Cweth Michel fantasy fiction

back to work

2011-06-13T15:58:00.000-07:00

I want to explore my Parker Pawn story, and make some better versions of it, as well as sequels. I am back to work part time, so I will, hopefully, still have time to continue some of my projects. The novel has been on the back burner for a while now, but i'm re-examining it, and making some changes to the language. My brother wants me to smooth out the sentences, and improve the rhythm a little.

back to my Art

2011-03-19T12:28:00.001-07:00

I have been too busy the last couple months, but I am trying to scrape some time together to do a few projects while i'm still off of work. I would like to write another short story or two... and I would also like to improve my pilot episode of Battle Galaxy, and to write more on my novel.

Today I worked for a bit on rebuilding my lost data from the Battle Galaxy project. I'm also going to do some unstructured writing on the Parker Pawn project.

2010-12-05T12:40:00.000-08:00

I am quite pleased with where things are right now for Battle Galaxy, and excited to finally be seeing some results.

I have much of the rendering completed for a lot of the show, and am mostly ready to start sync'ing it to the soundtrack. That is the most exciting development. The only missing visual elements are the animated fight scenes, and I will probably want to animate the mouths during speech eventually as well, because at the moment close-ups are simple still renders.

Sekwaw Matthew, the assistant, dressed up all the characters. That was awesome, because texture-less characters would not have looked as good. We will spend more time on the textures in the future, pending additional funding, but for now I think we have done well.

It's mostly up the the soundtrack now. The rough soundtrack is recorded, and the better soundtrack is on the way, but was not included in the current funding. After this contract, I will be volunteering time to make the soundtrack, and get it perfect. I will take that slowly, however, because I need to focus on my family that has been needing me desperately.

When I sequence some of the shots, I'll share a little bit of the show, perhaps. Maybe make a little trailer for it, if I have time.

T'ulens Te Kelc

2010-11-21T18:57:00.000-08:00

Hired an assistant for Battle Galaxy

2010-11-20T11:07:00.001-08:00

I have reworked the budget to include hiring an assistant for 3 weeks. Sekwaw Matthew will be taking on some of the job of creating materials and textures for the characters, and possibly some of the environmental elements to make them prettier/cooler.

Other than that, I hope she'll have time to help me set up the frames for the final rendering of the animation, and that way I can focus on special effects and sound effects to make it super cool.

I'm struggling to figure out what to do f
I have reworked the budget to include hiring an assistant for 3 weeks. Sekwaw Matthew will be taking on some of the job of creating materials and textures for the characters, and possibly some of the environmental elements to make them prettier/cooler.

Other than that, I hope she'll have time to help me set up the frames for the final rendering of the animation, and that way I can focus on special effects and sound effects to make it super cool.

I'm struggling to figure out what to do for the music aspect. Some of it should be traditional Secwepemc music, of course, but I'd like some upbeat modern music as well. Which will also have to be in Secwepemctsin.

Later, I'll post a rendering from a possible scene from the starting sequence of episode 1.
or the music aspect. Some of it should be traditional Secwepemc music, of course, but I'd like some upbeat modern music as well. Which will also have to be in Secwepemctsin.

Later, I'll post a rendering from a possible scene from the starting sequence of episode 1.

Minor Changes to Parker Pawn

2010-11-08T11:50:00.000-08:00

I am really struggling with this story, but I have made a couple new changes to it. I know I promised to give it a break for a while, but I kept thinking about it. The changes are VERY minor... I'm just trying to polish up my opening.

http://download.cweth.com/parkerpawn.pdf

What is Battle Galaxy?

2010-11-08T11:35:00.000-08:00

Battle Galaxy is a 3d animated movie being produced by an Aboriginal language immersion school called Chief Atahm. It has been my project since the beginning, but the progress has been slow due to time constraints on my part, and budget constraints on the school's part.

