The Little Things

I've really been trying to follow my new chart I made for all my current projects. However still my procrastination side gets to me, it's a struggle but I can usually fight through it. Right now I've been working mostly on my next poetry book, 'Fragments', my children's book, 'Psycho Cat' and this small series of watercolor paintings to be paired with some poem of mine. I'm excited to see how these work out. I'm  not sure exactly where but I'd like to get my watercolor series displayed somewhere. All in all though it feels good to be working on a lot of different projects again.

 

thumbnail storyboard for 'Psycho Cat'

 

 

one of my new watercolor paintings entitled, "Borderline" to be paired with one of my newest poems.



It's My Nature

I think as artists it's really important to keep experimenting. Experiment with what works for you, what doesn't. Experiment with techniques, writing, painting, your life, whatever. Just keep trying new, weird, scary, exciting things. Find what makes the game fun for you. Try as many things as you can at least once. Keep growing.
That being said I am currently trying some new art software since my adobe software is a no go right now. Trying out, Art Rage, Painter 12 and The Gimpy. We shall see what happens.
Also working on a new watercolor series to be paired with some of my poetry. The focus of the series is "pain".
Finally as well getting back to my graphic novel, 'Nine Gates' as well. Writing and penciling and random illustrations.

So trying to get a nice swing going.

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Facebook Page: Mike D. Burke

Some New Art-ing

 "Clarity"

Pencil/Watercolor

Mike D. burke

"Eros"

Pencil/Ink/Watercolor

Mike D.Burke

The Right Path

Getting on the right path is so important. You never know quite what it is exactly going forward toward your goals but that's why it's so important to experiment with different things. Take risks and fail, fail a lot. You learn more from the times things went bad then you do from when things are at their best. Don't be afraid, things should be afraid of you. I'm not saying don't be scared, be scared and listen to the fear but realize what it's saying to you, it's telling you you're doing the right thing. You need to keep motivated and moving. Talk about your dreams, don't hide them inside because you fear making them "real" by speaking them in the open air. Surround yourself with people who are motivated as well and will motivate you. Everyone feeds off of energy constantly and depending on if it's positive or negative that's what the results will be. So drop the friends who complain and ignore the doubters and people who think their fucking opinions are so damn valuable because they think they've been there, they haven't, because your life is not someone else's life. Your experiences, emotions, dreams, perceptions are not someone else's who is similar to you. Be a little selfish here and there. I'm not saying to completely ignore your friends who are negative, try and help them, motivate them, but you can only do so much for them before it falls into their hands. So if they just want to be a complaint factory, fuck 'hem. You need to maintain that hustle and communication and creativity. You can literally accomplish anything you put your mind to. You want to fly? You can fucking fly. Figure it out. You got this!

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Working on my Good Looks

This is just a work in progress of a caricature I'm working on for now. What ya think?! My wife says that this is way to close to the truth. I love it. Inks and colors to follow. Right now I've been listening to Tegan and Sara and classical music like Mozart and shot and it is blowing my mind. I started listening to more classical music again to jump my creativity up, hopefully, after watching the indie film starring Josh Radnor of 'HIMYM' and Elizabeth Olsen of 'The Avengers: Age of Ultron' fame, 'Liberal Arts'. I love this film, it's great, I really identify with some aspects of the main characters life. It's great. I've already watched it three times and I only discovered it last week. Also last night at game night at our buddy Tom's he introduced me to this awesome guy named Casey Neistat who seems really awesome. Def going to be checking more into his stuff.

So here is my New Year's list this year 2016

New Year's List:

1. Shoot more films (40): 'Chet and Amanda', comedy sketches, action, drama, fantasy, commercials.
2. Trips
3. More photo shoots
4. More essay, short stories, scripts
5. One post a week on blog and page (of which I'm failing at so far, lol)
6. Say, 'yes' more
7. Complete portfolio for comic cons
8. Get way fitter
9. Get published

Let's do this.

