All posts by Wil

Author, actor, producer. On a good day, I am charming as fuck.

drag your blanket blindly and fill your heart with smoke

Letters of Note is one of my favorite websites.

Yesterday, LoN shared this note from James Dean, which he wrote shortly after moving to New York to pursue an acting career, and before he became James Dean™:

Being an actor is the loneliest thing in the world. The stage is like a religion you dedicate yourself to and then suddenly you find that you don’t have time to see friends and it’s not for them to understand you don’t have anybody. You’re all alone with your concentration and your imagination and that’s all you have. You’re an actor.

He wrote that note in 1952. During the next three years, he would star in East of Eden, Giant, and Rebel Without A Cause … then his life was over. I can see him, sitting alone in New York — a city that can make the most gregarious, confident person in thw world feel tiny and insignificant — writing that down, staring at an uncertain future that stared right back at him. It's hard to separate the actor and his work from the legend, but when I read this yesterday, I wondered if he was able to enjoy the success that he eventually had, or if he was just one of those artists who need the pain and anguish to create.

But this stuff that he thought made being an actor feel so lonely? I think it’s what makes being an actor awesome. I love being left alone with my concentration and imagination. I love making something where something wasn't before, using my imagination and that weird thing in my artists' brain that makes me weird. (Come to think of it, that’s what I love about being a writer, too.) One of my favorite acting teachers, who helped me level up quite a bit, once told us that when we're performing, whether it's for an audience of thirty or an audience of three thousand, we have to be committed to our character, completely consumed by the scene, and intimately connected to the other actors. She said that acting was "quiet, public solitude," and for some reason I never bothered to examine too closely, I grokked that, and it's stayed with me ever since.

I always feel sad when I think about or watch James Dean, knowing that he died so young, before he really had a chance to figure things out the way we do when we get into our thirties. I hope that, if he had, the lonely kid who wrote that note would have once day found comfort in quiet, public solitude.

each sensation makes a note in my symphony

The alarm went off at 7 this morning. Though I was asleep around 11 last night, the jolt of misery that shot through my body as I reached over to turn it off confirmed — again — that I am not a Morning Person.

I slowly opened my eyes, and saw that Anne had already gotten out of bed. In her place, both of our dogs had curled up on the bed, waiting for me to wake up. Riley opened her eyes and thumped her tail when she saw that I was awake. Seamus made a snoring noise and rolled onto his back.

Though I am decidedly not a Morning Person, it's hard to feel cranky when I wake up to the unconditional love of both of my dogs, who are convinced that I am the greatest thing in the world (shut up. They do so think that, and it has nothing at all to do with the role I play in ensuring they get regular walks and meals.)

I had less than an hour to get ready to go to work on Generator Rex, so I made instant coffee and toaster waffles.

"I know," I said to the empty kitchen, "but this morning is more about efficiency than anything else."

As hot water splashed into my mug, turning dark brown powder that smelled sort of like coffee into dark black liquid that didn't quite taste like coffee, I said, "don't judge me."

"Who are you talking to?" Anne said from the living room.

"Uhh … myself," I said.

"Ooooh-kay then," she said.

I browsed Reddit while I ate my second bachelor breakfast in as many weeks. Twenty minutes later, I was showered and dressed. I kissed my wife good bye, and drove out to Cartoon Network.

I've never seen Generator Rex, but I understand that the damn kids today are crazy about it. The scripts I've read are great, and the cast is a real joy to work with. I can't say much about who I play or what I do, but it's a whole lot of fun. I'm lucky that I get to work on a bunch of different shows, but I'm especially lucky to consistently work with great people who love what they do, and are fun to work with. Seriously: there isn't a whole lot of drama involved in this acting thing. (HA HA SEE WHAT I DID THERE.)

Today, one of the other actors had a lot of dialog in a scene without my character. I planned for this by bringing my Kindle with me, so I ended up spending a fair amount of time "at work" actually reading Sandman Slim (it is such a great book, you guys). When it was time for me to go back into the booth with the rest of the cast, I was pleased to discover that it wasn't a challenge at all for me to trade the dark urban fantasy world I was reading for the action-packed cartoon world I was helping to create. I silently marked the moment on my mental character sheet, and awarded myself some Voice Actor XP.

I love voice acting, and I'm grateful that I have opportunities like this where I can work with truly talented people, learn from them, and then apply that knowledge and experience to work with even more talented people. Of all the self-perpetuating cycles I could be caught in, I'd say this one is pretty awesome … even if it makes me confront precisely how much I am Not A Morning Person on a semi-regular basis.

shameless self promotion

It is said that an artist's works sell as well as the artist promotes them.

I struggle with this reality, because while it's simple and enjoyable for me to link to my wife's friend's store, or my friend's wife's Etsy shop, it feels weird and kind of gross to me when I promote my own stuff.

But I have a kid in college, and people frequently ask me where they can get my books and things, so it seems like a good idea to have a post I can point to (or reprint) from time to time that answers that question and pays his tuition.

So here you go, infrequent interrogator! Thanks in advance for your support.

Books

Here's my virtual bookshelf.

Here's my author page at Amazon.

Here's my storefront at Lulu.

Kindle and eBooks

Audiobooks

Clothing

Most of these Jinx designs will be discontinued very soon, if you care about that sort of thing:

Other Neat Stuff

I think that's everything. Wow. It's kind of cool that I've had a hand in making so many things! I love that.

raptors

Fuckin_raptors

This is in the Electric office here in Los Angeles. I took this picture when I joined John Rogers and Beth Riesgraf there last year for our live chat after The Ho Ho Ho Job aired.

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