Deadlines

So, the real problem with self-imposed deadlines is that they don't feel real. Heck, I'm not paying myself to write this or anything else. I'm not writing for anyone else who's expecting my work to be complete by Friday at 5 p.m. No, doesn't happen. Instead, I push things back further and make myself feel bad when they're not done several weeks later.

Its something I need to figure out. Or I could give up now...no, I'll just figure it out, hopefully.

Captain Research

This is the point where I need to find a professional writer to talk to; because, I'm stuck here with a problem. I've been working on three projects now for about two weeks and feel I'm approaching the point where I should be typing things up - I've been writing all these things in my Moleskine because I missed the tactile nature of shaping words and erasing and so forth - with the same, if not more, vigor. Only problem is I feel as though I've come across a roadblock in the form of research. There's a lot of stuff I haven't read or asked people and I'm not sure how comfortable I am continuing to write without that information. So, I start writing thins thing. Just to keep myself loose or tight or alert. Wondering if I've ruined these projects due to a lack of due diligence in researching. Should I have even started work without the information I needed? Should I plow through, going as far as I possibly can before I get stuck and start researching, only to plug things in later? I've written notes, after all, above pages on things that need clarification or expansion. It all leaves me kind of at a loss. I just sit here, my pencil ready to go and my brain hacking through the confusion position I'm in.

As it were...

So, I haven't been doing the whole "blogging" thing save a few spots on irregardable.com - check it out, I write reviews, post random and funny things I find online, and attempt to fill the void left over the complete lack of any comments by anyone the site was intended to be created for (blurg) - as I've been a little preoccupied with my attempts at writing. As it were, I'm working on several projects, scripts, and concepts that I'm hoping will catapult me into superstardom...or help me land some money writing comic books or graphic novels or anything. I've been getting tips and help from people already in the industry that have really solidified my wont for the genre. Something about writing dialogue with very specific pictures in mind to coincide that gets me going...came out weird, but its pretty spot on.

I'm told that a lot of how the industry works is by getting a whole lot of stuff written, find an artist to work on your stuff, and hand in whatever you can get. So that's what I'm doing. At this point I have two illustrators that I'm working with, each different in styles, personalities, and senses of how books should be laid out and created. Its an incredibly rewarding situation to be in, and I can't thank them or anyone who put me in contact with them enough. Seriously, Touba, you're amazing...but you kind of suck. You knew this.

What's really great about all this is the chance to be writing. I get on the train in the morning and I've already pulled out my Moleskine and pencil. The ideas have become more fluid and complete as scenes fall out of the graphite and onto the page with such ease that its hard to believe I'm writing them. Sounds like I'm degrading myself, and I kind of am, here but it really feels different. I feel different. I feel the way I always thought I would feel if I were able to do this for a living. Now I just need to badger my illustrators to get things done before I'm driven mad by data entry work.