Kelly McCullough's Blog, page 43
January 30, 2012
Art vs. Writing, My Personal Experience
I was hit by the fan art bug this weekend. My experience got me thinking about how I experience drawing as opposed to writing.
Drawing is such a different experience for me. When I write I tend to "go away" to my happy place, but I can be easily interrupted and it's not that hard for me to return to it if I have to quit for a minute or two. When I draw, I'm down for the count. You can't rouse me until the picture is finished to my satisfaction, which, in some cases, can be two or three runs at the same piece. The picture below, in fact, is a "take two." I really loved the movement in the original and it took a couple of tries to get his body parts all in the right places. :-)
This is why Shawn teases me about being "obsessive." It's not so much that it occupies more of my brain, but I'm really unavailable when I draw in a way that I'm not when I write.
I should say too that my art is ultimately more frustrating than my writing. Like writing, art takes a lot of practice, and there's something that happens... hurdles you push past to become better at it. At some point in high school, I got to the point with my art (which I practiced constantly, I remember spending entire Sundays sitting at my drawing board) where I could reliably "copy" an image. If the folks at Marvel had drawn it (or I cut it out of a magazine or someone sat for me), I could produce a reasonable facsimile of my own.
I've never gotten beyond that stage. Not really. I can draw someone standing around, or with minimal animation, as it were. But, that's it. Otherwise I still have to look at someone else's work and essentially mentally copy it.
With writing, I managed to get past the "fanfic" stage (after a sufficient amount of practice there as well.) Anything I can imagine, I can usually get on the page. I'm a fan artist at best -- though to be fair to the fan artist community out there, there are some ridiculously professional-level artists out there, who clearly are beyond the "cover band" stage that I'm at with my drawing.
Writing also... relieves the pressures in my head. If I get a story that's burning up my brain out, on paper, it's gone. I'm done with it. Art, for me, spawns a stronger desire for MORE.
Drawing is such a different experience for me. When I write I tend to "go away" to my happy place, but I can be easily interrupted and it's not that hard for me to return to it if I have to quit for a minute or two. When I draw, I'm down for the count. You can't rouse me until the picture is finished to my satisfaction, which, in some cases, can be two or three runs at the same piece. The picture below, in fact, is a "take two." I really loved the movement in the original and it took a couple of tries to get his body parts all in the right places. :-)
This is why Shawn teases me about being "obsessive." It's not so much that it occupies more of my brain, but I'm really unavailable when I draw in a way that I'm not when I write.
I should say too that my art is ultimately more frustrating than my writing. Like writing, art takes a lot of practice, and there's something that happens... hurdles you push past to become better at it. At some point in high school, I got to the point with my art (which I practiced constantly, I remember spending entire Sundays sitting at my drawing board) where I could reliably "copy" an image. If the folks at Marvel had drawn it (or I cut it out of a magazine or someone sat for me), I could produce a reasonable facsimile of my own.
I've never gotten beyond that stage. Not really. I can draw someone standing around, or with minimal animation, as it were. But, that's it. Otherwise I still have to look at someone else's work and essentially mentally copy it.
With writing, I managed to get past the "fanfic" stage (after a sufficient amount of practice there as well.) Anything I can imagine, I can usually get on the page. I'm a fan artist at best -- though to be fair to the fan artist community out there, there are some ridiculously professional-level artists out there, who clearly are beyond the "cover band" stage that I'm at with my drawing.
Writing also... relieves the pressures in my head. If I get a story that's burning up my brain out, on paper, it's gone. I'm done with it. Art, for me, spawns a stronger desire for MORE.
January 27, 2012
Friday Cat Blogging
Shocked, I tell you shocked!
Don't you wish you were this cute?
Sleeping cat rampant, sable on a field taupe.
Is it secret? Is it safe?
U like mah boatz? I sailing on the carpet sea.
What are you looking at? Cats love water.
Everyone knows that.
Cat descending a staircase…very slowly.
Don't you wish you were this cute?
Sleeping cat rampant, sable on a field taupe.
Is it secret? Is it safe?
U like mah boatz? I sailing on the carpet sea.
What are you looking at? Cats love water.
Everyone knows that.
Cat descending a staircase…very slowly.
January 22, 2012
Smart Things
I thought it was way past time to get back to my smart things write ups.
Via Theodora Goss, Jeff Vandermeer saying smart things about how to live as a writer.
"They" It can be singular gender neutral and perfectly correct, the historical and grammatical case. Gabe Doyle (graduate student and doctoral candidate in Linguistics) saying smart things about language.
