Motivating Through the Slumps

Sometimes it seems like all the creative roadblocks are stacked in your way, preventing your access so all you can do is sit there and stew and think EVERYTHING SUCKS. Bad reviews, nasty comments, struggling with a plot bit of a new story, etc etc. It’s tough - you put stuff out there for consumption, and it will be consumed - often in ways you don’t intend or disagree with.

The last few weeks I've felt especially tempted to sink down into some self-whining. One of the reasons is because I'm currently working on story pitches, which can be a bit taxing:

1. Come up with a super idea!
2. Explain it perfectly in ways that make everyone excited!
3. Now throw it into a void and maybe hear nothing about it ever again.
4. (. . . or only hear about it when it's soundly rejected by multiple people.)
5. REPEAT! GET EXCITED ABOUT ANOTHER IDEA!

It's hard to write these half-stories, these inklings of fun ideas because (if you're like me) a LOT of your ideas form WHILE you're writing the story, not before. I plan as much as I can stand ahead of time, but it's not until wading through the story with my characters that some things start to make sense. It feels weird to predict what they'll do or where they'll go without going through it with them. That's like cheating!

It's also easy to feel like - why am I wasting my time working on stuff I can't show to anyone (possibly ever) and no one might ever like? That's a larger issue of putting stuff out there to begin with - why bother?

The thing that helps me when I go through these slumpy-slumps is to remember that slumps end. They can be miserable, but also kind of fun in a wallowing way. Enjoy feeling put upon for a tiny bit of time ... and then get over it. Get back to doing what you love to do - CREATE! YOU know why you're bothering, so what if other people don't get it yet. You know there are stories you want to tell, things you want to figure out, things you want to show. Turn off the social streams that make you feel like you're not accomplishing anything. Turn off that voice that keeps telling you you're behind your peers. Remember that when you're in this biz -- or really any creative endeavor -- rejection is part of it. And so is work for work's sake - none of it is wasted. Even the tiny little pitches you keep murdering and burying, stacking one one top of another. Somehow, some day they will all feed into your future work and they will all be valuable.

Slump slump slump .... time's up. Get back to it!

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Five Things I Learned Writing Part-Time Princesses

The super cool Chuck Wendig let me join in his stellar series of "Five Things I Learned ..." posts to share what I learned writing Part-Time Princesses (available now!)

Check out the article here, and if by some reason you haven't heard of Chuck's blog before, it is CHOCK FULL (Chuck full?) of helpful tips and exercises for writers. His books are AMAZEBALLS and full of crazy twitchy characters I adore.

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That First Webcomic Love

Hey all you loyal, lovely Gods & Undergrads readers. I unfortunately have something really tough to tell you -- I've decided to put G&U on a sort of permanent hiatus for the time being. This is a really difficult thing for ME to do, but I'm sure for all of you out there who've managed to stick with it all this time, it's way more obnoxious! G&U has always been the book I've been MOST passionate about and the majority of people have been the LEAST interested in, and it was only recently after interventions from some friends and colleagues that I realized it was time to throw in this G&U towel for the moment. Not because I don't think it's worth it to put time and work into a story no one reads - hello, I'm in comics - but because the story itself is now REALLY suffering from my lack of attention. So I need to grow up and realize it and do something hard . . . like ending my first comic.

I started Gods & Undergrads wayyyy back in the year 2000 when first discovering an early love for (and awareness of) webcomics. While working at my college's art office and photo lab, I alternated between reading Scott McCloud's Zot, Derek Kirk Kim's Same Difference, and Jason Little's Bee Comix. I especially loved Dylan Meconis's Bite Me and Faith Erin Hicks's Demonology 101, too.

But what all of these people DID with their web sagas I failed to do -- they eventually finished them. They moved on to other things. While I, also, moved on to other things, other stories I wanted to tell . . . and yet I still dragged Gods & Undergrads along behind me, bumping it onto every pothole and street sign along the way. Leaving months, even years between updates sometimes. The audience I'd managed to build up until that point put up with a lot of unknowns, changes in style, even going from its initial full color format to all black and white, . . . but eventually most people have stopped reading. That's just one of the troubles with continuing a story after 14 years (and intermittent shoe-horning between other comics projects). It gets lost among the shuffle and doesn't get the attention and care it deserves.

