Zeros 2 Heroes - Posts

Another kind of mind crime

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 02:10:34 -0600

A while back I held a short story contest to promote Mind Crimes. The idea was to do stories using "mind crimes" as a theme without actually being fan fiction or in any way derivative of Mind Crimes. So, Eysic Ach came up with an idea for a mind crimes themed graphic novel, which obviously he couldn't use for the contest. It involved a medical device that scanned people's memories and made a virtual reality replica of them. Since it had similarities to Mind Crimes--including working titles like Mindscan and Mindprint--he asked if I'd mind him pitching it here. Of course not, I said.

But...we ended up talking about how to make it very different from Mind Crimes...and along the way I became a collaborator. Aside from those brainstorming emails we haven't had a chance to go anywhere with it, but I needed a MUP for this week, so I threw the idea into a synopsis*. If this blog has piqued your interest at all, then check out Mimic Scan and do the feedback thing. Thanks.

[*Note: I do intend to write character bios and scripts for all my MUPs...someday.]

Mind Crimes writer featured at Jazma Online

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 17:19:51 -0600

A little while ago, Richard Vasseur, Jazma VP, approached me and asked if I'd be interested in being interviewed for Jazma Online. They have a great site, so I was thrilled, and it's perfect timing for promoting Mind Crimes!

Ignore the way-too-big picture of me and check out the interview.

Short Story Contest Winner

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 18:29:34 -0500

A big THANKS to everyone who entered the Mind Crimes short story contest, as well as those who simply read and commented. You all made this a lot of fun...and one tough call! But the winner has been selected. So without further ado, the official winner is:

Dwarzel's Cosmetic Purposes

Congrats!

short story contest -- more HELP needed

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 19:21:34 -0500

I'm supposed to announce the winner of the Mind Crimes themed short story contest today, and based on community feedback I've narrowed the selections down to two, but the race is just too close. So I'm looking for a last spurt of community input. Please tell me which of these two is your pick for the winner! Thanks!

Drumroll...

And the top two stories, from which the winner will be selected, are...

Teacherdrama's Taking Control

Dwarzel's Cosmetic Purposes

And thanks again to all the other entries. There were 4 more stories tied in a close third place!

The mind behind Mind Crimes

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 13:29:49 -0500

So...I used the personal pitch doctor (which is still set up for the NSI playWrite competition) to throw up a bit more information about the mind behind Mind Crimes. Check it out...

Crossover Idea

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 10:49:56 -0500

Crossover: Mind Crimes with Blake Undying. This would really solve Byron and Blake's problems. Blake and Byron hook their brains into the mind-transfer device. Blake get's the body of the hunted for and capital punishment candidate Byron. He can now have the 'rest' he yearns for. Byron gets a poetic justice in having Blake's immortal body to help him get his revenge.

It's a win-win!

Fan Art - Better Late Than Never

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 08:23:46 -0500

You may recognise the Pillsbury Doughboy from his role as the Nefarious Mick Leod, he's now playing the Dr.

A couple of new cast members

Fluffy Bunny is playing Byron Reborr
Fluffy Chic as David Caine

I'm sorry to say that with my outdated technology, Fluffy Bunny will never be the same.

Enjoy!

short story contest results delayed

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 05:58:41 -0500

For everyone who's waiting on pins and needles to discover who the winner of the Mind Crimes short story contest is, I'm sorry to say you're going to have to wait a week longer than expected. Instead of announcing the winner tomorrow (October 11th) as planned, I will be announcing the winner on Monday, October 27th.

Why? There are several stories that received a lot of community support, so I need to determine the winner very carefully, but after today I won't have time to do that for a couple weeks. So I apologize, but it's the entrants faults for submitting such strong stories...

Addition to Mind Crimes fantasy cast

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 22:12:56 -0500

I just realized that I never put out a casting call for a somewhat important character in issue 1 of Mind Crimes. The doctor! Without him, the mind merges would never have occurred...

So, who do you think he looks like? Any actors come to mind?

Too Close for Comfort?

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 18:27:41 -0500

As some of you know, I've been lurking and learning here for a long time and slowly developing my first pitch. My earlier blogs on "A Means to The End" can be found here and here.

