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!

Year in Review

"I've become skeptical of the unwritten rule that just because a boy and girl appear in the same feature, a romance must ensue.  Rather, I want to portray a slightly different relationship, one where the two mutually inspire each other to live.  If I'm able to, then perhaps I'll be closer to portraying a true expression of love."   -Hayao Miyazaki

I always like to end my year with a quote, something that I want to take with me into the next one.  I thought this quote was exceedingly appropriate, because it encompasses a lot about how I want to make characters in stories - both in writing and in art.  Bryan Konetzko quoted Miyazaki after he publicly stated that Korra and Asami were a couple at the end of the Legend of Korra - that image of the two of them being not just the final shot of the entire series, but the Avatar: The Last Airbender universe (as far as Bryke has stated).

While I wasn't expecting them to be a romantic couple by the end of everything - personally, I just wanted Korra to have a gal-pal - I'm glad that Bryke did something completely bold in their storytelling to encourage same-sex relationships in kids' television.  It's not brand new, since Glee had Kurt & Blaine and Adventure Time has long hinted a relationship between Marceline and Bubblegum... but this is a main character!  It brought viewers to tears when the Korra and Asami held hands and stepped into the Spirit Portal, because it brought hope to this 21st century generation of kids that yes, LGBT relationships do exist and should be respected as any other boy-girl romance in stories.  It's also cute that Korra and Asami started out fighting over the same boy.  =)

Anyway... this year has been a tough one, to be honest.  Not as tough as 2011, but a lot of things have crossed my mind about adulthood and it's kept me awake at night with questions.  But I've had a great year with some wonderful highlights:

• ART/WRITING - not as much as I've wanted to do this year, but I did attend the Prairie Writer's Day Conference to network with a bunch of aspiring children's authors and illustrators.  It was a bit "cart-before-the-horse" for me, since I didn't have a real writing sample or portfolio to showcase for childrens' literature, but I did get to pass out some awesome business cards and get my art reviewed by Eliza Wheeler.  According to her, I just have to incorporate more of a background in my illustrations and show dimension with visual storytelling - no different from sequential art.  Highlight: I did an illustration for Lucy Knisley and her husband as a wedding gift!  Goal: write/revise/pitch a full novel, and to make weekly illustrations.
• FITNESS - running is still going strong!  Back in September I accomplished a second marathon, running non-stop this time in St. Charles, IL and cutting my marathon time by 2 minutes!  I also ran the hot-chocolate 15K, which was an okay experience in race organization-standards, but the chocolate was delicious.  I also did the usual Turkey Trot with Dad and friends for ThanksGiving, and it felt overall very nice to continue with running.  I'm a legit marathon runner now!  :)  Goal: work on my upper body, and prep for an international marathon in 2016 (place TBD)
• EMPLOYMENT - After 3 years of pursuing a full-time gig at a creative institution, it finally happened this summer at Columbia College!  Granted, it's in a department I didn't think I would ever be in, but I love the responsibilities I'm getting as an outreach coordinator for financial services, and after 6 months into the position, the job anxiety is slowly fading.  I just really need to "study" what I do and not feel intimidated about asking questions.  It's a lot, but I'm so happy with this job.  Second City is still going, a few hours a week, but I'm giving myself 'til the end of Spring 2015 to let it go so I can move on to other commitments. Goal: become more familiar with Student Aid & Marketing
• FINANCES - I paid off my student loans (yay!) and am finally starting to save $$ with the new job!  Goal: start researching on investments and buying a house.
• TRAVEL - I got to go somewhere unknown this year... Portland, OR... for my 30th birthday, which was definitely my kind of town.  I also flew to Colombia to spend time with relatives during the World Cup and watch our Team go as far as they've ever gone (yay James Rodriguez!), and visited the hot springs of Santa Rosa.  Good times!  And for the holidays, I road-tripped with the family to Virginia Beach to spend quality time with the Mazueras.  A good travel year, overall.  Goal: go somewhere new and warm, like Argentina.
• READING - I noticed that the trouble I had this year was finding books I wanted to read.  I liked Raina Telgemeier's graphic novels, as usual.  I tried Lord of the Rings, but set it aside, and also tried Ocean at the End of the Lane and Gone Girl, but they just didn't stick with me.  But... I finally got a hold of "Daughter of Smoke & Bone" by Laini Taylor and couldn't put it down.  I went through all three books in less than 2 months.  And now I'm back to Game of Thrones with Storm of Swords.  Goal: to read a non-fiction and a classic.
• HOBBIES - I got to do some voice work finally!  It started with a workshop at a studio in March, but then I started getting mentored by a Radio professor at Columbia College, and she's been coaching me ever since.  I'm putting my first Demo together, and I'll be taking a voice-over class in March!  Goal: to have fun with voice-over and to not see it as a profession, but a hobby.
• FAMILY - This is always the tough one for me.  I could talk more to them and not feel intimidated.  I did a lot of crying this year, mainly with adulthood just stressing me out, so I need to feel comfortable with them.  We're all going through life-changes right now, so I think it's best that we just stay in touch and support each other.  Goal: to call Mom & Dad once a week.
• LOVE - I take it back, THIS is always a tough one.  I've had a crush on this guy for 6 months to whom I've shared absolutely zero communication with.  I can do better than that.  Maybe I'm just not ready to fall in love.  Or maybe I'm just not the "falling in love" type?  I can't take any relationship seriously if I don't take myself seriously first, and that's what I've been working on for 30 years.  Goal: to bring out the best in myself next year so I can get boys to notice the happy me.

And well... now that my commitment to the Avatar: The Last Airbender universe has come to its conclusion after 7 years of nonstop cosplay/art/fanfiction... I can now fully dedicate myself to Game of Thrones!   Well, not exactly to that "fandom" extent, but I'm still reading the books and watching the show, and... it's awesome!