I had a surreal moment this week: I scheduled all of the pages for chapter 1 of my comic*. All of the pages. They are drawn, inked, edited, lettered, and scheduled. There is no more work for me to do on chapter 1.

I’ve been working on this comic for years. Originally, it was in short story format, and then novel, and now as a graphic novel. Even as a comic, there are have been many rounds of drawing and re-drawing, and constantly second guessing myself. The courage to “do and let be” is something that I struggle with. I wouldn’t call myself a perfectionist, so much as a “finish-phobe.”

But chapter 1 is all done now. I get to draw chapter 2. I’VE NEVER DRAWN CHAPTER 2 BEFORE. Even in the rough stage, I’m still so excited to be introducing new characters, new settings, and new events. The story will move forward and I’m thrilled to be going along for the ride!

Honestly, I’m relieved to find myself excited again. Towards the end of Ch. 1, I was starting to fear that perhaps I’d lost some of my spark, my love for comics. But in reality, I think I’d just spent too much time on a single portion of the story. I worked that chapter to death, and it’s refreshing to be in new territory. My goal for Ch. 2 is to work efficiently, not look back, and finish strong!

(I wanted to have more of a point to this post but my brain is having trouble thinking in words rather than pictures!)

*The pages will release individually on MWF.