"Just Keep Moving Forward"
A bit of self-encouragement ...
One of the comics writers I subscribe to used this as a title for one of his recent Substack updates. I read through the full post, of course, but it was the title that has stuck with me ever since. Sometimes the thing you need to hear finds you in random moments.
Keep moving forward.
Which way is forward???
… you might ask.
I ask that. All the time. Maybe you do too.
I ask that a lot especially within the context of time and money, because both are finite resources and I don’t always know where and how to allocate them.
But then also creatively, which is sometimes influenced by the question of resources but not always, I ask which way is forward? Of the plethora of plays and comics I have in my brain, which of them should move to the forefront? To which should I devote my utmost attention?
{Now, no matter which concepts I’m actively working on, I’m always developing a few stories on the side. I can’t help it. It’s just how my brain works. Plus I really enjoy it, and that’s partly why my brain doesn’t want to stop doing it.}
Embarking on a creative life, especially in writing, I haven’t experienced the benefit of knowing what the path should be. I’ve found myself envious at times of people who have careers that have rather defined pathways, from education to early career positions to established or tenured positions ultimately to career goals or dream jobs. And I do have a dream career, or a dream life; it’s not just one job. It’s writing plays and creator-owned comics and Marvel/DC books and television and film. It’s a big combination of all those things. But how to get from where I am to where that life is has always been a mystery. I say I’ve been envious of people who have the definition of the pathways that lead them to their careers, but at the same time those are the careers I never wanted, so that’s where my envy begins and ends.
I think all too often — I don’t know how common this is amongst creative people, but it’s true for me — I get too focused on which way is forward. Which play should I work on now? Which comic concept should I develop now? Should I work on developing a television pilot? Which one of these things will lay the groundwork of the path forward? And honestly, that’s too much pressure to place on any one story or concept. Too much pressure to place on myself.
When I get too focused on trying to identify the way forward, I lose sight of the most essential element of finding the way forward: keep moving.
There are two pieces of writing advice that bounce around in my brain a lot and the trickiest thing for me is to catch them, embrace them, hold them tight. They’re slippery. I can do it for short periods of time and I’m striving to subsume them into my being. One, I heard pretty recently. I think on Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, but I could be wrong about that. (Even so, you should listen to it sometime. It’s delightful and hilarious.) The other came from a writer I admire, Greg Rucka, who I met at Rose City Comic Con a few years ago. He’s written a massive number of novels and comics, from Gotham Central to Old Guard to Lazarus and Black Magick.
When Greg signed some books for me, he asked how he should sign them. I said any way you want, but in one of them, would you please write a piece of writing advice you cherish or something that you wish you’d received when you were early on in your career.
“Three steps forward and two steps back is still five steps.”
I love that piece of advice and I think it speaks directly to the essence of keep moving forward. Especially to the creative essence.
The second one, which I heard on Conan O’Brien’s podcast, was I think something he had heard from someone else or a lesson someone had learned and had passed it on to Conan … and I think it ties in directly with the Greg Rucka quote …
“There’s no such thing as wasted writing.”
Spot on. That’s absolutely true. Everything is practice. Everything is progression. I try to remember those two lessons when I’m writing and let them guide me along the way. One of the ways I do that is to think of everything I’m writing as an exploration. I’ve heard artists use that word when they’re working on creating characters, landscapes, cultures. And I really love the word because it points to the elements of discovery that are inherently found in exploration. There’s never been anything I’ve written - no matter how much of the story and characters I’d already conceived of - where I didn’t make a bunch of discoveries along the way.
I know rationally that there’s no such thing as wasted writing and that no matter how many steps backwards you might take against the steps forward, they’re all cumulative steps. But the irrational brain has the louder voice at times, and in those moments I can be somewhat unforgiving of myself and my failures, setbacks and mismanagements of time. If you’re also bombarded with such a voice, then I feel you. I think it’s critical in those times to not worry about the path itself or what I might be writing or how much of it or its impact … it’s vital to just keep moving forward.
I hope those quotes might help you too with whatever you’re creating or with life in general. If you have a piece of advice or a lesson learned that’s inspired your creativity, feel free to pass along the wisdom in the comments of this post.
The update on the Producing the End of the World Anthology is that it’s undergoing its finishing touches. We’re all doing a final lettering pass on our short stories and the graphic design is almost done. Our editor says (hopefully) the PDF copies will be sent out to all of our backers within the next couple of weeks and the print files will be sent to the printer shortly thereafter. We’re almost there!
I’ve been eyeballs-deep in the US Open the past ten days. Last major tournament of the year and it hasn’t been at all disappointing. All eyes were on Serena Williams during the first week. After she exited the tournament in the third round, I was fearing a letdown the rest of the tournament, but the excitement seems to have carried into Week 2 with two American women and one American man all reaching the Quarterfinal rounds. Francis Tiafoe becomes the first American man in 16 years to reach the semifinals of the US Open. I’m happy to see him crack well into the second week of a major and have a chance to play in the final.
(In the time it took me to write this post, the first Men’s Semifinal began and the first set ended with a 55-shot rally! Longest of the tournament so far.)
I have a stack of comics on my desk to read. Top of the stack is this gorgeous variant cover for Batman #127.
Followed right behind is this 2nd printing cover for Detective Comics #1062.
I’ll dig into some reading over the weekend and try to report on some of the books by early next week. I’m experimenting with the voiceover feature in Substack so I’ll see if I can record a mini-podcast of sorts about comics I’m reading.
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“Three steps forward and two steps back is still five steps.”
That's great advice!