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something I am grateful for today
Mar. 10th, 2019 10:40 pmfinishing the first draft of my second novel -- I couldn't wait til NaNoWriMo to write it!
something I am grateful for today
Mar. 2nd, 2019 09:37 pmgetting to know a minor character better and being pleasantly surprised by what I am learning
something I am grateful for tody
Feb. 26th, 2019 09:06 pmwriting something that made me cry -- if I can touch me, maybe I can touch someone else
something I am grateful for today
Feb. 23rd, 2019 08:13 pmmaking unusually good progress on my writing
something I am grateful for today
Feb. 21st, 2019 11:01 pmfinishing the preliminary first-draft outline of my next novel
something I am grateful for today
Feb. 15th, 2019 06:31 pmgetting better acquainted with a new character -- this gives me hope for this new book and makes me feel more like a Real Writer
yet another Mary Oliver poem
Feb. 4th, 2019 06:43 pmone which I read days ago, but which has stuck with me, with cutting insistence, ever since:
The Old Poets of China
Wherever I am, the world comes after me.
It offers me its busyness. It does not believe
that I do not want it. Now I understand
why the old poets of China went so far and high
into the mountains, then crept into the pale mist.
The Old Poets of China
Wherever I am, the world comes after me.
It offers me its busyness. It does not believe
that I do not want it. Now I understand
why the old poets of China went so far and high
into the mountains, then crept into the pale mist.
something I am grateful for today
Feb. 3rd, 2019 05:12 pmmy books -- was just looking at them and thinking of the ones I look forward to reading, the ones I look forward to re-reading, how good it feels that they wait so patiently for me....
S0CS - 20190130
Jan. 30th, 2019 07:08 pmI remember it was in 1985 that I started attending school in Toronto to work on my Ph.D. (which I never got, but that's another story). And it was around this same time that I was corresponding via snail mail with Scott McCloud and he got me into manga. Besides having him tell me about it and what he was getting out of it, I would at times mail him some cash and he would mail me back manga (untranslated in those days) from the bigger bookstores in NYC. No place around here carried them then.
But the bigger comic book shops in Toronto were starting to carry anime-related materials, including "anime manga" -- books created using stills from anime instead of B&W manga drawings, and then provided with word balloons (again, untranslated -- I wasn't the only geek willing to buy comics he couldn't read). It was these anime materials in Toronto that introduced me to Captain Harlock.
Not only was I fascinated by Reiji Matsumoto's unique drawing style, but the anachronistic mishmash of his visuals expanded my mind and helped wean me away from strict literal-mindedness in my enjoyment of things. Harlock struck me as so cool, he was the first time I was ever really attracted to the pulp trope of space pirates. Not long after, I got the first bee in my bonnet about creating my own space pirate comic.
My initial designs were heavily influenced by anime and manga, of course, but I deliberately drew upon other influential artists of those years to try and craft what I hoped would be a distinctive look. I settled on the name Vant for him, primarily so that its possessive -- Vant's -- would be a tribute to Jack Vance, one of my very fave SF writers.
Over the next few years, I found myself doing reams of research for the sake of world-building for this series. I learned so much about the planetologies of the solar system, the mechanics of space flight and space living... but never actually wrote my story.
I had my pirate but had no idea what he was gonna do. A few half-baked notions came and went and got discarded. One story made it to twenty pages of script before I lost faith in it. And then life circumstances intervened and derailed the whole project for years. But I never lost this urge to create a rollicking adventure space-pirate comic.
And then, several years ago, I stumbled across a couple of volumes of Valerian I had picked up in Toronto back in the 80s, and finally actually read them. And something clicked, and I wanted to make my space pirate again. Since then, I have completely re-done my world-building, this time more directly influenced by Vance -- the only thing that survived was Vant's name. (I still dunno if I love the name, but have yet to think of anything I like better...) And I have spent the time sketching and tweaking, trying to nail down the visuals of my cast and incidentals of their lives, re-thinking my entire approach to the tone and theme of the series...