HOWEVER, one of the reasons for me to tie it off now and put an (abrupt) ending on this 14-year-long saga is not just to stop me from dragging it through the mud, but also to give myself a chance further down the line of resurrecting it in a newer, more planned out storyline (rather than its current Frankenstein one). Oh, did I not mention that I would totally reboot this? I WOULD TOTALLY REBOOT IT.

So anyway - sorry for the lame news, everyone. I'm going to be posting the final, abruptly-cut-short 10 pages of Gods & Undergrads over the next few weeks. Sure, if I'd pulled the trigger earlier I could've ended it at the end of Book 3, with Lelaina gone and seemingly dead but WHO WANTS THAT ENDING??

I'll still have the books for sale (tons and tons of books) and will do sketches and things for anyone who wants them. And the archives will all remain online indefinitely. A BIG, HUGE, HEARTFELT THANK YOU to all of you who've kept up with the story all this time! Again, this definitely isn't the END end of Gods & Undergrads . . . just the end for now. *sniff*

And, of course, I'll still be doing Bonnie twice a week. And other comics. And I love you guys!

***UPDATE: I've decided this last chapter will be a FULL chapter, hooray! 48 pages of fun coming your way, so stay tuned! You'll have more G&U for a while yet. :)

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Inking the New Hotness: Part 3

One of the hardest things I find about inking is knowing when to put in fills. You know what I'm talking about - those big, dramatic shadowy areas.

Doing straight up black-and-white is not one of my strong suits - I have always been reliant on grays. On shading. Shading with black always seems SO DRAMATIC HEY GUYS LOOK THIS IS DRAMA HERE but yet other people seem to do it so effortlessly.

My first foray into solo black-and-white was with my comic Lipstick & Malice (also my first time using a brush pen, so there was a lot of I Don't Know What I'm Doing happening). But here I stayed pretty timid.

I would use it mainly for lighting effects.

Or to block out the pieces of action sequences happening.

I've been trying to branch out more and dip my toe into incorporating more dramatic blacks, but for me it can get a little screwy. Like here, it might be fine - no big, just some shadows.

But then this is as bold as I get

And here ... eehhh I don't know what happened. (you can see by my white-out that this is even my SECOND attempt at this sleeve.)

One thing I've found helpful to get over my fear (besides ogling the work of other creators) is to shade in an area with pencil first - it gives me a mini-preview of what it will look like shaded without much sacrifice. Or I'll just wait to fill in the blacks on the computer, where I have endless undo's available. But then the originals look kind of sad, which is something I've been trying to avoid.

Do you guys have any tips/tricks/mantras for getting over your fear of luscious black fills? Or are you more gung ho, this is easy peasy than I am?

Other posts about inking: Inking the New Hotness Part 2 Inking the New Hotness Part 1

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Inking the New Hotness: Part 2

More talk about inking! Yes!

So, as I mentioned last time, for inking I use a size 6 Silver Ultra Mini brush and a pot of Bombay India Ink. Because I discovered I'd randomly bought them one day. One of the new challenges I've encountered with using a real brush is the ink usage. How much to put on your brush? When to blot? When to wash your brushes?

When I started using this brush, I quickly realized I'd need a blotter and a way to test out the line I was brushing before I got to the page. For me, using paper towels and a sheet of scrap paper was the easiest. Not the prettiest setup, but whatchagonnado.

Oh and I keep a roll of tape around my ink bottle for security, since this guy is always waiting for his opening.

Every time I dip my brush in the ink, I need to make sure the excess doesn't clumsily ruin all the nice lines I plan on doing. This works for the most part - I'm still working through when I'm allowed to make certain brushstrokes during the space between dipping my brush again. Swoopy lines tend to happen for me right after I dip and blot, but thin, controlled lines have to wait until after a lot of the ink has left the brush.

