When it comes to doing creative work, fear, doubt, and other negative thoughts are the number one reason it doesn’t even get started. It’s a struggle that all creative have in whatever medium we use to do our creative work.
You may say that the struggle is a war. A war to get off your butt, fight the fear and negativity and get things done.
If what I’ve said even slightly resonates with you, then you may want to watch this book review of Steven Pressfield’s book The War of Art. It’s worth watching, believe me:
If you liked this video and would like me to discuss something you think I might know about…
If you want to ask me a question about drawing that you might be struggling with…
If you want to suggest a character or drawing you’d like me to draw, feel free to ask or suggest away, either here on my comments or anywhere else you’d like to contact me.
Just be aware that my Patreon patrons get their questions answered first and they get to see the videos weeks before anyone else.
VIDEOS/BOOKS – Perspective For Comic book Artists Book Review
So many artists run screaming in the other direction when someone mentions perspective. Other fall to the ground in a fetal position crying for their mommies, while still other break out in a cold sweat of fear.
If this sounds like you, I may have something that may help. I’ve talked about this book in other videos but I thought perhaps I should dedicate a single video to review this book:
If you liked this video and would like me to discuss something you think I might know about…
If you want to ask me a question about drawing that you might be struggling with…
If you want to suggest a character or drawing you’d like me to draw, feel free to ask or suggest away, either here on my comments or anywhere else you’d like to contact me.
Just be aware that my Patreon patrons get their questions answered first and they get to see the videos weeks before anyone else.
Well, health benefits are not the only thing drawing is helpful with. There’s a lot of other practical things you can do with drawing that don’t require it to be a career.
I thought I’d make you a aware of a book that talks about another use for drawing. I love it because it’s opened my eyes to something new I can start to do with my favorite skill set. Watch the video to see what I’ve found:
If you liked this video and would like me to discuss something you think I might know about…
If you want to ask me a question about drawing that you might be struggling with…
If you want to suggest a character or drawing you’d like me to draw, feel free to ask or suggest away, either here on my comments or anywhere else you’d like to contact me.
Just be aware that my Patreon patrons get their questions answered first and they get to see the videos weeks before anyone else.
I’ve read a few. Just so you know where I’m coming from, I’ll quickly sound off on the ones I’ve read. (some of the links in this post are affiliate links, thanks for your support):
There are plenty of other books on storytelling but most of them fall under the story theories presented in the books above.
As I’ve written before in other posts, so far my favorite story theory is the one put forth by Dramatica. Because of this, I’m going to be mentioning Dramatica quite a lot.
However, after reading Invisible Ink, I’ve found the perfect companion book to go along with it. Here’s what makes Invisible Ink so awesome:
3 Reasons Invisible Ink Rocks
1. It’s Simple
I cannot stress this enough, this story theory is dead simple. Especially since I’m such a fan of Dramatica (which is the most complicated story theory ever.) The story theory in this book is the most basic story theory I’ve ever read.
It’s the complete opposite of the Dramatic Theory.
In fact it’s “Rule #4” of Pixar’s 22 rules of Storytelling, according to Emma Coats:
#4: Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.
Now, I don’t know which came first, the Pixar formula or if Pixar took it from Brian McDonald, but it’s awesome and easy to understand. Of course, the book then explains this structure a bit further.
All other theories seem to have far more steps in them then this.
It’s well worth understanding this one.
2. It’s Versatile
Most of the books on story I’ve read except for one, have always put forth the proposition that, for a story to work, the protagonist of the story should change by the time the story ends.
This has never made any sense to me since this it’s clearly not true. Most sitcoms don’t end this way, nor do many on going serialized superhero comics. Homer is still Homer by the end of an episode. Superman is still Superman by the end of his stories. James Bond is still the same guy he was by the end of his movies as he was at the start.
In fact, I even blame the Superhero movies that don’t work on the notion that writers aren’t taught how to write protagonists that DON’T change by the end of the story.
Until I’d read Invisible Ink, the only other story theory that addressed this directly was Dramatica.
Not only does Invisible Ink address this, it also encourages it and even gives examples of how to make stories work around the protagonist not changing.