On Writing an Essay

Man I have to tell you, I have been struggling for twenty-one days now since the New Year with trying to write an essay. Why, you ask? Look, so, I like reading books like the Philosophy and  Pop Culture books you know, on like philosophy and Doctor Who, or Sherlock Holmes, Supernatural, all of that. Of course all of that type of writing is essentially essay type writing, and man, I really enjoy that writing, so of course I want to try and write like that.
For a week or so at first I struggled with just coming up with a subject to write about. At first I liked one and then I changed it to another. Then of course I started another idea and went all in practically, writing a title page and an introductory paragraph and even a thesis sentence. Then that all went to shit.
How do they do it, you know? The great essayists of our time. Granted they've been all studying it for forever now and writing in such a style for a long time and stuff but I figure any type of writer should be able to get into that style. I love, love, love the fact that Neil Garman, one of my favorite writers, constantly writes essay which are fascinating and structured interestingly. Even my other favorite author, Christopher Moore wrote an essay I found on the love of vampires in fiction, he may have written others too but that's the one I came across, and it was fantastic.
All in all, I'm going to keep trying.

Polyproject Making a comeback?

So along time ago I created this idea of the "Polyproject". Which was this idea to do a multitude of projects at one time. It worked for a bit. Actually no, to be honest, it didn't. I was too young or too unorganized and distracted, I don't know what. So I stopped and did a sort of sporadic working on of projects for a bit which didn't work out so well as well. Then finally these past few months I said, "No more!" and decided to focus all my attention on one project: my novel, "A Little Valentinus in your Samahain". This worked amazingly! I actually completed the damn thing and am now in the process of sending out queries to get an agent for publication. Yet now after I've finished the novel I am starting to do multiple things at once again, but more organized than before. Now for the past year and two months I've been hardcore keeping track of my ideas and need for multiple creative endeavors to get done and this has helped tremendously. So I'm almost starting to think I can introduce the "Polyproject" back into my mind-flow. I'll let you know how this goes.

Literary Agencies

One thing I am noticing is that many different agencies have different submission proposal requirements. So before you go to send out your query make sure you have these things. Of course this is all after you have finished your novel. I have of course, myself, yet I am in the way of editing still and making sure its all up to snuff. Anyway here's the stuff:

1. Synopsis
2. Outline
3. Short Author Bio
4. Publishing History

Query-ing Away

So I've been writing out my query letters recently and am loving it. I wrote quite a few queries back in the day but none at the right time. You see, I've never actually had my novel completed before writing a query out. Big mistake. Lesson number one: Write your damn book before sending out any queries! So any way I am writing out my queries and wanted to share some things I've learned.

So here we go:

                                                                         First write your name
                                                                        Address line one
                                                                        Address line two
                                                                        Phone number
                                                                        Email address

Agency's name
Address line one
Address line two
Phone number
Email address


Dear (Whoever is the agent you're contacting),

Then say something very small about yourself. Then tell them a bit about your book. After that jump right into your book synopsis.

Second paragraph tell them how grateful you are for their time. Then let them know you have the whole book done and that you'd be glad to send it.

:)

Again, this is just a theory one so far. I still must send them out but all this information is supported by many articles on the internet. Especially ones by successful Literary Agents on Writer's Digest's website.

Writing Along

Getting some good writing in these days. I am so close to finishing my novel I can taste it. I mean, really I should be writing that right now, but you know, I need a bit of break. Once I'm done with this last chapter I do wonder if I'll need an epilogue chapter? Probably.
Along with that I am helping my wife write a paper for her History of Photography class on Daguerreotype. Mostly just with research and encouragement. Interesting subject though. Technically the guy worked on it with a bunch of other guys in France and what not but he decided to name the technique after himself.
So I'm doing that and some other stuff. I recently finished with my third, I think it was my third, miniature notebook.  So I'm onto a new one and that is great! The fresh pages just waiting to be filled with innovative ideas. Its great. Also going to be drawing some great little illustrations for the season. I really have to get out and buy some illustrating board from Hobby Lobby. Things are going good and I'd like to keep it that way! Trying to post here with interesting stuff as possible. More good stuff soon.

