Walldren’s World

Ever since I was a ‘wee lad, I loved to sketch and draw. My grandmother was largely responsible for instilling this love of “art” in me.  My Dad’s irreverence and back-of-the-napkin and doodles and verbal characatures also played a role. And who could forget the Bruce Blitz video my Mom bought me when I was in elementary school?

I would draw on everything. About everything. Up until recently, I had kept my notebooks since middle school that were lined with cartoonish lampoons of whatever subject matter my teachers were trying to impart. To this day I often find myself doodling on scratch paper during meetings – usually incorporating cartoon versions of the problems at hand – or a sketch of an abstract of the business problem. Or sometimes just a really funny thing somebody said.

Lately, as you can probably tell by reading this blog, I have taken to trying to draw something every day. While I don’t have the personal time to post a “Sketch a Day” as much as I’d like to, I make the effort to doodle something – anything – each day, and tuck it away into a folder for later review.

Once done, I think I will collect my favorites, scan them into the computer in  higher quality (than is posted here) and create a 5×7″ photobook on Shutterfly for posterity.  Just a thought.

Will Eisner, for whom the industry’s “Eisner Awards” are named, imparts his wisdom on how “comics” work as a cross-medium of words and art to educate and entertain.

Providing great examples of his main points through his own and others’ work, this book really hammers home the key points of storytelling. The editors of this edition did a great job cleaning up and presenting the examples making it a quick and easy-to-digest read.

I felt the last fifth of the book seemed padded, but it was definitely worth the read – and the purchase. I intend to come back to this book again and again as I work on my own storytelling and illustrations.

It’s time to check in on New Year’s Resolutions.  Are you keeping yours?

I’m struggling with two of mine that rather intertwine:

1. Lose 20 pounds (goal for the year)

2. Cut down on Starbucks.

As much as I’d like to go to the gym, I think reducing the daily intake of calories into my system – especially the calories that come from keeping me wired and functioning for day to day business  - could do nothing but help the cause.

The trouble is – I walk by a Starbucks every day on my way to work. I also tend to skip breakfast so I’m hungry when I walk by. And they are so very nice at the Jefferson & Lake location. It’s like Cheers without the alcohol.

It wouldn’t be so bad if I went 1-2 times per week as a “treat”. So maybe that’s what I need to start with. Rather than keeping a food log, I can start with a drink log.  I’m sure drinking more water will also help with the weight loss as I won’t feel as hungry by staying well hydrated. A stomach full of water is a lot more manageable for my metabolism than a stomach full of Cheez-its.

That is the question of this post. I think it would be a late entry for me to think I could create a niche blog about a particular subject and get a regular readership like many of the creative blogs out there like Bearskinrug, The Oatmeal, and so on. However, I think it would be a fascinating experiment to try to actual monetize the outpourings of dribble that seem to come unbidden by my teeming brain.

For example – what if I were to create a British Comedy blog and posted profiles of different Shows, Comedians, and Radio Programs that feature the biting wit of British Comedy that I hold so near and dear?  Would that be of value or interest to anyone reading it?

If so, what would you want out of such a blog?  Would it make sense to post video clips weekly or even daily?  How would I juggle this endeavor on top of my regular 9-5 job, wife, and young son and still have enough “me” time?  These are the riddles of the ’side project’.  I wonder if this project in and of itself would lend itself to “me” time.

Or rather – should I create an altogether different blog?  Like the “Writer Who Wants to Write” blog and include posts on such topics as how I am finding it incredibly difficult to put pen to paper – or finger to keyboard – and come up with anything other than “I really wish I could write more and be creative like blah, blah, blah.”   In addition to gripes, I could post links to helpful articles or write summaries of those articles as a sort of ‘how to’ for other aspiring whiny writers.

Perhaps this sort of endeavor would be easier to monetize – as other writers might turn to it as a resource. However, I find this prospect a bit overwhelming as so much has already been written on the subject that it leaves little uncharted territory in which to stretch my writerly wings.

Depending on how long you’ve known me, you may know that I was at one time a prolific reader of books. Even when school was not in session, I’d have one or two going at a time. As I’ve gotten older, more professional, more husbandy, more fatherly, etc. I have made reading less and less of a priority. However, this year one of my resolutions is going to be to read at least 12 books.  That’s one a month.

Here is my list to choose from (a.k.a. what’s sitting on my shelves unread at the moment):

• Rust Hills – Writing
• Steven Koch – Writer’s Workshop
• Julia Cameron – The Right to Write
• Orson Scott Card – Characters & Viewpoint
• Bruce Holland Rogers – Word Work
• Margaret Atwood – Selected Poems
• Albert Camus – Exile & The Kingdom
• Moira Allen – Writing.com
• Shawn Martinbrough – How to Draw Noir Comics
• Will Eisner – Graphic Storytelling & Visual Narrative
• Leonard Cohen – Let Us Compare Mythologies
• Leonard Cohen – Book of Longing
• Paolo Bacigalupi – Windup Girl
• Scott Westerfield – Leviathan
• George Saunders – The Brain-dead Megaphone
• Billy Collins – Ballistics
• Steve Martin – Born Standing Up
• Kieslowski on Kieslowski
• Duncan Evans – Digital Portrait Photography