A few people have asked if our characters are based on anyone from our real lives. While I think any writing endeavor leads to some overlap, for the most part we’re making these characters up from whole cloth with just a few quirks added from ourselves or our friends. (Some people would call this “lazy,” but I call it “efficient”)
There’s one notable exception to this rule, though – one character that’s absolutely based on a real entity. It’s Mags, the haunted GPS.
A little background might be in order: A few years ago, my job involved quite a lot of local travel. I had 11 locations throughout the Chicago suburbs that I was responsible for, and they were spread out enough that I often didn’t know the best route between them off the top of my head. To keep myself from going insane, I bought a GPS unit for my car, programmed it with all of those locations and used it pretty extensively until I knew the lay of the land. I was pleased to note that the model I bought offers two accents: “American” and “English”. Being who I am, I felt like it would be more amusing to have the machine talking to me with a bad, robotic English accent, so that’s the one I selected. Overall I was quite pleased with the thing.
One thing I noticed about the GPS, though. It’s a fickle, fickle piece of technology. When I go off-route, it seems to get annoyed and will take an inordinate amount of time before it deigns to tell me how to get back on the right path. And if I ask it to find me a bowling alley or a miniature golf course? Well, that’s an exercise in futility. I’ve been sent to bars, vacant buildings, miniature golf courses that closed 5 years ago, and most notably the middle of a corn field while in search of these plebian entertainments.
Obviously, my GPS unit is possessed by a snooty English ghost.
So, too, is Alex’s. Her given name is Lady Margaret something or other, but we just call her Mags. As our story develops, she begins to take on more and more personality, and eventually will move beyond “technological foil” and into a character in her own right. She has her own motivations, and a bit of a jealous streak as well.
Mostly, though, Mags provides an opportunity for River to abuse me verbally. For some reason she enjoys saying things like, “Turn left and drive 300 miles…you idiot.”
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Reader Question Wednesday! - #1
Hello and welcome to our first installment of Reader Question Wednesday! Thanks to everyone who contributed. If you missed out on asking a question, no worries. While we can't guarantee that every Wednesday will be Reader Question Wednesday, this is certainly a tradition that we wish to continue.
Without further ado ...
First, questions answered by me:
We'll start with the all-important Reuben-related questions first. Priorities, and all that.
So, at what age did you actually encounter your first reuben sandwich? Was it love at first bite?
Honestly, I can't remember the first Reuben (and yes, it is capitalized) - but I do remember that I didn't like it. It's an acquired taste. Yes, I am from a large Czech family who eats sauerkraut at every meal, but I didn't enjoy any of the ingredients until I did my study-abroad in the Czech Republic back in college (lo, these many years ago...) I learned to like rye bread and sauerkraut over there (and beer, incidentally) and it just seemed right and proper that I should fall in love with Reubens. My grandfather would be proud.
I cannot believe I just answered a question about the evolution of my love for a sandwich.
If a sandwich consists of turkey, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and brown mustard can it still legitimately be called a reuben? If not, how narrow is the definition of a reuben? Is it the thousand island dressing? The corned beef? The Rye?
No! Impostor! Infidel!
*ahem* I mean, no. A reuben is corned beef, swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and a touch of thousand island dressing between two lightly-grilled pieces of rye (ideally marble) bread. We will accept no imitations. While I still haven't found the perfect "10" - the best one is at Irv's Deli in Fremont, Nebraska. I found my #9 there about 12 years ago. Although Irv calls it "special dressing," not thousand island - so maybe that's the key.
And now, the questions that are not Reuben-related:
So, are you actually creating a backstory "Bible," to flesh out and keep track of the details you know but haven't used yet (i.e., Alex's 2nd grade teacher's name)? Or is this backstory just theoretical?
We don't really have a "Bible," per se -- but we do have copious amounts of shared Google docs with lots of story trivia that are ridiculously disorganized. Occasionally I have to refer to older summaries to remember things like, "How old is Alex again?" and "Did Jason really think that idea would work?" I'm actually quite impressed that we're able to recall quite a few obscure details at will. I think it's a hallmark of the geek brain. "What episode did we discover the identity of the 5th Cylon?" is about the same kind of question as "When did Alex move to Omaha?"
Is this tacit permission to shout out if the backstory's too unwieldy? :)
Sure. Did you actually want us to do anything with that information, though? :)
Did Jason ever bring his two good ideas last week?
