Chapter Two Inks, and a Wonderful Surprise

This week in inking: maybe my favourite sequence of the book so far. I’m so glad I threw in that midshipman in Chapter One. He's been a delight so far. I’m excited to see how his role evolves.

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The week started off rough. I had less work time than usual because my partner’s schedule (it changes occasionally) meant more baby time for me, so I was getting anxious about my productivity. I’m inexplicably exhausted; consensus in the household is that allergies are going around. I had read a snarky comics tweet and wondered, "is he talking about my comics?" (probably not). I read a Patreon blog post about "how to grow your audience" and it made me want to run into the woods. I was feeling more generally down about the project, too. Nothing crazy, only the sort of occasional ups and downs you get with a long creative project. It’s just Uncertainty popping round for a drink and a catch-up. It would be rude to not answer the door, but I try not to let him get too comfortable, either. (If this all sounds too glum, please join me in the footnotes below.)

When I woke up on Wednesday, these feelings were especially keen, and there was the whole Global Situation on top of it all. Oof.

But then, some good news. Some very good news, actually. For the second time in maybe fourteen years, one of my grant applications proved successful. Some readers might remember me mentioning that I was preparing those applications last summer. I'm proud to announce that PRACTICAL DEFENCE AGAINST PIRACY has been awarded a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts.

The grant provides some very comforting financial support for the work, obviously, but it was also extremely reassuring to receive such a strong vote of confidence at a time when I needed one. A perfectly-timed pat on the back. I feel very fortunate.

The grant is in the amount of CAD$ 24,950, before taxes. It’s the maximum available for my class of application, and covers “subsistence” over the course of a year. It is a huge relief, make no mistake, and while you won’t see me posting from a cabana in Puerto Rico any time soon, together with your patronage, this whole endeavour starts to look… almost… financially responsible?

Naturally, I would love to share my winning ways with you and tell you how to write a successful grant application. I yearn to confidently announce exactly what sort of language must be used or what sort of features are extra-appealing to the judges. But I can’t. I don’t know what the secret is. The only differentiating factor I can identify is that I was able to provide work-in-progress pages. My previous successful application was for DD3 in 2016, and I sent in some inked pages with that application, I believe. This time, I was able to send in coloured pages. The other option is to send in previous work to say, “it’s going to be like this.” That type of application has never been successful for me.

Because I probably don’t say it often enough, let me say thank you, dear readers, for your patronage. I am deeply grateful for the faith you have put in me, setting out on this long project together. And as buzz around the internet these days involves so much proprietorship and claims of ownership and non-fungibleness, I love being able to offer PRACTICAL DEFENCE to readers online, without ads or popups or popovers or cookie alerts, saying, “here, this is yours to read and enjoy,” a little slice of Web 1.0, the Old Web, thanks to the patronage of generous readers.

ADVERBS

I heard this line in Terry Pratchett's THE LIGHT FANTASTIC, and I think it's the very best way you can use an adverb: “Rincewind looked back at the tiny figure which was industriously picking his nose.” (Emphasis mine.)

In Stephen King’s ON WRITING, he advises us to limit our use of adverbs. Trim out “-ly” words as much as possible. In general, I agree with this advice. Adverbs should be used judiciously, carefully, skillfully, good-choice-fully. But Pratchett knows what he is doing. If an adverb makes you laugh, it’s a keeper.

INK

I made a timelapse video of what happens when I put my inky brush into water. Why is it so turbulent? I promise the jar is standing still. Regardless, it's pretty.

CLIFFHANGERS

Last week I berated George R R Martin for the way he used chapter-ending cliffhangers. I didn’t do a thorough-enough job, though. He deserves much more grief than I gave him. I figure I should do the honest thing and put together some thoughts on the difference between a successful suspenseful scene-end or chapter-end, versus something that feels cheap and exploitative (as I remember GAME OF THRONES feeling). If you have any thoughts, please do leave them below. I’m not trying to make homework for you, I’m just trying to understand how alone (or not) I am in this feeling, and maybe learn something about crafting page turners without turning readers away.

FEBRUARY

Phew! We made it. I'll probably sneak in a few more percentage points before the end of the 28th, too. Unless something weird happens, inking will be finished by the end of March.

Once more, thank you, Dear Reader.

TC

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FOOTNOTE

I typically try to keep these posts cheery and light for a bunch of reasons, not least of which is I would hate for anyone to think I was fishing for compliments or reassurances or pick-me-ups. You readers are already very generous in that regard. I appreciate it.

In sharing the "downs" part of "ups and downs," I'm just trying to be honest, just trying to be straight about this whole weird process. I don't think I would trust an artist who told me they never had doubts about their own work. I hope we can both be comfortable with that. In Terry Pratchett’s WINTERSMITH, witches disguise and sugarcoat the things they say to the hapless civilians around them, but speak truthfully among each other. We can all be witches here, together, Dear Reader.

(Incidentally, I had a high school art teacher who was very much a Granny Weatherwax. His name was Stan Miyazaki, a short, gruff man who demanded proper manners, would slap me in the stomach if he thought I wasn't staying fit, and who was generous with his time, energy, and support in a way I have rarely seen since. He had an outsized impact on my life and character. I think about him often, especially when I'm feeling down about a project. I imagine him walking by, smacking me in the stomach, and telling me to stop pulling at my face and get my pencil moving.)