Audiobook Update Log #2

As mentioned in my previous update log, part of my audiobook was inspired by children’s shows like Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids because of the ‘crypt keeper’ structure they adopt. While I may no longer be including this structure in my audiobook, mostly due to time constraints, I am still going forward with the logo it inspired (the sketch from my previous update) and its name: “Tales from the Bleeding Door.” 

Painting Progress on the logo.

I have also made a start on the stories that I will be including in my audiobook. ‘The Foxes Always Scream at Night’ and ‘Rat Catcher’ are two short story concepts from my Cathartic Process project proposal that I hope to translate into the audio format, alongside a script for another story in the style of a letter called, ‘Under the Weeping Willow.’ Depending, again, on the amount of time I have left to write all three stories and the actual length of the audiobook (I don’t want to go above thirty minutes) I might have to cut one or two of these stories from the project. 

Opening to ‘Under the Weeping Willow,’ one of my short horror stories

Although I will not be the one reading these stories – or at least the entirety of them – I also recorded audio samples of these excerpts to get a feel for the process:

Speaking of, another constraint that I have encountered while working on this project is finding actors to do the voice over work. Since acting is not my specialty and I need to depict multiple characters,  I wanted to seek out other students interested in collaborating on this project. But since I have had no such luck in doing this, I am still unsure how I should adjust my plans to properly accommodate this aspect of the project. 

Since I am creating an audiobook and not a podcast, I don’t really have an opportunity to include guests in the final product. However, if I cannot find other students to do voice over work, I plan on instead getting help from friends and family who have shown interest in the audiobook when I have mentioned it to them in the past. Though this a backup plan, I still find this to be an interesting alternative as I believe it will diversify the final ‘cast’ for the voice overs.   

Weekly Learning Journal – 20/09/21

The Cathartic Process:

Last week I created a cathartic piece based on a photograph that I really liked. I enjoyed the process of getting my thoughts onto paper and then further expanding on them through the short prologue I created. While coming up with an idea for my work, I was inspired by a video game I’ve been playing recently called Returnal. The general premise of the game is about an astronaut trapped in a Groundhogs day-esque loop on an alien planet. The concept of a continuous loop – cycle – in a hostile environment is what helped me come up with the plot of my prologue. While I was happy with the language I used, I feel that I could have been more descriptive of the setting, characters and certain concepts. I also believe that I could have added more in general to make the piece feel less cryptic and more distinct. Next time I think I could benefit from spending more time plotting my story and fleshing out my ideas.

Research and Comic Books:

In my second class I spent time researching some common character archetypes present in various pieces of media. It provided me with a better understanding of the character creation process and the structure of stories in general. I compiled my findings in a post partitioned by different archetypes, including information about them and examples. The structure I used was inspired by the different articles I had been using for my research. I was satisfied with the bases I covered, however I believe that I could have gone into more detail about the examples I used.

Audio:

In preparation for my class on creative writing in audio, I listened to the Dead Meat Podcast – a podcast orientated around the horror genre. In class I began writing a review for the podcast, covering its content, sounds and hosts. I valued the process as it allowed me to better appreciate podcasts and inspired me to seek out more. It also gave me a chance to brainstorm what I could do for future projects in audio. I do feel however, that I could have gone into more detail about certain aspects of the podcast.