Client Relationship Article_Words: "It's Only Words" by Neale Sourna

Words, "It's Only Words"

Our words, expressing ourselves, and what we may be really saying

I'm guilty, which can actually get me dead because I've been accused of quibbling about the subtle meanings of words; semantics. "That's just semantics, Neale." Well. "We are what we eat." "Garbage in, garbage out." "If I didn't know better…." I find words to be fascinating and the blatant and especially subliminal ways people choose them and use them even more so. Many seem to think imprecision of word choice and the subtle tones behind them, as they deliver them to another's ear is wholly inconsequential.

Hm. About as unimportant as too million dollars? No, that's not a typo. Or try this: you for dinner in lieu of ewe for dinner. Are the right words important to you yet?

Anger and rage.

Curse someone out quietly, with or without expletives and you'll stun your victim a little, sometimes a lot. Calm rage, contained hostility takes more energy for them to engage; they wonder is he really pissed, is she just playing, is my life on the line or not—I can't tell, exactly.

Because the accepted tone for anger and rage is loud, hysterical even.

Love is spoken in dulcet tones, like cooing to babies and kittens, but say hostile words in dulcet, soft, warm and cooing tones and you befuddle and frighten. Leaving them stunned long enough for you to run, punch them out, or come up with a third more brilliant and creative action to your pending conflict.

Marvel versus DC.

Words are a main reason I always, in general, preferred Marvel Comics over DC. Words and character. Marvel had the best "real" characters with real problems, everyday problems—that's why Spidey and "The X-Men" rule...http://stories.neale-sourna.com/article_words.html

No. 1 Superman Comic Saves Family Home From Foreclosure

Superman Comic Saves Family Home From Foreclosure
Unexpected Find of Action Comics No. 1 Could Fetch Upwards of a Quarter of a Million Dollars at Auction

By RAY SANCHEZ
August 3, 2010

A struggling family facing foreclosure has stumbled upon what is considered to be the Holy Grail of comic books in their basement – a fortuitous find that could fetch upwards of a quarter million dollars at auction.
A family facing home foreclosure finds a rare Superman comic book.


First Superman Comic Saves Family's Home
A struggling family cleaning out the basement of their home stumbled upon what is known as the Holy Grail of comic books ? a fortuitous find expected to save their house from foreclosure.
(Courtesy Metropolis Collectibles, Inc.)

A copy of Action Comics No. 1, the first in which Superman ever appeared, was discovered as they went about the painful task of packing up a home that had been in the family since at least the 1950s. The couple, who live in the South with their children, asked to remain anonymous.

"The bank was about ready to foreclose," said Vincent Zurzolo, co-owner of ComicConnect.com and Metropolis Comics and Collectibles in New York. "Literally, this family was in tears. The family home was going to be lost and they're devastated. They can't figure out a way out of this. They start packing things up. They go into the basement and start sifting through boxes – trying to find packing boxes – and they stumble on eight or nine comic books."

Most of the comic books in the box were worth between $10 and $30 but one – dated June 1938 and depicting the Man of Steel lifting a car above his head – was extremely rare. That issue, which originally sold for 10 cents, is considered to have ushered in the age of the superhero.

"It's a tremendous piece of American pop culture history," Zurzolo said. The couple learned online that ComicConnect.com had brokered the record-breaking sales of Action No. 1 copies for $1 million in February and then $1.5 million one month later. They immediately texted a cell phone picture to the firm's co-owner, Stephen Fishler.

"You couldn't have asked for a happier ending," Zurzolo said. "Superman saved the day."

Most Americans aren't so lucky. Nationwide, more than 1.6 million properties were in some stage of foreclosure in the first half of the year, according to RealtyTrac, up about 8 percent from a year ago but down 5 percent from the final six months of 2009. The couple had recently taken out a second mortgage on their home to start a new business, which failed in the uncertain economy. Mortgage payments were missed and the bank soon came after their home, which became theirs after the death of the wife's father. Fishler had to get on the phone to convince the bank to back off.

"My partner basically had to explain to the bank, 'You'll have your money soon,'" Zurzolo said. "We sent them information about our previous sales and what this could realize."

In a statement released through ComicConnect, the owner of the prized comic book said the family was still "a little shell shocked" after the unexpected find. "I was so nervous when I realized what it was worth," the owner said. "I know I am very fortunate but I will be greatly relieved when this book finds a new home."

Last Thursday, the couple's copy received a 5.0 VG(Very Good)/Fine rating on a scale of 1 to 10. It could fetch upwards of $250,000 when it goes up for auction on ComicConnect.com from Aug. 27 through Sept. 17.

While many businesses have been hurt by the recession, the comic book collection industry has received a boost. It all started in the spring of 2009, in the bleakest days of current downturn, when Comic Connect sold a copy of Action Comics No. 1 for $317,200 – a record at the time.