This actually opens up the type of stories you can tell. You’re not stuck with only the one storytelling “formula” every other book I’ve read keeps trying to force you down.
Even though, Dramatica theory also took this into account, Invisible Ink really varies it up.
3. It Focuses On Theme
Okay, this is nothing new. To be quite honest, pretty much all the books I’ve read focus on theme at some level and in some way.
It’s not the fact that it focuses on theme that makes the book unique, it’s HOW it focuses on it. In fact, it is the “invisible ink,” the book is titled after.
Final Thoughts
I love this book. Forgive me for mentioning Dramatic theory so much in this review. It’s my favorite story theory. But I found that, in many many ways, Invisible Ink has managed to say and do many of the same things, in a much more digestible, easy to read package.
If I was to recommend a book on story theory to anyone, I’d point them to Invisible Ink first.
There are a lot of female spies in fiction but not very many are fantasy or sci-fi based. Today Alesha is going to share some of her favorites in these particular genres. This means Modestly Blaise is not going to be on the list.
Okay, that’s enough from me, here’s Alesha…
She will karate chop your mad scientist and out-magic your evil warlock. Science fiction and fantasy stories provide great settings for the mysterious and intriguing character of a spy. I’ve jotted down four of my favorite female spies in particular who’ve wowed me with their wit, courage, and bad-assery.
1. Agent Carter
Peggy Carter graced the pages of several Captain America comics.
She’s a skilled shooter, trained fighter, and had helped the French Resistance sabotage Nazis during WWII. I enjoyed her character in Captain America: The First Avenger.
She wasn’t a primping damsel in distress that needed Captain America to carry her away from battle. She fought the baddies alongside Captain and could match enemy combatants step-for-step.
I thought her Agent Carter One Shot (short) film was awesome and not too far off from some of the real life female spies of that era. I’ve already got my popcorn ready for her upcoming TV series, Marvel’s Agent Carter.
She’s got a team of scientists who supply her with gadgets like her Widow’s Bite bracelets (which deliver an energy blast) and her uniform’s synthetic fabric that allows her to cling to walls and ceilings.
What I find so fun about Black Widow’s character is that besides having to hold her own among superheroes, her best asset isn’t a forged weapon, but her mind.
She’s had a tough life that’s taught her to use her wits and ingenuity in order to survive (which is a must for the super-spy).
Whether it’s extracting vital information during an interrogation or obtaining secrets, Black Widow knows how to get the job done, and she does it with style!
What’s cool about Emma is that she’s a genius, awesome at chemistry, and an expert fencer. Many of us remember this character from the popular ’60s TV show.
Whether you’ve read the comics or watched the movies (I’ve seen the one with Uma Thurman as Emma), I just think there’s a part inside us girls that roots for being an accomplished woman and a super-cool spy that has to deal with mad science experiments and shady villains.
To me, Sydney is the “emotional” spy, the one who reminds us that amidst a sweaty and painful fist fight, that there’s a girl who wants to go on a date or be able to tell her closest friends what she really does for a living.
I liked the turmoil, the romance, and I especially enjoyed the fringe science/paranormal bent when the show delved into Milo Rimbaldi and his Renaissance prophecies surrounding Sydney.
If you haven’t seen ALIAS, I will come to your house and berate you, and then I’ll sit with you and watch it with you, because I am a good friend like that.
5. Isabella George
This WWII-era female spy from my fantasy series, The Gray Tower Trilogy, is like Agent Carter with dangerous magic mixed in.
Isabella George is a trained wizard, a dropout from the prestigious but aloof Gray Tower, who agrees to aid British intelligence in one last mission before retiring.
She has to bring down a rogue alchemist who has whipped up a deadly plague for a secret Nazi experiment, and the cost of failure isn’t pretty.
She’s already got to deal with her cover being blown, outsmart a vampiric warlock who’s stalking her in order to steal her powers, and uncover the secrecy within her own past.
There are of course several more amazing characters who could be added to the list (please feel free to comment below with listing your favorite sci-fi/fantasy spies). I hope you enjoyed reading about some of my picks, and I’ll leave you with the exciting new book trailer for The Gray Tower Trilogy (with the spy Isabella George).
