Clancy asks, “Why aren’t you making your own comics? You could really do some cool, creative ones, I bet.” To which I might offer the sincere (albeit smart-alecky) response: well, why aren’t you writing fiction, Clancy? You could come up with some cool, creative stories, I bet. And I’d enjoy reading them.
That’s only part of an answer, though. Another part is that I’m a rotten and contrary bastard, stubbornly opposed to doing stuff I see other folks doing, whether it be quizzes or comics.
But, well, Clancy, I’m grateful, and you’re too kind: that was a generous comment. Here’s page 1 of what might turn into a six-page (or longer?) response.
Clancy’s Question
Ha! Touché.
Hmmm. Well, one reason I don’t write fiction based on my life in particular is that I have this immature reluctance to engage in any emotional labor unless I feel it’s necessary. That’s why I don’t seek out movies like The Notebook, Monsters Ball, or In the Bedroom (the latter two of which I have seen); they send me into a tailspin. I imagine writing about my family would be somewhat traumatic, even though they’re not dysfunctional in any social-worker-intervention sense. I always say they’re like a Tennessee Williams play (dare I say a cross between Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and the Left Behind series?), but I guess many families are that way, or his plays wouldn’t have had the impact they did and still do. Also, I’m not clever enough to write good comedy…but I have a feeling that my capacity to write fiction could increase dramatically in the next few years when I have kids, if BitchPhD’s posts are any indication (Pseudonymous Kid will ask B to tell a story that is both scary and funny, with a mouse as the main character, with a wizard and a robot as sidekicks, etc. Heh.). So we’ll see.
Hmm. With your “based on my life” qualifier, I might call that an artful dodge. While my stories about the stick and the sergeant major are very much rooted in personal experience, others — like the dog tag, divorce, and American tarot pieces — have little or no connection to things I’ve lived or done. (The dog tag story, in fact, started out as an exercise; seeing if I could center something around the Army’s guidelines on how to call for fire — and the call for fire eventually wound up being only one scene, and completely secondary to the story’s overarching theme of negation.) I knew before I started to attempt page 1 of that comic that comics are tough — tougher, in many ways, than fiction. So I’ll offer a creative counter-challenge, Clancy: if I can try to do comics, I’d really like to see you do a short story, whether based on your life or not.
Clancy, I have an old comic that Mike sent to me that illustrated a trip that he took to NY (I believe). Quite a rousing tale of drinking, cavorting…well, I had better stop there. C’mon, I don’t want to spoil the plot. I could send you a copy if the price is right. 🙂 Just kidding. Nice comic, Mike.
Clancy, why don’t you try to write a story based on Mike’s life?
Mercy me. What pressure on top of my existing end-of-semester stress! 🙂 / 🙁 I’m so embarrassed…
Okay–make it a comic book. Be sure to include his cats, his military background, and tarot cards.
Plus dissertation angst. Can’t forget that dissertation angst. And trucks. And prison. And, well, let me just go on and adapt David Allen Coe’s contention (looks like I’m just referencing old country & western songs all over the place these days) that it won’t be perfect unless Clancy says something about momma, and trains, and trucks, and prison, and gettin’ drunk.:-)
I’ll see if I can put another page of that comic up on Friday. Plot-wise, it is going somewhere, I promise; I’ve got six pages of panel breakdowns and dialogue — it’s the drawing that’s the hard part.
Hope both of your semesters are wrapping up well — don’t stress too much, Clancy.