Purposefully scratchy lines are something I'm still working on - for me I haven't quite found the right balance of ink and control to get them just right. I love the inbetween, gray texture of them though.

Mostly I tend to probably OVER dip, or put too much ink on my brush. That's pretty much how I solve every inking problem - it's like a reset button for me. Line getting too weak? RESET, GIMME MORE INK. Brush seeming to diverge into uncontrollable side lines? RESET.

This here is one of my biggest pet peeves:

The dreaded brush off-shoot. You know, where suddenly one or two hairs on your brush decide they're NOT all in it together and decide to go their separate ways. Then, just when you think you're inking one solid, has-it-together line - BAM - a tiny twin line appears, just to mock you.

I used to think this meant I needed a new brush, or needed to wash it out more frequently. I'm still not exactly sure what the cause is, but naturally my solution is RESET. MORE INK STAT.

Then I feel more comfortable ignoring the problem, because it's slathered down with more ink, less likely to cause trouble if I keep weighing it down.

This can get a little messy. And because of my tendency to over-ink, I've taken to washing my brush out after each page  just to start fresh once again. Or if my line starts getting really out of hand and acting out on me, I'll wash my brush to see if it helps.

Now, since I am a novice at inking technique, and a super novice at using a brush, I'd love to hear how YOU guys are going about it. Are you washing your brushes all the time? Replacing them all the time? Using different sizes, or one size like me? I'm especially curious to hear whether or not you plop your brushes in soapy water during your inking - I've been wondering if that would solve my split personality brush hair problem.

All these inking samples are taken from my webcomic Gods & Undergrads, and the book I'm currently working on for Oni. :)

Other posts about inking: Inking the New Hotness Part 3 Inking the New Hotness Part 1

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Inking the New Hotness: Part 1

I've been doing a LOT of inking lately and I think I'm in love with it. A couple of months ago, I  switched over from only using my beloved Pentel Brush Pen to using a tiny brush and a pot of India Ink.

Inking used to be one part of the Comics Process Trinity that I liked okay (because at least the pencilling was over with), but I was always disappointed with the lack of control I felt. Lines that looked so cool in pencil were suddenly ruined by the shaky, fat line that completely surprised me when I drew it on the page.

The smaller brush seems to have made a huge difference in giving me more control in line weight and distribution of ink. It took some adjustment at first to get used to holding a thinner drawing instrument (welcome back, carpal tunnel!), but now I wouldn't have it any other way. I even tried to get slightly larger brushes of the same style - #8 and #10 - but #6 remains my jam.

I'm a total inking novice, so I wanted to do a couple posts on my newfound love of it and how I'm (hopefully) learning to improve upon my process. New exciting tools that make me excited to do it - CHECK!

Inspiration is also a huge kick in the pants of making we want to improve, too. Here are a few of the folks whose inking stylings I'm super crushing on:

Other posts about inking: Inking the New Hotness Part 3 Inking the New Hotness Part 2

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It Girl Pin-Up

Recently I got to do a pin-up for It Girl and the Atomics, Round Two (here's Round One!) - the collected trade paperback by the stellar Jamie S. Rich. In stores this September!

After sketching out a couple of possible choices, I chose one with It Girl framing the picture.

I've recently switched from using a Pentel Brush Pen to a Silver Ultra Mini size 6 brush with India Ink, which so far has been an adventure. I love the skinny lines I can get with it, although so far it's taking me a lot longer to ink anything. I need to poke around and investigate what other brushes people are using with their ink to see if this really is the best one for me. Here's how the inks came out this time . . .

And the final colors!

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It Girl Pin-Up

Recently I got to do a pin-up for It Girl and the Atomics, Round Two (here's Round One!) - the collected trade paperback by the stellar Jamie S. Rich. In stores this September!

After sketching out a couple of possible choices, I chose one with It Girl framing the picture.

I've recently switched from using a Pentel Brush Pen to a Silver Ultra Mini size 6 brush with India Ink, which so far has been an adventure. I love the skinny lines I can get with it, although so far it's taking me a lot longer to ink anything. I need to poke around and investigate what other brushes people are using with their ink to see if this really is the best one for me. Here's how the inks came out this time . . .