Also, don’t forget to support The Gray Tower Trilogy’s current Thunderclap campaign! I’ve joined forces with author Devorah Fox to bring you all a special fantasy book event. Your single click of support will be added to nearly 100 supporters who’ll spread the word.
Does this sound like you? Well you’re in luck because I’m here to tell you that you’re wrong. You can draw, you can draw stick figures and drawing straight lines is overrated.
I’ve written a book especially for you. It doesn’t assume that you know anything about drawing at all. You don’t need you to have any “talent.”
I assume that the only thing you know how to do is write. And using that I build upon your knowledge of writing to help you expand beyond it into drawing.
When you go take a martial arts class, they don’t assume you have marital arts “talent” and say, “Okay since you’re talented, I will teach you.”
No. They assume you know nothing and that’s why you’re going to the class. Well, my book is like that. You don’t need to be talented to learn what is in it.
I take everything I’ve learned in all my years drawing, including the 20+ years I have working on The Simpsons and brake down drawing to it’s most basic components.
In the book you will learn:
How you may already be drawing and don’t know it.
The dirty secret of drawing talent.
How learning to draw basic shape can let you draw anything.
How to draw stick figures with style.
What professionals know about tracing correctly.
How to draw basic cartoon characters…and much more
That’s what in the book, BUT there’s MORE. I’m now bundling the book with some fantastic things that makes it even easier to get started drawing. It will even save you some time.
How would you like your drawing skills to increase without frustration?
Has this ever happened to you? You sit down to do something, and you get so absorbed in it that when you look up, hours have passed and you feel like you’ve been meditating.
If you have, you’ve experience “flow state” otherwise known as “being in the zone.” Flow state can be reached in many different ways doing many different things. Sports is one way.
Drawing is another.
There’s a reason why artists draw. It’s not just the reward of creating something, it’s not just the kudos from friends that think the drawing is great, it’s not just the joy of having the skills to draw what you want, although all those things are reasons artists draw.
But the reason little kids draw, and the reason those kids who stuck with it are now drawing today, is because at some point, they got addicted to reaching flow state as they drew.
This is why drawing has so many mental health benefits. It puts you in a state of peace outside yourself. And then when you’re done, you have a drawing to show for it.
The problem–reaching flow isn’t easy.
There’s a delicate balance that must be reached to get into flow when drawing. If the drawing task is too easy, it’s boring and you don’t reach flow. If the drawing is too difficult then you get frustrated and quit. BUT if the drawing is just tough enough to challenge your skills but it’s still doable, then POW, you’re in flow.
If you’ve been struggling to create a habit out of drawing, it’s probably because you haven’t reached flow state nearly enough when you draw. You’ve probably found it to be too challenging and frustrating and so you quit, or just too easy and found it boring.
How Can You Reach Flow and be Able to Create a Drawing Habit?
The Draw Fu Acolyte Bundle is everything you need to start drawing and create a drawing habit. Here’s what you get:
A signed print copy of: The Art of Draw Fu: Beginners Level – Not only is this all the basic information you need to get you started drawing, but I’ll also draw a sketch of a Draw Fu characters in it for you. (MSRP $25)
A Canson 9×12 sketchbook – Great quality spiral bound sketchbook. I use Canson sketchbooks all the time. I’ll draw a Homer Simpson in it for you to get you started. (MSRP $23)
A 9×12 tracing paper pad – This is especially handy if you don’t have any around the house. I often suggest using tracing paper in my book. I give you a pad so you don’t have to go out and get one. (MSRP $6.65)
A Color Wheel – Instead of using my book as a color wheel guide, I pack a special one in for you. It comes with instructions on how to use. It instructs you about color mixing, values, color, hues, intensity, tint, tone, shades, neutral grays, primary colors, secondary colors, tertiary colors, warm colors and many other things. REALLY HANDY. (MSRP $6.29)
A free “Keep Calm, I know Draw Fu” Pen – A ballpoint pen to use when going field sketching. ($2 value)
A free “Keep Calm, I know Draw Fu” magnet – A little something fun to stick on your fridge as reminder of your new drawing skills ($5 value)
and a FREE DVD copy of Zentangle with Suzanne McNeill CZT. – This is the perfect DVD to compliment the The Art of Draw Fu: Beginners Level book. Once you finish reading the book, this is the perfect next step and it’s yours for FREE. In the DVD you will learn:
The basics of drawing an illuminated design, called a “tangle.”