Tobias Buckell saying smart things about
Via Theodora Goss, Jeff Vandermeer saying smart things about how to live as a writer.
"They" It can be singular gender neutral and perfectly correct, the historical and grammatical case. Gabe Doyle (graduate student and doctoral candidate in Linguistics) saying smart things about language.
Tobias Buckell saying smart things about
January 20, 2012
Thor
I saw the movie Thor again and did a couple of posts -- one long -- about it on my blog. I know what this about. You fall in love with a movie for silly, personal reasons and then do a complex analysis, demonstrating that it is worth falling in love with. Anyway, if you are interested, my blog is listed off to the right.
Friday Shameless Self-Promotion Cat
Wha...?? How did SHE sneak in here!!!????
Friday Cat Blogging
I haz a thought, but it's very hard to hang onto.
Duuude!
Ima be a dragon when I grow up, call me Toothless!
Scratch harder, you missed a spot.
Call me Coconut, King of the Jungle!
Come over here so I can smite you.
We think that you should stay. No, you don't get a vote.
Duuude!
Ima be a dragon when I grow up, call me Toothless!
Scratch harder, you missed a spot.
Call me Coconut, King of the Jungle!
Come over here so I can smite you.
We think that you should stay. No, you don't get a vote.
January 19, 2012
Fame, At Last?
I found out from a friend that my pseudonym was mentioned in io9 today: "The Weirdest Creatures Vampires Have Gone To War With."
On a side note, I remember when the X-Men were attacked by Dracula/vampires, actually. It was particularly memorable to me because it blew one of my preconceived notions about vampires. There's a scene where Kitty Pride's Star of David burns Dracula, and it's explained that in the Marvelverse, it isn't the cross that hurts vampires, but belief of any kind.
On a side note, I remember when the X-Men were attacked by Dracula/vampires, actually. It was particularly memorable to me because it blew one of my preconceived notions about vampires. There's a scene where Kitty Pride's Star of David burns Dracula, and it's explained that in the Marvelverse, it isn't the cross that hurts vampires, but belief of any kind.
January 18, 2012
Starting off the New Year with a Bang
I was updating my static web site and it occurred to me that I should probably let folks over here know what I'm up to.
A lot of people have asked me if any of the AngeLINK books will ever be available in electronic format. The answer is yes. I am working on reformatting a very messy electronic file for Archangel Protocol that I had to steal (from myself) off Torrent. The other books, I have in e-files that are still in usable form. So, I suspect once I get through that, the others will quickly follow. I am hiring someone to do a nice job of them. They should be available in all e-reader formats. Hopefully, that will happen this year.
I had some short story sales that I haven't mentioned.
Tim Leider has accepted "God Box," a science fictional retelling of the golden hemorrhoid story from Samuel 1, for KING DAVID AND THE SPIDERS OF MARS. KING DAVID... is the second Biblical horror anthology to come out from Dybbuk Press, and is a follow-up to the wildly popular SHE NAILED A STAKE THROUGH HIS HEAD (in which my story "Jawbone of an Ass" appears.)
Earlier, I sold a reprint of "Tutivillius" to Michael Mirriam for his second Northern Lights Anthology. For those few who came to the Diversicon reading of this story, it's the one about a female demon who has been charged with collecting words mangeled during the performance of Mass. It's my most Catholic story (there's even a discussion about transubstantiation in it,) but it's also very sweet. I'm pleased it's found a bigger home. It's only previous publication was in a Wyrdsmiths' chapbook.
Speaking of chapbooks, I'm currenly working on an AngeLINK short story that will appear in the Galyaxicon 2012 program book/chapbook. Apparently, Wendy Pini will also be producing some original art for the chapbook, so this is certainly something y'all will want to get your hands on if at all possible. Be sure to check out http://www.gaylaxicon2012.org/ for information!
A lot of people have asked me if any of the AngeLINK books will ever be available in electronic format. The answer is yes. I am working on reformatting a very messy electronic file for Archangel Protocol that I had to steal (from myself) off Torrent. The other books, I have in e-files that are still in usable form. So, I suspect once I get through that, the others will quickly follow. I am hiring someone to do a nice job of them. They should be available in all e-reader formats. Hopefully, that will happen this year.
I had some short story sales that I haven't mentioned.
Tim Leider has accepted "God Box," a science fictional retelling of the golden hemorrhoid story from Samuel 1, for KING DAVID AND THE SPIDERS OF MARS. KING DAVID... is the second Biblical horror anthology to come out from Dybbuk Press, and is a follow-up to the wildly popular SHE NAILED A STAKE THROUGH HIS HEAD (in which my story "Jawbone of an Ass" appears.)