And the final colors!

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Maximizing the Space

Ohhh it's table display time again! And this time, I fear, I'm a little squashed. Whereas I usually luxuriate my products across a six foot table space, I've got two conventions coming up (Stumptown and TCAF) where I fear I'll have to contain my madness to just three feet.

Thus, it's time for some planning. I start out by drawing a 3' long (half of an average 6' table space) x 2' deep space on the floor with some easily removable tape (you can also do this on a large enough table, if the person you live with doesn't violently object). Sometimes I fold up the tablecloth I plan on using and place it inside, to see if it clashes terribly with my books. But if I've used the same table cloth consistently without any problems (besides the occasional ink stain), I can skip using it.

Then comes the tricky part. It's not just about fitting everything into the space as you lay it on a table ...

But making sure to create levels of height in order to stagger appearance, catch the eye, and also - yeah - cram in as much stuff as possible.

And since I have a lot of books, this gets a little crowded. I am a comics creator who has not one, but THREE ongoing series (Bonnie N. Collide, Gods & Undergrads, Lipstick & Malice), as well as autobiographical short stories (Boobage, Go For the Eyes, Mall Model, Middle School), and a new graphic novel (Glitter Kiss), I'm usually at a loss for how to compile and present everything. Do I age off some of my stories and stop bringing them along? Or do I condense them into cute packages?

Lately I've just been doing the latter, because I enjoy dabbling in packaging. But I've found presenting them in their packaging makes people reluctant to pick them up and unwrap them. So, the convenience of bundling them together becomes moot as I end up separating them anyway in order for people to flip through them.

What worries me the most about my gaggle of books, prints, cuffs, is that it doesn't seem very cohesive when viewed in a cluster like this. I can only do so much with uniform price stickers and labels. Plus there is something to be said for a good dosage of negative space.

Fellow comic exhibitors/craters/viewers of exhibit tables out there, what are you doing to conquer this problem? What do you like to see in a table? I think for now I'm going to keep incorporating some height (courtesy of these fine crates from Jo-Ann's) and fretting a little while longer.

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Goddess Transition

In my series of Greek God prints, while slowly adding more gods/goddesses, I decided I also wanted to update my Artemis print.

I always picture Artemis as an athletic redhead with brown skin traipsing through the underbrush. But something about this drawing (which I did years ago) always bugged me - she looked too friendly, her clothes were too bright, I dunno. Not to mention the fact that I suck at drawing shoes.

Here's the updated, broodier, more covert version. I like her much better. Like she's a secret ops goddess of the forest.

If you want to check out these or any of my other prints, check out my Etsy Shop for the latest and greatest. More gods and goddesses coming soon! (probably later today ...)

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Ready, Set . . . CONVENTION

Here we go, here we go, on our way to Shangri-La! (Yes, that is a Clutch reference. Shout out to all the Marylanders out there.). I'm just all excited because it's about to be convention season all up in here!

Normally I kick off the season in March with Staple, but sadly I won't be at that beloved convention this year. Instead I'm flying out to the rainy, greeny Seattle for Emerald City Comicon. I've been DYING to go to Seattle since I realized I have a penchant for rainy weather and I first saw an episode of Frasier. I can't wait to see what this convention is all about. Going to a new convention is like getting to know a new friend - at first you're not quite sure how things will go. Will they be fun to be around? Comfortable? Respect your personal space? Full of energy? Smelly? All of these things are important going in. True, I've never had a really BAD con experience (although some have involved peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, stage fright, and one cartoonist being forced to sing the opening score to Star Trek) and I always enjoy the chance to get to know a new one, but you neeeever know if they'll fit in to your lexicon of Cons You're In Love With.

But for now, it's prep time! First, I've finally gotten around to publishing my next two Bonnie N. Collide books - that's #5 and #6!

Now complete with tiny recaps in the beginning, so you'll have a hankering on what's happened so far. Or, you could just get the 2nd Bonnie N. Collide Triple Pack, compiling books #4 - #6 and read for yourself!

