When I get work done for my dad, I'm relieved.
When I finally add a picture of Bonnie Anne to the Black Flag pages I rejoice.
Writing stories makes me happy… even when it's a very obnoxious and stubborn story that insists it wants to be told in pictures, when I've spent the past 20 years mostly concentrating on words.
I keep going back to her page over and over again, and smile and think “Look! There she is… that's her. She is.” I go to all my kids “Want to see what Bonnie Anne looks like? Look! This is Bonnie Anne. Here she is. This is who I've been telling you stories about.”
Ben, being the sort of person he is, sits there and goes… “So Mom, considering how slow you are about this making pictures and all… with an entire graphic novel to do, how's that going to work?” And I pick up an ElfQuest from off the dining room table and start counting pages, and then I go “If we're looking at about 100 pages for the story… and it takes me a week to do a page, that means it'll take me 2 years.” “If you don't get sick, Mom.” “So it takes me five years, ten years… whatever.” “But Mom, that's only the first story, you've got a whole bunch of Black Flag stories.”
Maybe I'll speed up with practice?
It doesn't really matter though. Bonnie Anne is up on the webpage. She looks right. That makes me happy. (Marquis isn't right. Mostly it's the hair, I think– I never knew fictional characters were so picky about their hair!– but he isn't right. Silver and Blood are right though. They make me happy too — although they've been there for a while so it's worn down to a gentler calmer sort of happiness.)
I've been worrying, though, that maybe just starting at the beginning and working my way through might not be the best idea. Revisions are going to be much more painful than when I'm working with words. I already know so much about this story, but maybe I'll need to do some work figuring out pacing before I start? :::wah!::: I don't know *anything* about how to do pacing for a graphic novel.
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