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On Creative Dreams

I wrote down some interesting things from writing conferences a while back. Good stuff in here for your creative dreams.

Before I fully committed to comics, I was going to be a novelist. I went to a few writer’s conferences and wrote copious notes (like a good little nerd) in a notebook. Then I forgot all about it.

As my wife and I are going through our office to make it into a room for our pending daughter… I rediscovered it. Interested, I began flipping through the pages. I wrote down some interesting things (unfortunately, amidst my in-depth notes were no attributions, so I apologize to the unknown speakers)… Good stuff in here for your creative dreams. Lots of them are about storytelling and novelization, but I feel like quite a few of them are good for everything. Especially the last one. Anyway,  here they are in no particular order.

“A novice tries to set unrealistic goals so that he/she can excuse themselves through guilt to fail.”

“Make your name following the rules, then break them.”

“Ideal opening of a story: the first page is an open door and the story began before the reader arrived.”

“Never take the reader where the reader wants to go.”

“Good action is not enough. Strong conflict does not make a good novel.”

“Anticipation of the bang is what makes the story.”

“Raise your characters higher so that the risk of the fall is greater—for the bad guy too.”

“An author has a number of ideas and the ability to do it.”

“When an editor asks what you’re working on now, you should have an answer.”

“Books do not spring forth complete any more than babies are born adults.”

“Everything that lasts comes from a process. Even God took six days to create.”

“Nothing is worse than someone trying to sound like a writer.”

“Be concise: ‘At this moment in time’ –> ‘Now’ replaces all five words.”

“You don’t start off a genius storyteller. You become a genius storyteller.”

“You’re in trouble if your hero is about to be killed and no one cares.”

“Time is brutally fair. It doesn’t care.”

“Accept the difference between your career and your current project.”

“Your goal isn’t to write this book. Your goal is to be a professional author.”

 

project-creative-dreams-professional

Some of those may be a bit controversial to some of you writers out there, but feel free to discuss in the comment section. That last quote is awesome though, and I will gladly accept it for my circumstances because I feel like it’s the most important thing any person pursuing a creative dream can know.

My goal isn’t to finish this comic. My goal is to be a professional comic creator.

Personalize the quote for yourself. It gets me fired up.

8 replies on “On Creative Dreams”

Hi Underfold, I am also started to create comics. So I am also a beginner ( but much more worse 🙂 ).
Here’s my amateur work: http://codedincantation.com/blog/2013/08/27/the-master-pickpocketer/

I think I learned something from your statement, specifically this: “Raise your characters higher so that the risk of the fall is greater—for the bad guy too.”
But what does “Ideal opening of a story: the first page is an open door and the story began before the reader arrived.” statement mean?
Anyway, I am following your comics. 🙂

Excellent question! The main idea is that you want your story to be moving where the reader starts. Many times new writers want to start from the beginning of their character’s story (like birth). But this idea is to have your readers jump on the train with your characters as the plot has already begun to move.

Keep drawing. Try new things all the time and find your style through experiments!

Hi Underfold, I am also started to create comics. So I am also a beginner ( but much more worse 🙂 ).
Here’s my amateur work: http://codedincantation.com/blog/2013/08/27/the-master-pickpocketer/

I think I learned something from your statement, specifically this: “Raise your characters higher so that the risk of the fall is greater—for the bad guy too.”
But what does “Ideal opening of a story: the first page is an open door and the story began before the reader arrived.” statement mean?
Anyway, I am following your comics. 🙂

Excellent question! The main idea is that you want your story to be moving where the reader starts. Many times new writers want to start from the beginning of their character’s story (like birth). But this idea is to have your readers jump on the train with your characters as the plot has already begun to move.

Keep drawing. Try new things all the time and find your style through experiments!

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