E. Christopher Clark - Author and All-Around Geek
Friday, March 27, 2009
The Process
I am a big fan of articles about the process of creation. My friend Bryan Ballinger posts a ton of these over on his Breadwig blog. And another place that I’ve been seeing them lately is Gelatometti, the blog kept by the artists in Jim Lee’s Wildstorm stable. The image above is a detail of the three steps Oliver Nome (at least I think it’s Oliver Nome; no last name is given) took to create a relatively stunning image of the Wildstorm Comics character Nemesis. See the full article here. It includes a full look at the finished piece.
And friends, heed this bit of advice: if you’re an artist of any stripe, seek out the writings and teachings of the people who inspire you. See how they did it, and if you don’t already do it that way, give their methods a try. Whatever you do, seek inspiration from the masters. Don’t always make it up as you go along. Study the process.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Returning to Old Work - Jim Lee Redraws Rogue
Jim Lee is applying his “since evolved style” to something he drew for the first time nearly twenty years ago. In this piece published on his Gelatometti blog, he writes about recapturing the scene of Rogue trapped in the Savage Land in Uncanny X-Men #269.
I bring this up here, on this writing blog, not only because Jim Lee is a huge inspiration for me, but also, more generally, because I think that he provides a valuable lesson for us. Sometimes the stories we tell deserve to be retold, once we’ve gained new perspective, once we’ve gotten better at telling stories in general. Lee is redrawing something he drew in 1990. Every once in a while, why don’t we all make a pledge to look back at something we finished (or abandoned) long ago, and see if we can’t dust it off and make something new out of it? I think it would be good for us.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Mysteries of Pittsburgh - Chabon Comes to the Screen Again
I am a big fan of Michael Chabon—Wonder Boys and Kavalier and Clay are in my top 10—but I have never read his first novel, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh. The trailer I’ve embedded above, for the film adaptation of the book, makes me want to go buy the thing right now and spend the rest of the day reading it. And, if that’s not a successful book-adaptation trailer, then I don’t know what is.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Buy a book and support Social Media for Social Change
Here’s the deal: I have 100 copies of my first book, Those Little Bastads, sitting in a box in my closet. I want to do some good in the world, but don’t have a lot of money to do good with. So, I had an idea. I’m going to donate half of the proceeds from every one of those 100 copies to one of my favorite charities, Social Media for Social Change. That’s $6.50 per book. If we sell all 100, I’ll be able to donate $650 to SM4SC.
Not only will you be benefiting a great cause, but you’ll also be getting a book of short stories that the Lowell Sun called “a lively collection of 16 tales”. Leslie Poston (@geechee_girl on Twitter) said of the book, “If you’ve ever wondered what the quiet guy in the corner was really thinking, this book might be your answer. The stories are simple, almost like day dreams, if your day dreams tended to go horribly, horribly awry.” And if you’re a fellow Chelmsfordite and looking for a local connection, look no further than what Kevin Zimmerman wrote in the pages of the Independent back in the day. He said, “some of his inspiration stems from his days working at the old Purity Supreme grocery store in Chelmsford Center. A parade of tabloids… proved to be an excellent training ground for Clark’s creativity.”
Still not convinced? Here’s a video of me explaining this idea, and why I want so much to make it happen.
Thanks for your support. I hope to be signing a copy of the book for you very soon!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Hustle 2.0 - My Fall Schedule
My fall schedule was already crazy when, a couple of weeks ago, I first watched Gary Vaynerchuk’s video on keeping a day job while starting a new career online. I was already signed up to teach two English Composition classes at a local university, in addition to continuing work at my full-time gig with a small non-profit. But watching Gary’s video made me realize that there was still time in the day to do more, that I didn’t necessarily have to give up on my writing or on this Website for the entire autumn season.
In his video, Gary makes the point that it’s all about cutting out the wasted time, that it’s all about “hustle 2.0”. Agreeing with basically everything he had to say, I cooked up this schedule, which I’m curious to get your feedback on. Certain bits of it are flexible, but most bits are not. Keep in mind that I’m writing a blog about things that I geek out about, which involves a certain amount of “research” that others might consider “goofing off”.
Oh, and this is my Monday-Wednesday schedule. A few things change from Thursday through Sunday. More on that after.
- 04:15 a.m. - Wake up, make breakfast
- 04:30 a.m. - Watch Early Today and/or quick podcasts (Geek Brief, The Feed) while eating
- 04:45 a.m. - Shower, check e-mail, drive to bus station
- 05:45 a.m. - While riding the bus to Boston, watch previous evening’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann, providing NBC remembered to upload the podcast version of it (I don’t get MSNBC at home, so this is my only way to watch it)
- 07:00 a.m. - Take the Red Line from South Station to Harvard Square, walk from Harvard Square to the campus where I teach, and prep for class
- 08:00 a.m. - Teach class
- 09:15 a.m. - Meet with students as necessary; otherwise, grade papers and/or prep next class
- 09:45 a.m. - Walk 3.2 miles from campus where I teach to Kenmore Square, where I work full-time
- 11:00 a.m. - Work full-time gig, with half-hour break for lunch and walk around square (and/or reading during inclement weather)
- 06:30 p.m. - Walk 2.3 miles from office in Kenmore Square to South Station
- 07:15 p.m. - While riding bus home, work on Website and/or on class prep/grading
- 08:30 p.m. - Arrive home, eat dinner, help put Kaylee to bed
- 09:00 p.m. - Read, wind down
- 09:30 p.m. - Go to sleep
Now, as I said, that’s the Monday-Wednesday schedule. Thursday’s schedule is pretty much the same but, instead of winding down between nine and nine-thirty, I plan to start the first of four days in a row of writing (some late-night, some not). I don’t have a class to teach on Friday morning, and I can sleep on the bus if I need the extra rest before working my one long day at the full-time gig, so I’ll plan on writing from nine until midnight on Thursday night.
I’ll do the same on Friday night. Then, on Saturday, aside from recuperating and spending time with my family, I’ll find three hours to write again. I’ll do my fourth day of writing early on Sunday morning, and then spend the rest of the morning on Sunday (before football) prepping for the next week’s classes.
It’s a busy schedule, but it fits in nearly everything that’s important to me right now: writing, teaching, reading, exercise, this Website, and, most of all, time with my family.
How are you fitting everything into your own busy schedule? What improvements do you think I could make in mine? Let me know!