The Voice Actors Guild

There is one feature I always love to attend at anime conferences. That is the voice actors' panel. I liked hearing some weird voices from Richard Epcar. I was surprised to find that he stars as the voice in the new Skyrim game. My favorite voice actor present was J. Michael Tatum. Among many other roles, he is the voice of Jiro Muchizuke in Black Blood Brothers. Classic.

Voice acting wears on your throat just like singing does. There are some tricks to deal with this. Ellen Stern said she steams her throat before and after jobs each day. A small cap full of brandy helps keep your voice strong during the job. Take it easy on this one. You don't want to be slurring.

There are no short cuts in the voice acting industry. Get trained. That is the fun part. Beware of scam artists trying to milk you for your money. Don't train specifically on voice acting. Study plain acting. Learn how to be yourself and find your own voice. Practice by speaking text from kids books aloud for 10 minutes each day. This will help you do cold readings.

One interesting insight was that video game voice work pays more than anime voice overs. I was also surprised to hear J. Michael Tatum's story. He said he would not speak when he was young due to a speech impediment. Now he rocks. Go Jiro.

Brony Haters

I attended a session that discussed the changing face of the anime conference attendee. One thing was clear. There was no love for Naruto fans at this panel. They also derrided Bronys, which are males dressing up like My Little Pony. Weird.

There is a growing sect of multi-fandom fans at the conferences. They just don't like anime. They love Doctor Who. They love Star Trek. Should conferences cater to these other interests? That raise the profits. It also alienates some anime purists. There was no clear answer. There was consensus that conference probably need to evolve.

I heard an interesting analysis on the difference between East and West coast conference goers. Each coast attendees are more hyperactive and crazy. West coast fans are more formal and laid back. They have a greater interest in the scholarly side of anime analysis. I was on the East coast for this conference. Strangely enough, we were discussing the trends in a scholarly fashuion People came to the talk.

The Birth of Inuyasha

I went to a presentation on the creator of Inuyasha. She is Rumiko Takahashi. To tell the truth, I really did not know much about her. Rakahashi was born in 1957. One of the main themes in her work is that of the love story. She practivally invented the magical girlfriend saga.

Takahashi is best known for Ranma 1/2. Her work essentially made Viz Entertainment what it is now. They produced an unflipped version of her anime for the Western market. By 1995, Takahashi had sold over 100,000,000 books. She is known as the Queen of Manga.

Some say Takahashi is the most successful female author in the world. She started Inuyasha in 1995. I did not start watching that anime until over 10 years later. Strangely enough, the presenter of the talk I attended did not care for Inuyasha.

History Matters

Consider the history of the people you are writing about in your fiction. You can borrow from modern day events. However you should be subtle. Your prose should not sound like an essay. For science fiction, pay attention to the elements. What does the material do? Consider them from a scientific viewpoint.

Politics are a big deal. Some people wants to be more important than others. Who is in charge? How do people make decisions? The politics of the region are going to lead to conflict. This conflict is what will give birth to your story. If you don't have conflict, you won't have a story. Or you will not have a story that anyone wants to read.

Finally pay attention to the religion of your characters. What is the place of each character in their universe? Do the religions conflict with each other? How does science affect the religion? These questions can drive your plot in an interesting way.

Start with the Topography

I attended a talk on create the universe in which your work of fiction resides. This was supposed to be a presentation. However the guys opened the floor up for questions from the audience almost immediately. Nobody likes listening to an hour long PowerPoint presentation without time for questions.

In general you should remain driven and focused on your outline. That does not mean that your characters cannot have a small side quest now and then. Limit these to a chapter or two. One of the first jobs of an author is to acquaint the reader to the characters. You want the reader to be on the side of your characters, especially the good guys.

Give a little attention to the scenery of the place. What resources are available? You don't have to literally draw a map. But you should tell the reader the general size of the area.

Writing Mechanics

You should try out Google docs if your are collaborating with someone else while writing. Both of you can edit the same document at the same time. Now let's talk writing basics. It is best to take a top down approach. Produce an outline of your plot from start to finish.

Every story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Figure out what your story is about. Know your ending before you start. This allows you to add subtle foreshadowing right from the start. Make sure you actually do end your story srong.

It is good to also start out with some notes on what each chapter is about. Your notes don't need any sort of formal formatting. The start is most important. This is where you make your "elevator pitch". Get your reader hooked in the first 25 words or less.