What more advance “tangles” look like.
Some really handy marker coloring tips.
The plethora of uses that these designs can be used for (Journals, sketchbooks, scrapbooks, greeting cards, tiles…etc) (MSRP $30)
The total MSRP for the bundle is: $97.94, but your investment is $60 + $5 flat rate shipping (Sorry, no shipping outside of the U.S. for now).
Seriously, the things in this book can be done anywhere and anytime, on anything. I provide a sketchbook but you can doodle on anything laying around. You can take five minutes or fifteen. The exercises are quick to do.
And if you get the DVD, you’ll get even more ideas for quick ways to get drawing in. It doesn’t take hours to scribble something on a random piece of paper. And it’s fun.
A Great Gift
If you don’t want a bundle for yourself, buy one of these for someone you know that would like to learn to draw.
Do you know of a young adult that has no confidence in their drawing skills but really wants to draw? This is the perfect gift for them.
It will blow their minds.
Supplies May Be Limited (not sure yet)
Now, I will say, I only have a limited amount of these bundles. I’m personally putting together and sending out each and every bundle.
I have to special order all the things that go into each bundle. The place I get my supplies seems to run out of stock on some of this stuff and they don’t seem to be able to resupply. I honestly don’t know how long I’ll be able to sell these bundles. I put this stuff together at my home and once the supplies can’t be ordered anymore, that’s it.
So it would be very wise, if you’re going to invest in a bundle, to do it now while I can still get the supplies.
ANIMATION – Thoughts on the Legion of Superheroes Animated Cartoon
Simpsons Quote:
Lucy Lawless: I’ll take you home.
[Lucy flies, carrying Bart and Lisa]
Lisa: Hey, Xena can’t fly.
Lucy Lawless: I told you, I’m not Xena. I’m Lucy Lawless.
Hi. So as I’ve said before, I’m a big fan of animated cartoons, and one of my all-time favorite animated cartoons is the Legion of Superheroes, and today I’m going to be talking a little bit more in-depth about that.
You can either watch the video or read the transcription below:
Some of the links below are affiliate links. Thanks for your support.
A Bit of Gushing
I liked the Legion of Superheroes cartoon. I’m very disappointed that there’s only the first season of it on DVD. I want the second season, because I happen to be a huge Superman fan. A huge Superman nerd. I’m such a nerd when it comes to Superman. Love Superman.
Legion of Superheroes season two has one of the most interesting versions of Superman. There’s this character in it called Superman X that’s like a cross between Batman and Superman, with Superman’s powers, and it’s good.
Why I Like the First Season
I’m getting way too ahead of myself. Let me at least talk about the first season. Why do I like this show?
Well, first, I really like the approach that they took with the designs. I really do think that these designs are way more pushed than, say, they took the Bruce Timm style and they kind of cartoon-ified it even more and pushed it, and so that’s one of the things. I like the look of the show.
What is the Legion of Superheroes?
Second, the stories are a lot of fun. If you don’t know what the Legion of Superheroes is, it’s a group of superheroes, and they’re all aliens on Earth being superheroes.
They’re a superhero team of the thirty-first century that were inspired to come to Earth to be the alien superhero of Earth because Superman was an alien superhero. So, since he has become a legend by the time of the the thirty-first century, it inspired a group of young kids to also come to Earth and be the superhero of Earth.
There were so many of them, they all kind of banded together and they became the Legion. So one of the things that they did was, because they wanted to meet their hero, they created a time bubble and they traveled back in time to Smallville, and met Superboy, who was at the time their age, and brought him into the future and have adventures with him.
Clark, I guess, just graduated high school or something, and now he’s Superman. He’s about ready to go into Metropolis, but then he goes into the future to have adventures with the Legion.