Coming Soon

Hey everyone so sorry for all the delays. More posts coming soon with updates and what not. Been busy with a few things so yeah. Coming soon.

Different Setups for Stories

So, as a writer of many disciplines I often do quite a bit of research on many subjects. I find it quite necessary to know the many ways to concoct a story structure depending on which type of story you are working with. Whether it be, sequential art stories, prose, verse, screenplays, or stage plays. So here is a look at the different setups for stories in sequential art:

DIFFERENT SETUPS FOR STORIES

MINISERIES- A story or comic with a predetermined number of issues. Has two specific rules to adhere to.
                1. Have enough story for the allotted amount of pages allowed each issue. Have time for rewriting.
               2. Must be a change, development, or reverse in every issue until a climax is reached, then dénouement. Keep the story moving!

GRAPHIC NOVEL- A story in which many things happen, and many characters exist. Must keep moving up and up constantly. The reader must be constantly fed new information to help further understand the world in which the graphic novel lives.

MAXISERIES- Should have a unifying theme and continuity of plot. Must reach a conclusion that answers all plot and character questions, ties all elements together despite diversity. Doesn't have to be tightly plotted as a novel, stories can be diverse and unconnected but must tie in at conclusion. Usually twelve issues long.

ONGOING STORIES- The sort of traditional tips of comics. Deal with problems of continuity and continued stories. Three ways to write continuous stories in an ongoing title.
               1. Story Arcs- The twin of miniseries so to speak. Arc is a part of continuum though. Must have enough plot for allotted number of pages. Reintroduce characters and locales. Have fully outlined plots.
               2. The Levitz Paradigm- A grid like format that helps track main plots and sub plots in a single ongoing title or many titles. See p.101 of The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics by Dennis O'Neil.
              3. Chart Form- A form in which many titles with the same character involved; helps track the plots and sub plots dealt with in each separate title to tie in with the one main plot.

MEGASERIES- A long continuity which stars a single set of characters and appears in several titles. Falls back on the old three-act-structure. Outline for story should be at least twelve pages long. In addition to the main plot there are usually a dozen other subplots. Should have narrative explaining the story in each issue. Every scene should point to a climax and no page wasted. Story must justify the space allotted to it.

Doctor Who

The Doctor is in! 'Doctor Who' season 8 has been brought to us in all its glory to the streaming world! Whether you have Netflix or some other form of streaming goodness its there and oh baby is it going to keep us busy! The wife and I love DW so much and we always spend quality time with my aunt and uncle and little cousins watching the new ones and the old ones when off season at their home. It is a blast, so that is going to keep us busy for quite a bit! Hoping to marathon this coming Saturday with all of it!
You want to talk writing and great acting, I mean, there is so much to learn from this show. Also just about basic humanity and life in general. Steven Moffat is an amazing showrunner and there is a lot to learn from him as well. I've read interviews and seen YouTube videos on him as well talking the craft of writing. Such an amazing man, also Neil Garman who I spoke of in yesterday's blog post has written episodes for the great series and is a huge mega nerd for it, just like myself and my wife and all the amazing fans in the fandom, so you know its good! If you've never checked it out before, I implore you to do so. It's all on Netflix. Get on it.
Season 9 of 'Doctor Who' premiers on BBC America on September 19th (on my birthday of all days!).

