The Wonderful World of Was: April
Taylor Hawkins, Sonic the Hedgehog, Kevin Smith, Batman, Michelangelo and UTIs
Howdy, howdy!
It’s that time again, where I distract you from whatever important business you’ve been working on and ask (or beg and plead; I really am that needy) for your attention while I regale you with the month that was.
On the writing front, March has been an interesting month for me, with some ups and downs. The major up is that I completed draft three of Till Death Do Us Party and I don’t completely hate it. I ploughed through the draft, completing its rewrites ahead of schedule. So, yay, me! From here, the intent was to write a short story (I didn’t), then get deep into draft “one” (I call what I wrote during NaNoWriMo draft zero, thanks to the underwriting throughout to get my fifty thousand words in) of my next book. At the time of writing, I made it through chapter three. That’s three more chapters than it could have been, at least.
So, if you’re not already sitting down, take a seat and strap yourself in, and see what I have for you this month. When you’re done with this and aching for more Was goodness, be sure to stalk me on Twitter and hit up my website. There’s a new short story, a new article, and some new book reviews.
March Writings
As mentioned above, March was a bit of an up and down month for my writing. I kicked off the month well, blitzing through the remainder of Till Death Do Us Party’s third draft (fourth, if you count draft 2.1). When I left you last month, I had fifteen chapters left to edit and rewrite, and sure enough, I got through sixteen of them, thanks to what was a 5,311 word chapter, becoming two chapters, at 2,903 and 2,608 words each. Sure, the word count increased by 200 words, but I split them into two, since there are two distinct parts to it. In total, this draft comes to 131,009 words.
I achieved my goal of reducing the word count, but only by 269 words. Still, it’s tighter, and I think the additions I made are worth it, but who knows what I’ll slash and burn when the next draft comes along. Another thing I wrote in March is a post about the progress of the draft. So without boring you further about it here, follow this link so I can bore you on the website instead.
Having gotten through the draft on 14 March, I had a little over a fortnight to get started on the NaNoWriMo draft, with the working title of Luminary (I’m pretty settled on the title, but we’ll see if it changes before now and when it finishes. That isn’t the full title, but I won’t be revealing it just yet. But rest assured the full title includes many more words, and is nice and unwieldy, which suits a book which promises to be be just as unwieldy). I managed to sacrifice the lead quite nicely, spending a couple of days world building for a separate project, then not writing anything at all for another four days. Hell, I should be working on it now; instead, I’m procrastinating by writing this newsletter. My goal for April is to get a decent way into it, then finish the draft before moving into Till Death Do Us Party, draft four. But in the meantime, here’s a snippet from Chapter One. While I’m pretty settled on the book title, I’ve already renamed the chapter since putting this snippet together.
I also wrote another seven book reviews, of which five are currently on the website, with the remaining two to be uploaded in the coming days.
What I didn’t write, however, was a new short story. After writing The Retirement Plan (which is now available! Click here to read it!), I wanted to write another one, inspired by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But I couldn’t bring myself to. Maybe I’ll get to it, maybe I won’t. But if I do, it mightn’t be for a while, unless my need to procrastinate on Luminary forces my hand.
But all in all, I managed to write 33,403 words in March. It’s not a terrible amount, and it’s actually more than I got through in January. Editing was lower than the remainder of the year, though. I can live with that, since I finished the wholesale edits on 14 March.
My goal for April is to blitz it though, as I attempt to win Camp NaNoWriMo. Can I write 50,000 in the month? Probably not. But I managed to win NaNoWriMo last year where I could only count the novel I was drafting, where this gives me some more leeway. So it’s possible, but I’m not counting on it. The one thing I am hoping to accomplish with it is making more progress on Luminary than I did in March. And that shouldn’t be hard.
Taylor Hawkins
An hour or so before I sat down to start writing this newsletter, I had a notification on my phone: Taylor Hawkins, drummer of the Foo Fighters (and an incredibly brave man, opting to drum for Dave Grohl), passed away. If you’ve noticed my Foo Fighters references in the last two newsletters, you’ll know I’m a fan. I’m also a fan of Taylor’s side gigs, and the news hit me like a ton of bricks.
Once again, the world has been deprived of a great artist; someone taken well before his time. It sucks, but as much as it sucks as a fan, my thoughts go out to his family, his loved ones and his friends, including Dave Grohl, who has lost another bandmate and close friend.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Ever since the release of the first game way back when, I’ve been a huge fan of Sonic the Hedgehog. Despite the negative reviews for the first film, I dug it; it’s great, family friendly entertainment. But as much as I dug that movie, my son is obsessed with it, and ever since the release date for the sequel was announced, he has been counting down the days. Which is great for me, because it gave me the excuse to see it on opening day.
