Journals13
Newest
My Lego Theory
1 min read
This whole soulmates concept is actually pretty limited. There's merit to the idea that people can fit together and complete each other, but rather than being like two halves of broken pottery, I see human hearts as being more like Legos. They're infinitely connectable, and together are capable of building great things. A Lego by itself hasn't got much meaning in life, but connect it to its fellows and suddenly you're limited only by your imagination. That's the glory and the purpose in being human… connecting with each other, and by doing so becoming something greater than we ever could be alone.
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
State of the Impy 2014
8 min read
I'm not really one for New Year's resolutions, but I do usually write a post sometime around the first of the year summarizing where I'm at and what my goals or plans are for the following year. This year's is going to be a little different, though, because I'm going to start with what I did last year, because I need reminding that I haven't spent the entire time being as useless as I've felt.
In 2013 I…
Whew! I guess I was a lot busier than I gave myself credit for… but really, that was a problem. I'm a complete wreck, an exhausted shell of a person. None of what I was trying to work on was finished last year, and what I did finish wasn't the best that I could do because I was too busy and distracted. It was getting to the point where I couldn't do more than about two hours of any given thing, because I'd just get overwhelmed that fast. Then I'd hunker down and try to tune everything out, but the whole time there would be this endless, clamoring to-do list in my head, so I'd just feel guilty instead of getting any better or being able to actually deal with anything, let alone being able to enjoy this awesome second chance at being alive that I got.
It's really not okay with me to keep living my life that way, so this year, I'm doing what I can to simplify and clarify my existence. Mostly, this consists of forcing myself to prioritize one project at a time to the exclusion of other projects, so that I can focus and get things actually DONE and not constantly try to change gears just as I get my rhythm. Since most of the major items on my to-do list are equally urgent, this is a really difficult choice for me, because no matter what I do it means sacrificing things that I care about, at least on a temporary basis. And I hate to say this, because even in the coma, from the depths of my ketamine-fueled hallucinations, I was still trying to make sure comic work got done… but the first sacrifice of 2014 is going to be my work on the comics. There's just too much of it for me to put everything else off while I finish it, so it has to go the other way around. I need to finish the work on Alabama House, finish putting the bones of my personal life back in order, make at least SOME progress on the health issues and especially dealing with the grief and PTSD (which are being pretty fucking debilitating when they strike right now)… in short, I've got to get my shit together before I can even hope to have the energy and passion I need to go back to editing the comics.
I'm really not happy about taking a leave of absence, though. I feel like it's letting the readers down, and I know that putting off the books and reducing the updates will come with potentially very serious financial consequences for us, and make rebuilding the readership harder even than it was already after all the crap we've had getting in the way of updates the last few years. It's just that there's not really a better choice for me to make right now. And when I do come back to the comic side of life, I'm hoping the revised Patreon campaign will mean I can do so with help, so that I can delegate the stuff that takes me forever to skilled people for whom it is a quick task, and ultimately get comics done faster and better than they would be if I kept up my current killer schedule. That'd be pretty awesome, actually, I'm much better and faster as a big picture editor than I am as a letterer or doing page assembly. Honestly, hiring people to replace me on those tasks might just be the best thing that could possibly happen to the comics. We'll have to wait and see, though, since that won't even be possible without the support of the readers.
I'm really feeling both bleak and relieved going into 2014. Admitting that I can't do everything, and that just maybe I should stop expecting myself to, has been a huge relief, but the prospect of feeling like an outcast in the comics universe because I'm no longer participating is not exactly appealing, and neither is the realization that this kind of cutback on my activities can't be temporary. I'm going to have to limit my projects from now on if I want to get the benefit. Still, it will probably yield better art to do one or two projects at a time instead of a dozen, and it will be better for me… so overall I'm actually pretty hopeful that this change will bring good results.