The Feel of the Cartoon
It’s a great cartoon. I like it. The animation is great, the stories are fun, it’s not as serious as, say, Batman Beyond and the Bruce Timm Batman, and The Batman, and I would even say Justice League and Justice League Unlimited.
It’s not as serious, but it also is not as wacky as, say, Teen Titans animated cartoon. It’s somewhere in between. My kids like this cartoon also. But I didn’t get that for them, I got it for me.
All right, so check out that Legion of Superheroes first season. Maybe if they sell enough of them they might release the second season, which I think is much, much better.
Why I liked Season Two
Like I said, it’s got a clone of Superman from the forty-first century. It’s a fun character. His name is Superman X. I have no idea why DC has not made a comic of Superman X, with Superman X in it.
He’s a cool Superman. I’m going to have to draw Superman X, because he’s cool. And it’s funny because the design of Superman X looks like Tom Welling from Smallville, the live action Superman TV show that went out for ten years. I think that’s great. I’m a fan of Smallville also, so I thought that was a cool nod to that version of Superman.
Below you’re going to put links to some episodes of Legion of Superheroes season two, with a Superman X episode.
You can watch, if not all, most of season two of Legion of Superheroes on YouTube. It’s the only way that you can see them right now.
Have you Seen This Show?
Okay, so let me know if you’ve seen the show. What do you think? Do you have the same opinions? Do you not like this show? I’d like to know.
Leave a comment below. If you want a free “Art of” book from me, with all my artwork in it, subscribe to my newsletter. You will get a free copy of the book, and if you want a copy of the print version of the book, you can go to Amazon and get it there.
VIDEOS – Legion of Superheroes Season 2
Here are the first two episodes of Legion of Superheroes Season 2. Enjoy:
How learning to draw basic shape can let you draw anything.
How to draw stick figures with style.
What professionals know about tracing correctly.
How to draw basic cartoon characters…and much more
Most “how to draw” books always assume you have some level of competency. This book doesn’t. It helps you from the ground up.
Draw as if you’ve been born to. Amaze your friends. Have fun drawing again, like you did when you were little.
For more comics and stories written by me: COMICS AND STORIESIf you like what you read, please consider signing up to my rss feed.
WRITING – Four Things to Think About When Writing a Novel Part 3 of 4.
Simpsons Quote:
Lisa: ”Can you tell me what happens at the end of the series?”
JK Rowling (kind of ticked): “Yes, he grows up and marries you… Is that what you want to hear?”
Lisa (sighs, happily): ”Yes…”
Hi. Welcome to video three of “Things to Think About When You’re Writing a Novel”. Again, I’m joined by my wife, Alesha Escobar, and today we’re going to be talking about decompression.
You can either watch the video or read the transcription below:
Some of the links below are affiliate links. Thanks for your support.
About Decompression
Luis: I’ve been editing my wife’s books for quite a long time and I’ve been reading her books even before she was getting published – publishing her books. And currently she’s writing the Gray Tower.
Luis:And this is the second one: Dark Rift. And I’m currently working on reading through the manuscript, Circadian Circle – she’s already finished the first draft. And I’m a little bit over halfway through. So I’m kind of in editor mode right now. But again, one of the things that we wanted to bring up his decompression. Now decompression. What do I mean by decompression?
Alesha: By decompression you mean taking a scene that is merely just a summary or maybe crunched up a little bit too short and developing it so that you add some more detail, maybe some more dialogue and kind of make it a bit more flavorful.
Luis:Right. I’ve noticed that when you’re starting – when most beginning writers start writing they just tend to just sum up moments just to get to either their favorite moments or the good parts or I don’t know what, or just to get through the story. And a lot of the times that’s okay. Sometimes you just kind of want to sum up things because they’re not really all that important. But most of the time you would kind of want to err on the side of decompression, only because what it does is it opens up the characters more. You get into the character’s heads more, you live through the moments more, you empathize with the characters a lot more. So that’s kind of the benefits of decompression.