What I'm currently leaning towards doing is having aliens that infiltrate earth by sending their consciousnesses through space and essentially possessing humans, who they make do their will. So my question is, is this too close to Mind Crimes?

I know in the general sense that the two stories are miles apart, but from the standpoint of having two Z2H winners (hey, I can dream) that both have villains controlling other people's minds against their wills... I dunno, I just thought I should ask if it's a bad idea. I could always go with shapeshifters or something.

Mind Crimes script (finally) up

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 17:14:15 -0500

Back when Mind Crimes was in the running to win one of the CCCN slots, there was a lot of debate about whether you needed to have a full 22 page script up for your pitch to be considered complete. I only ever put up the first 10 pages. It was largely because I didn't want to give away the twist on the last page, but then I added that particular twist into the synopsis when people wanted more info, so why didn't I then just go ahead and post the script?

Well, I had a first draft from the time I posted the pitch, but I kept changing it, LOL. Nadine didn't exist in the first draft, and Shank and Shandria weren't introduced until issue 2. But since these 22 pages were meant to showcase the Mind Crimes world to potential development execs, I reworked my story to get all the cool people in right away. The great thing is, I like this version better than any of the various drafts I had before.

Anyway, I just thought I'd let you all know that the full script is in my Mind Crimes pitch now just in case any of you like to compare the script to final pages to get an idea of the collaboration involved.

Couldn't Help it: Mind Crimes Art

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:14:19 -0500

http://www.zeros2heroes.com/pitch/920

No real artists need to worry. But I've put up my own Mind Crimes scene.

GW: just holler if you want it taken down!

Mind Transfer?

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 11:57:26 -0500

You guys will not believe it! GW is prescient. Maybe. Look at this link:

http://www.mindtransfer.com/

Now a quote from the page:

Mind Transfer is a theoretical medical procedure where Physicians are able to transfer ones mind from one patient to another. Once the mind is transferred into the new body, the mind is able to retain its previous memory and regroup, making it able to contain its own identity. Mind Transfer is a procedure that can either be completed on a full scale or by partial brain transplantation.

If you read down a bit further, you get this:

Is Mind Transfer possible?

At the moment, Mind Transfer is NOT possible. But it is still a valid theory. This is a momentary break in the medical procedure. With all of the modern advances in science and medicine, during last century alone, it is clear that this could very much become a reality. The proof lies in the past. The masses thought that things we do nowadays, with ease, would never happen! One hundred years ago, many ideas were scoffed at; yet, more and more groundbreaking procedures have come about since then. The most recent examples include cloning and stem cell research. The gigantic leap in the space exploration program and the steps we have taken with nuclear power are more examples of how our technology continues to go ?Where no man has gone before.? With this in mind, Mind Transfer could possibly be achieved sooner than we think, that is, if the appropriate effort were to be applied.

Hey, at least it is a valid theory!

Power Games

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 05:11:03 -0500

While I should be focusing all my energies on Mind Crimes for the final sprint to the Harold Greenberg Fund finish line, the Marathon of Unbelievable Proportions continues apace and cannot be ignored...so I've posted my week 5 pitch. It's called Power Games.

The movie Mortal Kombat is a guilty pleasure of mine. And the movie Gladiator is a favourite of many. I combined the action and character types from those stories, set it on a fantasy world with lots of magical powers and potions, underscored it all with a slave race planning a rebellion against their conquerors, and came up with Power Games.

The synopsis and character bios are a little rough still, but as always, your feedback is welcome.

Rockin' the NOW masthead

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:47:18 -0500

Nick (genrewriter) already posted the big pic and link to the Coquitlam Now article, but here's the groovy mini-Nick and mini-Carmen, hanging out on the masthead!

You can't really tell, but they took this at the pier in Port Moody. Heels, planking, and wobbly surfaces gave me new respect for superhero gals in stilettos everywhere... at the photoshoot, the photographer had us balancing on this stingy outcrop of crumbling dock, and I figured one false move would send me into the water. But he definately wanted water going on, and he got the look he wanted in the end -- my daughter took one look at the big pic they used with the feature story and said we looked as though we were under water.

Doing the interview was a bit nerve-wracking -- I kept talking and talking. I figured I said the right kind of things but didn't know how it would all come out. I guess media savvy will be acquired as we all sore to famedom!! Hoo-raw!!