In 2013 I…
- Edited scripts for about 400 pages of Errant Story
- Edited and lettered about 220 pages of Errant Story. Some of them twice. Some of them more than that, even.
- Did color work for about a dozen pieces, most of which have not yet been published
- Did concept work for a new book design
- FINALLY locked down some design elements for Exploitation Now: Done With It All
- Created new icon sets and did some rudimentary site design work
- Inked a few panels for future pages of Errant Story that are yet to be edited
- Created color reference palettes for characters, most of which I haven't yet published
- Did some logo design work
- Started reorganizing my office
- And Poe's
- Filed about four hundred pages of original Errant Story art (with the help of Viking Consultant Jim)
- Moved to a new tax software
- Initiated a new Patreon campaign
- Worked on scripts for Hired by PLOT, both individually and collectively in our writer's group, including rewriting and reformatting episodes
- Worked on a personal writing project with the help of my friend John
- Went on a crazy cleaning bender at my house, not that you can tell now
- Finally finished some designs that I'd been playing, because our kitchen has been literally slowly falling off the walls and I want to fix it once we've sold Alabama House
- Designed and budgeted a fairly extensive set of renovations and repairs for Alabama House so that we actually will be able to sell the thing
- Emptied a filthy, overfilled garage with the considerable help of my sister Jacque
- Stripped all the wallpaper in a bedroom and a bathroom
- Gutted two bathrooms and a kitchen with the help of my husband and mother-in-law
- Sourced parts for the Alabama House renovation (I'm good at bargain hunting)
- Loaded and unloaded my father-in-law's antique Harley and all the associated parts. Twice.
- Drove about 16,000 miles, most of it alone and cross-country
- Finished upholstering a chair for my sister. And part of another.
- Had a hysterectomy
- And a partial thyroidectomy
- And stitches when I sliced my eye open pulling down the wallpaper
- And voice therapy, because my voice is important to me
- Took Poe to the hospital because his kidneys shut down (they're better now)
- Visited my best friend's grave, and took a nap on it in the sunshine. It helped.
- Lost another good friend, this one to lung cancer
- Visited my favorite painting ever, in person for the first time. I cried.
- Sorted through several hundred manga. Haven't read more than a few yet.
- DID read my best friend's journal, which was addressed to me and came with the manga. It also kinda helped.
- Struggled a great deal more than I'm comfortable discussing here with PTSD and grief
- Finally played Portal 2, with relatively minimal help from my husband because I can't walk in straight virtual lines
- Went to Dragon Con as a regular attendee for the first time in about a decade
- Met Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon, AND Wendy and Richard Pini
- Discovered streaming Netflix. Probably not actually an accomplishment. In fact, send help.
- Went and played naked in a thunderstorm, for the first time in probably twenty years. Felt good.
- Made a new friend
- Made better friends with existing friends
- Visited my evil twin, if only for a couple hours
- Spent time with my niece, whom I adore
- Spent time with my family, talking to them like real people because my family is awesome like that
- Rejoined a community that I loved, and started working to plan a reunion for us
- Read many, MANY books, articles, blog posts, and even tweets
- Engaged in a few genuinely beneficial online conversations
- Walked many many miles for Ingress
Whew! I guess I was a lot busier than I gave myself credit for… but really, that was a problem. I'm a complete wreck, an exhausted shell of a person. None of what I was trying to work on was finished last year, and what I did finish wasn't the best that I could do because I was too busy and distracted. It was getting to the point where I couldn't do more than about two hours of any given thing, because I'd just get overwhelmed that fast. Then I'd hunker down and try to tune everything out, but the whole time there would be this endless, clamoring to-do list in my head, so I'd just feel guilty instead of getting any better or being able to actually deal with anything, let alone being able to enjoy this awesome second chance at being alive that I got.