Speaking of triple packs, I've combined three of my autobiographical comics into this cute little number:

This cute little pack combines my books Middle School, When I Was A Mall Model, and Go For the Eyes in one sweet little set. I don't know what it is about streamlined packaging that really gets me, but I LOVE it. Therefore, I keep repackaging my books over and over. It's a thing with me.

For Emerald City I've also got some new prints lined up, and as per usual I'll be doing pencil and inked sketches at the show. I'll be at table E-11 in Artist Alley, as well as at the Oni Booth at some point signing some Glitter Kiss's. Come on out and say hello! And if you're a Rat City rollergirl, come on out and get a free sketch with purchase! :)

OH and this will all be available in my Store and Etsy Shop post-convention!

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Juggling with Crazy

Sometimes it gets really frustrating trying to juggle what you want to do. Recently I cut my hours at my day job from 32 to 24 a week - which means 1 whole extra day I can spend at home making progress on comics, evolving my website into more of a business platform, and planning new ideas/projects. Time that would allow me to eventually (in theory) help me evolve out of my day job completely.

So how do I handle the juggling of the day job with the home studio job? I make myself schedules. Crazy Person Schedules that I'll never be able to actually follow.

My Crazy Person Schedule Categories:

• PRE-WORK - What I expect to get done in the extra hour I wake up before having to get ready for my day job
• DAY JOB - How much time I spend at my day job and commuting to/from
• WEBSITE - Maintenance and graaaadually fixing/improving things I want to fix
• BIZ - All the things I need/want to do to make this freelance thing happen full time
• WEBCOMICS - Regular planning/drawing/posting for Bonnie N. Collide twice a week (and soon Gods & Undergrads once a week!)
• BOOKS - Thumbnailing/drawing secret book projects
• EXERCISE - When and what kind of exercise I plan on doing
• FREE TIME - When I'm allowed to kick back and won't feel guilty for doing nothing and/or something else besides art work

I have yet to incorporate any of these schedules into my actual life, and I just designed my 4th one. For some reason, it gives me great peace of mind just to create them. Usually there are so many things floating around in my head about what I anxiously want/need to get done that I get frantically unproductive. The schedules help me visually map out what I'm expecting out of myself (and how unreasonable it normally is).

It's a constant struggle when the rest of the 9-to-5 world only understands that weeknights are for TV or going out to dinner and weekends are for going out with friends. I love my friends and I love relaxing with my boyfriend but there's the constant, neverending pressure that I NEED TO BE MAKING PROGRESS. Persistence and regular practice makes perfect. Or in my case, it will take me where I want to go with my life and my art career.

So I'm ready to start this next week planning on following SCHEDULE #4. Wish me luck! How many other fellow jugglers out there are making things work? And are you doing it with or without imaginary schedules?

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Which Bonnie Floats Your Boat?

I'm thinking of putting some original art up for sale of some of my Bonnie N. Collide strips, this weekend at the Baltimore Comic Con but also to be posted in my Etsy Shop after that. Which ones would you guys like to see for sale? Bonnie and Stuart, Bonnie and her coworkers, Herb?? I'd love any/all opinions! :)

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Animal Spirit Guides

A while back I made some hanging prints called "Spirit Guides", that featured my favorite film/TV characters, like so:

The front lists the character, the back lists the pieces of that character I admire and look to for guidance:

For the next batch, I decided I wanted to do some animal ones, each highlighting a different personality aspect of that particular creature. And since I recently received word back that I'll be exhibiting at the superfun Spring Bada Bing Craft Show in Richmond, VA on April 15th (woo hoo!), I figured it was a good time to get cracking on some new stuff. I'll have the hanging versions of these critters available for sale there. In the meantime, here's a peek at the ones I've started. The finished ones I'll be posting as prints in my Etsy Store as I move along.

