#maybe I'll make big long rambling posts and magic systems in this comic at some point

[tacthescribbler]

Hey, saw your reblog on a post about writing, and since I had a creative block that lasted about a decade and kept me from writing or drawing, it resonated with me. A lot of things happened to finally get me out of that block, including changing meds, but a big one was just that stupid Comic Sans trick. (And this coming from someone who also loves writing in notebooks!)

Have you heard of it? You just write in Comic Sans, and it makes it impossible to take your writing seriously, so all the dread of the expectation of truly ~writing~ is lifted from you. I amplify the effect by using Notepad++ (no fancy formatting to distract me), using a theme with candy colors (even harder to take seriously), and keeping the window small (just a little things to ramble and jot notes in, not a big important writing document, goodness no, but if some writing should *happen* to happen...).

I also just don't worry about writing a story linearly. I write scenes as they pop into my head, however short, and then I stitch them together later.

As it is, my story still isn't finished (in part because it's the script for an animated series I'm working through animating at the moment)... But, counting all the AU tangents, I've gotten a Moby Dick length corpus out of it and counting, and I've had a hell of a lot of fun. Writing is back to being fun!! And that's all I could have hoped for.

Hey-o! I'm sorry it took me so long to respond. I drift from one thing to another sometimes and I was hyperfocused on Minecraft for a bit there!

I've heard of the Comic Sans trick, but haven't yet tried it. I tend to use Arial myself, since that's the Google Drive default. Might try it on my next story attempt, though, since I'm moving back to Word and pulling my writing off of Drive. (I want to keep my own backups and not worry about what's synced where.)

I also snagged an app on Steam called Nimble Writer that I want to try out. It apparently has some neat features to help with focus, but I haven't really played with it yet beyond booting it up and checking out the UI.

In terms of trying to write, I often find myself in brainstorming documents where I half-outline, half-brainstorm ideas. I get a lot of character backstory by doing that, and a lot of them have turned into full-blown worldbuilding with magic systems and descriptions of fantasy races, geography, weaponry, and so on. So it's not like I don't write anything, but it's not the prose I'd really like to be writing.

There are some other factors. My sibling is living with me. they're only 22, and they're still figuring things out, but there are also a lot of things they could be doing to be a better roommate. I prefer living alone and I knew I would only be able to tolerate them living with me for a little while, but this has gone far beyond that. I won't write that novel in this post, though. Suffice it to say I'm looking for my own place, and I know my creative productivity will vastly improve once I have a space where I can actually decompress after work.

On the linear writing thing: I used to be a panster. I wrote linearly, but I wrote what was fun. I've never written out of order before, but that has more to do with my ability to keep track of what's happened, and it's easier when I do it chronologically. I think I'll try an out-of-order story just to see if it breaks the block, though. Maybe if I break my own mold, I'll find another shape that fits, to follow the metaphor.

One trick I've been tempted to try is to pick one of my very old fanfictions, from back when I was a wordy teenager who had to describe everything in exacting detail, and copy it all down word-for-word until my writer's brain kicks in and diverges with it. I'm not the same person I used to be, so I'd like to think my old self would drive me just crazy enough to force me into action writing something new. Or maybe the same thing but better. Who knows?

On that last point: You're writing a script?! Am I allowed to ask about it? And animating! I've been wanting to relearn how to draw, but animating seems so daunting! I wish you the best of luck!

Thank you for the ask, and for the chance to get some thoughts out. I'll put some of your suggestions to the test and see what happens. :D

[tracle0]

hey hey happy storyteller monday yeehaw I am vaguely stealing the same kinda artsy themes as the ask you sent me this time round, but I was thinkin about your recent sonder updates and was curious about uhhhhh what sort of approach you take when tackling something in comic form as opposed to a novel? what are the different things you need to keep in mind, what are the parts of the process that remain similar, n how does your personal approach differ between the two? c:

You’re a thief. A scoundrel. I’ll have you tied up and held over a pot of soup for this crime. 

By which I mean happy Storyteller Sunday! Thank you for the ask :D and a.... very good one tbh.

I think the simple answer is... there’s not a lot of difference? 

I get an idea, I sit on it for a few months, then I get started Actually Making it. Wip4 (nearly has a name, stay tuned :D) is very much like that, and simmering to the point of writing it, just in time for NaNo. I daydream and plot and plan and theories for a long time before the story feels firm and solid. So that’s similar; I sit on these ideas for MONTHS.

I also.... doodle a lot for any story I want to tell. For Sonder-comic, it’s easier cause I already know what a lot of the characters look like. Atlas! Atlas looks exactly the same but with lil wizard shoes now. That’s the only difference! So super easy to draw. Even like.... Andy? With his slight redesign? Still the same guy, I can draw that, no worries. Wip4 wise, it’s happened as well; I think I added in two whole scenes cause I doodled something then went ‘well what’s going on here why is this happening’ and tied it into the story lmao

So yea; lotsa doodles. Lotsa me drawing something, going ‘why are they in this place/doing this thing’ and making up reasons, then tying it into the world. Recently drew Atlas and went ‘well why DOES Atlas hate spiders’ and fell down a whole rabbit hole that fleshed out worldbuilding and backstories and their personal beef with both spiders AND with Andy, so that helped. 

Slight similarity, I plot both comics and novels a lot before starting them? At the moment, I’ve got a notebook for NaNo/wip4, and I’m just planning out each and every chapter; what happens, how people feel, bla bla bla. Very open to change, but it makes me feel better to know what to expect haha. 

Comics are plotted more with me getting a bunch of post-it notes and drawing each page out in a thumbnail. That’s what I did for the one and only comic I’ve ever made over a long time, about crows (@iceskatingcrow if you’re curious lmao). This time, I’ll probably write things out as well, but I still like making a rough plan to follow.

Different wise, I think... I mean, I’ve never really made a comic like THIS sort of thing before, so it’s going to be a lot of experimenting. Seeing how other people do stuff, seeing what I like. I’ll probably make some test mini-comics with backstories and lore and stuff in them before getting started properly, which is similar-ish to me writing short stories to get used to characters voices, except with.... colour. 

I also keep thinking of scenes and things that would happen, and imagining how I’d describe them with words, before remembering ‘wait no hang on this is pictures, dumbass’ 

Things I need to keep in mind; structure. Different angles of drawings. Backgrounds???? lmao it’s gonna be a fun journey. Sonder was my first proper novel, and now it’s gonna be my first proper comic. 

Also: not to rush!!! Be calm!!! I’m going to be living my life at the same time as making this and publishing it into the world. If I work on something all day, every day, I’ll get sick of it again. Take my time, enjoy what I do and tell a fun story. 

Yea :D basically I’m very excited to... draw. I’ve not been so excited for Sonder-related content in a long time, so this re-vamp is thrilling me. I hope I’ll keep enthusiasm long enough to finish it.