Reading and Writing

Recently I finished all of the books I own to read and I am trying not to buy anymore right now because we might be moving to another apartment soon. So in the spirit of being prepared ahead of time I am trying to condense the things I have so that I don't have too much to move when the time comes. I'll tell you now, I've moved at least five times now and it is always my books and DVDs that weigh us down the most when trying to transition.
For a long while now I have been on a Neil Garman kick, I almost own all of his books now and I want to get the others so bad and it is so hard to resist! I'm like the only nice seagull at the beach trying to leave the nice beach-goers alone and in peace but here and there really glancing hard at that potato salad. Neil Garman is by far my most favorite fantasy writer of all time because of the way he crafts his stories and characters so believably. I feel honestly like he is the most original writer out there sometimes, just the worlds he creates for his stories. Indeed in his novels his characters visit such amazing places and run into the most amazing people. I love the fact that he always starts off his novel with an everyman character which is not always the case with his short stories. What is fascinating as well to me as a writer and avid reader is that his main characters aren't always the same race either, I mean they are always for the most part (except for a few short stories) male but not always the same race as he is. As a writer myself I am always a little afraid to write a main character that is not the same race and sex as I am, I mean I'm not afraid to write side characters that aren't the same gender and race as I am but I don't know, there is something about doing the main protagonist that makes me feel weird. Although in one short story I did, entitled, 'Christmas Ghouls', I write with a female protagonist. So I guess I'm dipping my toes in the water a little bit here and there. Neil Garman teaches me so much though about writing and being a writer, he's the only writer I've watched like lectures on YouTube and read his blog religiously I have to say. My all time favorite comedy writer for novels of all time is Christopher Moore and I love him but there is something to me that seems that he as a person is a little inaccessible. I don't know. I love his books and his craft is astounding, but he doesn't have like that something that Neil Garman has. Still, both great authors and great books.
What it is I am talking about here is that just from reading and really paying attention to all the things that your favorite authors have to teach you is a great way to learn the craft of writing. That along with writing, every single, damn day. One word after another after another after another until you've actually finished something. This is the most important thing. Finishing something. Keep at it!

Summer Garden

Summer gardening fun at my parents house! Got lots of good plants to eat and flowers to love! My wife and I love the freshness of them!

 

 

New Project: Psycho Cat

I am starting a new children's book project entitled, 'Psycho-Cat'. It is the story of a brave little toy-pinscher named, Tony who saves his unsuspecting parents (his owners) from a psychotic cat who they unknowingly bring into their home.
The story is sort of inspired by real life. In our first apartment, in the first year we were living together on our own a couple of months after we got our baby puppy boy, Tony we were out for a walk in the village of New Hartford one summer afternoon. They were having some sort of a pet expo for the Humane Society at the New Hartford Park and had all sort of pets for adoption. Now at the time we were still getting use to having one new member of our family and I was hesitant to get anymore yet. However we fell in love with a kitten at the show. I tried to resist getting the little guy but my wife, who at the time was my fiancé, fell in love with it fast and so we decided to try it for a while. We got all the right stuff for it and everything and brought it home. It was a very cute cat and we liked it a lot, however our little guy Tony did not care for it. We played with it and fed it and tried to train it a little, as much as you can in one night and then we all went to sleep. Well, so, my wife and I and our dog all sleep in the bed together so we had our new kitten sleep in our living room and closed our door. Somehow that night the cat had slipped itself underneath the door and curled up to my head. Tony was in the sheets but then he sensed this and started barking and trying to get out of the sheets (which was hilarious) to get at the cat. So then I got the kitten and put him back in the living room, however Tony would not go back to sleep. The next day we talked long and hard about it and decided that the kitten wasn't for us, so we returned it to the shelter. I chalk this experience up to the fact that we were still new at being on our own and we still were learning to take care of our little puppy, and we just got scared I think. Luckily though I heard that our little kitten got adopted the next day and is very happy.
So I had been mulling over a short humorous story for a landscape style children's book for a while now. Then one day I was staring at my dog and thinking how cat like he is, yet how much he despises those felines and that sparked the recollection of that night and thus I began writing. The story will be narrated by Tony from his perspective, so as to bring it down to an accessible level for kids to get into but also cross that line so that YA and adults will like it too hopefully. Pictured above are just some sketches I've done so far. More to come.

No More F?!

