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Last week I wrote about the challenges of maintaining one’s motivation to create. Especially when it seems there are forces that are actively working against you. An example of such Resistance was personalized in the figure of the Fairy Godmother of Meh and her interference with our little pal, Ralph Elfalfa. However, hope of regaining his ambition appears when a good friend arrives on the scene…

Sometimes we get by with a little help from our friends. Hopefully, everyone has a Randy Dandylion in their lives; someone to break the curse of the doldrums and uncover a person’s hidden passions. So, “Take That! Fairy Godmother of Meh!”

If you need a break, to take a walk, to play with your new kitten, to meditate or to climb a mountain, whatever it takes to revitalize your creative energy, I would encourage you to do it. As long as it leads you back to your passion.

I would also encourage you to find inspiration by checking out the work of others like our graphic novels the fantasy-adventure The Sorcerer’s Children or the high-flying sci-fi adventure The Adventures of Astrodog! Perhaps we’ll even see Ralph and Friends again here in a doodle blog. Let me know if you’d like to see further shenanigans from those magical characters. Until then, keep those “Mehs” at bay and get to work!

We’ve all been there. Those days when the motivation to work on our “art” is weak to non-existent. In his book, “The War of Art”, writer Stephen Pressfield, speaks of “Resistance” in such cases. In his theory, this force is a very real thing that works against your plans to pursue your creative goals. Resistance wants you distracted and/or struggling; it feeds off it in a way. That’s one idea anyway. In my book, you get a visit from the Fairy Godmother of Meh! Case in point, our friend Ralph Elfalfa in the magical land of Ding Dong Dell…

When engaged in the editing of my novel, I’ve learned an important lesson. I might have two books on my hands rather than just one. What that means is that even after assiduous editing – chopping here, tossing out there – I still have a novel so large that to put it out on the market as is would seriously impinge its marketability. Now, I could continue the cutting until the story was bled dry of character development, world building, mood, atmosphere, excitement etc. However, the question that has been pressing down on me is: What would the market for a book in my genre tolerate?

When I first started writing, I naively thought Marketing came “later”, after all the writing, editing and cover design was finished. Yeah, I was that clueless. Luckily, I came around and began studying more closely the target market for my novel. Something I highly recommend to any newbie writer out there. I learned some interesting things.

Such as the average size for a novel in the Paranormal Historical Thriller is 300 to 400 pages. 600 + page epics sell best in the fantasy genre though mostly if your name is J. R. R Tolkien or George R. R. Martin. Also, my target audience of women 20 years old and up, prefer series to simple standalone books. Doesn’t mean they don’t read standalone just that they prefer a series.

So, what would be an option for you if you had a massive tome on your hands that held so much of your blood, sweat and creativity within it? Look below…

I took a brief break from writing and editing to do a water-colour painting of a Cheetah. I love doing animal portraits and find a lot of peace when I paint them. Also, if you love Cheetahs or other animals, we have a number of different designs on a multitude of products in our Redbubble store. Check it out when you need that break from writing and doing market research.

Been loaded with other work recently so I’m running this Doodle Blog from a couple of years ago. It does, in a way, tie back to my blog on where some of my ideas come from. There’s a large “What if…” to the silly story below.

I hope you had a laugh. Since I doodled this story, my Dad, my dog Hugo and my cat Dusty have all passed on. 2020 was a hard year for multiple reasons. However, I know my Dad had a great laugh when he read this story. I’m pretty sure he would have found a way to beat those zombies with a few pieces of scrap wood and duct tape. He was just that kind of guy. Now, one question remains….If you found yourself in the Zombie Apocalypse, how would you survive?

In our fantasy-adventure graphic novel trilogy, The Sorcerer’s Children, there are zombie-like monsters called Wraith Warriors. Check them out when you join the adventure of that series. Or perhaps you would prefer the nefarious, interstellar threat of the Space Phantoms in The Adventures of Astrodog. They’ve got all the sci-fi swashbuckling and high-flying fun you could want.

As I approach the latest edit on my novel, it has struck me that running through it are some of the broad influences of my favourite stories. That’s inevitable, of course but two of my major influences stem from works at opposite sides of the literary spectrum. It makes for some interesting imagery in my opinion. Beyond my interest in mythology, the following books are stories that have made a lasting impact on my literary experience.

This is the book that hooked me on reading as a child. Now, over a hundred years since its original release, I can acknowledge some of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ problematic depiction of native Africans; not to mention the African American character of Esmerelda. However, Tarzan of the Apes has been continually in print since that time and has evolved into a cross-cultural icon. If your only exposure to this character is through the movies the novels will come as an entertaining surprise. The pacing of this book is pure page-turner and ERB skillfully hooks his reader into this ultimate fish-out-of-water tale. It’s that stirring pace that I’ve tried to evoke within my own work, whether in our graphic novels or my novel-in-progress. ERB packs his story with great surprises and interesting characters. I won’t even go into his utterly-cool Mars series.

This cover is by renown comic book artist Neal Adams.

At the opposite end of the literary spectrum is the classic Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. There are many reasons that this novel has endured across centuries. Aside from the beautiful gothic atmosphere and inspiring struggle of its titular heroine, this novel was groundbreaking for its time. Charlotte Bronte (and her sisters Emily and Anne) introduced an interior, emotional life to her characters that had previously never been explored. Whether or not you agree with Jane’s decisions and actions, you can’t help but feel for her and her struggle to assert her self-worth and her demand for respect as a human being. Again, there is some aspects of the story that make you shake your 21st century head, especially in the treatment of the mentally ill, but the themes resonate to this day.

