January. Or you can just go here, and the update here.

So, "The Dreaming" trilogy is officially over
(at least the manga written and drawn by me is).

It's been a long and busy three years, and so much has changed in that time. My art has also improved, though the results of that can probably only be seen in "Odd Thomas: In Odd We Trust", the book I'm working on now.

Along with "The Dreaming", I was one of the first people to be published in TOKYOPOP's OEL 3-book manga program, and judging from the changes in their publishing plans, probably one of the last.
I started work on "The Dreaming" in October 2004, and finished the last of its pages in August 2007.
Book 1 was 172 pages, book 2 was 181 pages, and book 3 was also 181 pages. Each had 7 chapters.
This makes a total of 534 mostly greyscale-toned pages, including 21.5 black and white chapter pages.
The average chapter length was 25.43 pages. The longest chapter was chapter 20, at 35 pages. The shortest was chapter 21, at 17 pages.
I worked a total worktime of 22 months, which makes an average of 24.3 pages a month, 7.33 months for each book. That makes about a chapter a month.
In a single month, this means 1 week for the pencils, 1.5 weeks for the inks, and another 1.5 weeks for the tones.
My favourite chapter break is chapter 2 in book 1, and my favourite dress is the one the unconscious girl is wearing on the "To Be Continued..." page of book 1.

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First, I'd like to thank all my wonderful fans for your interest and support in this series. I give special kudos to all the people who emailed me - I replied to most of your emails, and will continue doing so. I apologise if I haven't replied to yours in particular (I get on average 1-2 fan mails a day), but I'll try my best.
Secondly, I want to thank all the editors who worked on this series, namely Jodi, Carol Fox and Paul Morrissey. Carol especially, because she spend the most time on it. Thanks to all the senior editors who kept an eye on things too, and also Stu Levy who greenlit this project.
An apology and thanks to Katie Huang and Paul Aeria, who helped me with the toning for book 3, but unfortunately didn't get their names in the credits because of a printing error. Nobody was at fault - there was some confusion with the 1 month delay in street date because of the SECRET on the last page. So I thank Paul and Katie here instead.
A big thanks to TOKYOPOP Senior Editor Jenna Winterburg too, for telling me about the SECRET you'll find at the end of volume 3. Thanks for the TOKYOPOP marketing folks who came up with that too.
Thanks to Emily Shao, for maintaining "The Dreaming" Fanlisting, and also my Normal Fanlisting. I really appreciate it.
Kudos to all the librarians who pushed this book, and recommended it to their enthusiastic little manga minions. Thanks to Scholastic for ordering 45,000 copies for their book club too. You've got to get them reading when they're young...
May I also thank all the reviewers who gave it a good review, and all the bloggers and journalists who interviewed me for their blogs and/or articles! You can see a full list of them on my site.
Thanks to all the news sites I read for mentioning me and my book, including MangaBlog, Heidi at The Beat, ComiPress and the now defunct Love Manga (If a news site I don't read mentioned my book too, then I thank you as well. Hopefully you were saying something nice, teehee.)
Last of all, a big THANKYOU to TOKYOPOP for publishing this series, including every single person who worked on it. If you know anything about book publishing, there's probably quite a few people whose names didn't get mentioned because of the "behind the scenes" nature of their job. I want to say: your efforts are appreciated.

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I hope everyone (and my fans) continues to support me in the other works I do.
Merry Christmas everyone, and Happy 2008 New Year!!

The Strange One: Odd Thomas

2007-11-04T08:50:46Z

Odd Thomas: Long time no update - I've been real overworked. For the record, I'm still working on the single-volume "Odd Thomas" graphic novel (just finished chapters 4 out of 7), which now has a name - "In Odd We Trust". Dean Koontz came up with that name, and he's also writing a fourth "Odd Thomas" novel, to come out just before this graphic novel I'm working on. Yes, Dean Koontz's most successful trilogy of books is no longer a trilogy.

I promised long ago to write a lengthy description of the whole Dean Koontz-deal I'm working on, but I haven't done it yet. It's because up until the end of October, Dean was busy working on his novel(s) and didn't have time to approve the last chapter script. Now that the entire script has been approved, I can finally tell you who did what part of the work. But I'll save that for the big "Odd Thomas" post, which unfortunately is only coming out after volume 3 of "The Dreaming" in December.

The Dreaming: Yes, volume 3 is now coming out in December and not November. There's a very good reason for the 1 month delay - the folks at TOKYOPOP had something to insert in the back and it needed time to get approved. As for what's being inserted in the back of "The Dreaming" volume 3 - it's a SECRET (though lord knows, I've blabbed it to enough people already. Whoops). Anyway, I haven't yet posted up the chapter breaks, so here they are.

You can also preview the first chapter of "The Dreaming" volume 3 here. Enjoy!

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The Dreaming: Long Time No Update

2007-07-19T14:04:28Z

The Dreaming v3: Is finished. It's 182 pages. It is OVER. The "The Dreaming" series has concluded.

It will be out in November 2007. I actually finished nearly all of book3 a while ago, but couldn't be bothered to post it up since I was also working on "Odd Thomas". It's hell working on 2 books at the same time - now that the bulk of "The Dreaming" v3 is done, I've got a bunch of minor stuff I need to finish on it, namely the chapter illustrations and odds and ends (like part 3 of the Haunted Linen Cupboard series). Yeah, I'm dragging my feet on this, though luckily the due date is August the 23rd, so there's plenty of time. It even took me a whole month to finish the cover, which is down below.

After 2 covers, I finally figured out how to do a glowing window properly.

Odd Thomas: After that blabber about the last book in "The Dreaming" series, I get to talk about "Odd Thomas". I totally forgot to post this up, but Allen Klingelhoets did an interview with me here which has some "Odd Thomas" information in it (Thankyou, Allen). I'll be posting up a longer description of my work on "Odd Thomas" and how I came onto this project in August.

So far, I can't show any art that's not been approved, but there's no hurry, because the book is scheduled to be launched mid-2008. So far, the first 2 chapters (of 7) is close to being finished, and the script is complete, currently being copy-editted. That's about it for this chunk of news.

The Legend of Zelda: An 8-page doujinshi that is part of Life Meter 2, a video-gaming comics anthology. If you've ever wanted to see videogame characters in comic form, this is your anthology. This doujinshi was drawn specifically for this book, so this is the only chance you'll have to see this "Princess Zelda" story in print. I'll put it online later on... though only perhaps MUCH later on, when the anthology is sold out.

The Dreaming: It's been a bad month...

2007-05-02T12:02:18Z

The Dreaming: Is getting a German edition, yay! Apart from that, it's been a pretty bad month for me. Was sick with the flu for 2 weeks, and fell behind some other work I had to do, which includes a one-volume graphic novel for something else. At least there's only 2 more chapters of "The Dreaming" to tone. I'm also working on the cover, finally.

