So little time, so much to do -- wait, scratch that, reverse it

[rowyn]

It feels very strange not to have done an entry in the last couple of days. Which is in itself odd, because I've certainly gone much longer without posting an entry.

Yesterday was inordinately busy. 11 hours at work and baking cookies for a goodie day today pretty much ate up the whole day. Oh, and I wrote quick answers to a handful of emails. Writing sometimes seems like more of a chore than it ought to.

I haven't written anything for Scales since Monday, and nothing for Prophecy since Sunday. But I have worked on a bit of fiction, of a sort. One of the recurring things at the back of my mind is "I should do a web comic". I don't know why it's there; I hardly ever draw any more, and long ago I figured I'd have a better shot at writing professionally than doing anything involving illustration. But it's there, almost like a challenge: Could I even do it, if I tried?

I know that I could do a comic book if I tried, because I've done short illustrated stories before. But the gag-a-day pace of a standard comic strip has always seemed awfully complicated to me. How do you come up with one quick joke after another? When I'd hear Scott Kellogg or Howard Tayler write about coming up with ten or more scripts in a sitting, I'd always marvel at it.

Anyway, this was all bubbling around in my head during the day Tuesday, along with character ideas and possible punchlines. I sat down Tuesday night, wrote up some notes on the subject. Between Tuesday night and Wednesday, I jotted out a dozen or so scripts for individual comics. So now I have a slightly better understanding for how the process can snowball, with one joke leading to the next.

Of course, jotting out a bunch of jokes on a brand new idea is a far cry from continuing to come up with joke after joke after joke on a strip you've been writing for years. Not to mention that it's one thing to do a script, and quite another to draw it. I rather expect that I'd run out of steam for this venture long before I got through the second month, even if I put this on the front burner.

As it is, though, it's definitely a back-burner project -- something to toy with while it's fun and put away when it's not. Or when I need to focus on top-level projects.

For example, tonight, I have to work on Prophecy. And possibly on my basement -- I want to get those two remaining cracks sealed, and put a layer of cement over the east wall to smooth it out (it looks terrible at the moment, even more uneven and bumpy than before I started).

Maybe I'll have time for some fun in there, somewhere.

Comments

Part 2

[kelloggs2066.livejournal.com]

Since then, I've progressed to 3 strips per week, (sometimes more)
But, the point is, for me sometimes it's just takes an attitude to be able to look at the world and find *something* funny in it. Most people do that all the time, and they don't realize it.

Your stories about Mail Man and Paper Lady were hilarious! They might not have been if someone else had written them up, but you found something that was funny in your own life and wrote it down.

And, sometimes that's all it takes. Just a willingness to find something funny.

And, since you've already demonstrated your creative ability without question, I think there's no question at all that you could do it if you wanted to.

The main problem is time. Time time time time time. :(

I quickly realized that if I spent 3-4 hours a night hanging out with friends on Sinai or FurryMuck, I'd never be able to do my cartoons. Watching TV? Naw, who has time to do that?

Part of my dicision was that if I hang out on FurryMuck, I might entertain 2-3 people and get them to laugh and have a good time. By doing a comic strip, I could get more people to laugh, and when all was said and done, I'd have something to show for it: A comic.
Everything on FurryMuck just vanishes unless you save it. And who's got time to go back and read archives of Mucking?

I'd much rather read a well constructed story with a plot to it than Muck archives. (Yes, I know Sinai is different, but this isn't about role playing, it's about being creative.) Role playing is stretching one's creative muscles. Writing is *Using* those creative muscles to *build* something you can be proud of later.

I'm sorry. I don't mean to disparage your enjoyment of Mucking and stuff. This is just the choice I found *I* had to make and the reasons I made it. I guess I miss Mucking, and I'm justifying that I made the right choice for *me*. Your life is different, so your choices may be different too.

Now, if you want me to, I could probably go on for hours about things I've found that work, and things that don't in terms of character ideas genres and settings. (At least in terms of the way the audience responds to *me*.)

Personally, I'd love to hear your ideas. :)

Scott (long winded on the subject) Kellogg

Re: Part 2

[rowyn]

I was hoping you'd have something to say on this subject, in fact. *^_^*

Now, if you want me to, I could probably go on for hours about things I've found that work, and things that don't in terms of character ideas genres and settings. (At least in terms of the way the audience responds to *me*.)

And I'd be happy to hear more. :) One thing I have been wondering is which part seems harder to you -- writing, or drawing? It seems to me that coming up with ideas would be the most difficult part, but that drawing them would be the most time-consuming.

I will confess that I can't see myself freeing up the time to embark seriously on a webcomic project any time in the near future. Finishing Prophecy has to come first, and I have plenty of other stories I'd like to work on, too. Still, it's an interesting mental exercise.

Re: Part 2

[kelloggs2066.livejournal.com]

Okie doke.

There's a lot to say, that might be of interest to others, so I'll post it in my Journal.

Might take a bit, because there's a lot of stuff that could be covered. If you don't see something in a few days, give me a nudge.

But, one thing I can definitely answer right off:
The drawing is the hardest part for me.

To explain:
I can write or come up with ideas anywhere at any time.
Some of my best stuff comes to me in the shower or while driving or when I'm lying awake at night. I can't pull out my pencils then. :)

And I thoroughly empathize on the time issues. :)