1996 Spacemouse 9 Patrol Ship Sketches

Here are some thumbnail sketches I did in 1996. They were an attempt to visualize Spacemouse 9's patrol ship. The top sketch shows the view from within the cockpit. The bottom sketch shows inside the cargo hold. Unintentionally, the exterior of the ship ended up looking like a cross between a 1950's rocket ship, a space shuttle, and a commercial airliner. While I like certain retro elements of the design,  in recent months I have come to feel it needs a more "alien" look. After all, Spacemouse 9 is from another planet, not Earth. My goal is to revise the design of the ship in the future.

Bird by Bird Review - Part 2

In Part 1 of my review of Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott I relayed a bit of her wisdom on overcoming the negative emotions that so often plague writers. Another subject in Lamott's book that stood out to me is the necessity of having honest, passionate beliefs at the core of one's writing. Here is a sample of her thoughts on the subject:

"If you find that you start a number of stories or pieces that you don't ever bother finishing, that you lose interest or faith in them along the way, it may be that there is nothing at their center about which you care passionately. You need to put yourself at their center, you and what you believe to be true or right...

...you have to believe in your position, or nothing will be driving your work. If you don't believe in what you are saying, there is no point in saying it. You might as well call it a day and go bowling."

Lamott's words echo what I read years ago in Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. McCloud, if I remember correctly, said something to the effect that a comic book artist may have all the technical ability in the world, but if he doesn't have a story to tell (a purpose, a message, a passion) then he will not be able to achieve success. Both Lamott's and McCloud's statements cause me to search my soul, especially in light of my decreased activity here (have you noticed I haven't been posting as much?) Still, I believe I have passion in my heart for the Spacemouse 9 project despite my snail's pace. Lamott's advice is helpful, but perhaps more research on self-motivation for writers would spur me to speed up production.

Bird by Bird Review - Part 1

It has been a hectic month, but I did manage to begin reading Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. The title of the book comes from an incident in Lamott's childhood in which her older brother, trying to get a report on birds written for school, was advised by Lamott's father: "Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird." Lamott's advice to writers echos that of her father. She recommends tackling writing projects one small piece at a time as the best way to overcome the emotions that hinder writers from producing.

To illustrate, here is a sample of her advice:

"The first useful concept is the idea of short assignments.  Often when you sit down to write, what you have in mind is an autobiographical novel... or a play about the immigrant experience... But this is like trying to scale a glacier.  It's hard to get your footing... Then your mental illnesses arrive at the desk like your sickest most secretive relatives. ...as the panic mounts and the jungle drums begin beating and I realize the well has run dry  ...I finally notice the one-inch picture frame that I put on my desk to remind me of short assignments. It reminds me that all I have to do is write down as much as I can see through a one-inch picture frame. This is all I have to bite off for the time being." 

I think that is great advice, at least for me personally. It is so easy to become stagnant in the face of self-doubt and the enormity of the writing task at hand.

Look for more about Bird by Bird in coming days...