He brought one pretty spectacular idea, so I let him off the hook for two. One word: Carnies.
And now, Jason's contributions to Reader Question Wednesday:
Jason, weren't you supposed to finish those tweaks to Episode 2 last month?
Actually, given the recent additions we've made to the story, many of the tweaks I was supposed to make to Episode 2 are now moot. So it's actually a good thing that I didn't do them then, because it would have been wasted effort. Ah, I love the smell of a rationalization in the morning. It's the smell of victory.
So, are you two writing in coffee shops? (I'm at least assuming you're not recording there, though that could be HILARIOUS, frankly.) Or over reubens?
Great question. Our first podcast meeting was at a sandwich joint, and I think we've been back there two or three other times. We've also met at...another sandwich place, and two (I think) coffee shops. The majority of our recent meetings have been at one of our homes, though. We prefer to have the following easily to hand when we're writing together:
Thus far, there have been no reubens in the creative process.
Is there going to be some kind of casting call for your loyal followers to participate in the podcast when it gets around to recording time?
Well, I keep telling River that she can do *all* the voices, but she refuses. So...yes, we will be soliciting voice talent when we get to the recording phase. No word yet on how the casting process will work, but my guess is that bribes will be both accepted and encouraged.
Who is the better lover, Batman or Superman?
Batman.
Why?
I really think Larry Niven covered this ground fairly well in 1971.
Thanks again! We'll announce the next Reader Question Wednesday soon. Meantime, comment or e-mail us to ask a question. It will most likely appear in a future installment.
Without further ado ...
First, questions answered by me:
We'll start with the all-important Reuben-related questions first. Priorities, and all that.
So, at what age did you actually encounter your first reuben sandwich? Was it love at first bite?
Honestly, I can't remember the first Reuben (and yes, it is capitalized) - but I do remember that I didn't like it. It's an acquired taste. Yes, I am from a large Czech family who eats sauerkraut at every meal, but I didn't enjoy any of the ingredients until I did my study-abroad in the Czech Republic back in college (lo, these many years ago...) I learned to like rye bread and sauerkraut over there (and beer, incidentally) and it just seemed right and proper that I should fall in love with Reubens. My grandfather would be proud.
I cannot believe I just answered a question about the evolution of my love for a sandwich.
If a sandwich consists of turkey, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and brown mustard can it still legitimately be called a reuben? If not, how narrow is the definition of a reuben? Is it the thousand island dressing? The corned beef? The Rye?
No! Impostor! Infidel!
*ahem* I mean, no. A reuben is corned beef, swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and a touch of thousand island dressing between two lightly-grilled pieces of rye (ideally marble) bread. We will accept no imitations. While I still haven't found the perfect "10" - the best one is at Irv's Deli in Fremont, Nebraska. I found my #9 there about 12 years ago. Although Irv calls it "special dressing," not thousand island - so maybe that's the key.
And now, the questions that are not Reuben-related:
So, are you actually creating a backstory "Bible," to flesh out and keep track of the details you know but haven't used yet (i.e., Alex's 2nd grade teacher's name)? Or is this backstory just theoretical?
We don't really have a "Bible," per se -- but we do have copious amounts of shared Google docs with lots of story trivia that are ridiculously disorganized. Occasionally I have to refer to older summaries to remember things like, "How old is Alex again?" and "Did Jason really think that idea would work?" I'm actually quite impressed that we're able to recall quite a few obscure details at will. I think it's a hallmark of the geek brain. "What episode did we discover the identity of the 5th Cylon?" is about the same kind of question as "When did Alex move to Omaha?"
Is this tacit permission to shout out if the backstory's too unwieldy? :)
Sure. Did you actually want us to do anything with that information, though? :)
Did Jason ever bring his two good ideas last week?
He brought one pretty spectacular idea, so I let him off the hook for two. One word: Carnies.
And now, Jason's contributions to Reader Question Wednesday:
Jason, weren't you supposed to finish those tweaks to Episode 2 last month?
Actually, given the recent additions we've made to the story, many of the tweaks I was supposed to make to Episode 2 are now moot. So it's actually a good thing that I didn't do them then, because it would have been wasted effort. Ah, I love the smell of a rationalization in the morning. It's the smell of victory.
So, are you two writing in coffee shops? (I'm at least assuming you're not recording there, though that could be HILARIOUS, frankly.) Or over reubens?
