Part I of the Jelly Jar

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

 

 

 

        

 

 

End of Part I of "The Jelly Jar" by yours truly.

Let me introduce you to Marina.  She was just your average debutante in Chicago in the 1950s, visiting the recently opened Shedd Aquarium, when all of a sudden, the storm gets way too violent.  And she chooses to save some Jellies out of pure maternal instinct.  But what does that selfless act cost her, exactly?  I guess you'll have to wait to find out!

 

Almost got hit by a Car

This is a quick public service announcement to anyone out there reading this along with me:

Always wait for the walking signal.  Period.

I still hear the loud screeching of that cab as it came to a stop, literally inches away from me, and that loud continuous honking that came afterwards made me fully aware that any other driver.... any other driver with less-than-perfect coordination... and I would've been a whole lot worse.  I still imagine the breaking of my kneecaps, my frame hitting the lights, my head against the windshield... just from how quickly that car went from about 20 to 0 in less than a second.  It was that close.  And it was so vivid that I felt like I was out of my body as it was happening and shortly after... not knowing how exactly I got across the street, but I did.

And I had to collect my thoughts and say a little prayer after that.

I'm not usually that careless, let me tell you.  I always look both ways and tell myself to wait for the walking signal, even when I'm in a hurry.  Somehow I thought I'd be okay in that moment, when the guy on the lane gave me space and let me pass... but I totally forgot about the turning lane.  And I totally could not hear the other cars coming in from that lane.  It was a blind spot, and it could've seriously killed me or put me in a condition that I couldn't financially afford to be in.

I still imagine myself not being able to move, much less run or dance, for a very long time.  And I was just coming out of a dance class when that happened.

I wanted to cross the street casually to make it to the library, and the guy was letting me pass.

It's a miracle that I walked out of that, the way I did.

So always, always, ALWAYS wait for the walking signal.  Don't jaywalk unless you're absolutely 100% sure that you're in the clear.  But even if you're sure, don't do it.  There will always be that crazy driver or biker approaching you that you just might not hear.  That's what happened to me.

Take care of yourselves out there.

Ready for Summer School 2015

(...It should've been Summer School 2014, but better late than never!)

Chapter 1:  Set the outline of your story.  Make the rough sketches and thumbnails to your art pieces.

Chapter 2:  Just write.  Draw.  A lot.  Go back to your outline, but don't get lost in the details.

Chapter 3:  No details yet.  I know it's tempting, but don't!  Keep writing.

Chapter 4:  Take a break.  Maybe research a little.  Visit a museum.  People-watch.  Get a little perspective.

Chapter 5:  Are you writing details?  STOP!  Go dig up your outline!  You have to finish the story, first!

Chapter 6:  You're almost done!  Maybe you can show the first few chapters to the writers' group!

Chapter 7:  How's that drawing going?  Remember to take breaks and jump from one to the other!

Chapter 8:  You're finished with the story!  Great!  Now go back and write some details!

Chapter 9:  Do a little research and add more details.  Go through the whole story for detail bubbles.

Chapter 10:  When's the last time you snacked on something other than chocolate?  EAT.

Chapter 11:  You finished adding the details?  Now it's EDITING TIME!   YAY!!

Chapter 12:  This may be the last break before you lose your sanity.  Take it!

Chapter 13:  If you haven't gotten sick of your own writing yet, you're not editing hard enough.

Chapter 14:  Done?  You sure?  How about a second round of editing?  Take a doodle break!

Chapter 15:  And that, my friend, is an A-Quality manuscript!   Time to break it down at the Writer's Group!

Does this work?

I know how you feel, Catelyn

Ask me why I continue to indulge myself with Game of Thrones even after I know that one of my favorite characters isn't going to make it.  Even before I picked up Storm of Swords, I knew this was going to happen.  I knew Catelyn Stark would be monumentally screwed over by some creepy old king who decided he wanted vengeance on her son's refusal to follow through with a marriage alliance... but really, screwed over by the fact that her son no longer had allies.  And all she wanted was to be a Mom and support her son and bring her daughters back and get her family back together.  And she died with this gross image that her kids were either dead, most likely dead, or screwed over to the point where they might as well be dead.  What a life, being a woman who took things with unquestionable honor and duty to her family, only to die and not see the fruit of your labor do amazing things.

I can't say I know how that feels, but I've had a pretty rough month where I've felt that no matter how hard I try to please and go about my duties, I'm always letting someone down, or letting myself down.  I haven't been able to do much drawing this past month, or writing for that matter, but I'm hoping that now with Winter slowly thawing out... I can pick myself up again and go running outside and put a new smile on my face.  This "graphic novels" class I'm taking has really pushed me to do some drawing, even if it is the small weekly assignment, but it's helped me push my creativity.  And I'm in love with Bollywood Groove, taking it on Saturday mornings to start my day.  :)  

Perhaps I will finish this Storm of Swords and then take a break from the series until Season 5 comes out, and then start the reading cycle all over again. 

Starting 2015 with a commission and story ideas!

January was cold, as usual, but it felt pretty good to get back into illustration after almost 6 months of not doing much.   This was for my roommate and her best friend.  =D

It's not just the day-job, I've noticed. It's mostly me just having a hard time with fleshing out my own ideas.  For some reason I find it harder to progress on a long-term project I have created from the ground up, than writing about/critiquing/adapting something that's already out there in the world.  I feel it might be a mix of worry and fear - fear that these ideas will not be taken seriously or that someone might've come up with a better version of it.

That's kind of what happened to me when I picked up Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor.  The series was awesome and very much the type of Gothic, dark-toned fantasy world I wanted to create for a set of characters in my head:  "Chicago, 1928.  Twin gargoyles grow up as human kids because of the man who adopts them."  Granted, the story I had was much more adventurous and less romantic than hers... but still, she beat me to it (especially with the artsy protagonist) only because I hadn't completely written it down! Maybe someday, before 'Dark Teen Fantasy' makes a new boom in the market, I'll write it all out and feel less intimidated.  =/

One great thing is that I finally joined a Writer's Group in the city, thanks to the people I met at the SCBWI conference in November.  I shared my idea for the children's book, This Old Opera House, which I've had saved on my computer forEver... and they really liked it!  I think the tough part is the revision and making it age-friendly to a particular age group.  Right now, it's set up as a picture book with rhyming text (which is an impressive skill to have, believe it or not!), but the maturity of the story makes it directed for older kids, like middle grade.  So... the question lies on who do I want to tell this story to?  Should it be a picture book?  Or should it be a full middle grade novel centered around a house that kids emotionally attach to?

PLUS... I've had this amazing idea for a series, that I just started putting together notes for this last month.  I won't get too into detail because it's so precious and so new and raw... I feel like talking about it will jinx the creative process.  Basically, it's a historical fantasy novel, in the same format I was thinking of doing the gargoyles story... but totally different story and mythology. :D  So good!  Hearts are everywhere.

Anyway, those are the two major projects I'm working on.  I'm also keeping myself positive by taking a "Drawing the Graphic Novel" class, to feel more comfortable in visualizing what I write, making the text match an image.  I'm excited to actually start putting together real work based on homework assignments.

Happy first month of 2015!