When Characters Come Knocking...

     I think that if you had asked any writer ever, if they’d ever dreamt of seeing a book, a novel, maybe a comic or graphic novel, or a piece of their own music on the big screen that they would probably admit to you that it’s been a day dream. Even if it’s a fleeting dream, or even just a light consideration I would say that we’ve all probably thought about it. But then that begs to question really, what book, comic, music, etc. would you like to see of your own private work? Is there a certain story that you would like to share more than another being portrayed on the big screen? I’m just as guilty maybe day dreaming of which piece of my work I would like to see on the big screen. OceanView, would probably be better as a television show, as it is a continuation of stories about Fire/EMS and law enforcement. But, are there a lot of those shows on now? Would it make it anywhere? Or would shows like Chicago PD and Chicago Fire beat it out? Definitely things to consider when it comes to stories like that. But at the same time, maybe there is more substance that one can add to that particular genre that the creator’s and writers of the other show didn’t add before? But with that said what about the content of your stories?

     What kind of age demographic are you going for? Are you looking at pre-teens which a lot of movies are now-a-days, or are you wanting an adult genre? OceanView is aimed for more of an adult audience because of the content, language, and some of the scenes that the characters find themselves in. What about my Wolves and there Motley Crew of misfits? The content wouldn’t be that bad for any real type of audience. Since the book is getting ready to release I don’t want to include many spoilers about it, or what the book is about. I want my readers to enjoy the full satisfaction of getting to Meet Malakai, and his pack full-on without being told anything about them ahead of time. With this said, we’ve moved on and selected the piece of what we are wanting to use tougher questions are going to arise out of this. Since, I’m closer to the field of writing I’ll be touching more on this subject then I will with the graphic novels, or the music. I think it would be safe to say that several writers can tell you that a character is crystal clear in their heads. That, when the character comes to you and tells you they want discovered you see them for who and what they are. Every characteristic of them, from attitude to mentality, there looks, and all the way to what they really want out of their story being told. Is it as simple on the big screen for something like that to be achieved?
     What does it take for a character to come to life? Is it safe to say that if they somewhat resemble the character it’s ok? Or do you want them to channel the character, to be possessed by the presence and aura of the character? My characters are all very important to me, even the ones that are kind of standbys that are in the story but disappear throughout it and reappear. If you are going to do something dealing with another person’s world then you need to achieve it in such a way that the writer and all involved can walk away without feeling like they’ve been cheated. J.K. Rowling very clearly stated to Warner Bros. upon the making of the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows movies that she wanted two separate movies, because if it’d been compacted into one movie than it would have cut a lot of the story out and explanation to the plot. Would you retain such an important role in the making of your movie or production? I think creative writes as a writer would definitely help secure your story from being tampered too much and it would keep the main plots in the movie or whatever the production to be true. I certainly know, that I would retain full creative writes over everything if someone approached me to make either “OceanView” or “In with the pack” to make sure it stayed true to itself and it wasn’t made into a scrappy idea that the production, or director wanted. This has sadly happened to several writers including one that was not allowed to finish his novel before the sequel was made.
     Is it better to find actors/actresses that haven’t been discovered yet to play your characters? Or is it better to go along with the A-list of people that are asked to do a lot of the movies today? Is Tom Cruise a good choice for a romantic heart throb character you have in your romance novel, next to Megan Fox? Is the chemistry right? Can they pull off the true emotions between the characters? Or is it simply better to look through the portfolio of actors/actresses that have applied and have them audition that way? I personally think that if I was put in the situation of casting for the movie, for my characters I would want someone who was true to the character. I would want someone that fit the personality of the voice that I can see in my head talking to me while I write. It would have satisfy me as well as the muse to say “Yes! That is my Marc Kennedy!” or “Yes! That is the voice of Malakai!” they would have to be heart felt about the rolls, and indicate to me that they could capture the essence of my characters in order for us to get this process moving forward.
     Walking through this now, we are at the point of “Are we going to need this to be an animated film? Or are we going to be able to do live action with this particular story. For me, the answer is two different ones. Yes and no. I don’t think you’d be able to pull off Malakai and his pack in a live-action film. Could it happen? Surely. But maybe another style would be better. With OceanView? Absolutely, I think that a live-action movie or show would be better pursued with this particular story. But for other writer’s there worlds may be a lot more complex than mine. Whereas I prefer to write realistic fiction some prefer the supernatural or fantasy realms. Can characters be re-created in all of their glories or again are different avenues to be taken. Maybe events, or fights in the story you’ve written couldn’t be physically possible for the screen. All things to be considered if you ever made the big times and got all the way to Hollywood.
     Now, some of you I can see saying “Grayson, is the only reason why you are writing is to become rich and famous?” Absolutely not, as I’ve mentioned in my blogs before I enjoy telling a good story. I’ve been writing for a lot of years. I started around the age of 12 and continue to be fully involved with my writing today. Even, if they are incomplete ideas I make sure that characters have voices, and events happen. Hell, sometimes you can get characters and scenes to match each other and you may be able to take totally separate ideas and mix them together to make one complete story. The point of this blog was just to ask all of you writers’ out there if you’ve ever just day dreamed and thought “If I had the opportunity would I take it?” Not only that, but not everyone is a reader. Not everyone can sit still long enough to read a book. I would look at this as another avenue for people to meet my characters. Whether it’s my officers from the OVPD, or meet some of the wolves from the plains they just may find joy in them! That is why I love to write, I love to tell stories to entertain people and if I can branch out from just literature to say, Graphic Novels, movies or short films I will! Today’s technology has provided boundless opportunity for both music and literary authors to reach out into unknown space.