Free Comics Day: At Kinokuniya this Saturday (5th May), there's a Free Comics Day where I'd be speaking on a panel. The panel is called "Brave New World" and it's on at 3:00pm. Come along for some fun. Here's the rest of the program:

At Kinokuniya Sydney, located at Level 2, The Galeries Victoria (500 George Street, Sydney 2000). Telephone: (02)9262-7996

Time: 12.30pm
Panel: Up, Up and Away
Discover the secrets of storytelling in comics with two of Australia's rising stars!
Artists: Nicola Scott: Comic Book Artist ( BIRDS OF PREY, ANGEL), David Yardin (WHAT IF? X-MEN DEADLY GENESIS, BLACK PANTHER/X-MEN, STAN WINSTON'S REALM OF THE CLAW)

Time: 2.00pm
Panel: Panel: Power Of One or Strength In Numbers?
Exploring the difference in Storytelling between the single image (Book Covers) and a sequence of pictures (Storyboards)
Artists: Mark Sexton: Production Designer/Storyboard Artist (HAPPY FEET, STAR WARS EPS II ATTACK OF THE CLONES, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE II, BABE: PIG IN THE CITY ), Craig Phillips: Cover Artist/Illustrator (TOM SWIFT, GHOST SQUAD ), W. Chew Chan: Storyboard Artist (SUPERMAN RETURNS, HAPPY FEET )

Time: 3.00pm
Panel: Brave New World
Explore the explosive new storytelling form that's taken the world by storm - MANGA!
Artists: Queenie Chan: Australia's own Manga-ka (THE DREAMING )

The Dreaming: Zelda Manga Dump!!

2007-03-27T02:58:09Z

The Dreaming v3: I am making great headway. The whole book is inked, and Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 7 are completely toned and finished. Only 3 more chapters to tone!! Volume 2 is still here on Amazon.com, and the first chapter preview of book2 is still up here.

Zelda Fan Manga: Massive Zelda fan manga dump. I haven't been lazy with the drawing, but I've been lazy with posting 'em up here. The previous 4 pages is here, while the whole thing started here. However, if you want to read the whole thing in order, I suggest you start here and click on the "next page" links. Easier that way. About the previous poll (no poll for a long time), option (b) won out again, so here it is.

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The winner for the last poll was again (b), and if you want to read on, check my DevArt account for the latest page. The options and votes for that last poll of "Right now, Link is thinking:" are as follows:

She asked for my arm, so I should give her my arm. (22 Votes - 33.8%)
I shall sweep her up in my arms and carry her up the stairs! After all, she IS injured (so I have a GOOD excuse). (28 Votes - 43.1%)
If she needs fresh air and sunshine, she probably needs exercise too. I shall escort her up the stairs, but she is to climb them alone. (9 Votes - 13.8%)
She should stay here, as Princess Ruto asked. This is Ruto's domain, after all. (6 Votes - 9.2%)

Once again, the last voting round determined something of substance. It was to determine how Link felt towards Princess Zelda. For the curious, I have made a list of the voting options, including what would have happened if that option had won out.

Option A: She asked for my arm, so I should give her my arm. (22 Votes - 33.8%)
Result: Link gives Zelda his arm, and helps her up the stairs.
Attitude: This Link does what he's asked to. He believes in a kind of civil formality between himself and the princess (and royalty in general), and if someone else tried to overstep that boundary, he would protest on Zelda's behalf. This Link sees Zelda as his equal in every way, and trusts her sound judgement on everything she does. His slight deference to her means that he (a) still considers himself to be in her service, and (b) will put her judgement ahead of his own. He may or may not be romantically interested in Zelda, but at this point in time, he considers them good friends.

Option B: I shall sweep her up in my arms and carry her up the stairs! After all, she IS injured (so I have a GOOD excuse). (28 Votes - 43.1%)
Result: You're looking at it.
Attitude: This Link will do what the princess asks him, but he's constantly look for ways to do a bit more. His motivations are primarily romantic - he's definately interested in Princess Zelda, but then he's just as likely to be a flirt in the first place. He knows what the boundaries are, and knows how to break them, though he also knows that he can't go too far without getting a backlash. Despite not always following the princess' orders, this Link regards Zelda as his equal in every way, and respects her judgement. He also respects the fact that as the ruler of Hyrule, she has to stand alone on alot of issues, but at the same time, he can't help but hope she will be willing to lean on him a bit more. He definately does not consider himself to still be in Zelda's service. In fact, he doesn't consider himself to be in any kind of service to anybody besides himself. He's a free man!!

Option C: If she needs fresh air and sunshine, she probably needs exercise too. I shall escort her up the stairs, but she is to climb them alone. (9 Votes - 13.8%)
Result: Link explains why he believes Princess Zelda would benefit from walking up the stairs on her own, and so she has to struggle up the stairs by herself. Needless to say, she gets pretty pissed off at the end of the climb.
Attitude: This Link believes in tough love, and above all, believes that a strong leader makes a strong country. He considers Zelda a friend, and is protective of her, but thinks that the best thing to do is to toughen her up at any time she shows weakness. He does NOT consider Zelda an equal - he believes he's better at some things, and she at others, but in some cases his judgement ought to override hers (like now). He knows he's no longer in service to the Hyrulean royal family, but he thinks in this case, it's completely irrelevant. If Zelda is naive about anything, then he should be there to make sure she knows that a ruler has no room to be naive.

Option D: She should stay here, as Princess Ruto asked. This is Ruto's domain, after all. (6 Votes - 9.2%)
Result: Link can say this, but he just comes off as lazy. This is because while this IS Ruto's domain, Zelda's authority out-ranks Ruto, so if Ruto were here, she WILL have to let Zelda go whereever she wants. Link will still have to help an annoyed Zelda up the stairs.
Attitude: This Link feels Zelda is a friend, but not a close one, and in some ways, even thinks of her as somewhat childish and naive. He doesn't quite know why he feels that way, but it could be because she's a princess who spends the majority of her time in Hyrule Castle. He definately does NOT see Zelda as an equal, and believes not only himself to have better judgement on some things, but other people too. He still considers himself to be in Zelda's service though, and because of that, ought to give what he believes to be the best possible advice to her. If this results in absolutely no risk-taking, then so be it.

The Dreaming: Otome Culture?

2007-02-09T12:19:04Z

The Dreaming: Vol3 is due in November 2007, and I'm 2/3 of the way through inking already. Paul and Katie is helping with the toning (yea!), so hopefully I can get it finished quickly and move onto the next project!

About Otome:
Has anyone been paying attention to the word "Otome" lately? It's been around for a while in Japan, but only recently has it crossed into English-speaking articles such as this one from Time magazine, this post and also this one from Mainichi New. For those out of the loop, the word "Otome" is named after a stretch of road in Tokyo called "Otome Road", which caters exclusively to that high-spending, formerly-ignored section of the Pop Japan cultural behemoth - the female otaku. Yes, "Otome" is the female version of the "Otaku" (though there is also the term "fujoshi", which literally means "rotten female"). Edit: It's official now, Asahi says that "Fujoshi" are "female otaku who like novels and comics about love affairs between men."