....but I still don't have a story! I have my pirate but I dunno what he is gonna do! A couple years ago I got as far as a new twenty-page fragment of a whole new script before I lost faith. Really hoping that writing this down will shake my brain out of this time loop and get me actually creating an actual story that I can actually draw and actually get people to read!
But the bigger comic book shops in Toronto were starting to carry anime-related materials, including "anime manga" -- books created using stills from anime instead of B&W manga drawings, and then provided with word balloons (again, untranslated -- I wasn't the only geek willing to buy comics he couldn't read). It was these anime materials in Toronto that introduced me to Captain Harlock.
Not only was I fascinated by Reiji Matsumoto's unique drawing style, but the anachronistic mishmash of his visuals expanded my mind and helped wean me away from strict literal-mindedness in my enjoyment of things. Harlock struck me as so cool, he was the first time I was ever really attracted to the pulp trope of space pirates. Not long after, I got the first bee in my bonnet about creating my own space pirate comic.
My initial designs were heavily influenced by anime and manga, of course, but I deliberately drew upon other influential artists of those years to try and craft what I hoped would be a distinctive look. I settled on the name Vant for him, primarily so that its possessive -- Vant's -- would be a tribute to Jack Vance, one of my very fave SF writers.
Over the next few years, I found myself doing reams of research for the sake of world-building for this series. I learned so much about the planetologies of the solar system, the mechanics of space flight and space living... but never actually wrote my story.
I had my pirate but had no idea what he was gonna do. A few half-baked notions came and went and got discarded. One story made it to twenty pages of script before I lost faith in it. And then life circumstances intervened and derailed the whole project for years. But I never lost this urge to create a rollicking adventure space-pirate comic.
And then, several years ago, I stumbled across a couple of volumes of Valerian I had picked up in Toronto back in the 80s, and finally actually read them. And something clicked, and I wanted to make my space pirate again. Since then, I have completely re-done my world-building, this time more directly influenced by Vance -- the only thing that survived was Vant's name. (I still dunno if I love the name, but have yet to think of anything I like better...) And I have spent the time sketching and tweaking, trying to nail down the visuals of my cast and incidentals of their lives, re-thinking my entire approach to the tone and theme of the series...
....but I still don't have a story! I have my pirate but I dunno what he is gonna do! A couple years ago I got as far as a new twenty-page fragment of a whole new script before I lost faith. Really hoping that writing this down will shake my brain out of this time loop and get me actually creating an actual story that I can actually draw and actually get people to read!
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SoCS - 20190122
Jan. 22nd, 2019 06:40 pmI'm rereading my NaNo novel again -- what is this, the ninth time now? Amazed at how many things I am finding in it to change, after leaving it for a couple of weeks. I'm not even halfway through and have already made more corrections than I did in the last three read-throughs combined. This time it's not so much finding mistakes as things that are okay but could be better. A better word, a fresher turn of phrase. Always conscious of it feeling and flowing naturally, though, or at least what I find natural. I realize my tastes in that may be out of sync with other people's, but this is me, and I gotta write my book, not someone else's.
I still really enjoy it. I honestly can't tell if this means I did a good job, or just that I love my own voice not wisely but too well. I hope not -- people like that annoy me, and I don't wanna be annoying. To anyone else, or even to myself. Gotta brace myself for it, though. There have been times in my life when I have created something -- a drawing, a piece of writing, a song -- and at the time I was really proud, and got warm pleasure from it and from having made it. And then years later I come back to it and cringe. And I have embarrassed myself. It could happen again with this book, I know.
One hopeful sign is that I originally wrote this novel about twenty-five years ago, as a graphic novel script. The graphic novel never got drawn and I eventually realized that it never would be, or even could be. But Sharon urged me to resurrect it for NaNo and do it over as prose when I needed a NaNo story. And then I realized that, twenty-five years later, the story itself did not embarrass me. I tweaked it a little in November, but really not very much. So maybe this story is something that will endure for me. Gosh I do hope so.