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Animal Spirit Guides

A while back I made some hanging prints called "Spirit Guides", that featured my favorite film/TV characters, like so:

The front lists the character, the back lists the pieces of that character I admire and look to for guidance:

For the next batch, I decided I wanted to do some animal ones, each highlighting a different personality aspect of that particular creature. And since I recently received word back that I'll be exhibiting at the superfun Spring Bada Bing Craft Show in Richmond, VA on April 15th (woo hoo!), I figured it was a good time to get cracking on some new stuff. I'll have the hanging versions of these critters available for sale there. In the meantime, here's a peek at the ones I've started. The finished ones I'll be posting as prints in my Etsy Store as I move along.

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'Sup December ... You Still Here?

It's that awkward time of the year when I want to be on winter break and drawing nonstop, reading Calvin & Hobbes, and playing Donkey Kong on the N64. Alas, for me - it's back to work this week. But does that mean I have to stop eating cookies and listening to holiday music and generally pretending I'm still on some kind of vacation? I sure hope not. Well, since as I briefly mentioned last week, my computer ka-putzed, things have been a little hectic trying to get a new machine up and running that will allow me to limp along until I can buy a new one. Luckily my dad is the Frankenstein of computer hardware, so he and my boyfriend rigged up a nice little zombie to get me by.

Just a couple questions I had for YOU all in the meantime, though ...

As you know, I have two webcomics going - Gods & Undergrads and Bonnie N. Collide.  As things stand now, Bonnie is usually once-a-week updated and G&U maaaaybe once every two weeks. Now, I know that sporadic updating is the WORST trait a webcomic could possibly have. Alas, with the day job sometimes I find it a little tricky being consistent. So, my question to you guys out there is ... would you rather things update once on a semi-weekly schedule like they do now, orrrr update maybe twice a month with more than one strip/page at a time? I know everyone has a different opinion when it comes to their comics, but I wanted to give you guys a chance to chime in.

... Now I'm going to run off and pretend it's snowing outside or something. December!

'Sup December ... You Still Here?

It's that awkward time of the year when I want to be on winter break and drawing nonstop, reading Calvin & Hobbes, and playing Donkey Kong on the N64. Alas, for me - it's back to work this week. But does that mean I have to stop eating cookies and listening to holiday music and generally pretending I'm still on some kind of vacation? I sure hope not. Well, since as I briefly mentioned last week, my computer ka-putzed, things have been a little hectic trying to get a new machine up and running that will allow me to limp along until I can buy a new one. Luckily my dad is the Frankenstein of computer hardware, so he and my boyfriend rigged up a nice little zombie to get me by.

Just a couple questions I had for YOU all in the meantime, though ...

As you know, I have two webcomics going - Gods & Undergrads and Bonnie N. Collide.  As things stand now, Bonnie is usually once-a-week updated and G&U maaaaybe once every two weeks. Now, I know that sporadic updating is the WORST trait a webcomic could possibly have. Alas, with the day job sometimes I find it a little tricky being consistent. So, my question to you guys out there is ... would you rather things update once on a semi-weekly schedule like they do now, orrrr update maybe twice a month with more than one strip/page at a time? I know everyone has a different opinion when it comes to their comics, but I wanted to give you guys a chance to chime in.

... Now I'm going to run off and pretend it's snowing outside or something. December!

Webcomic Week Day 5: The Weak Spots

Okay, here we go. Let's do this. Let's talk about the areas that I really hate drawing, therefore suck the most when I draw them - aka my weak spots.

As you can tell from this picture, my weak spots are most definitely backgrounds. A lot of artists have areas they particularly dread drawing. Some are hand-phobes, other face-phobes, I am a background-phobe. Filling backgrounds with people and objects and *shudder* perspective never ceases to paralyze me. As you can tell from these next few shots, the beginning of Gods & Undergrads was chock full of poorly planned, horribly executed backgrounds that I really gave a crap about and boy does the sloppiness show ...

Everything I drew seemed like it's own little lesson in What Not To Do as an artist. If there was a comic equivalent of Stacey & Clinton, they would haul me off to New York and give me an illustration renovation STAT. Actually . . . who would the comic makeover king and queen of the comics world be? I already have a list going of the hottest comickers. But the ones with the ability to makeover others? Hmm. I smell an industry need, waiting to be filled ...

