I made this collage shortly after picking up Scott McCloud’s Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga, and Graphic Novels. I experimented with breaking the fourth wall, extending beyond the frame edge, to see how freeing the art from a tidy rectangle would convey a quality of wildness.

I picked up McCloud’s book because writer friends encouraged me to make comics after I shared some writing about astrology with illustrations. I love prompts. Even when – or especially when – they take me into my discomfort zone.

So, I’m learning how to draft comics. Lately, I draw with a pencil (erasers are a remarkable invention, and I have one, so I might as well use it, right?), photograph the drawing, and import the photo into InDesign. What happens after that depends on how done the words and drawing are. And right now, I’m not certain the way I’ve been doing the “inking” is the way I’ll continue doing it, which is to trace my hand drawing in InDesign.

Much of Truth is Fragmentary by Gabrielle Bell is about making comics and is rendered journal style, which gives the impression that what’s in the book came out as a first draft. I have no idea what Bell’s process is like, but I do know publication involves revision. First drafts are drafts. While I can imagine a possible process Bell underwent to make this book, I enjoyed the nailed-it-on-the-first-draft feel. I like the prompt that Bell gave herself, to make a comic a day, and I am with her in her struggle to do it. It’s rare that I do anything creative every day for even a week, and to find something comic-worthy in my life every day…wow.

A favorite moment is when Bell is in Switzerland and participates in drawing roulette (p. 70).

Back in early May, a friend and I started writing tiny stories using the words in our Wordle guesses. We incorporate each guess in the order we guessed it into a story we text each other.

Here are two of mine:

Wed May 11
I got in a canoe thinking I had a long journey ahead. It was a farce. 

Mon Jun 20
I stuck a fork’s prong into a piece of malty chocolate. I felt inept in ways I couldn’t describe, like I was no longer in my body. Even the input was strange. I mean, the chocolate was tasty, but why a fork?

Here are two of hers :

Fri Jun 3
As the beast gave chase, she wondered if this was the end of her life or just a phase?

Mon May 16
The bride’s vows: In addle and in clarity, in dolce and in bitterness, I promise to delve into the depths with you!

*Thank you Trish Tallakson for being my Wordle buddy and for your willingness let me share some of your stories! I wouldn’t be writing on a mostly daily basis without you.

The Wordle stories are daily practice. They’re fun, and they’re also an example of making messy art, which I’ve kept top of mind these past months. Because these stories are short, they make excellent prompts for comics, too. 

Here’s a mess.

What was the Wordle guess represented by each of these panels?

In two panels, the words need context for the image to make sense (even then I’m not sure my drawing succeeds). The story itself was a challenge to write - the four words had nothing in common except how little linkage they had with the others.

I continue to experiment with the story and the drawing. In the most recent iteration, I removed the last drawing because it doesn’t seem to fit with the other three. I’ve also experimented with adding a panel or two before the first one to provide more overall context.

It’s a draft. (Gabrielle Bell, how do your journal comics look before you ink them?)

Brenda Miller in A Braided Heart: Essays on Writing and Form speaks to both friends and prompts as instrumental in her writing practice.

I recently had a marvelous winter break, mainly because I did some writing. And the only way I did my writing was by making a contract with my writing buddy, Lee. We agreed to each write one short piece a day and send them to each other. They didn’t have to be good pieces; we just had to write them. (p. 116)

Miller also has a “practice group” that appears in two chapters of this book. In one, they write an apology to someone in their past. In another, they do a series of timed writes that use words or phrases each writer selects from a dish. It sounds similar to the Wordle stories Trish and I write.

On page 24 of Jessie Kwak’s From Chaos to Creativity: Building a Productivity System for Artists and Writers is a section titled, “It’s Better with a Buddy.” The section begins:

If you’re serious about reshaping your life to accomplish your creative work, I encourage you to find an accountability buddy to help keep you on track.

Kwak has several accountability groups. I do, too. Kwak’s artistic business group is how she stays on target with her goals. I found it interesting that one member of this business group is a work hard play hard type who, by example, prompted Kwak to add “Me time” to her weekly goals. I don’t do “relaxation” well, but play and daydreaming are always part of my daily routine.

“What makes you feel like you’re ten again?” This is Kwak’s prompt to get people thinking about what kinds of activities are play. Obviously, it’s individual. For Kwak, it’s climbing. I presented this question to my business peer group. My answer was, “Watching bugs. Making art.”

While play and daydreaming are not wild per se, they bring a person into the unfettered space of wildness. Unexpected things can happen there. Sometimes they’re wild.

Prompt:

It’s fun with friends. Inject a little wildness into your creativity.

1. Respond to Kwak’s question, “What makes you feel like you’re ten again?” and make a short list of activities.

2. Do one. Tell someone you’re going to do it, or do it with someone. (For all you ten-year-old hornballs out there, that’s not what I mean.)

3. Then, make something inspired by your activity or based on what you discovered during it.

4. Share what you made with the person you told about your activity or who joined you.

I’d love to hear what you do and see/hear what you made. Send it to me in whatever way makes most sense for the media (here’s a direct link to email).

Thank you for reading. Maybe you didn’t know it, but you are one of my creative accountability buddies. I wouldn’t post if you weren’t there.

I’d also love to keep the conversation about creativity and daily practice going. If you haven’t already, please join my email postcard for other support and whimsy.

Thank you again!
LOVE