Thinking about NaNo19 and hoping to come up with some kind of story for that, I would like to try it again. It was fun last year. I guess part of the fun was that I hit the goal with a piece of beginner's luck, so that helped me feel more sanguine about the whole event. Plus yes, I cheated, because I already had my story done, I only needed to craft the prose which told it. I make no bones about that, and I'm not overly concerned about it either. I had fun and I ended up with a novel, so what the heck.
I still really enjoy it. I honestly can't tell if this means I did a good job, or just that I love my own voice not wisely but too well. I hope not -- people like that annoy me, and I don't wanna be annoying. To anyone else, or even to myself. Gotta brace myself for it, though. There have been times in my life when I have created something -- a drawing, a piece of writing, a song -- and at the time I was really proud, and got warm pleasure from it and from having made it. And then years later I come back to it and cringe. And I have embarrassed myself. It could happen again with this book, I know.
One hopeful sign is that I originally wrote this novel about twenty-five years ago, as a graphic novel script. The graphic novel never got drawn and I eventually realized that it never would be, or even could be. But Sharon urged me to resurrect it for NaNo and do it over as prose when I needed a NaNo story. And then I realized that, twenty-five years later, the story itself did not embarrass me. I tweaked it a little in November, but really not very much. So maybe this story is something that will endure for me. Gosh I do hope so.
Thinking about NaNo19 and hoping to come up with some kind of story for that, I would like to try it again. It was fun last year. I guess part of the fun was that I hit the goal with a piece of beginner's luck, so that helped me feel more sanguine about the whole event. Plus yes, I cheated, because I already had my story done, I only needed to craft the prose which told it. I make no bones about that, and I'm not overly concerned about it either. I had fun and I ended up with a novel, so what the heck.
SoCS - 20190119
Jan. 19th, 2019 08:30 amAs I plunk myself down here prepared to unleash a stream of verbiage, I find myself thinking about language, and my own use of it. In recent days I have thought of it a few times and those are coming back to me now.
On so many occasions, I have been talking with someone, I'll say something, and then I think to myself I will bet that I am the only person in town who used that word in casual conversation today. Sometimes (esp. if it's Sharon) I will even say that out loud. It makes me conscious of the fact that the way I sling words around appeals to my vanity. My vocabulary and the turns of phrase that come to my mind make me feel special, and I suspect in some ways superior. At the same time, I don't feel like I am deliberately trying to lord it over other people, this is just how my words naturally come out. This is just me. But it's one part of me that I really like -- as opposed to many other parts -- and right now I do worry if I come off as arrogant or wanky to other people, just because I sound the way I do. Sometimes I just try not to worry about it. Also not sure if dumbing myself down is the right thing to do, either. Look, I am waffling about myself -- there's a switch [not].
A few days ago, I was introduced to the poetry of Mary Oliver when so many folks posted regarding her passing. And I was struck by how her poems resonated with me. All my life I have told people that I don't like poetry, I don't get it, I don't do it, etc.... but hers, I immediately felt like I did like them and I did get them. Quite unexpected. I have ordered in a couple of her books from the library and hope to pick those up today.
And right now I am aware of feeling like part of why she resonates with me is that she feels like a kindred spirit. Her work has a sense of exactitude without being florid -- and I feel like that is what I aim for when I write. I try to pick the right word whenever I can and try not to pick too many. I find myself thinking that, if I wrote poetry, this is how I would want mine to be. Maybe, even, this is what mine could be. Which also feels arrogant as hell. Still, I feel like she sets an example that I might be able to follow.
Back in November, Sharon asked me to read her my NaNo novel as I was going along, rather than read it herself -- she has always liked hearing me read aloud -- so I did. And once or twice she stopped me after a sentence and said "That's poetry!" I was surprised -- and also really flattered. But I never got as far as thinking I should try writing it... until now, when I read Mary Oliver. If you all are lucky, I will never get as far as actually trying. I actually did try writing poems a few times, back in the 70s, and in retrospect they were cringe-inducing. Part of what convinced me that there is no poetry in my soul. Today I wonder if I could be wrong about that, a little.
My sore hands timer is going off -- ta-ra.
