Let's hear it for unrealistic optimism!
I'm rewriting Lantern Boo in script format and taking it to Toronto Fan Expo with me. I'm going to try to show it to the folks at the DC Nation panel.
I picked this one because
1. It's short. Self-contained oneshot, 1,140 words including disclaimer and author notes. It won't take anywhere near as long to rework as one of my multiparts.
2. It's not one of my introspective missing scenes. Those can work very well in comics. I have my favorite issues that are pure character-insight. However, if I'm going to show a sample, I want to give them something with more of a plot. Even if the plot is pure formula (it's a Chicken Boo story. It's not Shakespeare), I think it's also entertaining and interesting. I think a character-driven piece would show that I have a handle on certain characters. Which is great. But I also want to show them that I can tell a story with more than just my favorite dramatis personae. This is one of my few plot-driven oneshots.
3. Most of my other oneshots are not, IMO, marketable to DC. Some of them are missing scenes for old canon events in which DC is unlikely to be interested (my earliest NW stories were attempts to rebuild in the middle of Devin Grayson's "teardown" arc. Let's face it: nobody is going to pay me money for a story, today, in which Batman pays a condolence call to Nightwing a few hours after Blockbuster blows up his apartment building!). And on that note, I'm not sure I want to show them a "fix-it" fic. It basically boils down to "Unknown amateur politely tells top brass that she can do better than their professional writers." Loosely translated as biting the hand of someone who hadn't yet made the decision to feed you... but has now.
4. Some of my other oneshots really don't work well as comics. 'Tim tries to take notes on epic poetry and finds that he can relate the definition to his own life experience', for example.
5. I don't want to show them a 'shake it all up' fic. If DC wants to do a story in which Batman is unmasked and packed off to Arkham, they're going to give it to someone more seasoned, anyway. Something like Locked Inside the Facade is something to pitch when I've got a few professional credentials. If ever.
6. This story is a crossover with another AOL/Time-Warner property. If they like it, getting permission to use Animaniacs shouldn't be too difficult.
So. I've got two pages of the script done, so far, and plan to work on the rest before the convention. And then... then, I'll probably lose my nerve or not get close enough or decide it's lousy and stupid and I'm one more aspiring writer, bound for the slushpile. Or they'll take it and promise to look at it and doodle on the back and spill coffee and dump it. Or they'll give me concrit I'll misread as "you are a no-talent hack".
...Or maybe, just maybe, I'll get a "this isn't bad at all. It needs some work, and we're not doing Justice League for Johnny DC anymore, but this could work for Superfriends..." or a "We can't use this, but we'd be interested seeing more of your work." *Looks again at post title*. Yep, I'm a dreamer. But I'm going for it.
I picked this one because
1. It's short. Self-contained oneshot, 1,140 words including disclaimer and author notes. It won't take anywhere near as long to rework as one of my multiparts.
2. It's not one of my introspective missing scenes. Those can work very well in comics. I have my favorite issues that are pure character-insight. However, if I'm going to show a sample, I want to give them something with more of a plot. Even if the plot is pure formula (it's a Chicken Boo story. It's not Shakespeare), I think it's also entertaining and interesting. I think a character-driven piece would show that I have a handle on certain characters. Which is great. But I also want to show them that I can tell a story with more than just my favorite dramatis personae. This is one of my few plot-driven oneshots.
3. Most of my other oneshots are not, IMO, marketable to DC. Some of them are missing scenes for old canon events in which DC is unlikely to be interested (my earliest NW stories were attempts to rebuild in the middle of Devin Grayson's "teardown" arc. Let's face it: nobody is going to pay me money for a story, today, in which Batman pays a condolence call to Nightwing a few hours after Blockbuster blows up his apartment building!). And on that note, I'm not sure I want to show them a "fix-it" fic. It basically boils down to "Unknown amateur politely tells top brass that she can do better than their professional writers." Loosely translated as biting the hand of someone who hadn't yet made the decision to feed you... but has now.
4. Some of my other oneshots really don't work well as comics. 'Tim tries to take notes on epic poetry and finds that he can relate the definition to his own life experience', for example.
5. I don't want to show them a 'shake it all up' fic. If DC wants to do a story in which Batman is unmasked and packed off to Arkham, they're going to give it to someone more seasoned, anyway. Something like Locked Inside the Facade is something to pitch when I've got a few professional credentials. If ever.
6. This story is a crossover with another AOL/Time-Warner property. If they like it, getting permission to use Animaniacs shouldn't be too difficult.
So. I've got two pages of the script done, so far, and plan to work on the rest before the convention. And then... then, I'll probably lose my nerve or not get close enough or decide it's lousy and stupid and I'm one more aspiring writer, bound for the slushpile. Or they'll take it and promise to look at it and doodle on the back and spill coffee and dump it. Or they'll give me concrit I'll misread as "you are a no-talent hack".
...Or maybe, just maybe, I'll get a "this isn't bad at all. It needs some work, and we're not doing Justice League for Johnny DC anymore, but this could work for Superfriends..." or a "We can't use this, but we'd be interested seeing more of your work." *Looks again at post title*. Yep, I'm a dreamer. But I'm going for it.