It might be most obvious how the pulp stories of ERB influenced our graphic novel series, The Sorcerer’s Children and The Adventures of Astrodog. However, I like to think some of the emotional depth of the classics like Jane Eyre work their way into the stories as well. These are, of course, only two of the tales that have resonated with me. There are plenty more and don’t even get me started comic books. Or rather, I’ll talk about those later.

As I reveal a little more about the story of my upcoming novel over the next few months, other influences or inspirations may become more obvious. Hopefully, in a good way. What are some of the books or stories that have affected or influenced you? What, perhaps, are some of the books that might be your “guilty pleasure”?

Didn’t I mention something about “Gothic Atmosphere”? A little hint of the mood for my upcoming book. It’s not an exact match for the setting but it’s pretty close.

So, I’ve been swept up editing my upcoming novel. It’s not the first time but I’m hoping it’s the last time before I send it out to a professional. And Proof-Readers and Beta Readers and so on. There are multiple levels that a book passes through before it hits the market and I’m learning just how many there are. However, self-editing is the first step, then the second and then the third and so on and so on. Until you polish things enough to let a professional take an axe to it. Still, even after you recognize it’s necessary, sometimes it can be rather hard…

And so it goes. When your dealing with any creative project what takes out, can be just as important as what is left in. Yet, when you’re trying to trim “your baby” things get complicated. Loss of perspective is inevitable. However, it is a necessary step because there are few readers who will take a chance on a new author’s 700 + page tome.

So, that’s where I am at the moment. Tons of fun…maybe a few tears. After all, “It’s so BRILLIANT!”

I’ll release more details of this journey as I go and hope you’ll come with me. But if you’d like to join in with other stories of adventure, check out our graphic novels, The Sorcerer’s Children, Volumes 1 to 3 and The Adventures Of Astrodog, Volumes 1 and 2.

Now, back to crying – I mean editing.

I’m a bit busy these days so I thought I’d repost an old Doodle Blog for your enjoyment.

One of my distractions lately has been this little gentleman to the side. His name is Tars Tarkas, after the 11 foot tall, green, four-armed, tusked Martian warrior from the Mars novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs. He’s at the zooming, climbing then snoozing then starting the whole cycle again – stage. I wish I had his energy.

When I was first asked this question the answer that immediately sprang to mind was: “It depends.” For our fantasy-adventure, graphic novel trilogy, The Sorcerer’s Children, I had been reading a lot of Celtic mythology, fantasy and non-fiction history. In that case, the setting or world swirled around in my head with the history of it coalescing into a quartet of main characters caught up in the fallout of events that transpired a thousand years before they were born. For our science fiction adventure graphic novel, The Adventures of Astrodog, I remember watching a docu-drama about humans expanding into outer space and noticed nobody had any pets. I promised my dog at the time, Sam, if I went to space I would take him with me.

So, in each of those cases, the ideas sprang from interests I was investigating at the time. Even though The Sorcerer’s Children isn’t a retelling of any particular Celtic myth it does share certain motifs, symbols and characters. Also, while including a healthy dose of mystery, romance, magic and the forgotten to unexpected consequences history can leave in its wake.

The tone of The Adventures of Astrodog was meant to reflect the old-fashioned escapism of cartoons from the ’70’s like Johnny Quest or Scooby-Do. A pair of children led by their hard-boiled, mystery-sniffing dog uncover interstellar conspiracies and cosmic skullduggery while living on the moon. All in the name of fun.

In my novel, the setting has a role to play in the events of the story. As well as the time period and the characters themselves. In some cases it would be difficult for me to say what came first but it is worth it to know that it all comes down to what works for you. With all the elements we’ve discussed, the main goal in the end is to establish a connection with your reader. In every great story I’ve read, plot, setting and characters have come together to create a tale that can move me to tears or provide me a wonderful escape into an enchanting world.

You can join our characters of The Sorcerer’s Children and The Adventures of Astrodog in their fantastical stories by clicking here. We look forward to hearing your own stories of adventure.

So, what’s the most-asked question people in creative occupations hear from others? It’s: “Where do you get all your ideas?” That question or a variant is one that every creative will be asked at one time or another. For myself, it’s not necessarily difficult to answer. I’ve found for me, my ideas often begin with another question: “What if…?” Kind of simple, I know but I’m not one to believe in any special star-blessed talent from above. The doodle below demonstrates the danger that approach holds….

That’s about it in a nutshell and why the question “What if…?” comes in so handy. If you sit around waiting for a Fairy Godmother to bestow some divine inspiration you’re going to be waiting for a long, long time. It’s what started the ball rolling for my novel. A sort of – “What if X happened to Y at this place and time?” “How does that affect their life and relationships?” “What happens when Y‘s choices cause others to oppose them?” And on and on. One question leads to another and by answering them you create a story

So, basically, in my opinion, for most stories and in many cases this applies to other creative media,”What if…?” is the foundation from which our ideas spring. Try it for yourself and see what unfolds. You might be surprised.

Such a beginning was also the springboard for the graphic novels of our fantasy-adventure series The Sorcerer’s Children and the sci-fi series The Adventures of Astrodog. You can follow the What Ifs of those stories by clicking here. Don’t wait until a Fairy Godmother inspires you. Join the adventure now!