First Post for 2017!

And this is my first post for 2017, Hello world!

It's been quite some time since I last blogged. 2016 was a fun year. I tried my hand at daily blogging, which I did, thank God, before realizing I was becoming a human spam.

I had written a bunch of blog posts. inspirational ones. ones about popular culture. how-to blah blah blah. 2016 was a beautiful mess, really.

But truth is, I stopped blogging because I wanted to brand myself.

and I failed, miserably.

I enrolled myself in a branding class, paid for it even, and in the end, I hardly implemented or even followed it. There goes my hard-earned money!

I was supposed to blog last January 2017, but I was unsure of what to write. Perfectionism can be a nasty creature, and I had enough of it.

I was traveling to Tagaytay City the order day, reading a copy of Austin Kleon's   Show Your Work.

Chapter 2 struck a chord with me.

Share your process. be a documentarian with what you do. 

I certainly do not want to document every part of my life, That's one reason I don't actively post on Facebook anymore.

Right now, I'm busy with writing and reading stories. I'm currently working on Flower from Midgar, a Final Fantasy 7 fanfiction. The story is mine, but the characters aren't, but because I need to see how the story would unfold, I decided to borrow Square's characters.

Maybe I could share my writing process, or how I write a chapter.

Yeah, maybe I could.

I won't be a human spam that way, right?

Create what you Like

source: www.malaspabras.com

I spent two years to plot and write the story I wanted to read. Never mind if I cringed after re-reading it. I can live with that.

Erasers and "Ctrl+Z" exist for a reason.

I liked Wild Arms 2 since I was 12 years old. I  liked it so much that I wanted to know what were the backstories of the villains. I liked them so much that I actually created webcomics about one of them and hosted it at SmackJeeves and ComicFury.

I liked Final Fantasy 8 since I was 10 or 11 years old too. I always wondered how Julia gave up quickly on Laguna, and why Laguna chose to stay in Winhill over going back to his true love. I wondered so much that I wrote "Your Eyes on Me." Never mind if I cringed after re-reading it.

I write what I like, even if I don't get paid for it. Yet it is every writer's, or if not some, dream to be paid for their work. Copyright Laws hinder me from directly profiting from the fanfictions I wrote, but I can always take the Highway E.L. James took with 50 Shades of Grey. Well, that's a story for another day.

Point is, the moment I started to write the story I wanted to read, regardless of the horrible feeling when I reread it (because I can't believe that I actually penned it), life became brighter.

Life became happier. I felt unburdened. I felt less depressed (okay, depressed is overkill). The cloud of dissatisfaction that sat in my head became clearer. The cloud hasn't gone away. It's still there.

It all starts with write what you like.

Or more like, Create what you like.

Seth Godin told me to SUSDA______

In his blog, Seth Godin writes about showing up, sitting down and (SUSDA) working or painting or *insert whatever activity".

In his book, "show your work!", Austin Kleon writes how its improtant to have a daily dispatch.

For Godin, the act of doing something is more important than the output.

For 2 days, I've drawn 22 single-panelled comics. It's the largest amount I've done since 2012. While I know it's very simple (bordering to ugly for some people), it's the very same reason why I keep the doing it.

It's too easy to make that it seems foolish not to do it.

Showing up everyday and sitting down on my chair to write and draw... it's a commitment, you know.

My endgame is to find my personal groove to create. And this commitment works for me! (Writing 10 ideas is a testament) i'm seeing results to meet my endgame.

My only challenge is whether I can make it sustainable... and the answer lies in the followimg days.

Tomorrow's another day. Another batch of comics and ideas about to be born.

Show up!

***

1. My fiction's getting some nice reviews. To be honest, I was really concerned about receiving those. I read somewhere in the net that when you take your focus off the reviews and focus on creating the product, the reviews will come to you.

2. Chapters 8, 9, 10 and 12 are already drafted! I have 11 and the epilogue waiting to be done! Whew!

3. Wrote 60 ideas on 6 different topics today. I had 2 great ideas to implement! Unfortunately, due to my limited attention span, I choose to focus on 2-3 projects at a time. My hands are full.

4. Cut and froze some bananas. I have plans to make a banana-based ice cream. Yummy!

5. Discovered an excellent webcomic in webtoons! (Siren's Lament). I never thought you could mix music comics together at the same time. The effect is devastating that it took my breathe away!

6. Made a voodoo doll and sealed it with Mod Podge. It looks great! Looks like I still have the skills. Took me 20-25 minutes to make one :D

7. Devoured/browsed through different art of local artists here in Davao. I'm blown away at their output. It's simply amazing. Nothing beats the feeling when you see amazing art!

8. Discovered a potential not-so time consuming past time thanks to number 7. While I do want to act on it now, I prefer to unload/finish a project before I embark on another one.

9. Projects projects projects. Side-projects? Life is fun when you're creating something.

10. Had a good home-workout! Committed to do 8 reps of negative pull-ups. I'm looking forward for the day i'll be able to pull myself over the bar!

Side Projects are Important

The other week, I had an amazing epiphany.

Last  week, I was given an opportunity to use my creative talents.--- The visual arts.
To be more specific: making sprites for Visual Novels.

Then the conversation strangely flowed to programming renpy.

If i took renpy seriously 4 years ago, i could have added another skillset to my tool box.
which brings me to my next point.

Side Projects and Hobbies are important,

I am quoting Austin Kleon's Steal Like an Artist.

As a teenager, I spent my days tinkering with photoshop. roaming forums. lurking in deviantart and admiring artists. I scrutinized and assimilated some of their works. I spent majority of my working hours in front of a computer screen, holding a wacom graphire tab and teaching myself photoshop.

I acquired skills: how to draw, how to use photoshop, how to program, I developed personal techniques, i taught myself how to create comics, and basic html.

I never mastered them, but I believe the years I spent equipped me with a certain skill set that other people could benefit.

Of course, when the offer came, my childhood and teenage years flashed in front of me.  There was regret, yes. Regret that I did not master those skills.

 But another thought also flashed in front of me. The belief that side project and hobbies DO matter.

It will pave way for opportunities. Opportunities yours for the taking