It's amazing the amount of films that Marvel has made within so many years and with so many different production companies as well. Some owned by Fox, others by Sony and some true Marvel Entertainment franchises. It is astounding how well they've done over the years as well, I mean not to me, since I've been buying the comics since I was 14, which isn't that long admittedly. However these are some of the biggest movies being made now and all with A-list actors and directors as well. A few years back Sylvester Stallone made a huge deal saying how these comic book movies are killing the old action hero movies (Rocky, Terminator, Demolition Man, Rambo) and in a sense killing off the need for the old school muscled-up actors. It hasn't really, it's just made them either adapt or taken actors who were relatively known mostly for comedy (Chris Evans, Paul Rudd, Chris Pratt) or drama (Robert Downey Jr. (although, special note: RDJ can do anything), Chris Hemsworth, Tom Huddleston, Jeremy Renner, Scarlet Johansson, the lists go on) and made them transform themselves into such powerful action stars. Yet of course since they started out doing these said things, they can return to them anytime they want and still perform their craft at their pique and they bring this level of talent and introspection to these roles of comic book heroes making these unbelievable stories all the more believable. Also bringing these actors more opportunities for roles they might never have gotten if it wasn't for these superhero films bringing them such popularity. It all started in 2008. I mean sure, Marvel collaborated and made films of their characters before that, but before the brilliance that was the first Iron Man, connecting it all for the first time, we wouldn't have the world we live in right now. So, it's amazing.
With the new FF movie coming out, rebooting the franchise, it got me thinking about all of this. Then of course there is my absolute favorite character of all getting his own movie, Deadpool!! I mean, man. I am stoked. This brings to mind the fact that I heard a rumor that within the comic book universe of Marvel that there won't be a series for Fantastic Four anymore, but that the characters will instead appear randomly in other characters books. So it makes me wonder about the MCU, which of course isn't the same as the MCBU, and also about the rumors of production company cooperation too. It's all great news and it's all good fun! I am so excited for these upcoming months and years.
Let's not forget about DC as well, however they are not quite on the MCU level yet, let's just wait till there movies start hitting hard. I am looking forward to Suicide Squad and a little weary of the whole Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice movie, the whole Ben Affleck thing bugs me. I mean the trailer looks good, but I mean The Green Lantern preview looked good, so we'll see. Well, these are my thoughts. More illustration and comics from me and writing news coming soon. With pictures and everything!

The Game of Kings

Chess or Chaturanga as it was originally called, literally meaning Four Divisions is a game as old as civilized society invented somewhere between c. 280-1000 into the modern era. Many histories and treatises have been written about it for ages. It is indeed a powerful game and is of course known to be a favorite of strategists and intellectuals. The great thinker Benjamin Franklin had this to say of the game:

"The Game of Chess is not merely an idle amusement; several very valuable qualities of the mind, useful in the course of human life, are to be acquired and strengthened by it, so as to become habits ready on all occasions; for life is a kind of Chess, in which we have often points to gain, and competitors or adversaries to contend with, and in which there is a vast variety of good and ill events, that are, in some degree, the effect of prudence, or the want of it. By playing at Chess then, we may learn:
I. Foresight, which looks a little into futurity, and considers the consequences that may attend an action.
II. Circumspection, which surveys the whole Chess-board, or scene of action: – the relation of the several Pieces, and their situations.
III. Caution, not to make our moves too hastily."

Thusly I've begun to play a chess game with myself each day/week to strengthen my mind and open up more doors of creativity. As a writer I am hoping this practice will increase my ability to think for multiple characters at once and to have strategy in defining a plot that is both satisfying and entertaining. As an actor, the same principles apply, by having to play two sides at once and with multiple pieces to move I am hoping this will help with defining character wants and needs or motivation for movement. Now, as an artist, I don't see much practical use into the strategy portion of the game as art is meant to feed on chaos, not order, but I do however see the beauty of the juxtaposition of the pieces as well as the layout of the board, they are all indeed aesthetically pleasing, so I think in some way unbeknownst to me this will help. Well, we'll see.
On the news of the project front, I finished scene one of act two of my play last night and I hope to write most of scene two of act two tonight possibly. The best thing about this play is that I have it all played out for myself in my mind so the effort of it is to just get it written so then I can read and rewrite as needed and then share my creation with those whose opinion I respect.
Also, tonight the wife and I got some great vegetables from my parents. A blog on that will be coming up.