Edit: Thanks for posting these YouTube videos up. Watching these probably give a better perspective of things than what I wrote. The SPENDING POWER of JAPANESE FEMALES in FANDOM...!!
BL Fangirls in Ikebukuro
Fujoshi in Ikebukuro (part1)
Fujoshi in Ikebukuro (part2)

Now, we in the West have all heard the term "Otaku" before, which in Japan at least, refers to an obsessed fan of anything. The word has been misused in English to mean "Obsessed Manga/Anime/Video-gaming fan", both male and female, but now it appears a new category has to be created for the female otakus, the "Otome". This is because the female otaku culture is so different from that of the male one, with entirely different spending patterns and a different style of self-expression. In fact, from my experience with both die-hard "Otaku" and "Otome", the two don't have any common ground at all. No wonder a shopping strip has to spring up in Tokyo to cater to these fangirls - they have money to spend, just not on what we traditionally associate with Otaku-dom.

"Otome" means "maiden" in Japanese, and is a very appropriate label for describing the female Otaku, mostly in the way they imagine themselves. It's a word laiden with connotations of purity, innocence, feminine beauty, virginity, flowers, lace, angel wings, princesses in exotic lands, and oddly enough, POWER. And female power at that, though not of the mature, sexualised female kind. "Otome" does NOT represent "moe", overly-sexualised women with E-cups, or the sort of half-naked, writhing raunchiness you'll find in hip-hop music videos. "Otome" are princesses, noblewomen, celebrated stage actresses, full-plated armoured valkyries, magical girls and priestesses. It describes a kind of female state that is powerful, but not sexualised. Instead, all the sexualisation can be found in the mountains of Boy's Love manga/doujinshi, which consists solely of boys getting it on to gratify a female audience. In other words, the "Otome" culture is one which revolves around the female mind, projecting on the world a female-exclusive point-of-view, with ideals of feminine power, and where men are all but irrelevant except as emo-porn.

From that perspective, Usagi from "SailorMoon" qualifies as a borderline "Otome", while Sakura from "Cardcaptor" is too. More fitting of the "Otome" label is Chris from "Suikoden III", called the "Silver Otome" in the game, and the Princess Zelda from the "Twilight Princess", who exudes a cool air of authority. You can bet that all of these properties involve beautiful, androgynous guys as side characters, so that the female fans can draw BL doujinshi about them. Conversely, Asuka and Rei from "Evangelion" are not really considered "Otome", because while they are powerful teenage females, they are aimed primarily at a male audience. That doesn't stop the "Otome" from drawing Shinji and Kaoru BL doujinshi though, and it's interesting to point out that while the "Otome" read alot of BL manga, they are even more likely to gravitate towards popular shounen manga with tonnes of pretty boys. Indeed, it's difficult to say whether the "Otome" read alot of mainstream shoujo manga, unless you count BL manga as part of mainstream shoujo (which I don't). Certainly I see tonnes and tonnes of Full Metal Alchemist, Death Note, Hikaru no Go, Gundam Wing, Naruto and Princess of Tennis BL doujinshi. Otome gravitate to the well-springs of bishounen-hood, where these days are more likely to be found in shounen manga.

This is significant, because BL doujinshi market is where the "heart" of the the "Otome" fan culture lies. Apart from cosplaying amd Butler cafes, what the "Otome" do in full-force is fan-related works. This brings to mind the differences between fangirls and fanboys, and how differently they express their love for whatever it is they're obsessed by. At the gaming studio where I work, you can always spot the textbook Otakus because they have a row of anime character models on their desk, subscriptions to Moe-type anthology magazines, Hentai posters of french maids, and several gigabytes of hardcore hentai manga on their computer. You don't seen anything of that kind with the Otome. Nearly every Otome at the studio is drawing a BL doujinshi, they have stacks of BL doujinshi/manga sitting on their desk, and one or two may come to work dressed in Gothic Lolita-style clothing. Buying model kits isn't something that Otome do, they want emotional stories to go with their porn, and the whole point of Otome-ing is so they can actually get involved in producing fanworks.

No wonder the big established companies have such trouble reaching out to the Otome and making money off them. The fact that they thrive off fan-produced works means that the fans are the ones doing the entrepreneurial work, while the big companies recruit popular doujinshi artists in the hope of making SOME money. They also employ more subtle ways of attracting female fans - by having scores of pretty boys in shounen manga. Certainly, there has been an explosion of that in Shounen Jump, which a decade ago would have been unheard of. Try reading "Air Gear", by Otaku-favourite Oh!Great. If you're familiar with his previous work "Tenjou Tenge" (a seinen work), then you probably know that Oh!Great is the kind of artist who loves bouncy boobs, hentai porn, and tough guys. The amount of bishounen in "Air Gear" astounded me. I didn't see many bishounen in "Tenjou Tenge", but they are crawling out of the woodwork in "Air Gear". Someone must have pulled Oh!Great into a corner and said "Sensei, we need bishounen characters, please". And so in comes Akito/Agito and his brother at the end of vol4, and then it started raining bishounen. And "Air Gear" got enough female fans to vote "Akito/Agito" as their number one favourite character.

Now that's an influential sub-culture, and one that revolves purely around what women want. It's curious to contrast this with the Western World, where neither music, comics nor Hollywood makes that big of an attempt to capture women's dollars. It's not that they don't try, but because Otome culture is built from the ground-up as something by women for women, and entirely excludes men from the whole process. The male exclusion thing is an important part of the equation. I just can't imagine a sub-culture growing up in the west that is entirely female-centred, because the gender-divide isn't as great as it is in Japan. It's interesting to observe, though, especially the non-sexualised aspect of the Otome culture. In the West, I can imagine feminists becoming furious at the idea, because part of the feminist revolution is that the empowered woman is one that is able to control her own sexuality. Well, certainly "empowered women" can also include those who have zero interest in feminine sexuality, and who define female power as something irrelevant to men altogether?

Random Art: Some stuff I just realised I haven't put up anywhere, including my DeviantArt account. Since that's been dominated by "The Legend of Zelda" fan manga, I decided not to put it up there. So it ends up here instead.

A self-portait of me, for "The Australian" newspaper.
Ironically, this was inked by the G-pen, though it shows me holding the Saji pen.

Stuff I drew at Supanova last October, and completely forgot about until now.

The Dreaming: Hard At Work...

2006-12-19T08:26:29Z

The Dreaming v3: Up to chapter 5 for the pencils, and almost finished inking chapter 3. Am pumping it out like there's no tomorrow!! Meanwhile, Volume 2 is out, it's on Amazon.com, and the first chapter preview of book2 is still up here. Oh, Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year, by the way. I don't get a break, so no festivities for me. *sigh*

Zelda Fan Manga: Here's the second part, while the previous 5 pages is here. As per the previous poll, option (b) won out, and you can see it in all it's glory.