It's really not okay with me to keep living my life that way, so this year, I'm doing what I can to simplify and clarify my existence. Mostly, this consists of forcing myself to prioritize one project at a time to the exclusion of other projects, so that I can focus and get things actually DONE and not constantly try to change gears just as I get my rhythm. Since most of the major items on my to-do list are equally urgent, this is a really difficult choice for me, because no matter what I do it means sacrificing things that I care about, at least on a temporary basis. And I hate to say this, because even in the coma, from the depths of my ketamine-fueled hallucinations, I was still trying to make sure comic work got done… but the first sacrifice of 2014 is going to be my work on the comics. There's just too much of it for me to put everything else off while I finish it, so it has to go the other way around. I need to finish the work on Alabama House, finish putting the bones of my personal life back in order, make at least SOME progress on the health issues and especially dealing with the grief and PTSD (which are being pretty fucking debilitating when they strike right now)… in short, I've got to get my shit together before I can even hope to have the energy and passion I need to go back to editing the comics.
I'm really not happy about taking a leave of absence, though. I feel like it's letting the readers down, and I know that putting off the books and reducing the updates will come with potentially very serious financial consequences for us, and make rebuilding the readership harder even than it was already after all the crap we've had getting in the way of updates the last few years. It's just that there's not really a better choice for me to make right now. And when I do come back to the comic side of life, I'm hoping the revised Patreon campaign will mean I can do so with help, so that I can delegate the stuff that takes me forever to skilled people for whom it is a quick task, and ultimately get comics done faster and better than they would be if I kept up my current killer schedule. That'd be pretty awesome, actually, I'm much better and faster as a big picture editor than I am as a letterer or doing page assembly. Honestly, hiring people to replace me on those tasks might just be the best thing that could possibly happen to the comics. We'll have to wait and see, though, since that won't even be possible without the support of the readers.
I'm really feeling both bleak and relieved going into 2014. Admitting that I can't do everything, and that just maybe I should stop expecting myself to, has been a huge relief, but the prospect of feeling like an outcast in the comics universe because I'm no longer participating is not exactly appealing, and neither is the realization that this kind of cutback on my activities can't be temporary. I'm going to have to limit my projects from now on if I want to get the benefit. Still, it will probably yield better art to do one or two projects at a time instead of a dozen, and it will be better for me… so overall I'm actually pretty hopeful that this change will bring good results.
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
New Patreon Campaign
1 min read
So, my husband has just launched a new Patreon campaign as a different way of supporting his comics. I'm pretty excited, because to me it seems like the easiest, fairest form of fan support I've seen yet.
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Dragon Con and Nicotine
2 min read
I'm back at Dragon Con, which is usually my favorite convention, but I must say I'm having a very different experience this year. Part of it is that I'm spending some of my time in a wheelchair, and that's sharply reduced the accessibility of every event. But mostly it's that I'm allergic to nicotine (it is, after all, poisonous), and now there's no way to avoid it.
You know how those vapor cigarettes are advertising that they're totally better because they aren't producing anything but water vapor? That isn't true, because strictly speaking, the smoke itself was never the problem, anyway. Well, it smelled bad and carried nastiness with it, but that wasn't the main problem for me. It was the nicotine in the smoke, and that nicotine is in the vapor, too. Because the cigarette companies have worked very hard to sell the idea of these contraptions being crowd-friendly, now everyone feels safe to smoke them indoors, with no consideration for the people around them. They don't realize that consideration is still needed. And that means that the only safe place for me at this entire convention is my hotel room. If I go outside, I will be slowly poisoned until I collapse with headache, nausea, dizziness, and fever. And that is no way to enjoy a con.
I feel robbed of my safe space. In an environment at pains to be inclusive and safe for geeks of all kinds, it seems criminally neglectful to allow participants to go around poisoning the unwilling.
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Lettering in Errant Story
1 min read
I wrote a thing over on our main page about some of the things we're doing differently when lettering Errant Story. Check it out!
Alternative title for these pieces? The Wrong Way to Make a Comic Book
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In