Welcome to my second newsletter!
I’m still figuring out how to distill this monthly newsletter into a regular format, and what content I should be focusing on. And if I’m being perfectly honest, whether or not I’m even good at this. I’m much more comfortable writing stories than I am in interviews or… whatever this is. But I’m giving it a shot!
This time around I’m breaking it up into four sections and we’ll see if that sticks around in December.
Comments should be open below so feel free to drop any suggestion or questions you might have in there, and I’ll do my best to respond in the December edition.
November Musings.
Lately I’ve been think a lot about collaboration and have been posting some images from books in progress on Twitter and Instagram.
One of the projects I’m working on is a graphic novella by Erin Connelly and myself entitled, The Cutting Garden. Erin wrote something nice and thoughtful on Instagram the other day in regards to our collaboration and asked others about their own experiences.
I started thinking more about the process myself and having had several years of creative collaborations under my belt, in film and now comics, I began reflecting back on all of it. I asked myself what the key to a successful collaboration might be and, although it’s far more complex than this alone, came to the conclusion that keeping the work itself at the centre of the process is consistently at the heart of great collaborations. And talking. Lots and lots of talking.
It’s worth noting that great collaborations don’t necessarily yield great work but it’s often a healthier experience and that counts for something as well.
Setting your ego aside is more difficult than one might expect it to be, and I like to think I’ve come a long way in that regard in recent years. It’s quite liberating to arrive at the conclusion that although you might be crucial to the outcome of this thing, it’s not about you. To the amateur those things may appear to be inseparable, but with time you realize they most certainly are not.
I’ve never been happier than I am in my collaborations right now. Understanding that every creative decision you make, no matter how personal, is about the thing, and not yourself, is a freeing and fulfilling place to be working from while in pursuit of collaborative art.
Follow Erin on Instagram for more updates on our book and plenty of botanical goodness- she’s an incredible talent and an exceptional collaborator.
At the Desk.
On the writing front, I’m continuing to push ahead with several projects that are years in the making but there is something new on the horizon that is a slight a departure from my other books - my first work-for-hire gig! More specifically, a four issue mini series for Dark Horse Comics.
Unfortunately I can’t say anymore about it at this time but I’ll be sure to drop it here once it’s been officially announced. This new venture comes with a bunch of firsts for me. The big ones being the length and format of the book, as well as working in an existing universe with characters I didn’t personally have a hand in creating, and with a team of editors.
Everything else I’m currently working on is an indie, creator owned book. My collaborators and I are free to have the book run at any length we want and in some cases we’ve taken that to a bit of an extreme.
Little Bird, for example, ran 40-48 pages per issue, and my new collaboration with the same team, Precious Metal, is matching or surpassing that in size. We are packing in what would traditionally be a 12 issue series into 6 issues. So suddenly being tasked with telling a story in four parts at 22 pages each was kind of an exciting challenge, and a big part of why I took it on. I went in suited up for war but it turns out that working with a fixed, shorter page count comes with a creative boost all its own.
In fact, the internal editing process I’ve gone through to have the story in mind fit into that reduced page count, in some ways, made it more interesting, not less.
Here’s an impromptu video I posted on Instagram where I speak a bit about the difference between tackling the different length scripts.
I shouldn’t be at all surprised by the shackles of a page count being a form of inspiration. This is rather common knowledge in filmmaking (and perhaps all forms of art); giving yourself limitations can lead to interesting creative choices.
Here’s what screenwriting guru Robert McKee has to say about restricting the size of your world and Setting. Not quite what I’m speaking of but I find much of what he says can be applied to all aspects of storytelling including the film’s duration or a comic’s page count.
Limitations of Setting - Robert McKee
In conclusion, limitations of all kinds force us to look inward not out toward the every expanding universe. It becomes a sort of self-reflection, and art benefits a great deal from this practice.
Perhaps, in the year 2020, we’re all beginning to understand this a little better in our everyday lives as well.
If you are a writer or are interested in writing for the visual medium of comics or film I highly recommend McKee’s book Story.
For Pleasure or Pain.
Here’s where I talk about what I’m reading, watching or experiencing either for pleasure or, as it sometimes turns out, pain.
My wife and I have been watching The Crown and this was a tough sell for me.
There’s two topics or genres I often ignore when it comes to entertainment; stories of the impossibly wealthy, and sports. There’s plenty of award winning films I’ve missed out on because of this strange bias. But I won’t bore you with my flawed logic on this and just skip to saying that, despite my hesitations, I’ve been enjoying The Crown quite a bit and it’s something my wife and I have been enjoying together.
We have fairly different tastes when it comes to shows so it’s always nice when we find something that bridges our interests. My concern going in was that this was just going to be a show about rich people doing rich things but the actors are delivering really incredible, often understated, performances that tell a very different side to the story. And it’s been a history lesson as the show takes us through the post war decades using the crown as a touchstone to the political and social events that have shaped the hearts and minds of the British Empire.
I haven’t been reading anything overly excited recently. It’s mostly been research material and I’ll often abandon that as soon as I’ve gleaned the information I came for.
I did however begin The FROM HELL Companion book by Eddie Campbell.
A behind-the-scenes look at Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell’s graphic masterpiece FROM HELL. I’ll have finished it by my December Newsletter so might have more to say about it then but so far it’s been a lot of fun. Particularly reading excerpts from Moore’s painfully detailed scripts, which Eddie Campbell (the artist) generally ignores much of, for no other reason than it simply isn’t possible to include all the suggested background material into a 2 by 3 inch panel.
If you’re a fan of FROM HELL, you’re going to cherish this book.
Personally Speaking.
I’ll keep this short. All in all we’re doing fairly well. The family and I have adjusted to this new, absurd reality and are doing our best to look for the positive in it. The kids being at school as covid cases rise is stressful and we are keeping a sharp eye on the incoming Christmas holidays as reprieve from being at risk of infection.
That’s generally where my head is at. Let’s get to Christmas unscathed, and we’ll take it from there. News of a vaccine has put a bit of a bounce in my step as well.
Meanwhile, I’ve buried myself in work for the most part but am giving plenty of time to the kids when they’re around. My wife, Natasha, who is a dance teacher, has lost a good chunk of her work so that’s been a further strain on us, financially.
It doesn’t help that I’m still a ways off from having anything new on the shelf (and getting paid for said work) but we’re getting through it, and provided everything goes well I should have several new books out later next year.
I’ve been saying for a while that December will be my last month of Facebook before I delete my account, and have been posting messages for friends to connect with me on Instagram or sign up for this newsletter instead (hint hint). I’ll continue to push that agenda so I can keep in touch with friends and family after I’ve left.
Still walking everyday, and very much enjoyed watching the trees turn colours while doing so.
Wishing you all the best until next month! - DVP