On so many occasions, I have been talking with someone, I'll say something, and then I think to myself I will bet that I am the only person in town who used that word in casual conversation today. Sometimes (esp. if it's Sharon) I will even say that out loud. It makes me conscious of the fact that the way I sling words around appeals to my vanity. My vocabulary and the turns of phrase that come to my mind make me feel special, and I suspect in some ways superior. At the same time, I don't feel like I am deliberately trying to lord it over other people, this is just how my words naturally come out. This is just me. But it's one part of me that I really like -- as opposed to many other parts -- and right now I do worry if I come off as arrogant or wanky to other people, just because I sound the way I do. Sometimes I just try not to worry about it. Also not sure if dumbing myself down is the right thing to do, either. Look, I am waffling about myself -- there's a switch [not].
A few days ago, I was introduced to the poetry of Mary Oliver when so many folks posted regarding her passing. And I was struck by how her poems resonated with me. All my life I have told people that I don't like poetry, I don't get it, I don't do it, etc.... but hers, I immediately felt like I did like them and I did get them. Quite unexpected. I have ordered in a couple of her books from the library and hope to pick those up today.
And right now I am aware of feeling like part of why she resonates with me is that she feels like a kindred spirit. Her work has a sense of exactitude without being florid -- and I feel like that is what I aim for when I write. I try to pick the right word whenever I can and try not to pick too many. I find myself thinking that, if I wrote poetry, this is how I would want mine to be. Maybe, even, this is what mine could be. Which also feels arrogant as hell. Still, I feel like she sets an example that I might be able to follow.
Back in November, Sharon asked me to read her my NaNo novel as I was going along, rather than read it herself -- she has always liked hearing me read aloud -- so I did. And once or twice she stopped me after a sentence and said "That's poetry!" I was surprised -- and also really flattered. But I never got as far as thinking I should try writing it... until now, when I read Mary Oliver. If you all are lucky, I will never get as far as actually trying. I actually did try writing poems a few times, back in the 70s, and in retrospect they were cringe-inducing. Part of what convinced me that there is no poetry in my soul. Today I wonder if I could be wrong about that, a little.
My sore hands timer is going off -- ta-ra.
something I am grateful for today
Nov. 23rd, 2018 07:33 amflattering feedback on my NaNoWriMo novel
so far, I know of two people who have read it -- both of them have not only told me that they enjoyed it, but they both also said that [while they don't usually do this with a book] they read the whole thing in one sitting -- I see that as a good sign
so far, I know of two people who have read it -- both of them have not only told me that they enjoyed it, but they both also said that [while they don't usually do this with a book] they read the whole thing in one sitting -- I see that as a good sign
something I am grateful for today
Nov. 20th, 2018 10:02 amgetting my Outside Sutff out of the way real early so I can spend the rest of the day bundled up with a book -- fresh snow/ice has rendered the roads Not That Great this morning, so it's a good day for bundled reading
something else I am grateful for today
Nov. 7th, 2018 05:10 pmfinishing the first draft of my NaNoWriMo novel -- even though I didn't quite hit the target of 50,000 words, the story is done
something I am grateful for today
Oct. 18th, 2018 08:26 pmfinally, and likely belatedly, discovering Alice Munro
something I am grateful for today
Sep. 6th, 2018 11:53 amthis book:
(recommended to me by Luis Escobar)
One of my numerous long-standing weaknesses as a cartoonist has been knowing how to draw animals. [I gather I am not alone: to me it seems surprisingly rare to see a comic artist who is truly good at drawing animals.] So I am finally taking some time to tackle it now, with the help of this resource. And even after only an hour spent working with this book, I have made some modest progress that I can actually feel -- I feel more hopeful about this area than I have for a long time. And, in an odd way, it feels good to be a student again...
(recommended to me by Luis Escobar)
One of my numerous long-standing weaknesses as a cartoonist has been knowing how to draw animals. [I gather I am not alone: to me it seems surprisingly rare to see a comic artist who is truly good at drawing animals.] So I am finally taking some time to tackle it now, with the help of this resource. And even after only an hour spent working with this book, I have made some modest progress that I can actually feel -- I feel more hopeful about this area than I have for a long time. And, in an odd way, it feels good to be a student again...