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Voting for this poll ended on the 25th December. The winner this time was again (b), though (a) got a fair number of votes and for a while, was neck to neck. The next page is up already on DevArt, while the options and votes for "Right now, Link is thinking:" are as follows:

She asked for my arm, so I should give her my arm. (22 Votes - 33.8%)
I shall sweep her up in my arms and carry her up the stairs! After all, she IS injured (so I have a GOOD excuse). (28 Votes - 43.1%)
If she needs fresh air and sunshine, she probably needs exercise too. I shall escort her up the stairs, but she is to climb them alone. (9 Votes - 13.8%)
She should stay here, as Princess Ruto asked. This is Ruto's domain, after all. (6 Votes - 9.2%)

You may not have realised when you voted, but the last poll served a real purpose. It was to determine Link's base personality. For the curious, I have made a list of the voting options, including what would have happened if that option had won out, and what Link's personality type would have been.

Option A: Get all teary-eyed and emotional (12 Votes - 14%)
Result: Link gets all teary-eyed and emotional. Zelda gets all teary-eyed and emotional. Ruto couldn't flee the room fast enough, so she gets emotional too.
"Earnest Warrior" Link: The most idealistic of all the Links, this Link is very open with his emotions, and very serious about his pursuit of truth and justice. While he knows that he should probably exercise more emotional restraint, he knows and appreciates why he feels the way he does, and considers it a positive attribute. He gets on best with the ordinary folks, and always puts their welfare first. Unfortunately, there are people out there who tends to take advantage of his nice, giving side, and Link finds it hard to say "no" to their requests, even if he knows he's being taken advantage of. He also has a tendency to take other people's business on as his own, which, curiously enough, also makes him the best physical fighter out of all the Links. The fact that he cares so intensely also means that his endurance and stamina is higher than the other Links. This Link is also the least interested in adventuring, with the most appreciation for the simple life.

Option B: Bow his head, gallantly kiss Princess Zelda's hand, and greet her with a gentle smile (53 Votes - 61.6%)
Result: You're looking at it.
"Romantic Soldier" Link: This guy has emotions like everyone else, but trusts his head over his heart. He is the most strategic when it comes to fighting, and also the most emotionally-guarded of all the Links. As a result, he is always polite and affable, but there's no telling what he actually thinks of something or someone. This is a great help when dealing with sectors of society he may not necessarily like - his understanding of protocols and good manners make him the Link that gets along best with nobles, aristocrats and the wealthy. Certainly, he gets along fine with the ordinary folks as well, but he's holistic enough to see that the common folk tend to be at their happiest when the ruling classes are doing a good job. Not particularly idealistic, this Link has an appreciation of all the greys in the world, and deals with all of its complexities by following the knight's code of honour as much as he can. At the same time, he's also most likely to be a smooth talker, and to use his looks to his advantage. He's a guy who's constantly sizing people up before he even speaks to them.

Option C: Smile in relief, pull up a chair, and slap her on the back (14 Votes - 16.3%)
Result: After Link slaps Princess Zelda on the back, he'll be immediately slapped by Ruto on the head. Didn't he hear her say that Princess Zelda has been injured?! Don't slap injured people on the back until you know what's wrong with them.
"Laid-Back Adventurer" Link: This Link enjoys saving the world, but the travelling and adventuring parts are also highly enjoyable. This Link has wanderlust, is something of a risk-taker, and gets along well with just about anybody because, well, he's just an affable guy in general. In terms of personal relationships, he's probably the most shallow of all the Links, and the least-likely to become emotionally attached to something or someone. That's not to say he has no beliefs or ideals. He does have the same set of core beliefs as the other Links, though what he really loves and appreciates is the diversity of the world he lives in. He just loves experiencing it. As a fighter, he is the most fearless of all the Links, but not necessarily the most courageous. He's the guy that assasins can never track down because he speaks a dozen languages and knows all the local customs of whichever place he's already been to. An experienced bargain hunter, this Link has loads of street-smarts, and deals best with tradespeople, wandering merchants, travellers, thieves, bards, and the like.

Option D: Forget Princess Zelda!! Let's hit on Princess Ruto!! (7 Votes - 8.1%)
Result: Anyone who behaves like that in such a situation is bound to have a weird sense of humour. He'll be rejected by Princess Ruto, and will annoy both princesses. He'll then go on the charm offensive to win them back.
"Oddball Swordsman" Link: This Link has an appreciation for the weird little moments in life, and that's just putting it nicely. Sure, he saves the world too, but don't expect him to act like a hero or even a swordsman. The number one thing people will remember about him is his strange sense of humour, often on display when you least expect it, and tempered with a mild dose of charm afterwards (so people won't blacklist him from their parties). People have no idea how to react to him, or whether to take him seriously, because he doesn't SEEM to be the kind of person who would have such a personality. In fact, he is normally a quiet guy. Why he has such a prankish sense of humour is a mystery, even to himself. Out of all the Links, he has the greatest appreciation for the banalities of life, and hangs around some very strange people, mostly for the shock value. Oddly enough, when he is motivated to care, he can form very strong emotional attachments, the strongest of all the other Links. It's possible that deep down, he's the loneliest of all the Links, and feels that loneliness most acutely. As a fighter, however, he is unrelentingly creative and full of surprises. Very apt for a guy who's life seems to revolve around doing the unexpected. This Link gets along best with circus performers, crazy inventors, fortune-tellers, and various other weirdos and outcasts. It's his appreciation for the off-beat.

The Dreaming: Zelda Fan Manga!!

2006-12-02T11:19:31Z

The Dreaming v2: Volume is out, it's on Amazon.com, and the first chapter preview of book2 is still up here. I also finally found out which European company it was picked up by - actually FOUR companies. Akileos of France picked up "The Dreaming" v1 for a Jan '07 release, while Italian publisher Counter SRL also bought it. And it turns out that there was a Spanish and the Netherlands version all along... which explains why I'd gotten fanmail in Dutch (That was a big head-scratcher...). TOKYOPOP will probably continue to sell "The Dreaming" around the world, so perhaps I should keep an eye on it. It's nice to know that other countries have picked it up though.

My Zelda Fan Manga: On the brighter, more fun side, I've been waiting for the Nintendo Wii to come out over in Australia (6th Dec), so I can play The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. I've been a long-time Zelda fan, so I decided to draw a manga to celebrate the release. Now, this was originally started as drawing practice, but because I don't sketch much and I never draw anything that isn't manga, I turned it into something story-based. You get to vote for what happens next though (scroll down to the bottom).

This actually starts halfway through the story, but there's enough to know what's going on (we're in Zora's Domain, folks). The story's not based on any of the Zelda games in particular, because then you might as well play the games. It's set in the same universe, with the same characters, and has the usual Zelda lore in it. It's fun drawing these characters... Ruto was annoying in Ocarina of Time, but then she's got some real personality and attitude. She also has an odd nose, which I've changed (into something equally odd, but at least different-looking).

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Following four pages after these five are up here. You can also find them on my DevArt account.

Vote for what happens next. This will NOT determine any plot points, but it WILL determine how the characters interact with each other (possibly with permanent consequences). The poll closed on the 9th December, 2006, and the voting results were quite clear. Option #2 was the clear winner.