Great question. Our first podcast meeting was at a sandwich joint, and I think we've been back there two or three other times. We've also met at...another sandwich place, and two (I think) coffee shops. The majority of our recent meetings have been at one of our homes, though. We prefer to have the following easily to hand when we're writing together:
- Free outlets for our laptops
- Caffeine
- Potato chips (most recently the Lays kettle chips which are oh my god good)
- Wi-fi so we can a)Look up interesting things like a hacker name generator, and b)Easily share our updates via Google Docs in realtime.
- Enough space to actually spread out a bit.
Thus far, there have been no reubens in the creative process.
Is there going to be some kind of casting call for your loyal followers to participate in the podcast when it gets around to recording time?
Well, I keep telling River that she can do *all* the voices, but she refuses. So...yes, we will be soliciting voice talent when we get to the recording phase. No word yet on how the casting process will work, but my guess is that bribes will be both accepted and encouraged.
Who is the better lover, Batman or Superman?
Batman.
Why?
I really think Larry Niven covered this ground fairly well in 1971.
Thanks again! We'll announce the next Reader Question Wednesday soon. Meantime, comment or e-mail us to ask a question. It will most likely appear in a future installment.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
The Death Star and the creative process
Highlights of my script-writing adventures this week:
1. Getting to look up the 10 most awesome movie explosions. (They're not what you might think - although #1 was the Death Star. I totally called that one.)
2. Getting to use a "What's your motorcycle gang member name?" generator to come up with a character name. I'm not sure if I'm glad that "Strangle Face" was the best one of the bunch - but whatever. I haven't been to Sturgis lately, so I'm not up on the lingo.
3. Learning that writing an action sequence with nothing but dialogue and sound effects is a heck of a lot harder than I thought. But fun. Totally fun. I almost wish we recorded the first read-through. We do this to time the episode more than anything else -- but there are 5 characters in the scene and only 2 of us, so hearing us bounce back and forth between characters can be pretty funny. And totally embarrassing... so maybe I should take back the whole "let's record this" thing.
Jason and I had a great writing meeting this afternoon, and both of us agreed that the podcast is regaining some of its original momentum. I think we've found a pattern that really works for us. We trade off bringing either a Really Good Idea or the script from the last meeting's Really Good Idea. This week it was my turn to write the script, and Jason's turn to bring the Really Good Idea. Mission accomplished. Now it's on Jason to flesh out the next script, and I get to relax and imagine for a while. It's a good trade.
Meanwhile, while he's busy writing dialogue -- I'd like to announce our first "Reader Question Wednesday" - wherein we answer questions that you either leave in the comments or e-mail us. There are already a couple of them floating around to get us started -- but if you have a question other than "When is the podcast coming out?" (Answer: We don't know. Soon. Quit asking.) then please, send it on in. We'd love to hear from you!
1. Getting to look up the 10 most awesome movie explosions. (They're not what you might think - although #1 was the Death Star. I totally called that one.)
2. Getting to use a "What's your motorcycle gang member name?" generator to come up with a character name. I'm not sure if I'm glad that "Strangle Face" was the best one of the bunch - but whatever. I haven't been to Sturgis lately, so I'm not up on the lingo.
3. Learning that writing an action sequence with nothing but dialogue and sound effects is a heck of a lot harder than I thought. But fun. Totally fun. I almost wish we recorded the first read-through. We do this to time the episode more than anything else -- but there are 5 characters in the scene and only 2 of us, so hearing us bounce back and forth between characters can be pretty funny. And totally embarrassing... so maybe I should take back the whole "let's record this" thing.
Jason and I had a great writing meeting this afternoon, and both of us agreed that the podcast is regaining some of its original momentum. I think we've found a pattern that really works for us. We trade off bringing either a Really Good Idea or the script from the last meeting's Really Good Idea. This week it was my turn to write the script, and Jason's turn to bring the Really Good Idea. Mission accomplished. Now it's on Jason to flesh out the next script, and I get to relax and imagine for a while. It's a good trade.
Meanwhile, while he's busy writing dialogue -- I'd like to announce our first "Reader Question Wednesday" - wherein we answer questions that you either leave in the comments or e-mail us. There are already a couple of them floating around to get us started -- but if you have a question other than "When is the podcast coming out?" (Answer: We don't know. Soon. Quit asking.) then please, send it on in. We'd love to hear from you!
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