Anyway. So why am I showing you multiple examples of horrible drawing in my own book? Because when you create any comic, or webcomic, or story, or art, or what have you, it's important to face your fears. Sure, I did a lot of terrible backgrounds (and still do sometimes), but like with the writing, I kept doing them until they gradually got better. Look, at the end of the first book the backgrounds had already improved:

And by the second book? LIGHTYEARS better.

I'm not saying I don't still have loads of work ahead of me in the Backgrounds Arena. But once I realized that backgrounds were just as much an important part of the story as the facial expressions, the color, the dialogue, the outfits, etc. the comic started to evolve just from being an amateur mish-mash into an actual evolving style. One I didn't plan on, but one that was slowly becoming more cohesive.

Last year, when I started illustrating my first graphic novel for a publisher, my editor gave me some notes on how all of my panel compositions were starting to look the same - headshots, waist up shots, ALL people, all the time. My old nemesis was creeping up on me and not only making me steer clear from drawing backgrounds, but skewing the page layouts of the book too. So was I going to take that shit from backgrounds? Oh hell no. Sure, perspective still boggles my mind and dressing a scene can cause me to break out into cold sweats, but with a little patience, a lot of stress coffee drinking, and this book:

it's gotten MUCH better.

Webcomic Week Day 4: Planning vs. Evolution

Yep, it's not really Day 4, since Webcomic Week started last week ... oh well, continuity blows! ... Aaaand also happens to be the topic of this post. I've been writing terrible stories since I was little. Luckily I didn't let that deter me. I had a screenwriting teacher in college who told us flat out:

Everything you write will be shit.

And she was spot on. But luckily she added:

If you keep writing, it will become less shitty.

That's the motto I've clung to over my years of writing several short comic stories and one looooooong comic story. If I keep writing, in theory the writing gets better. Or, rather, it gets less shitty. I used to think when you wrote out a story, you had to plan everything in advance before you started drawing. This thought managed to paralyze me and prevent me from ever writing fully fleshed out stories. When I started Gods & Undergrads, my detailed plot points looked like this:

• There is a girl.
• She is the off-spring of some gods and stuff.
• She's going to be at college doing college-y things.
• Now and again a god will come in and mess everything up.
• The end.

The inbetweens I wasn't able to quite figure out until I started writing the story. Occasionally I'd randomly decide upon bigger events I wanted to happen (she breaks her arm, Furies are called, etc.) and then would be able to steer the story in those specific directions. Sometimes I worried that all I was doing was spinning my wheels and putting in filler between big, random events. I kept thinking my job as a writer was to keep the reader occupied and unassuming until BAM! The next plot point came around.

Unfortunately, this resulted in a lot of my earlier (okay, truthfully, and current) work occasionally slogging through some slow parts. In these slogs, nothing much happens plot-wise, but at least the characters do take the opportunity to become more developed and separate their personalities from one another. Intially created out of laziness, over time I realized this truly was a storytelling preference of mine. I gravitate towards stories with a sloooowwww burn, all build up and pretense and atmosphere. And most of the time I don't even care if there's a BAM ending (or hell, even an ending at all), I just like to sit and immerse myself in that world for a little while. To me, it adds to the experience of getting into a story. Mm, maybe half that and half laziness.

Over the years my haphazard storytelling method has had to evolve, and I've developed a system I'm pretty comfortable with.

1. The story idea arrives (usually in the car, or during a meeting, or some other time when I'm generally supposed to be otherwise engaged)
2. I jot down notes, sketches, snippets of dialogue - whatever keeps me thinking of the idea
3. I start to storyboard (I go into this process in further detail here), and depending on whether or not I have a deadline, I'll do this right away or take my time
4. I back WAY the hell off
5. I return to storyboarding
6. Repeat steps four and five

Step 4 is what saves me from getting stuck in a story rut or getting bored or throwing shit in the story just to fill it out. I find that if I just physically leave my work, my mind kicks into gear and comes up with way better stuff than if I'd still been sitting there, staring at the paper. The same theory works for me when I draw my pages - if I'm getting bogged down, feeling uninspired, have no clue how to draw this next thing - LEAVE THE DESK. I go get some coffee or candy or let my cat attack me. As the Ghost Hunters say (that's right, I referenced them): When in doubt, get the hell out.

