Now, let’s focus on the writing side. (Some of these questions I ask ALL my interviewees).
Matthew: When do you find time to write? Do you keep a journal or anything? If you’re working on more than one project, how do you keep track of multiple stories? I know I usually have several vague ideas for blog posts, but when I get down to it, I can only focus on one thing at a time.
Daryl: I've never been a journal keeper—I've always wanted to write stories that other people could read. I'm shallow that way. And the only way I get anything done is to write every day. I work half time at a software company, writing code, and then at lunch I head to a Starbucks to write fiction.
Matthew: For your comic work, do you provide full scripts, or do you give the artist the plot, let them layout the story and then you do the dialogue? I think I can tell already, that you must provide full scripts, everything is controlled so perfectly.
Daryl: You're right, I do full scripts, describing the panel layouts and writing the dialog. But there's always room for artistic interpretation, and whenever the artists have a better idea, they go for it! We're telling the story together, so we have to leave room for give and take.
Matthew: What would be your dream project? Are you interested in creating your own creator-owned series someday?
Daryl: Doing a creater-owned series is my dream project. That, and writing Captain America. I imprinted on Cap when I was 8 years old, and my job in life is to please 8-year-old Daryl.
Matthew: And I like to read what pleases 7-year old Matthew!
****************************************
Matthew: What have you written previously?
Daryl: I'm new to comics. My first comic was Dracula: The Company of Monsters, which came out last year. But my other life is as a science fiction and fantasy prose writer. My third novel, the zombie story Raising Stony Mayhall, just came out last month, and my first collection of short stories, Unpossible and Other Stories, will be coming out in the fall.
Matthew: Are you interested in branching out to writing for TV or film properties one day (if you’re not already)?
Daryl: My first novel, Pandemonium, just got optioned for a TV show, so if it gets made, maybe they'll let me write an episode!
I got this book from the library this week and it's AWESOME. "Imprinted" INDEED! Daryl makes reading as easy as watching a movie.
****************************************
Finally, I’d like to finish with a few personal questions.
Matthew: How old are you and where do you live? Have you always lived in that region or did you grow up somewhere else?
Daryl: I'm 46, and I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. I live in State College, PA, where I'm trying to corner the Amish science fiction market.
Matthew: If you can travel to San Diego, I hope you can make it to the Baltimore Comic-con, it's not that far away for you! (Even though I missed out on those Stan Lee VIP tickets -- SOB!)
****************************************
Matthew: This may seem like an odd question, however, I think it tells a lot about a person… What’s kind of music do you like?
Daryl: I'm crazy about polka music. There's just something about an accordion that gets me going. (Actually, I'm just saying that to score points with my Polish in-laws. I'm an indie rock kinda guy.)
Daryl didn't provide an indie-rock example, so here is one of my favorites.
Matthew: Just because I have such strong opinions myself on the subject…What’s your favorite text font to use on the computer?
Daryl: I've had to train myself to ignore fonts. Most editors are happy with Courier or Times New Roman, so that's what I use all the time now. But back in the day, I was a crazy fan of Stone Sans for headings, and Electra for body text.
Matthew: Do you have an on-line way for your fans to interact with you like a blog or a facebook page?
Daryl: Sure! Stop by darylgregory.com, or follow me on twitter @darylwriterguy.
Another huge THANK YOU to Daryl for taking the time out of his busy schedule to answer my questions! I inadvertently had inundated him with a lot more than he was expecting and he answered a good portion of them (all the ones he thought he had interesting answers for).
INTERVIEW TIMELINE:
The interview was requested on 2011 Jul 07 via e-mail and granted the next day. The questions were submitted on 2011 Jul 13 in a WORD file and answers were received on 2011 Aug 01. He indicated that "[he'd likely] take a crack at a few...of [them] on the plane" while en route to the San Diego Comic-Con!
Matthew: When do you find time to write? Do you keep a journal or anything? If you’re working on more than one project, how do you keep track of multiple stories? I know I usually have several vague ideas for blog posts, but when I get down to it, I can only focus on one thing at a time.
Daryl: I've never been a journal keeper—I've always wanted to write stories that other people could read. I'm shallow that way. And the only way I get anything done is to write every day. I work half time at a software company, writing code, and then at lunch I head to a Starbucks to write fiction.
Matthew: For your comic work, do you provide full scripts, or do you give the artist the plot, let them layout the story and then you do the dialogue? I think I can tell already, that you must provide full scripts, everything is controlled so perfectly.
Daryl: You're right, I do full scripts, describing the panel layouts and writing the dialog. But there's always room for artistic interpretation, and whenever the artists have a better idea, they go for it! We're telling the story together, so we have to leave room for give and take.
Matthew: What would be your dream project? Are you interested in creating your own creator-owned series someday?
Daryl: Doing a creater-owned series is my dream project. That, and writing Captain America. I imprinted on Cap when I was 8 years old, and my job in life is to please 8-year-old Daryl.
Matthew: And I like to read what pleases 7-year old Matthew!
****************************************
Matthew: What have you written previously?
Daryl: I'm new to comics. My first comic was Dracula: The Company of Monsters, which came out last year. But my other life is as a science fiction and fantasy prose writer. My third novel, the zombie story Raising Stony Mayhall, just came out last month, and my first collection of short stories, Unpossible and Other Stories, will be coming out in the fall.
Matthew: Are you interested in branching out to writing for TV or film properties one day (if you’re not already)?
Daryl: My first novel, Pandemonium, just got optioned for a TV show, so if it gets made, maybe they'll let me write an episode!
I got this book from the library this week and it's AWESOME. "Imprinted" INDEED! Daryl makes reading as easy as watching a movie.
****************************************
Finally, I’d like to finish with a few personal questions.
Matthew: How old are you and where do you live? Have you always lived in that region or did you grow up somewhere else?
Daryl: I'm 46, and I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. I live in State College, PA, where I'm trying to corner the Amish science fiction market.
Matthew: If you can travel to San Diego, I hope you can make it to the Baltimore Comic-con, it's not that far away for you! (Even though I missed out on those Stan Lee VIP tickets -- SOB!)
****************************************
Matthew: This may seem like an odd question, however, I think it tells a lot about a person… What’s kind of music do you like?
Daryl: I'm crazy about polka music. There's just something about an accordion that gets me going. (Actually, I'm just saying that to score points with my Polish in-laws. I'm an indie rock kinda guy.)
Daryl didn't provide an indie-rock example, so here is one of my favorites.
Matthew: Just because I have such strong opinions myself on the subject…What’s your favorite text font to use on the computer?
Daryl: I've had to train myself to ignore fonts. Most editors are happy with Courier or Times New Roman, so that's what I use all the time now. But back in the day, I was a crazy fan of Stone Sans for headings, and Electra for body text.
Matthew: Do you have an on-line way for your fans to interact with you like a blog or a facebook page?
Daryl: Sure! Stop by darylgregory.com, or follow me on twitter @darylwriterguy.
Another huge THANK YOU to Daryl for taking the time out of his busy schedule to answer my questions! I inadvertently had inundated him with a lot more than he was expecting and he answered a good portion of them (all the ones he thought he had interesting answers for).
INTERVIEW TIMELINE:
The interview was requested on 2011 Jul 07 via e-mail and granted the next day. The questions were submitted on 2011 Jul 13 in a WORD file and answers were received on 2011 Aug 01. He indicated that "[he'd likely] take a crack at a few...of [them] on the plane" while en route to the San Diego Comic-Con!
Very cool interview. I thought Daryl handled Rise well and I look forward to reading some of his other material. And maybe we can work together on another project for BOOM!
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