Get all teary-eyed and emotional (12 Votes - 14%)
Bow his head, gallantly kiss Princess Zelda's hand, and greet her with a gentle smile (53 Votes - 61.6%)
Smile in relief, pull up a chair, and slap her on the back (14 Votes - 16.3%)
Forget Princess Zelda!! Let's hit on Princess Ruto!! (7 Votes - 8.1%)

I didn't draw this manga in the usual A4 size, which made it fun and interesting. I drew it on 15cm x 10cm page (approx. half an A4), and doing it that way is FAST. WAAAAY faster than drawing a page for "The Dreaming" is, believe it or not. I thought I'd have trouble making a story flow with those page dimensions, but not at all. It makes me want to experiment with other page types. Circle? Triangle? Square? 3-triangles? I also love using dot-tones and cross-hatching. Love it!! It's not much work compared to what I have to do for "The Dreaming".

I gotta do something about the font too. Anyone recommend anything?

The Dreaming: I Fix My Mistake

2006-11-30T09:22:24Z

The Dreaming v2: Volume is out, it's on Amazon.com, and the first chapter preview of book2 is still up here. I've finished inking the first 2 chapters of book3, so that's humming along, and it turns out it's been picked up by a European company. I gotta confirm which country and who, though. So stay tuned.

I Made A Horrible Mistake: Yes, there's a big correction needed on this blog. This is in regards to some horribly misleading things I wrote last posting, concerning the "three-act structure". Most of the replies I've gotten to the article concerns that section, and no wonder - much of what I wrote was bogus. At the time of writing the article, I haven't read up on the "three-act structure" for 5 years, and had gotten a fair amount of things WRONG about it. Last night, I went online and Googled it, and after about 2 minutes, I realised what I terrible mistake I've made.

In the last article, I made some silly claim that the 3-book OEL format requires you to follow the "three-act structure", with ONE act PER book. Now that I've renewed my knowledge of the "three-act structure", I can safely tell everyone that it is a COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS ASSERTION. Not only do you NOT need to follow the "three-act structure" for the 3-book format, but doing one act per book is just... nuts. I didn't do it for "The Dreaming", and worst of all, in my article I gave the impression that I did. This has a decent explanation behind it, mostly concerning my creative process, but first, the facts:

FACT: "The Dreaming" does follow the "three-act structure". But I only realised this AFTER I've written the whole thing.
FACT: It does NOT have ONE act PER book. If I said it did, it's because I threw the term "three-act structure" around inappropriately.
FACT: Act 1 of "The Dreaming" ends in book 1, Chapter 3 (of 7), NOT at the end of book1.
FACT: Act 2 of "The Dreaming" ends after Chapter 4 (of 7) of book 2, NOT at the end of book2.

**Cont'd
There's no excuse for sloppy research, and I apologise for the miles of bloggage inspired by something so shoddily written in the first place. Some good things did come out of it - namely people calling it "enlightening", "fascinating" and "providing insight into how an OEL writer works". Well, too bad, but it's utter bull. Not only does it NOT provide insight into how I work, but it gives the mistaken assumption that I applied the "three-act structure" before I began to write for "The Dreaming". Not true. I didn't. When I wrote the article, I was in a temporary fit of insanity and flying to the defense of a friend (Tentopet of "Fool's Gold"), and neglected to do the research I usually do for articles of this nature. It wasn't until I re-read the article last night that I realised how flawed it was. And it's not like Tentopet needed me to defend her. She handled it quite fine herself.

That said, I can redeem myself this article by explaining what the "three-act structure" actually is, and explain how Act 1 of "The Dreaming" ended halfway through the first book. Hopefully it would undo the damage done to people who didn't know what the "three-act structure" was, and got their initiation ritual through that totally-wrong essay. However, there's not much space, so I'll just explain Act 1 of "The Dreaming", since those chapters happen to be online.

What is the Three-Act Structure?
According to this site, the "three-act structure" is a paradigm, "the structure that holds screenplays together". That's bull. There are gazillions of good movies that don't use the "three-act structure", starting with one of my favourites, "Pulp Fiction". The "three-act structure" is just ONE paradigm. It is ONE way of structuring a screenplay (and by logical extension, a complete story). It's certainly not the only way to do it, nor is it meant to be rigidly applied. It's a very flexible framework, and has its own weaknesses and problems (there are essays all over the internet arguing against it). "The Dreaming" uses it, but it certainly wasn't because I knew what a "three-act structure" was when I started writing it (though I've heard of it). I only decided it was a "three-act structure" story when I wanted to write about the structure of it, and had to go and find some structural model to help explain it. Well, I did it wrong.

Anyway, according to Syd Field, The "three-act structure" consists of a Setup (Act 1), Confrontation (Act 2), and Resolution (Act 3). Each Act is separated by a "plot point", a plot point being defined as an event that thrusts the plot in a new direction, leading into a new act in a screeplay. It's hard to explain it with just words, so I'll use the beginning of "The Dreaming" to do it. Luckily, the first 3 chapters are online on TOKYOPOP's servers, so you can see for yourself.

What "Act 1" does:
Exposition: Introduces the characters, their relationships, and gives them their time, place and situation. The Main character is given an objective to fulfill, and their actions will drive the story.
Dramatic Premise: Make sure it is clearly defined and introduced, so you know what the story is about.
Dramatic Situation: Set up the circumstances surrounding the action
Inciting Incident: Something should happen in the middle of act 1 to set the plot into motion.
Plot Point: Happens at the end of act 1, causing something to happen, leading onto Act 2.

The premise of "The Dreaming" is:
(1) A pair of identical twin sisters (the main characters) go to a remote boarding school in the Australian bush. (Dramatic Situation)
(2) They discover that the vice-principal there (chief antagonist) has a strange prejudice against identical twins.
(3) They also find that the school has a long history of vanishing schoolgirls. (dramatic premise - the story's about a haunted school)
(4) The sisters then start having strange, supernatural dreams. (Inciting incident - this supernatural experience links the girls to the dramatic premise, ie. the haunted school)
(5) Mysterious hijinks happen, etc. (Basically the rest of the plot, leading to Act 2)

When I looked back and checked, I covered all points 1-4 in the first 3 chapters of "The Dreaming" (even before the end of Chapter 3). So by all accounts, Act 1 ended in the first 3 chapters, since it's only the setup, the plot hook and the character introductions. I originally thought that Act 1 encompassed more than that, but it doesn't. Whoops. Sucks be to me. But anyway, if that's all that Act 1 does, then BY GOLLY it should have been over before the middle of the first book, regardless of how many volumes that story is. If the middle of the first 180-page book swings by and the readers still don't know who's who, or why this whole story is happening, then you're probably not doing your job properly.

So, I guess that explains all the emails I've been getting that suggested ending Act 1 in the middle of book 1, and then ending the volume on a cliffhanger. I was, like, isn't that what I did with "The Dreaming"?

My Creative Process...
I guess all that's left to explain is how this whole mix-up with the "three-act structure" occurred, because as far as creators explaining themselves go, it's a truly bizarre and unique case. But then, my creative process is also somewhat unusual, and partly to blame for this whole mess.

