You can't help feeling some negative feelings sometimes*, but there are good ways to combat them if they get overwhelming. This is my self-help list for when I feel a case of the blues coming on.**
Flannery and I spent today rockin' out to the Pogues (well, I rocked, and she mostly slept) while Daniel and Rob worked on sciencey papers. Which is not to say I wasn't busy, too! It was, as you can see (I don't write/draw big comics every day, people), a productive day all around. And tonight, we're going to watch Muppet Treasure Island with Kait and Adam! Tim Curry makes any day a little better.
The weather is supposed to stop being a wintery wonderland tomorrow and instead become a slushy mushworld. However, tomorrow is also Friday, and that means the weekend approacheth! Weekends are great. Maybe I'll be feeling good enough to actually write, too. That would be EXTRA NEAT.
In the meantime, you should read some comics with me! My pal Catherine was just inquiring about this, so I thought I'd share some of what I recommended to her, along with some books and the like! Let's start with web comics today, and then I'll do another two or three lists in the coming weeks.
WEB COMICS!
Stop Paying Attention
Achewood
Johnny Wander
Hark! A Vagrant
Dinosaur Comics (today's is particularly relevant!)
Darwin Carmichael is Going to Hell
Double Fine Action Comics
Rice Boy
Let's Be Friends Again
Warning: these are all a wide variety of comics! Some may suit your fancy, and some may not. I suggest reading "about" pages to see if the subject is something you might dig. Some are fiction, some are auto-bio, some are satire, and some are comics about comics (HOW META). Most of them are humorous, but everyone's sense of humor is a little different, so you might laugh at a few and think I'm insane for enjoying the others. And these aren't all the webcomics I read--but they are probably the best. and they are probably the most influencial when it comes to me learning how to make my own comics***. If there's a web comic you love that isn't on this list, please share! I love finding new things to read. Woo!
*In case you were curious, yes: I do obsess about plagiarism and intellectual-property theft. I don't really care about piracy^, though. Thought I'd clarify, since "stealing" means a million things these days. I basically just hate plagiarism. The thought of that crap makes me lose my mind. ...I may be a little paranoid. WHATEVER. My secrecy will pay off in the end.
^I may have said this before, but I mean it! If someone wants to take the time to scan or re-type my future books, and someone else wants to download it and read it for free, that's totally cool with me. Unless they talk shit about me afterwards, of course--then you could at least have the decency to throw me a few bucks. I plan on having zero dollars to my name for pretty much my entire life, so it's cool.
**Text at the bottom of the comic reads:
1. swimming by myself in quiet water
2. jamming and hangining out w/ my cousins
3. Watson (my parents' corgi) and Flannery (Daniel's and my cat)
4. listening/singing poorly to the Hold Steady
5. TEA! Hot.
6. art projects and comics--this includes reading and admiring the work of others who do amazing things!
7. snow days! And spending all of the time w/ Daniel
8. family, friends, and our get-togethers! (often involves drinking)
9. reading and writing and learning cool new things
***mine are obviously incredibly amateur, though. I'm not trying to make a living on it like these people--who you should buy things from, by the way. Most have comics you can buy (books or prints) and many also have t-shirts, mugs, etc, that are SO GOOD. If you want to buy me Kate Beaton's David Bowie mug, I will give you thirty high-fives and a truly excellent hug.