So whether your method is of the JK Rowling variety (I can't even fathom the amount of detail she has in her notebooks) or if you're like me and have trouble staring at Big Scary Story's Monster Face all at once, there is a method for you. I find the best way to keep yourself motivated is to lean toward your strengths. Do whatever you need to to keep yourself going and being excited about the idea. If you're no longer excited, switch gears and try something else. Or go let a cat attack you.

Webcomic Week Day 3

Webcomic Week Day 2

Webcomic Week Day 1

Webcomic Week Day 1: My Obsession With the Subject Matter

I already mentioned in this post how I've been obsessed with Greek Mythology for a while now. I believe it started with this book:

And then it grew into an uncontrollable gorging every time I went to a thrift shop with a book section:

And peaked when I tagged along with my college's Ancient Studies Club to go to a trip to Greece in 2000.

Why was I so obsessed? Here's the thing. I was raised Catholic. Holy communion, weekly Mass, confirmation, awkward Sunday School taught by my father - the whole bit. And I knew I wanted to believe in some aspect of religion and myth and legend - just not all of it. Some parts were fun and story-tastic and awesome. Others, not so much. What I was really lacking in my religion was variety. All I saw were contradictions  - think this way but act another, strive for this even though you'll never ever get there, hate yourself, love everyone in theory but also judge them, etc. etc.

Then middle school and sixth grade English and Greek Mythology entered my life. Two elements getting it on, twelve titans, twelve Olympians, nine muses, three fates, three graces, three furies ... and a plethora of combinations and gods for every possible thing you were into. The more books and epic poems I read, the more I established my own opinion on what each of the gods were like. I kept trying to rationalize their behavior and give them personalities beyond what I'd read, so they'd fit into what I wanted them to be. It wasn't very difficult, which proves why they've stuck around in modern culture for so long.

• Zeus - the lecherous dad. All-powerful, but also full of heart. Has a lot of trouble saying no - to women, children, and humans. The stepfather you'd like to have.
• Hera - the politician's wife. Established and wise on her own, but continually forced to react to her husband's distracting and obvious affairs.
• Poseidon - the brother who disowns his family. The stories say Zeus split up the world and gave Poseidon the seas and Hades the Underworld - I say he chose so he could cultivate his own world. He basically packed up and moved to the opposite coast from the rest of his family, so he could use that as an excuse for never visiting.
• Hades - the younger brother who wants to do something "different" with his life. Hades is often painted as evil, bitter, and jealous of Zeus and Poseidon. In my mind, he made it seem like he got the short end of the stick when all he really wanted was to explore his dark side and be feared.
• Athena - the daughter Zeus is so glad he had. Burdened with being the responsible one all the time, never allowed to cut loose and randomly murder a bunch of people like her siblings.
• Ares - the son who's belligerent and starved for attention. He makes sure everything he does is loud and noticeable.
• Hestia - the quiet homebody. She tends the fire, she respects home life. Therefore, no one wants to talk to her.
• Demeter - the hippie mom. So distraught by what happens to her daughter Persephone that she's forced to become the overprotective mom she always had in her.
• Apollo - the golden child. Zeus is eternally proud of him and he manages to rock the poet/artist that every woman (and man) lusts after. Chill, bright, his life is golden.
• Artemis - Apollo's realistic twin, she sees shit how it really is, and knew long ago to pull the cord and go live in the forest with a bunch of ladies. Lesbian to the core.
• Hermes - the fun-loving gossip. Got to deliver everyone's news and was clever enough to pull practical jokes on the other gods and not get murdered for it.
• Aphrodite - everyone's favorite. Cynical, business-minded, but also kind of a sap.

So what do you do with all this lovely subject matter, which has already been tackled to death in every possible form wayyyy before you were born? You find some way to express your love and interest in it, using the tools at your disposal.

Tomorrow! Turning ideas and wishful thinking and a love of comics into story.