Breaking Up: Index

It's November and I'm trying a little something different. In the hybrid spirit of NaNoWriMo and the 24-hour comic, I'm going to attempt a long-form style story here. I thought it would be fitting to tell the secret origin of Sequential Life.

I'm putting up the handy hyperlink index below:

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5
Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 9 - Part 10
Part 11 - Part 12 - Part 13 - Part 14 - Part 15
Part 16 - Part 17 - Part 18 - Part 19 - Part 20
Part 21 - Part 22 - Part 23 - Part 24 - Part 25
Part 26 - Part 27 - Part 28 - Part 29 - Part 30
Part 31 - Part 32 - Part 33 - Part 34 - Part 35
Part 36 - Part 37 - Part 38 - Part 39 - Part 40
Part 41


Like the previously mentioned challenges, I have made up my own rules as to how to go about this (I guess it wouldn't be a challenge without rules):

1. 1 Page per Day - I've already broken this one a bit. Real life kind of intruded around Part 10, but I caught up. It's more of a guideline, I guess. I had the idea of creating a more consistent habit for myself, as opposed to my usual wait til the last minute and do everything mode.

2. No Pre-Planning - I borrowed this from the other challenges. Thinking ahead tends to gum up the works sometimes, for me at least. I focus on the big finish, then can't figure out how to get there. So for this story, I'm falling forward, relying on what passes for craft and skill around here to get me out of any narrative pitfalls.

3. Each Page the Same - Same 4-panel structure for each page (I've broken it once, but that was for dramatic effect). This eliminates some mental hurdling, and also forces me to produce at a relatively contstant rate. Also, it makes sure I can't cheat by just drawing one splash panel when I'm feeling lazy. It's called Sequential Life for a reason...

4. Don't Get Too Fancy - I'm drawing this all with some basic markers on typing paper and lettering by hand. So far, I've found that when using fancier papers, brushes and inks I tend to hesitate, not wanting to waste valuable art supplies. This way, is a page isn't turning out the way I want, I can crumple it up and start over with little guilt. I'm using Photoshop to clean up a bit, but mostly stray marks, ghost pencils and the rare special effect.

So there, I've totally bored you with process. Please enjoy the story anyway.

[EDIT] So in the end, I only produced 24 parts (out of 30) for the month of November. Not bad, I suppose, though I didn't finish the story. I intend to finish it during December, so stay tuned. It's a blessing, in a way, as part of the reason I hit the wall at 24 was that I started to think about how to wrap it up in the 6 parts that were left. In writerly terms, it started to feel less "organic" to me to force an end. This way, I can let the story play out a bit longer and resolve itself naturally.

[EDIT 2] Oh, what the hell. It's January, and there's no end in sight. It's turning into a much bigger story as I remember more and more. Should I end it quickly, or let it play out? I'm tempted to break with it, at least a few days a week, in order to get back to the day-to-day stuff I was doing before. What do you think?

[EDIT 3] I am a bad man. It's been over a year. I have notes... and half-assed sketches, but am ever the procrastinator. I think (and I make no promises) that I may return to it at the end of this summer (2008).

Tags: breaking up young love 80's cartoon