When I started this strip I thought "Yeah no problem, I love drawing comics and cartoons." Plus I felt an overwhelming desire to continue some of the stories I told in my book. Drawing is easy, writing on the other hand is an entirely different beast. Being a teacher it is seldom that I am at a lost for words, my students keep me on my toes and I really appreciate the back and forth that is afforded me in the classroom. If you have ever met me, you know I like to talk, love chatting with people. But sitting in front of a blank piece of paper or computer screen and I am solely responsible for the words, by deadline? I have a new appreciation for writing, more importantly the process of writing, even for something that appears quite simple on the surface like a comic strip. I have researched, read and developed my own way of working over this last year. (WOW! Has it been almost a year already?)
Not surprisingly, it is a lot like my other creative processes; jot an idea down as soon as you think of it, let it simmer and tweak it some and edit the crap outta it. Once I focus in on an idea it usually comes to fruition one of three ways; 1. Complete love - must draw, 2. Complete frustration - must throw on the heap for later date, 3. Glimmer of hope - must rework. No. 3. is the norm, with equal doses of numbers 1. and 2. throughout any given month. (The pun is not lot on me considering the title of the above comic.) I will say this it pays to stick with it, sticking with a theme or a concept even when you butt up against problems can often make an idea stronger. It can also make you a stronger as a writer/artist. You can't shine a turd but you can pull something outta the heap of mediocrity or average and put your own twist or spin on it and maybe make it fresh and interesting.
Guess I am confronting some of these writing issues as I prepare for teaching a new class this summer. "Words + Pictures" is a 5 day workshop for high school students where we will tackle some of the very topics listed above. The works created by the students of this class will be later interpreted by students in my Illustration class. I am equal parts excited and nervous, this being the first class I will ever be teaching where I cannot draw my way out of it. You can bet there will be more about this class here in this blog and definitely in the strip above. Cheers!
2 thoughts on “Verbal Constipation”
Ed McKeogh
Wonderful! One of my favorites!
Patch
Thanks Ed! This was a fun one and a bit cathartic to boot!
E-mail Patch at patchworx13@gmail.com