Very early on Alesha used to compress way too much and it was a very fast read. But it also didn’t have any emotional impact because it was much too compressed. She doesn’t necessarily have that problem anymore. Occasionally, I would say this paragraph might need to be decompressed a little bit more. But generally it’s working really well. So let’s talk about Tower’s Alchemist and let’s talk about a moment in the book where we had to decompress something, where I thought it would be a good idea.
Alesha: Yes. I believe its close to the middle of the book where Isabella has to make it into a weapons factory, infiltrate it basically under a false identity with a couple of allies and basically uses her alchemy to neutralize these chemicals that have been kind of mixed in with a dark alchemical spell.
Luis:Yeah. So it’s kind of like the, “defuse the bomb moment” right where like the character has to defuse the bomb before it blows up. I’m only saying that so that you don’t put too much detail about what’s actually happening. But it’s kind of that, that kind of a moment.
Alesha: And I think originally I had her go in, you know, she does her job; she’s efficient at it, right. She’s trained. But then it first didn’t have the impact that it should have because it wasn’t as decompressed. For example…
Luis: Yeah, it didn’t – it lacked a little bit of the tension. It lacked tension because it was just too summed up. It was just a little bit too summed up.
Alesha: Right. So what I added was kind of what’s going through her head at this moment. What process is she going through while doing this? Especially for readers who may not be as familiar with alchemy and, you know, working with just in general chemicals. Like how does one thing effect the other and why’s this so important? Why is she nervous, you know? Why is she scared? So to have a vested interest in whether or not she will succeed, you have to kind of understand the scene and get those details and get those emotions. So by decompressing it and giving it that detail and that flavor it works a lot better in that respect. So that’s what I ended up with.
Luis:Yeah, yeah. And now the scene really works and it has a lot of tension in it and it’s a very exciting moment. So stuff like that. So just generally look for moments that you may have summed up a little bit too much. Like I said, it’s better to err in the side of decompression than to compress too much. That said, you can over decompress and end up with – I don’t even know if you guys are familiar with Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series but I personally think that that is just way too decompressed. There are moments in that book, in that series that could really use a little bit of compression in just summing up characters, getting up and doing whatever it is that they’re supposed to be doing. It just drives me crazy.
Alesha: What are you talking about? I like 20-page descriptions of what someone is wearing.
Luis: It doesn’t further the plot and then you’re like, “What was that for? Why?” I mean, you care about the characters but really it’s like nothing happens for like half a book just because all you’re doing is describing somebody getting up and getting dressed, and that really doesn’t do anything for…
Alesha: But luckily you just love the characters so much that you’re…
Luis:Well, again, and part of the benefits of decompression is the character building aspect of decompression and empathizing with the characters. So yes, I guess that’s…
Alesha: Where did I leave off in that series, by the way?
Luis: I don’t remember. I think you were like in book ten or 11. I don’t remember.
Alesha: Yeah, I think so. The only person I care about now is Egwene.
Alesha: Yes. Amazon and Smashwords and at the iBookstore.
Luis:All right. It’s free on the iBookstore?
Alesha: Yes.
Luis:Oh. I didn’t know. Hey, I didn’t know.
Alesha: We go to the iBookstore.
Luis:There’s an iBookstore? i…Books? And if you want to pick up another free book you can subscribe to my newsletter and you could pick up my Art of Book. And you should get a free digital download as soon as you sign up. So until next time, there’s an iBookstore. We’ll see you in the next video when we’ll be talking about something else. All right. Bye.
BOOKS – The Memory Book
I’ve been reading a lot. I’ve been education myself quite a bit lately on just about anything that strikes me as useful. I’ve become obsessed with something new lately, namely, my mind, my brain, my memory. I want to learn faster, and retain more. To this end I picked up the book The Memory Book: The Classic Guide to Improving Your Memory at Work, at School, and at Play.
This book rocks.
I wrote a post a few months back about learning to teach yourself. Well, one of the skills you need to master when teaching yourself is “encoding.” Being able to retain the information you obtain, at will. I knew about a few mnemonic devices but this book really breaks them down into ONE, namely “association.”