Firstly, I never took any writing classes. I've never read any books that taught writing either. I was originally trained as a computer programmer, with no interest in writing or drawing whatsoever (until I became unemployed). I'm a massive film buff though, and watching alot of good films in my early 20s gave me some basic understanding of how to structure a self-contained story. This way, I became acquainted with the "three-act structure" long before I ever knew a "three-act structure" was. I then taught myself to write by drawing short stories on my website until I got a certain grasp of where things should go in a particular story. It's process based entirely on gut instinct and intuition, and it still is.

That's why I often find it difficult to explain how I structure a story (not to mention superfluous). I normally just see the finished product in my head, fully structured with speech bubbles, and then put it down on paper. I don't script, I don't brainstorm, I don't do character sketches first. That's why my art style can vary wildly from story to story, because as far as I'm concerned, I'm just reproducing what I see in my head. So when I decided to explain the structure of "The Dreaming", I took the finished product (1/3 of which is still not yet on paper), and then reverse-engineered it. I looked at the structure of "The Dreaming", and decided that it fit the mould of a "three-act structure", which was true. I then divided it up - wrongly - since I'd never referenced the "three-act structure" to construct it in the first place.

Not learning to write the "proper" way has its benefits. You don't believe there are any rules that can't be broken in the right circumstances, though you may know what the genre conventions are. The downside is, you live in a world of your own-making, with your own set of vocabulary for the writing conventions you've discovered. This becomes a massive problem when you're talking to someone who HAS been properly trained in writing. You may be using the same terms, but chances are you're describing different things. Ah well, at least next time I'll read up on things before I shoot off any more essays on my so-called "creative process".

On a Brighter Note: I finally finished this picture I was doing for UltraPro, which is meant to be a companion piece to the Valkyrie Girl picture, and compared to it, the quality is inferior. There are alot of things I'm not happy with, but I guess that it'll have to do. I'll rather complain about it on my DevArt account anyway.

Click here for a bigger version

The Dreaming: Watch Me Rant About the 3-Book Format!!

2006-11-13T10:07:37Z

The Dreaming v2: First of all, a fan told me that "The Dreaming" vol2 is officially due to go on sale on November 21st. However, some people have already read it, most chain bookstores have already got a copy on November 7th, and Amazon.com started selling on October 31st. Oops. At least the first chapter preview of book2 is still up here. Enjoy.

Here I Go: Secondly, I've been asked to write a few paragraphs about the state of OEL/global manga by Benjamin from Newsrama, which I was happy to do. I had intended to do my few paragraphs about the OGN (Original Graphic Novel) format TOKYOPOP hands out to its creators, and the issues I dealt with in writing for such a format. By "format", I mean the "a single story in 3 books" format, each book being between 150-180 pages. I then went on the net to check my email, and lo, I find a "Fool's Gold" review and another article that deals with the very topic. Christopher did mentioned what he liked about "Fool's Gold", and while I don't agree with the rest of his review, I can see where he's coming from. The same goes with the second article, by Johanna.

Both articles dealt with issues involving story structure in an on-going OGN series, and as someone drawing such a series myself, I want to talk about some of the difficulties involved, and shed some light on the subject before the mud-flinging goes into full-swing. Everything here is just my opinion and relates mostly to "The Dreaming", so I hope people can use this as food for thought. Obviously, it helps if you've read the first 2 volumes of "The Dreaming".

Structuring "The Dreaming"
"The Dreaming" was originally conceived as a single story. However, because of the 3-book format, I had to do this to it:

a) Break this SINGLE story in THREE EQUALLY-LONG PARTS
b) Make each part RELATIVELY SELF-CONTAINED
c) Make each part have its own NARRATIVE ARC (ie. build-up, climax, resolution)
d) Make ALL THREE PARTS be in chronological order
e) Make ALL THREE PARTS fit into a SINGLE OVER-ARCHING NARRATIVE
f) Bonus challenge: This is a mystery-horror series

Why does each book need to have a self-contained narrative arc, especially when readers know it's only the first of 3 books? Well, it's because even if your readers know they're getting only 1/3 of a story, they won't care. When people pick up an OGN, they unconsciously expect something self-contained, regardless of what they know about it. If a single story is NOT fed to you in one go, but in large chunks, it's a natural human instinct to want some form of closure for each chunk fed. This is especially true if there's a one-year wait in between each feeding. That's why I went out of my way to ensure that at the end of each "The Dreaming" volume, a number of loose plot threads are tied up. I also end it on a cliff-hanger, because tying up plot threads tend to make the reader think the story's over. No. That's bad. You're supposed to tie up loose plot threads AND make them want to read the next volume. In other words, the single-book format can really affect how you plan your story.

This "single-book format" is also where the most fundamental difference between Japanese manga and OEL/global manga is. Japanese manga is written in serialised format, something that requires a VASTLY different story structure to the current OEL/global manga books. If "The Dreaming" was written as a serial, it would be completely different, with different pacing, and the order of events shuffled around. When Western fans read Japanese manga, they don't care that each volume isn't self-contained, because they know the original format of the manga was in weekly 20-page bits (Though you DO get complaints that "hardly anything happens" in a single volume). The takouban form is just the collected volume of the original format, whereas the OEL/global manga is the other way around. Its original format is in single-book form. People KNOW that. But the difference is now that people expect a story that at least ties up SOME loose ends at the end.

**** Important: This next whole section is complete bullcrap. I hadn't read up on the "three-act structure" for 5 years when I wrote this, and my memory had failed me. What I wrote about the "three-act structure" is completely wrong. Please skip this entire section. ****
The Three-Act Structure
From this perspective, it's almost inevitable that "The Dreaming" is structured in a Three-Act Structure (Edit: No it ain't inevitable. What the heck?!). Does that mean that the three-act structure suits the 3-book format? Heck, no (Edit: Actually, it does it quite well). This is because the 3-book format requires each book to be of equal length, which is NOT what you're supposed to do with the three-act structure (Edit: Not true). The first act, mostly of set-ups and introduction, ought to be shorter than the other two acts, acting as a "hook" to draw the reader in (Edit: I got that part right). Over-extend the first act and your readers will start wondering when the plot is going to start (Edit: Right...). And yet, that's EXACTLY what you have to do for the 3-book format (Edit: Not true). In other words, anybody who uses the three-act structure in the 3-book format is bound to hit against a similar wall (Edit: God, no!).

To be true, nobody complained about that aspect of "The Dreaming" vol1 to my knowledge (except me), but I thought vol1 was too long, and it's a flaw that I couldn't fix as long as I used the three-act structure (Edit: vol1 is NOT too long. I finally read it back-to-back with vol2, and it's not too long at all. If it was a SINGLE self-contained volume, it would have been too long). I could have slashed 1-2 chapters off book 1, but that would require the story flow to change, meaning people reading book 2 for the first time is going to be thrown for a loop since the story structure would be slightly different to book 1 (Edit: I think I was referring to the number of chapters). Obviously, conformity across all three volumes is more important, and besides, I had to hand in at least 150 pages for a book to be complete (Edit: True).