It was written by myself, and my then 5 year old son. He wanted to draw inspiration from two of his favourite shows, which were Star Wars, and Dragon Ball Z. So the script is reminiscent of Dragonball Z style stories, where the plot is about a very long drawn out battle with a single opponent that takes a long time to resolve. The characters, and universe are like Star Wars. An evil empire is ruling the galaxy, and a band of magic wielding knights are there to fight them. The Teqwilc (which, in Secwemepmctsin, means wizard / priest / spirtual leader) train young warriors in the magical arts, and in wielding laser swords in hopes that their army can defeat the oppression caused by the evil nintse army's occupation.

Target audience is probably about 5-9 year olds.

I have 5 episodes written in English, and one translated into Secwepemctsin already, I have the first episode recorded into a rough soundtrack, and I have all of action storyboarded, and broken down into what keyframes scenes and objects are needed. So i'm ready to place all of the objects and create a rough draft of the animation that will be choppy picture to picture animation, and I'll fill the action in later. Before that, I will cut the final soundtrack, and add sound effects and stuff. Then I'll bring it to funding sources and seek the money I would need to complete the project.

I do own the domain http://BattleGalaxy.net , but I have not posted a website up there yet. When I do, it will probably contain a blog if you want to follow my progress.

Major changes to my short story

2010-10-31T13:16:00.000-07:00

I have had a lot of really great feedback from my blessedly honest father about the story, and have used it to make a LOT of adjustments to the short story I put up last week. It is not yet perfected, but I am going to leave it as it is for the time being until I have had time away from it.

Meanwhile, I am going to do some brainstorming on other stories featuring the main character, Parker Pawn. I'm hoping that exploring his character through other stories will help me come back to this one, and polish it up to make it more presentable.

You can read the current version here:
http://download.cweth.com/parkerpawn.pdf

constructive feedback is very welcome, if anyone ever finds their way to reading it and can see some way to improve it.

Day 2 of Battle Galaxy

2010-10-26T11:57:00.000-07:00

I spent most of yesterday making some final decisions on the technology I will be using. I'm going to be modeling the characters with a tool called makehuman, and importing it into Blender, where the animation will happen. The purpose of the animation I am working on now is to gather interest in the project, and a rapid prototype is the goal of the next 6 weeks.
I have 5 scripts written, and one of them fully translated into Secwepemctsin. the fully translated episode will be animated roughly with very little motion shown, in the style of Dragonball Z.
I have a rough soundtrack cut with a single voice, and I will first align the key frames to the soundtrack, and start trying to work on getting recording done for the final soundtrack. Gather the actors, and try to be present to give them guidance in their acting.
Then, I will align the keyframes to the final soundtrack, and start adding the actions, and sound effects...
The last stage of this portion of the project will be adding some visual effects, and credits.... making it pretty.
I may post more later..... have to go now

Battle Galaxy

2010-10-25T08:39:00.000-07:00

I am going to have to take about 6 weeks off of my novel in order to finish up a paid job. I'll be animating a script my son and I wrote a couple of years ago. There is finally funding for me to get some work done on it, and I'm excited.

It's about a war between two groups of space ninjas... the evil Nintse Army, and the Miso Maso knights. It is written in my native Secwepemc language, and will be used as material to help children learn, but to make them want to learn as well. I am very very excited about the opportunity I am being given to help bring my nation something they have never had before.

These six weeks will be spent making a rough draft of the animation. I'll be setting up key frames, and dividing the script into the shots that will eventually take place. I will also be cutting the soundtrack, and hopefully I'll be able to help direct the acting as it's recorded; however, that may not be possible, as my star actor lives in Victoria, and I do not have a travelling budget. In fact, the only budget I have is my wages. The school will pay actor honourariums. that's my understanding at any rate... but if I have to ask my actors to work pro bono, I'm sure they would.

I'll put up more information about the show, and how it progresses as I go.

Escape Escape - a short story

2010-10-19T08:53:00.000-07:00

I wanted to get some fiction up here as quick as possible, so I stole a few pages from an ancient journal of mine. I started this story a long time ago, and then just spent a few hours putting the rest of the story together.
This is very rough, and I definitely would love feedback. If I get serious about this story, I'll probably come back to it and incorporate feedback and my own thoughts into a rewrite.

here it is:

Parker Pawn

ps. I renamed it from the working title "escape escape", and I put it into a download, and linked this post to it, so the newest updates will be on it.