The info in here works great. I can retain any information I choose to retain at will now. It’s amazing. It just takes a little imagination.
That said, I will add a disclaimer. mnemonic devices do NOT improve your “natural memory”. By which I mean, the memory you were born with. What they do is give you tools that will improve your “active memory.” By which I mean, the memory you use when you consciously want to remember something.
Still, it’s a fantastic book and I highly recommend it.
For more comics and stories written by me: COMICS AND STORIESIf you like what you read, please consider signing up to my rss feed.
BOOKS – Four Things to Think About When Writing a Novel Part 2 of 4
Simpsons Quote:
Lisa:“I think books have an amazing power to bring people together. Look, even Cletus is checking one out.”
Cletus: “Now hold still. Nothing cracks a turtle like Leon Uris.”
Hi, this is part two of four of “Four things to think about when you’re writing a novel.” This time I’m joined by my wife, Alesha Escobar, and we’re going to be talking about setup in stories.
You can watch the video or read the transcription below:
Luis:The thing is that because I was talking about this, I thought maybe I might as well invite Alesha over to talk about this stuff, especially because we started talking about it anyway. She’s gradually gotten really good at not doing this anymore, but when she first started out, setup was an issue. And what do I mean by setup? Setup is when you are trying to convey something like an emotional moment that’s going to happen to a character. Say, if they’re afraid of spiders and they’re going to get over their fear of spiders. Setup is something that you do to lay the groundwork within a story so that when that moment happens where they are able to triumph, you’ve actually laid the groundwork already. You’ve set that up a little by giving clues, by giving examples of the problem.
So Alesha, what do you think about setup? Using the novels as an example, how do you now setup? Because now, you do it really well.
Alesha: Well, I think when you’re first starting off and you’re trying to find your way, you really want to, like you said, hit those great moments in the story and bring the reader along. But you have to be able to lay the groundwork for that so that it’s fully appreciated. So for example, in The Tower’s Alchemist, I would say, what was, I guess, one of your favorite payoffs?
Luis:Well, I don’t know how much I can say because it would be too much of a spoiler.
Alesha: Ah, okay. It’s Tower’s Alchemist.
Luis:Oh gosh. Now you put me on the spot.
Alesha: As I should.
Luis:Here, let me get back to you. I’ll have to read it, hold on.
Alesha: But I understand what you’re saying about that, because I think when I wrote like, maybe my first draft and we went over it together, we really had to take some parts that needed that fuller development so that when the reader would hit it, go ah-ha! Or, wow! Or, ah-mmm! So, I think they would appreciate those specific moments with—
Luis:Yeah, I just remember being really harsh going, what the heck!? Where’d this come from?
Alesha: Really, really harsh.
Luis:I just don’t remember—
Alesha: Big meanie.
Luis:I just don’t remember those parts were now because they’re all fixed, but, I mean, it happens. And you just, as a writer you have to keep that in mind. You have to make sure that you just don’t come out of left field with somebody just showing up and doing something. Oh, well it’s because this person really, originally had this power already, or you know? And it’s like well, no you never set it up. There was no foundation for that thing, you know?
Alesha: I think also, sometimes as writers, we’re the ones who created the world and the characters, so sometimes we forget that the reader’s don’t always know what we know about the world.
Luis:Yeah, you’re assuming everybody’s in your head. Yeah, there’s a little bit more of an explanation and you have to just like lay the groundwork on that sort of thing. So yeah, that’s what I would say about setup. It’s something that once in a while now, I may make a note of it. But really, you’ve gotten so good at setting everything up and laying down the groundwork that it’s really not much of a problem anymore. So, yeah. So that’s our tip for today. Just make sure that you setup all the things so that you’re able to pay off the emotional moments better when you get to them. And if you like this sort of thing, just leave a comment and let us know. And if you want a free book by me, you can—
Alesha: This isn’t about you, Luis. Oh wait, this is your video. Okay, never mind.
