tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1166204050275914735.post973967002641109039..comments2023-06-22T16:19:58.951+01:00Comments on No Longer the Borderline Press Blog: MMC - Extra Portions 6Phil Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12680058800847509275noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1166204050275914735.post-31369907312202460002012-05-07T11:13:42.212+01:002012-05-07T11:13:42.212+01:00The irony, Tim, is that I have a perfectly better ...The irony, Tim, is that I have a perfectly better version of the tome, on my PC, edited by my old friend Dave Brzecki, which through a combination of laziness and not enough hours in the day has remained on my PC and gone nowhere else. All of the points you make, I, of course, knew anyhow and abide by them, at times. But I'm an impulsive old git - which was probably the main reason for some of Dez's frustrations with me - and have a minor reputation for producing texts that do nothing to enhance any reputation I might have or had.<br />Oh and I completely agree with you about the title of the 'book'; I had called it boringly The Comic Book Diaries - A Personal History; but one night down the pub, my wife made the joke about periods, the fact that CI came out 13 times a year and that comics were largely a monthly thing. I've never really liked the title, tbh, but it has an ironic truth about it.<br />To answer your other question... If I was an alcoholic, I've switched from whiskey to weak beer. I've also realised that I'm a recreational writer rather than a serious (or ambitious) one and apart from my blog, the majority of my writing has reverted to fiction and I've no allusions about that. <br />It is my intention, despite what has been inferred in the recent Extra Portions bit, to never darken comics tainted door ever again. MMC was supposed to be cathartic, but as I said (in the main body of the above) it didn't work out that way entirely. If I never see my name in print again or associated with comics, it will still be too soon.<br />Anyhow, take care and don't feel bad, I really am my own worst enemy :)Phil Hallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12680058800847509275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1166204050275914735.post-79305240987490707952012-05-07T10:07:41.640+01:002012-05-07T10:07:41.640+01:00Aww, Phil, I feel bad now.
But I would say that ...Aww, Phil, I feel bad now. <br /><br />But I would say that if you addressed all my criticisms in the book (which I think you probably did) why didn't you do something about them, and get someone to do a good hard edit on it? Writers are always too close to their own work to judge (myself included) and you need an unattached editor to come at your work with cold eyes. <br /><br />Keep up the writing but I'd try and steer clear of the self-analysis in public from now on. Work it through in other ways. Hope you've put the weed to rest now. While I have nothing against it personally (I've managed to write three books on the subject) I find it's a great debilitation for writers and motivation. The only exception I can think of is Alan Moore, otherwise most people sit on their arses all day thinking "what if?" without actually doing anything. Seen it happen to loads of people. <br /><br />And I am, by no means perfect, and I still vacillate far too much with the best of them. Still, as you say, live and learn - and hopefully we've both still got a lot of both to do yet!TimTruehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11980759779084868041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1166204050275914735.post-72417147608053062992012-05-06T13:07:54.844+01:002012-05-06T13:07:54.844+01:00A final, final comment. I noticed that the entire ...A final, final comment. I noticed that the entire MMC had been reviewed by TimTrue (presumably Pilcher) on his blog. It wasn't a good review; well, it was very well written, it just wasn't very complimentary. But that's fine and the majority of the criticisms were totally justified. No one likes a bad review, but at least I could completely understand where Tim was coming from and I believe it's probably the fairest review I've read.<br />The only thing that upset me about it was the fact that he didn't seem to recognise the fact that I had recognised all of his criticisms at some point. This might have happened during the 6 extra portions or in some minor edits I made after the Kindle version had been released; but I acknowledged a lot of the things he didn't like about it. <br />I suppose, I did the Kindle version more because of the encouragement of friends and family rather than my desire to vanity publish something I was happy just to serialise in a blog and I have, over the last year or so, realised that I won't be doing that again in a hurry. I was really lucky to have worked in a field where I wrote lots, but for all the improvements I've made to myself and my writing in the last ten years; I'm just lazy, ill-disciplined and my faults massively outweigh my abilities. Tim's review made the belief a reality, because he is good at what he does; he worked hard to get where he was and I spent all the time I should have been working, whining about all the injustices I was dealt.<br />Still, we live and learn.Phil Hallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12680058800847509275noreply@blogger.com