Here we go, as the story really gets rolling on Issue Two!
As I've said many times in these Author Notes, I'm learning about writing through doing it, and on this page, I learned the truth of the phenomenon I've heard many writers describe as the characters taking on a life of their own, or "writing themselves". When I first created Paige, it was with a purpose: I needed somebody for Steamroller Man to talk to. Since he's a goofball character, I wanted her to be the opposite of that.
This page is really their first meeting, and I honestly had not planned what they would say beyond the broadest, most utilitarian use of dialogue: "I can't reach you!","I'm losing my grip!", etc.
When it came to write the final dialogue, it was certainly an interesting experience to kind of mentally relax and just imagine what the characters would say to each other in the situation. The surprising part to me was the slightly adversarial banter that arose. It was not the direction I had thought they would go, but it just seemed to feel right. I asked myself "if she/he said that, what would he/she reply?" and the characters really did speak for themselves! Weird!
I'm finding it a little harder to keep track of time on a two-week posting schedule, although it could be that it's just a new routine. While I'm certainly feeling less hurried and less stressed to get my page done, I did have a few moments while working on this page when I wondered if I had missed my self-imposed deadline. So far, so good - but I am working without a page buffer! I'm typing this on Friday, May 29, after just having finished the artwork. Time to get started on the next one!
As I've said many times in these Author Notes, I'm learning about writing through doing it, and on this page, I learned the truth of the phenomenon I've heard many writers describe as the characters taking on a life of their own, or "writing themselves". When I first created Paige, it was with a purpose: I needed somebody for Steamroller Man to talk to. Since he's a goofball character, I wanted her to be the opposite of that.
This page is really their first meeting, and I honestly had not planned what they would say beyond the broadest, most utilitarian use of dialogue: "I can't reach you!","I'm losing my grip!", etc.
When it came to write the final dialogue, it was certainly an interesting experience to kind of mentally relax and just imagine what the characters would say to each other in the situation. The surprising part to me was the slightly adversarial banter that arose. It was not the direction I had thought they would go, but it just seemed to feel right. I asked myself "if she/he said that, what would he/she reply?" and the characters really did speak for themselves! Weird!
I'm finding it a little harder to keep track of time on a two-week posting schedule, although it could be that it's just a new routine. While I'm certainly feeling less hurried and less stressed to get my page done, I did have a few moments while working on this page when I wondered if I had missed my self-imposed deadline. So far, so good - but I am working without a page buffer! I'm typing this on Friday, May 29, after just having finished the artwork. Time to get started on the next one!