FALL FICTION FRENZY is underway at Dark Valentine (http://darkvalentine.net/) 

According to the magazine’s site-
“Dark Valentine is a quarterly journal devoted entirely to dark fiction, which we define as any story in any genre that is disturbing, provocative, haunting, scary, dangerous, or any combination of those things. Think of classic stories like “The Mummy’s Paw,” “The Open Window,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” and “The Lady or the Tiger?” Think of Jack London’s “To Build a Fire,” William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily,” Harlan Ellison’ “I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream,” J.D. Salinger’s “A Perfect Day for Bananafish,” and Tanith Lee’s “Because Our Skins are Finer.”
The world is a dangerous place, as full of shadows and moonlight as it is sun and blue sky. We want the stories that come from the dark places—words that sear and scar and bewitch and bedazzle. Words that are as dangerous to hear as they are to tell.”

Interested in submitting to Dark Valentine?  Guidelines are posted on the site along with an informative FAQ! 

iPulpFiction.com will publish two series of stories based upon the holdings of the Black Mask Magazine franchise. The first is Black Mask DS (Digital Series), which features stories from the original Black Mask Magazine (1920 to 1951) — the premier detective and mystery magazine of all time. Black Mask Magazine was the first home to such distinguished and popular writers as Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and Erle Stanley Gardner.

The second series, Black Mask PSR (Pulp Story Reader), will draw on material from ten other pulp magazines, including Astonishing Stories, Terror Tales, Strange Detective Mysteries, and Rangeland Romances. Story prices range from FREE, to $1 based on the length of the story.

Black Mask DS premieres on November 1st, 2010 with new stories appearing every 10 days. The Black Mask PSR series begins November 6th.

Outlines are important, don’t let anybody tell you otherwise. They can keep you from making silly mistakes. Like having an article about outlining near the end of a writing month.

Seriously, an outline can keep you out of all kinds of trouble. If you have even a basic outline beforehand, you can get a clearer sense of your own pacing, and of the story’s overall flow. You can see where it’s going and how it will get there. And you can be sure you didn’t miss any steps along the way.

Do outlines work with graphic novels? Absolutely! If anything, they’re even more important for graphic prose than for regular prose, because you need to have an even clearer sense of how the story will break down. If you have the plot elements outlined, you can see where splash pages and close-ups and other visual features will fit without derailing the story or ruining the pacing. You can also get a sense of page breakdowns by going over the outline and seeing where action is fast and furious and where it’s slow and careful, which will give you a better idea of when to do a standard grid page and when to do quick cut-outs and burst images.

That means, of course, that you need to follow your outline once you’ve written it. Otherwise it won’t do you much good. I tend to keep my outline up in a separate window as I’m writing, so I can refer back to it as necessary. I also use a clean copy of the outline as my starting document, so I can go from point to point and flesh each one out in turn, transforming the outline itself into the full text.

This doesn’t mean you have to follow the outline slavishly, however. Things change as you write. Characters develop in ways you couldn’t have predicted. They do things you wouldn’t have expected—but that make perfect sense for them, given their personalities and situation. You could try to force them back to the details you already established, but that’s going to feel stiff and unnatural and it will show. Instead you need to let them change the story as they work their way through it. It’s their story, after all.

Just don’t forget to change the outline as well. (more…)

Horror fans can cheer as this second volume of macabre, creepy tales once again centers on the haunted town of Lights End, Maine, where nothing is what it seems. Unimaginable monsters fill the dreams of unsuspecting. Profusely illustrated by fantasy artist Earl Geier, this is a collection readers will not soon forget. ISBN: 1-934935-80-8. Retail Price: $21.95 HANGAR 27 PRICE: $16.50

Order your copy today at www.gopulp.info!

Day 21, and I’m in hell. Let me give you my particular problem and share my pain with you.

The story for my graphic novel hinges on a bunch of financial manipulations. I’m doomed.

Why? Comics is a visual medium. That means the writer has to find a way to make the story visually interesting. I have to make a story about high finance discernable in pictures.

Is there a way to do this? Yes, there is– you show the characters, and you show them doing things. Show the impact of what’s going on. And as a writer, this means that you have to describe what you want to see on the page so that the artist can draw it.

I was lucky enough to take art classes with John Buscema when I was a young lad, and he would use his book How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way
as his textbook. There was one section that stuck with me, showing how to tell a scene with just two people in it dramatically.

First, the bland version:

And now the dramatic version: (more…)

Tron: Legacy hits theaters everywhere in Disney Digital 3D™ and IMAX® 3D on December 17, 2010 and this afternoon they unveiled their final one-sheet.

The eagerly-anticipated film features Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, Bruce Boxleitner, James Frain, Beau Garrett and Michael Sheen. Directed by Joseph Kosinski, from the screenplay by Eddy Kitsis & Adam Horowitz, the movie is the sequel to the Disney cult hit from the early 1980s and one of the first films to use computer-enhancements for the visual effects.Here’s the official synopsis: Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund), a rebellious 27-year-old, is haunted by the mysterious disappearance of his father Kevin Flynn (Oscar®- and Golden Globe®-winner Jeff Bridges), a man once known as the world’s leading video-game developer.  When Sam investigates a strange signal sent from the old Flynn’s Arcade—a signal that could only come from his father—he finds himself pulled into a digital world where Kevin has been trapped for 20 years.  With the help of the fearless warrior Quorra (Olivia Wilde), father and son embark on a life-and-death journey across a visually-stunning cyber universe—a universe created by Kevin himself that has become far more advanced with never-before-imagined vehicles, weapons, landscapes and a ruthless villain who will stop at nothing to prevent their escape.  Presented in Disney Digital 3D™ and scored by Grammy® Award-winning electronic music duo Daft Punk. 

Notes:

Producer Steven Lisberger co-wrote and directed the original Tron (1982).

Jeff Bridges, winner of both the Oscar® and Golden Globe® for his role in Crazy Heart, reprises the role of Kevin Flynn, which he originated in Tron (1982).

Bruce Boxleitner reprises the roles of Alan Bradley and Tron, which he originated in Tron (1982).

Tron: Legacy forges a new frontier in filmmaking with its avant-garde, cutting-edge technology—set to blow away today’s audiences. Among the film’s firsts: it is the first 3D movie to integrate a fully digital head and body based upon an existing actor, creating the younger version of Jeff Bridges’ character; it’s the first movie to make extensive use of self-illuminated costumes; it’s the first movie to create molded costumes using digital sculpture exclusively, creating molds directly from computer files using CNC (Computer Numerical Cutting) technology; it’s the first 3D movie shot with 35mm lenses and full-35mm chip cameras; and it’s the first movie to record uncompressed HD Video to Hard Drive.

The world of Tron: Legacy has an exciting, pulsing vibe that sets its lifestyle apart from any other on or off the planet. From electric light suits to state-of-the-art hair and makeup, elements of the trend-setting world of  Tron: Legacy are showing up on fashion runways, and companies such as Hurley, adidas, Oakley and Burton are featuring  Tron: Legacy-inspired lines targeted for the young male consumer in collaboration with Disney Consumer Products.

(more…)