DD4 Update: Jan 4, 2021

I was watching a Fortnite stream last night, wherein the streamers were talking about the process of learning improv and stand-up comedy. They said, “things will be bad until they’re good.” Delilah Dirk 4, too, “will be bad until it is good,” just like every book before it. The story will have holes, might be disjointed, might have some weird character behaviour… until it doesn’t. (Ordinarily I keep that part of the process secret.)

At the same time, the book will eventually have to be “done,” because “done is better than perfect.” That applies at all points during the process, from individual story beats to character design choices, to panel layout to the book as a whole.

Anyway, right now the story is not, in fact, “bad,” but it's not as good as it will be. Through December, I’ve been doing historical research, a little adjacent reading (Byron’s The Corsair etc. for some 19th-century pirate flavour) and have been making story notes and brainstorming. This latter item involves writing down little images, scenes, or ideas that feel like potential gems, as well as trying to answer currently-unanswered questions in the story. The working rhythm is currently: jot notes, sketch out a loose outline including the new ideas, discover new gaps, listen to what the story is saying, and go back to brainstorming ways to fill gaps. Repeat.

Happily, as I’ve been doing this, the story has been getting more vital and colourful. I’ve made some deviations from my original outline (which I should share later), and I’m probably heading in a few too many different directions, but that’s just the point I’m at. For now, I’d rather have too many options than too few.

This week:

• Notes, brainstorming, and loose re-drafting. 

This month:

• Notes and brainstorming, continued.
• Visual development: Location sketches. Primary goal: variety! The story takes place on one island. I want to feel good about having diverse looks and feels for that setting, as any half-decent adventure story ought to have.
• Visual development: Islander sketches. I have some side characters that require figuring-out, and our main characters could use some re-visiting. It’s been a while since I touched them initially.
• Visual development: Visual brainstorming, i.e., “neat things to look at.”

I anticipate this mode of work will continue next month—more vis dev, more notes. If I solve a few nagging problems, hopefully I can tie up a new draft of the outline.