Last year I attempted to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days- an undertaking otherwise known as NaNoWriMo, which hopes to get us all off our lazy asses and write the novel we have inside us. I made an honest effort and wrote about 13,000 words, but meandered around with several characters and very little plot idea. I have been writing other stories and sketches this summer and fall, which has been a very useful creative endeavor, but there’s part of me that thinks the ‘novel I’m meant to write’ won’t actualize itself until I’ve got a little more life experience.
But, not wanting to lose out on that NaNoWriMo creative energy, I decided to try my own project this year. I have decided to draw and post a small comic, sketch or character idea EVERY DAY for the month of November. The objectives for this project are:
1) Exercise the creative muscle- use it every day.
2) Practice and develop a technique/ form/ style of illustration or comic drawing. What type of paper, materials, etc, work best for me?
3) Generate ideas for other projects- what I post here does not have to be finished and polished (there won’t be time: also a tenet of NaNoWriMo philosophy)
4) Maybe build a small portfolio (maybe?)
5) Prove to myself this is something I can DO! Just get up and doo it.
So, here I begin (one day behind schedule). “It would have been weird if it weren’t Halloween.”