"That was at the worst part of the recession," Zurzolo said. "All the publicity we got on that was incredible…From all this publicity people started looking around and they started finding things." There are about 100 copies of Action Comics No. 1 believed to be in existence, with only a handful in good condition. In the last year and a half, about 7 copies have turned up. "You never know," Zurzolo said. "You might have a hidden treasure in your home which can change your life."

Zurzolo said more and more investors are calling ComicConnect looking for ways to make their money grow. One recent caller wanted to invest half a million dollars that he said were sitting in a bank account. "This happens to be the best year we've ever had," he said.



The copies of Action Comic No. 1 that sold for $1 million and $1.5 million earlier this year had been purchased for about $140,000 each more than a decade ago.

"When you tell people they might have more than a million bucks somewhere, it makes people move around and check places," he said. "In terms of the prices we've been able to realize, I do think that ties directly to the economy. You're dealing with a time in history when people are very uncertain about the stock market. They are extremely wary of the real estate market. They're making absolutely no money in their bank accounts."

After discovering their small treasures, many people want to remain anonymous – like many lottery winners. "People don't want people knowing how much money they have," Zurzolo said. "Some people are very paranoid."

Neale Sourna's Game Writer Exchange at LinkedIn.com

WANTED: Established writers, rank beginners and working in-betweeners. Share your latest job and career notice finds, give information and advice, or submit education hookups concerning game story writing, interactive fiction, & requests for short to long fiction/scripts for games or comics.

By registering to be a member of the Game Writer Exchange group, you consent to have your name and your email address be accessible by the official representative of the Game Writer Exchange group, and to be identified as a Game Writer Exchange group member in your profile and the LinkedIn search results. If you do not wish to give such consent, please do not register.

WANTED: GAME STORY WRITERS

GAME STORY WRITERS

WANTED: Established game writers, rank beginners and working in-betweeners. Share your latest job and career notice finds, give information and advice, or submit education hookups concerning game story writing and/or requests for short to long fiction for games or comics.

Writers are often THE LAST TO BE CALLED into the game planning and development process, but are expected to pull a gigantic elephant out of the tiny hat.

Just like art graphics and programming code good writing and especially GREAT WRITING needs time to build its understructure and then layer on muscle and flesh.

The more WE WRITERS share and give one another a hand up to get each and every one of us into projects earlier, the better our writing will be and THE BETTER THE GAMES WE WRITE WILL BE, and the sooner we’ll be asked to the party.

No more last minute literary rescues and trying to piece together plots that makes all the already chosen graphics work. Which can be great—if it works—and disastrous and a blame on the writer when it doesn’t.

Let’s all move ahead, together.

--Neale Sourna at GAME WRITER EXCHANGE

*******************************

An open letter:

GAME WRITER EXCHANGE just needs to be simple. It seems there are few writing gigs, or we don't hear about them until late. Or, we're busy and want to pass on something we've found to another, who's qualified.

Some of us are getting fairly regular hits, but if we writers can pool or resources and therefore--like attractive gazelles at a watering hole a women in a women's college attract the interests of power hitters; once they see us here.

Although the women's college thing is better but way too similar to lions hunting gazelles!

If we can gather a decent, solid range of starting, medium, and advanced writers in an easier to find virtual location, I think it will improve our access, our writing, and our marketing and cash flow.

Hopefully, this open approach will encourage the planners, developers, and recruiters to see us. We're here! We need to be added to the planning and the payroll way before all the artists and whomever find they have logic holes.

We game writers just need to be gathered together much as the artists and coding programmers here at LinkedIn; together like them, but highlighted and spotlighted in our own element, away from them.

And if anyone has questions, we can share answers.

I've seen game writer and game comic, etc questions spread out around my other author, scriptwriting, and game groups; but not specialized to it. I see comics, and even script planning art boards, in a similar area as game story narrative.

Also there are narrative articles and blogs at Gamasutra.com and other places, and it wouldn't hurt to gather those. I've been pulling a few into my own character writing blog [http://writing-naked101.blogspot.com/ ] but ... I'm a little lonely, I think.

I'm alone when I write, edit, layout, and publish my works or write or rewrite other peoples scripts, novels, and games.

The programmers I work with are sometimes helpful but busy cranking out their games and my questions are normally only in what they do or do not want, which leaves me with more questions on how to improve, what others skills and game design programs [like Neverwinter Nights] from a writer's approach is best--and EASY and SENSIBLE--for the next step, in writers helping the game from concept to player.

I felt it was a burning idea and I didn't see it repeated anywhere else here, or I would've joined.

So, I've no desire to play dictator or mess up anybody's stuff but writers of every kind need to gather our power and use it to get us more: power, respect, reputation, opportunities, and the cash.

And, as always, I'm open to positive, useful suggestions for our project here in gathering game writing info, news, jobs, etcetera.

Neale

www.Writing-Naked.com
www.Neale-Sourna.com
www.PIE-Percept.com

Neale Sourna Game stories:

"Heartwild Solitaire" 1 & 2 pc games
"Margrave Manor" & "Margrave Manor2: The Lost Ship" pc games
"Berlin'61: The Wall" RPG