Luis:If you want an ‘Art of’ with my artwork in it, with an explanation of the art, you could subscribe to my newsletter. You could get it free. It’s a digital download for free. And if you want to get The Tower’s Alchemist for free, go to Amazon and you can download it for the Kindle. Yeah, it costs $0. So just go to Amazon and pick yourself a copy so you can see how good everything’s setup in that book. Alright, so we’ll see you next time with tip number three? Alright. Talk to you next time. Bye.
MOVIES – Did I Like Man of Steel
In case you were curious, I did go see Man of Steel last weekend.
Did I like it? YUP! I really did. I got what I wanted out of it.
I’ll give my spoiler filled review on a future post.
For more comics and stories written by me: COMICS AND STORIESIf you like what you read, please consider signing up to my rss feed.
BOOKS – Artists! Here’s How You Get Your Art in a Book on Amazon.
Simpsons Quotes:
I heisted myself to the bestseller list once again. And the most brilliant part is I don’t even know how to read. – Neil Gaiman
As artists, creating a book with our art has become something of a tradition. If we draw independent comics and we want to get them printed, we also need to find a good printer or a print on demand printer.
Today, I’m going to be talking about the print on demand printer Createspace.
You can watch the video below or simply read what I have to say under it. It’s the same info either way:
A Need For a Print Book
I have a drawing website where I teach drawing as if I was teaching Kung Fu. If you’ve read my blog frequently enough I’m sure you’ve heard me mention it.
One of the things I did on the site was put together a digital book with all the information on the site. This was done so that there would be a slightly more convenient way to consume the information without needing to go to the site.
But I also wanted to have a print copy of that book. So to do this, I went on Createspace which is a print on demand site owned by Amazon.
Now my experience with Createspace is through my wife. She uses it to publish her Grey Tower series of books. The print books really look good and are good quality.
The thing is that I didn’t know how it would work for a book that wasn’t just prose.
I said, “what the heck. Let’s give it a try,” and I created a print book on Createspace. Once I did that, I ordered the proof and I got it.
How Well do Art Books Come Out in Createspace?
It looks great, for the most part. I think the colors on the cover are too dark and I’m going to need to fix that. But the interior of the book, the way it feels, the way it’s bound, I’m very happy with.
I won’t lie, it was pain in the neck to put it all together myself. I created the interior pdf, I created the cover and use the template that was give to me, by Createspace for it.
You can have them do it but it will cost you a few hundred dollars. I wasn’t willing to spend the money so I did it myself. BUT now that I know how to do it, my next attempt will be my Angel Cowgirl digital book, that I give away for free if you subscribe to my newsletter. I’m going to make that a print book as well.
My point is, if you want to have a high quality book of your art or a children’s book or whatever, Createspace, isn’t a bad choice.
Once I finally approve the book proof, the book will automatically be submitted into Amazon and will be sold through there, which is great. You can’t ask for a better online store to be on.
Do I Recommend It?
So yeah, I’m happy with the results so far fromCreatespace. So like I said, for an artist that might want to get his work in some sort of print book, this is a very good option.
Have you used Createspace? Let me know, I’ll like to know what you’re experience with it is.
PODCASTS – Uploading a The Corner Booth to iTunes
I’ve mentioned this before but I’ll mention this again, I’m on a podcast.
If you’re looking for it in iTunes, you won’t find it. It’s because I haven’t uploaded it to iTunes yet. Even though we have four episodes published so far.
I’m in the process of putting the podcast up on iTunes. As soon as it’s up, I’ll let you know.
Besides the podcasts we’ve already published, we have SIX in “the can,” five of which are ready to go. As soon I republish all the original episodes, I’ll start uploading the new ones.
Stay tuned. There’s some great shows coming up.
For more comics and stories written by me: COMICS AND STORIESIf you like what you read, please consider signing up to my rss feed.
When it comes to doing creative work, fear, doubt, and other negative thoughts are the number one reason it doesn’t even get started. It’s a struggle that all creative have in whatever medium we use to do our creative work.
by Melaine Anne Phillips and Chris Huntley
by Robert McKee
by Blake Snyder
, knows a bit about female spies. The protagonist of her book is one. 
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on any given day. 
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fan. 
decompression than to compress too much. That said, you can over decompress and end up with – I don’t even know if you guys are familiar with 