Earlier, I sold a reprint of "Tutivillius" to Michael Mirriam for his second Northern Lights Anthology. For those few who came to the Diversicon reading of this story, it's the one about a female demon who has been charged with collecting words mangeled during the performance of Mass. It's my most Catholic story (there's even a discussion about transubstantiation in it,) but it's also very sweet. I'm pleased it's found a bigger home. It's only previous publication was in a Wyrdsmiths' chapbook.
Speaking of chapbooks, I'm currenly working on an AngeLINK short story that will appear in the Galyaxicon 2012 program book/chapbook. Apparently, Wendy Pini will also be producing some original art for the chapbook, so this is certainly something y'all will want to get your hands on if at all possible. Be sure to check out http://www.gaylaxicon2012.org/ for information!
January 13, 2012
Friday Cat Blogging
There's nothing better than radiators!
Watch this front flip!
Best foot forward, always.
Charging lazer eyez is easier with radiant heat!
I'm too sexy for my cat tree!
I haz a cat growing out of my head again, don't I?
The souls of the innocent are always so delicious!
Xmas lazers energized.
So, do you come here often?
Watch this front flip!
Best foot forward, always.
Charging lazer eyez is easier with radiant heat!
I'm too sexy for my cat tree!
I haz a cat growing out of my head again, don't I?
The souls of the innocent are always so delicious!
Xmas lazers energized.
So, do you come here often?
January 7, 2012
MFAs
This is something I posted on facebook.
I've wondered about creative writing degrees for a long time. What is their purpose, except to train creative writing teachers? I mean, you get a degree in dental hygiene, and you can get a job. It used to be that a degree in journalism could help you get a job, and for all I know college training in business and technical writing are still useful. But creative writing?
I am prejudiced in this area. I have taken some classes in writing poetry, which were fine, though I'm not sure I learned much. (The best one was in Iceland, with awesome birdwatching.) Otherwise, I learned writing from reading a lot and studying English Lit. in college and being in writers' workshops, the kind that writers form to critique each other's work, not the for-pay kind with a teacher. One thing I have never learned is how to teach writing. When I've tried it, I'm not good. You might learn how to teach writing through a creative writing program, and that would be useful, if you wanted to teach creative writing.
The thing that strikes me outrageous is people are coming out of MFA programs with tens of thousands of dollars in debt. A lawyer or doctor has a good chance of paying off this kind of debt, but a creative writer? A poet? Or someone writing literary fiction, whatever that might be? -- I don't get the impression that most MFA programs are teaching people how to write romances and techno-thrillers. In any case, no matter what you write, most people in the field scrape by and a few people do well. The odds are never good.
This does not mean you give up. It means you think long and hard about starting a writing career with a lot of debt.
If your goal is to write, and you have no other career plans, a BA in something is a good idea, since a college degree is useful in getting a job, and you will need to pay the rent while building a writing career. These days you are going to pile up debt getting that. Piling up even more debt seems really unwise.
I've wondered about creative writing degrees for a long time. What is their purpose, except to train creative writing teachers? I mean, you get a degree in dental hygiene, and you can get a job. It used to be that a degree in journalism could help you get a job, and for all I know college training in business and technical writing are still useful. But creative writing?
I am prejudiced in this area. I have taken some classes in writing poetry, which were fine, though I'm not sure I learned much. (The best one was in Iceland, with awesome birdwatching.) Otherwise, I learned writing from reading a lot and studying English Lit. in college and being in writers' workshops, the kind that writers form to critique each other's work, not the for-pay kind with a teacher. One thing I have never learned is how to teach writing. When I've tried it, I'm not good. You might learn how to teach writing through a creative writing program, and that would be useful, if you wanted to teach creative writing.
The thing that strikes me outrageous is people are coming out of MFA programs with tens of thousands of dollars in debt. A lawyer or doctor has a good chance of paying off this kind of debt, but a creative writer? A poet? Or someone writing literary fiction, whatever that might be? -- I don't get the impression that most MFA programs are teaching people how to write romances and techno-thrillers. In any case, no matter what you write, most people in the field scrape by and a few people do well. The odds are never good.
This does not mean you give up. It means you think long and hard about starting a writing career with a lot of debt.
If your goal is to write, and you have no other career plans, a BA in something is a good idea, since a college degree is useful in getting a job, and you will need to pay the rent while building a writing career. These days you are going to pile up debt getting that. Piling up even more debt seems really unwise.
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