...And let's face it. The three-act structure was never meant to be split into three parts (Edit: Depends how you do it). It's called a three-act structure because it's meant to be a SINGLE STORY (Edit: Uh?). Unfortunately, the 3-book format requires you to do just that (Edit: It does NOT!). If I had another go at "The Dreaming" vol 1, I would combine the first 3 chapters into 2 chapters, and combine chapters 5-6 into a single chapter, while shuffling events at the end of chapter 6 off to 7 (Edit: That's only if it were a one-volume story, and not an on-going story). Oh heck, if "The Dreaming" was a single story told in one go and not broken into 3 parts, I would just write the whole thing differently (Edit: Well, true).
**** Continue reading, Back to Normal ****

Momentum Problems
Am I whining about the 3-book format? Yes, I am. I'll just be open about it and say I prefer the Japanese anthology model, where you get serialised stories. Lord knows, I've been flogging the idea of an anthology for long enough. The visual language of Japanese manga was designed for long serialised stories, and that's partly where manga finds its strengths. You're able to develop story arcs over a longer period of time, and plot and character development can be done at a more leisurely pace (that's not to condone stories that can be told in 10 volumes being told in 40).

In fact, part of the reason why "The Dreaming" is only going to be 3 volumes is because I can't keep on wrapping up plot threads at the end of each book. Besides, I've already planned the whole 3 volumes, and it's got a definate ending to it. If the story is to continue after vol3 in the same manner, I can't wrap up ALL of the plot threads, so I have to keep some of them open. Which means I have to completely re-plan the story, which after book2, is too late. At the same time, I have to keep on adding new twists, and giving answers to the questions previous twists raised. How long do you think I can keep something like this going, before it becomes either too complex, or too predictable? I'm not willing to give it a try, especially not when "The Dreaming" is a mystery-horror that requires some level of suspense happening. One of the other problems of the 3-book structure I didn't mention is that any momentum you build up during the volume is destroyed when you end a volume.

You start a volume with the build-up, then you come to the climax. You then have the resolution because you need to end the volume, but when the next volume starts up, you need to start from the bottom of the bell curve again. Why can't you continue on with the climax in the previous volume, and then just start the next one in the middle of your climax, continuing it on from that? Actually, you can do that if your story is longer than 3 volumes, but thanks to "The Dreaming" being a complex mystery story, it's amazingly difficult to continue adding material to it. It's just too self-contained. If I did do it, it'll make too much of an unbalanced reading experience. All-in-all, it makes maintaining suspense quite difficult.

Conclusion
This whole essay has turned into one long complaint about the 3-book format - I said if before and I'll say it again, I just WANT to work in anthology form. That's the base reason for this whole essay - that's right, I'm just finding another excuse to whine for an OEL manga anthology. There's nothing about the 3-book format that is particularly limiting, except that if you wrote a single, self-contained story spanning over 3 books, it's pretty darn difficult to continue that same story from where you left off at the end of book3. Oh heck, it's just hard for "The Dreaming", it shouldn't be hard for anything else. If I have a REAL complaint about the 3-book format, it's that there's a one-year delay in-between each volume, which makes it incredibly hard to build interest when the initial interest wanes. Yep, that's about the only complaint.

The Dreaming: Preview of Book 2!

2006-11-02T01:07:40Z

To Marcella: I have an email from Marcella, asking me to reply, but unfortunately I can't because you didn't give a valid email address. Anyway, I hope you get outta your troubles soon.

"The Dreaming" vol2 is coming out on the 7th November in stores, though for some reason it's already available at Amazon.com. It also seems to be already out in some bookstores. I thought I'd jump in on the fun, and release the first chapter of book2 for a preview, both on my website at at my new DeviantArt account. Now, there's no reason why a single person should have a personal website, a livejournal, and a DevArt account - how many things can I manage anyway - but I was convinced otherwise by a Canadian cosplayer at Supanova last weekend. It seems that DevArt is a good place to dump all the doodles I do that I don't post up on my site or LJ.

"The Dreaming" Book 2 Preview:
DeviantArt: here (Click on the top right hand corner for the "next page". I'll be putting it up a few pages a day, just to be suspenseful for the DevArt folks)

COMING OUT 7TH NOVEMBER!

Volume 1 is here.

A Real Interesting Music Clip: My musician friend Yunyu has done something amazing - she's got a music video of one of her songs out that is filmed in a way that is quite unusual. Basically, it's "Live Stop-Motion" - something that combines real film (and real people) with stop-motion techniques. The song is "Lenore's Song", and the video was basically made using over 16,000 still photographs, all done by getting the actors and Yunyu to move very slightly while shots are taken of them. And the final effect is interesting and unsettling - as you can see on this YouTube Video.

Anyway, this video has been chosen as a finalist in the Sunscreen festival, and I've provided a link to where you can log in and vote. Do me a favour and sign into the site, and give her your vote!

The Dreaming: Only Flora

2006-10-21T05:48:47Z

The Dreaming Vol3: I've finished pencilling chapter 16 (2 our of 6) of vol3, and has started inking chapter 15. This is going to the be last volume of "The Dreaming", so I'm beginning to work out the details of my next work. But first, I gotta post up a Chapter 8 preview of "The Dreaming" vol2 first, which is coming out in November.

Supanova 2006: I'll be there, selling copies of "The Dreaming" vol1, for about AUD$12. I'll be at booth Y of the artist's alley, and TOKYOPOP Australia has also printed a series of bookmarks for "The Dreaming" to be given away for free! Keep your eyes peeled. I'll be sharing a table with Poshua, who's selling a copy of "Generation 2006" ($12), an Australian manga anthology. This anthology contains my manga "The Two Dollar Deal" in it, so that's probably your sole chance to buy it in print (for now).

Project "One2Eight" (aka 1 TWO 8): This is a new project I've created, and I've yet to put up a proper information page for it. The project consists of a series of short stories, each self-contained and complete, with a strict limit on the number of pages allowed. The challenge is to tell 8 stories, consisting of a 1-page story, a 2-page story, a 3-page story, and so on, to an 8-page story.

Both "The Two Dollar Deal" (8-pages) and "Message To You" (4-pages) is part of this series, and now you get to see "Only Flora" (5-pages), which is actually a prequel to another story (part of the "Boy Meets Girl in 10 Pages or Less" series). I did this story a fair while ago, and it was basically just an excuse to experiment at drawing without using ANY rulers (save for the panel lines). What the heck.

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The inspiration for this project came from a quote of Hagio Moto, who said that if you can tell a single, complete story in 8-pages then, you'll never have any trouble telling a story of ANY length. Hagio Moto is right on that, but I want to go a step further, to see whether you can a single, complete story with a story arc in less than 8-pages (what a "story arc" will need a better definition). And I've proven that it's doable. You can tell a 1-page story, but you can't have a narrative arc in only 1-page of manga. Another aim of this project is to find the watershed point at which a story can begin to have a story arc, which is to say that it actually has a beginning, a middle and an end.

Narrative Watershed: I've found this point to be at 4-pages. 4-pages is the least number of pages you can have in telling a single, self-contained story with a story arc. It was originally 5-pages, with "Only Flora", but I decided "Message To You" could qualify. At first it didn't because it had no text in it, but I changed my mind when I realised you can tell a far longer story without text (Gon, anybody?). So why wouldn't it qualify?