DISCLAIMER: I would like everyone to know that this is not a finished work... I wrote something, and posted it almost straight out of my pen. I just wanted some fiction up here fast, and if you give me a chance, I will make this story worth reading. You can read it now and help me polish it with your feedback, or you can wait until I announce it is complete. You choose.

Editing the first 90 pages

2010-10-17T13:29:00.000-07:00

It turned out to be 90 pages instead of 100, but it was a good 90 pages. I encountered many typos mixed with some confusing speech recognition errors, and had to decypher a lot of it before I could share it with anyone. I went through the whole pile of pages, and made the first edits of the book. It was exciting, and I'm still excited to hear what my wife and brother Darrin think of it.

Areas where I believe may need some work is in characterizing the main characters. I am not certain whether or not I have enough charm for them to win a reader's heart. I tried, but may need to do a little more work on that. I'll see what Darrin and Opal think before I start trying to add some more. It would probably just be some little things I would add anyway.

After reading what I have so far, I also am having an easier time thinking what should come next, and what changes I need to make to my outline. A few chapters have been added to the plan, and a couple new characters... who have not yet taken on names or anything yet. I'll work on that, and then I can get to work on churning out the next 3 or 4 chapters.

I am planning on doing some short fiction soon, maybe even today, so that anyone who surfs to my page can get a sample of what my writing is like. Feedback on anything I write here is very welcome.

printing off the first 100 pages

2010-10-13T09:10:00.000-07:00

Today, I am going to print off the first 100 pages that I have written... and hopefully do a lot of editing.

My plan is to have a nice solid 100 pages, and a good grasp on the direction of the book, before I share it with my brother. My brother is a huge fantasy fan as well, and I'm hoping his feeback will be invaluable.

My wife doesn't read fantasy, so she requested I make a strong erotic presence in the novel for her. So, I'll also let my wife read it at that point, and decide whether the erotic elements should be toned down, or whether they should even be turned up. I'll probably make two copies of this first installment for them to read... one with the sexual content, and one without so that my brother doesn't feel awkward about it. Of course, if I do decide to keep it, he'll just have to get used to it. I'm sure he'll be fine.

Getting Started on my Blog and my new novel

2010-10-12T13:36:00.000-07:00

I have started a few blogs over the years, and none of them got more than a few posts worth of attention from me. I just didn't have enough motivation to share my life and thoughts with the world at those times in my life. My wife has been blogging for years, and has often encouraged me to do the same. I have seen the friendships she has gained, and the support she has received through all of the trying times we have gone through, and it was so good for her. I'm trying to get back into writing, and thought that it would be good to be a part of a community of people who enjoy the same type of books that I enjoy, and plan to write, and share other interests. I'm feeling more of a need to reach out to people outside of myself, and that is probably the main reason I want to write stories.

Another reason I am getting back into writing was when Robert Jordan died, I felt sadness I had not expected. Previously, I had never understand why someone would cry when an entertainer or celebrity of some kind died. I could understand sadness, but not crying. Well, I read every published story he had ever written, and did so with enthusiasm each time. From his Conan contributions to the Wheel of Time (I am, of course anxiously awaiting the release next month of Towers of Midnight.). This was a man who brought me a lot of enjoyment and inspiration in my life, and I cried when he died. A lot of people did. People he had never met, because he touched their hearts in the same way he had touched mine. I will probably never be writing at his calibre, but I decided that I want to use what writing talent is mine to command, and share it with the world if the world will let me. Hopefully, I will be able to bring that kind of enjoyment to others.

I'm starting this blog a little late to be fully documenting the penning of my first full length novel, but I will recount the first 30,000 words for you in future posts, and share my experiences writing the novel as well. I will share stories that take place in the world my novels will take place in, and possibly some involving characters from the novel. I would like to keep the storyline, and themes of the novel to myself for now, until I have a better grasp on what the final outcome will be, and what information would be a spoiler.