If you enjoyed the first Sonic the Hedgehog film, you’re in for a treat. This sequel takes the first movie and amplifies everything about it, whether it’s the characters we see, the humour, the references to the game series, or simply Jim Carrey’s performance. If you didn’t enjoy the first movie, this really won’t convince you.
Idris Elba was absolutely brilliant as Knuckles, and his delivery throughout was on point. The character is endearing and adorable throughout, and he was the movie’s MVP by a wide margin. Yeah, Colleen O'Shaughnessey is Tails, and she was just as expressive in the role as she has been in all the games, and as cute as Tails was, he was just Tails. And of course, Ben Schwartz was the lovable smart arse from the first movie.
Sonic 2 was a little overlong for the story it had to tell, but that aside, it’s a fun movie for the family. Or just for you, if you’re a fan of Sonic.
The Secret Stash
Less family friendly are the works of Kevin Smith. I’ve been a fan of his since my late teen years, and to this day, I still love his work; no doubt a sign that I have failed to mature over the last couple of decades. Some of his movies resonate with me, while others are pretty fucking funny. Shit, I even enjoyed Yoga Hosers, and nobody enjoys that. Not only am I a fan, I’d be lying if I said he didn’t have an influence on my work… This is something that may become apparent when you read Till Death Do Us Party.
I first mentioned I was reading Kevin Smith’s Secret Stash in the February newsletter, and I finally finished it last month. The book provides a detailed history of all his films, from Clerks through to Jay & Silent Bob Reboot, as well as some of his various side hustles.
If you’re a fan of his, or hell, if you enjoy film history, it’s well worth a read, as he details his time working on all the movies (including Cop Out, so you can expect plenty of Bruce Willis shade). It’s a “visual history,” so it includes plenty of pretty pictures, as well as some facsimile copies of pieces of history, from his application to film school to various pieces of memorabilia from his films.
But more than that, the book is surprisingly heartfelt. Smith will talk at length about anything, and it’s exactly what he does in this book. Like his talks, you get a sense of the man, and here, he provides some unvarnished thoughts about his wins and losses, and how those affected him as a person as well as his heart.
The next mammoth coffee table book I’m wrestling with is Batman: A Definitive History of the Dark Knight in Comics, Film & Beyond.
The White Knight
Speaking of Batman, in the March newsletter, I embarrassed myself in my celebration of The Batman and outing myself about what a huge fan I am. So it stands to reason that, sometimes, I’d read a Batman comic. I won’t bore you with the details of every Batman comic I read, but last month, I read Batman: Curse of the White Knight and Batman: White Knight Presents: Harley Quinn.
If you’re familiar with your Batman history (or, in this instance, comic book history), Batman: The Dark Knight Returns is widely considered as the pinnacle of Batman comic books. Hugely influential to this day, it told the story of an aged Batman coming out of retirement to kick arse, while running a commentary on New York of the 80s and the media. Instead, these White Knight books (which follow Batman: White Knight, which I read last year) tell a different story of Batman’s twilight years. He’s not the elderly hero of The Dark Knight Returns, just a man who has been fighting crime for far too long. Where TDKR unintentionally posed the question about the morality of a man who dresses up like a bat and kicks the shit out of the mentally ill, the White Knight series puts the question at the forefront.
Both The White Knight and Curse of the White Knight show a city that is not noticeably better for his efforts, and directly look at the question of if he is any better than the villains he chases. Aside from the ethical questions it poses, these books have a lot of fun with the mythology, telling fun stories that reference Batman in all media.
If you’re a fan of the character, you really won’t go wrong with these books. Sean Murphy’s writing is strong throughout, and the man is a brilliant artist. The Harley Quinn spin-off, co-written by Murphy (with Katana Collins and art by Matteo Scalera) presents Harley Quinn in a way unseen by any other media, as she reconciles her part in the Joker’s crimes with the doctor she is, and tries to determine her true self. It’s not quite as great as the Bat-centric books, but is also great.
The next series, Batman: Beyond the White Knight (yes, Batman Beyond fans, it is exactly what the title indicates), is starting now, so I’m looking forward to grabbing the collection when it hits.
Michelangelo and UTIs
Did you know that Seth Rogen is writing the next Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie? If so, you’d be forgiven for thinking the above headline is about that. It’s not.
In some really cool, but equally gross news, to celebrate Michelangelo’s (the Renaissance artist, not the Ninja Turtle) 545th birthday, a chapel he created has been restored and presented. However, due to the difficulty of cleaning it, the restorers had to look at a rather unique solution: a bacteria-infused gel. Of the bacteria used, it included Serratia ficaria SH7, which is the bacterium that causes urinary tract infections.
It’s an interesting story, which you can read all about here.
That’s a Wrap
I’m willing to wager that not many author newsletters finish on UTIs, but that’s why you love me, right? Thanks for your time, and as always, if you have any suggestions for this little newsletter, let me know. Until next month, where I will endeavour to avoid writing about UTIs, but won’t make any promises.
TTFN,
Was