Yippee, I have a scanner! :D

[sigune]

The scanner is here! We went with Canon in the end, and the first few scans I made today are highly satisfactory :). If I use the 'photo correction' function, the colours come out nice and rich, which is what I had been hoping for. So YAY! from now on there will be updates again ;-). Here is Florie, for starters - before, I had to make do with a photo of this drawing, which came out much less bright than the original.



I'm itching to introduce Florie in the comic, but she's so far awaaaaaaayyyyyy... Grow up already, Gawain!

Comments

[lunafish.livejournal.com]

Oh, those are some lovely colors! I'm so glad your new scanner's working out for you!

Question: Do you have to write the comic chronologically for some reason? Why not just jump around and work on whatever inspires you on a particular day? (I'm asking b/c I'd like to do some creative writing once I'm done with school and was wondering what the best way to approach a story is. All the books on the craft I've read so far suggest doing it from beginning to end, but I've never really written essays that way, so I wondered if it's different with fiction. I never wrote any fanfic long enough to test it.)

[mary-j-59.livejournal.com]

Well, I can't speak for everyone, but your question makes me want to share my experience. Most things I've written (essays, fanfic, stories, my second novel-in-porgress), I've written from beginning to end. But my first novel I wrote by jumping around. To me, that gave new meaning to the bromide, "Write what you know". It made writing this particular novel much easier. Of course, if you choose this method, you definitely have to rewrite, and probably several times. But there's no harm in that! I'm very proud of what i came up with, and don't believe there is any difference in quality between the two novels. The first is a more complex story, with multiple viewpoints. The second, for younger kids, is a lot more linear.

[sigune.livejournal.com]

See, I'm not a rewriter. I rarely rewrite anything at all, be it an academic or a fictional text. I mean, I do rewrite in the sense that, like now, sometimes I get stuck and scrap my next paragraph(s) five times; but I don't rewrite in the sense of writing a text till the end and then going back to make crucial changes to the structure or arguments/plots. It takes me ages to start writing, and often I make no progress for a long stretch of time, but I just can't continue if all the elements aren't in place.

I think that in the case of the comic, it's especially important to take it one step at a time and in chronological order because the story is very character-driven. No-one will read my comic for the marvellous action scenes or the hot steaming sex. All it has is people, so it's important that these people grow into rich and humane creatures. I only figure them out as I am writing/drawing. If I were to start writing the Gawain-and-Florie chapter now, Gawain won't have the layers that he will have if I make him grow up, have his first adventures, marry him to his first wife and have him lose her, and only then write his meeting with Florie. And Gawain really is the problem here, not Florie, in the same way that Arthur is the problem in my current chapter. Arthur is extremely important and he has to grow, even if it takes time. I know that this will happen, because it also happened with Ygraine and Morgana in TDA, and perhaps most importantly with Uther. When I started writing TDA, Uther was pretty much a standard villain. He grew into a flesh and blood person as I was writing, and I got ideas for him that I never expected to have.

I'm a really bad example of a writer, I'm afraid. This is kind of bad, as I am a professional writer (if not of fiction) and yet break ALL the rules... Oh and I find writing a pain, mostly. At the same time, there are few things I like better XD!

[mary-j-59.livejournal.com]

No, you are not a bad example of a writer! I don't revise very much, and tend, like you, to write chronologically. Based on my experience with the novel I wrote by jumping around:
1. There is no difference in depth of characterization, or what you have to learn about characters, in the two methods. But jumping around - writing what you know when you know it, and then building on what you discover - may enable you to discover your characters more quickly. It may. Then again, it may not, and, if it doesn't, then this is not the method for you. I am quite sure that HONOR would never have been written had I not allowed myself to explore this way.
2. Revising, IMHO, is overrated. I feel that I should whisper when I say this, because it can be both a necessary and a powerful tool. I had a wonderful experience (a couple of times) rewriting scenes from HONOR. But here's the thing:

I have cited Dean Wesley Smith, who is completely opposed to revising. He is in favor of rewriting, if the author deems it necessary. The difference between revising and rewriting is that you rewrite from the creative brain and revise from the critical brain. Does this make sense to you? It does to me! So - the powerful, fun and useful "revision" I spoke of was actually a rewrite. And it wasn't a very extensive one. But it helped the story a lot, and one of the things it did was to bring it closer to my original vision.

I noticed this with my fanfic, too. The more experienced I got, the more I was able to simply let the writing take me where it wanted to go.

So no, you are not a bad writer for preferring to take your time and get things right the first time around. That's just your method of working. Mine is a little different, but not all that much.

Anyway, I love your stuff!

[sigune.livejournal.com]

I *think* I have a good reason for writing chronologically. In fact, I work like that most of the time. The hardest thing about writing fiction for me is plotting. I know where my story is going, but tying everything together and figuring out a satisfying way of getting from point A to point B is the thing I struggle with. In my limited experience with sustained efforts in fiction, the things that remain WIPs are the things that I've tried to write by tackling the bits I liked, or that worked best, first. I never get around to tying all those bits together - especially because sometimes they don't turn out to fit, and I've spent energy and love on them and therefore can't let go of them. The only way in which I've ever finished a complex plot (like my PhD, or my Phoenix Rising story) is when I tackled the story chronologically. While it may be a struggle, working my way from A to B often gives me good ideas and helps me to keep the story coherent. It's tough, but it gets me to the finish.

I'll also add a reason that should not be a reason, because I should write a whole scenario first instead of drawing as I write (something every comics person I meet keeps telling me, but I refuse to listen, hahahaha!), is that my way of working is vastly different from creating fiction in a Word document. When writing, you can do and undo all the copy/paste that you like. If you draw your plot and work with panels - not so much. As I said, this is my own fault, but since this is the only way in which I can get my story to work visually, I have to live with the consequences :).

[mary-j-59.livejournal.com]

yes, adding to what I said above, I can see that drawing your story would push you to a more linear way of telling it. And I struggle with plotting, too.