The Waking: More on E-Anthologies

2006-09-22T11:27:10Z

The Dreaming v2: Amazon.com still has volume 2 for pre-orders, out on November 7th. Volume 1 is still available here.

Interesting Article on YouTube and Anime

This is a follow-up article to the previous one I wrote about manga e-anthologies (PLEASE read it before you read this one), which spoke about the success of the iPod and iTunes store in terms of selling their wares. The article didn't really clarify my position on iTunes, so here is a more in-depth explanation into what I think about iTunes, both from an e-commerce perspective and that of manga e-anthologies.

People Paying For Things They Can Get For Free
Some people have complained that the iTunes system rips off artists, and that it's only breaking even, but then that's not why the iTunes system is of interest. It's of interest because for most of the music you can buy off iTunes, you can probably get it off the internet for free. I don't know where I can get a particular song/movie off the internet for free, but like most people, I know someone who does. In fact, I can send out an SOS right now on my mailing list, and someone within a few hours will reply with the website/irc channel/ftp server/bittorent where I can download to my heart's content. But if iTunes have it, I'll pay money for it, because it's easier.

iTunes is successful not because record companies make money, not because it sells alot of iPods, not because it barely breaks even, but because it manages to get people to pay for things they can otherwise get for free. When I talk about its success, I don't mean dodgy corporate practices, but its Business Model. If musicians aren't being paid enough, it's the fault of the people who negotiates these contracts, not the fault of the business model. If Western manga anthologies don't work because the artists drop out after a few issues, it's not the fault of the anthology concept model, but the fault of the related parties that orbit the creation of an anthology. Definately related, but separate. (I'll bet like all things, it's related to how much someone is being paid)

The second point I want to clarify is that while I talked about e-delivery systems in the last essay, I don't think that digital media is where it all ends. I DON'T think that just because people are using iTunes, they'll all stop buying CDs. Not at all. In fact, people will continue buying CDs, just less of them, for the same reason I pointed out in the last essay - because nothing beats having the real thing in your hands. But what if I only have a "passing interest in", but not "love for", the work of a certain musician?

The Buck Does Not Stop At Digital Media
When I advocated the downloading of e-books onto iPod-like machines using iTunes as a model, I was advocating the ease and success of the e-delivery system. I'm not at all suggesting e-manga should be the new way we all get our manga. In fact, in terms of e-manga, what I'm REALLY advocating is e-anthologies, a cheap, accessible way for consumers to sample manga. The buck does NOT stop at e-anthologies (or digital media). Instead, you're hoping that reading e-anthologies will eventually cause your readers to go real-shopping, and BUY the actual printed collected volumes.

Besides, a system for this kind of thing already exists. Manga Scanslations. If scanslations have proven anything, it's that a free digital copy of something still causes people to buy the printed version of the work. Naruto still manages to be the #1-selling manga despite sites like NarutoFan.com. Ofcourse, not ALL readers will buy the collected version, but scanslations have the added benefit of exposing readers to manga they would otherwise not have not known about. If there was a e-anthology equivalent of such a thing, sold off a system like iTunes, it will make the cost of an anthology feasible, while drawing in new casual fans (Seeing I'm only a casual reader of Naruto, I'll also feel less guilty about downloading Naruto for free, if I can pay to read a digital version of it cheaply).

It's a system that benefits, most of all, all the middling, average-quality works of manga out there - manga who's collected volumes aren't flying off the shelves because blogs aren't swooning over them. Not every manga series can be like Naruto, though people still want fluff entertainment. There is an ever-expanding library of manga, but the amount of buzz available is still the same, since we still have (a) only $40 to spend on manga each month, and (b) only 24 hours in a day. In theory, the ever-expanding library of manga on the bookshelves is meant to draw in new fans, who add more money to the consumer spending pool. But you'll be wrong if you think that these fans will spend their money on the more obscure titles. Thanks to the Internet connecting us all, new arrivals to manga are more likely to gravitate towards blogs and message boards, to find out what's hot. New fans to manga will likely increase the sales of already top-selling manga, or the manga with the most internet buzz. It's not going to lift the entire industry into higher-selling figures so much as it is going to make the best-selling ones sell even better, and this ICv2 article just proves my point. $15 a pop is a big investment for an untested single book that's likely to be a 20-volume series.

More About Consumer Psychology
1) People WILL pay for something they can get for free - they're just not willing to pay alot, especially if it's something non-tangible, like digital media.
2) Because the amount they're willing to pay is so small, it becomes a matter of cost VS effort.
3) I'm only willing to pay $2 for an e-anthology.
4) I'm also willing to spend 20 minutes looking for free manga to download from the Internet.
5) I CAN buy an e-anthology for $2, and I'm willing to, but it requires more effort than a single button-click. I have to use my credit card, or I can't get the program to work, or just some other complication.
6) Is the $2 cost worth the effort to get my credit card, or to get this manga viewer program working? Nah. I'm going to spend 20 minutes looking for free manga to download instead.

Now, spending 20 minutes net-surfing to find free manga takes more effort than what $2 is worth, but you can bet that it doesn't feel that way to your typical consumer. Human beings are horders by nature. I have no time to read most of the manga I've downloaded, but I'll keep on downloading them because it's FREE. From a commercial point of view, you're standing on disadvantaged grounds whenever you're up against anything that's available for free. The only way you can make people pay for something they is to leverage their guilt-feelings, and make things so easy and cheap for them that they'll just go click, click, click and buy, buy, buy - because otherwise they'll suffer the guilt of not buying something that's so cheap and easy to get. Hence, the iTunes model.

The holy grail of e-marketing is not capturing the money of the obsessed fans. It's capturing the money of the vaguely interested people, in the hope that for a little money, they'll find something that can convert them into paying fans. Because in the Internet age, if that "cheap alternative" isn't available to people, they'll just download it for free.

In Conclusion
The challenge for e-commerce in the 21st Century is not only the delivery system for digital media, but how to present material to the potential customer in an increasingly noisy and crowded world. The reason why this anthology discussion started in the first place was because people felt there were too many manga being released a month, and not enough time or money to sample most of them. An anthology represents a cheap, centralised way of paying for fluff that you can enjoy, but which isn't going to make you fly out of your chair to buy the real-world version of.

It is these vaguely interested people whose money you want to capture - people who will download stuff for free until a centralised, easy-to-use system convinces them they ought to pay. If you can find a way to get cheap, accessible e-material into the hands of people who otherwise don't care enough to get out of their houses, then this is the way to do it.

Animania 2006: I'm going to be attending Animania 2006 at the Sydney Town Hall, though this time I won't be sitting at the artist's alley. I'm hosting 3 panels, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. Each event runs for an hour at the maximum, and the times for it are:

Saturday (30th Sep) 5:30pm:
Love Revisited: Exploring how yaoi and yuri relationships are expressed in Japanese popular entertainment

Sunday (1st Oct) 11:30am:
“Anime, Manga & Internet” discussion forum

Sunday (1st Oct) 12:30pm:
An interview with Queenie Chan