Too many hobbies
8.10.2009
I swear, it is ridiculous how many things I've picked up as hobbies over the years. Drawing, painting, writing, music composition, guitar, animation, tee design... On and on and on it goes. Not that I've ever really done a whole lot with any of them (Linty Fresh is the sole exception here), but still... Sometimes I wish I could just take a year off of life to develop one of these hobbies into something more. For example, writing.
A few years ago I really pushed myself to write. I've kept a daily journal since I was 9 which has been useful in finding my writing "voice", but it didn't do a whole lot for me creatively. Still, that introspective, first-person format was comfortable, so I naturally began a fictional journal. I wrote an entry a day for one month. I had a general plot in my head and went with it. It came out ok, but after reviewing it last week I realized it was amateurish in a lot of ways. The dialogue was unrealistic, the wording and descriptions excessive. Still, it was a great exercise, and the pacing and action made it fun to read.
But I think I can do better now. I've got a bit more experience and have tried to be more studious of writing from authors I really enjoy. So a couple of weeks I finally dove into a couple of short story ideas I've had for over 5 years. It's exciting to finally get the characters on paper and see how they interact. I've known for a long time that good characters make good stories. Plots are overrated. Catcher in the Rye, anyone? Or how about Napoleon Dynamite, for that matter? Practically nothing happens in these stories, but they're fun to experience because of their engaging characters.
I've begun thinking about what I'll do with the stories once I'm done with them, too. Supposing that they're worth reading, how can I share them with other people? I don't really mind the idea of providing downloads to them, as I'm not too concerned with making a profit in the beginning, but at the same time I want them to be special. Hmm. That'll take some brainstorming. Maybe an exclusive illustrated Linty Fresh novelette?
Lol.
Oh, and on a completely unrelated note, I found a bunch of images from 1930's-50's movies that I captioned a few years back. Uploaded a few to a new Flickr set. They're dumb, but mildly entertaining.
posted by Mr. Linty @ 4:57 PM,
4 Comments:
-
At 8:46 AM,
Marvin said...
-
Do a graphic novel and sell it on linty fresh and try to get other places to carry it. I don't know why but I'm intrigued at the thought of a graphic novel with your art style. It'd be a lot of work though. A labor of love.
-
At 6:20 PM,
Mr. Linty said...
-
Oh man, that idea is cool but daunting. After how much work goes into a single tee, I can't imagine illustrating a full graphic novel. Yikes!
-
At 3:07 PM,
Emily said...
-
Hi there,
Hey I'm a friend of a girl you know from Toronto. I'm packing up for China too--- only I can't buy clothes or shoes over there cause I'm too tall-- so I have serious luggage issues. I, also, have too many hobbies! Haha! No extra secular books for me! Here is my question for you-- this is a blogspot blog- are you able to access it in China? I have one too, (emilyschinablog.blogspot.com)but my mei mei, who already lives over there, said she couldn't access it. Any tricks so I can continue to post from over there? The blog is how I plan to keep friends and fam updated on my general life. Any suggestions on a decent blog site that can be easily accessed over there? Someone suggested Urock, but it's got all kinds of inappropriate ads. Thanks for any input! -
At 9:48 AM,
Mr. Linty said...
-
Emily,
Shoot me an email at gameyy(AT)lintyfresh.com and I can give you some tips about it.
