Match to Flame 238

Annnnnd, back to the discussion of the process. Part of the reason the commonly accepted rules don’t work too well for me (and I will readily admit that this is probably endemic to the very art of comic strip writing itself) is that I began gravitating towards a slice-of-life style of writing. When you consider it, even the earliest Funky strips were slices of life. Small ah-ha moments of everyday existence that the readers could recognize and in which they could see their lives reflected back at them. As my writing evolved, I simply began carving out bigger and bigger slices. As newspaper comic strips lend themselves to this kind of writing, so does the way in which they’re created. Sitting in a room all alone sifting through the details of your own existence can be revelatory, cathartic, healing, and, don’t forget this one, enjoyable. As my approach to writing changed, I no longer feared having moments of stillness in my strips. It needs mentioning here again that Chuck Ayers and I had worked to get a year ahead on the strip,* {*See Volume 8 for all of the gristly details.} a fact that greatly facilitated the changing approach to the work. I wouldn’t recommend anyone attempting this evolved approach on a six-week deadline. So sitting and writing for an hour every day was now in the rearview mirror. In its place, as I mentioned earlier, the writing was done in clumps of writing activity. But even when you think you’re not writing, as you go through the day, walking, eating, exercising, watching television, and even sleeping, you sort of still are. It’s much like the hour of writing, except spread out over your entire life. Even when you think you’ve managed to pull away from a big, ongoing story or stories, the pilot light is always on (not a complaint. Only a fool would do that).

Parallel to this, after years of gag writing, my brain still continues to proffer these little humorous bon mots. It’s like an eager-to-please puppy constantly jockeying for your attention. I mentioned this before in the intro to Volume 8, but it bears another airing. With these ideas, your job is to simply write them down so you can get on with your dinner, your exercising, your driving, or your sleep. To wit, you’ll find notepads everywhere in our house and in the car as well. Even in the age of the amazing cell phone, I still do notepads. You also learn to reward your inner puppy for a good idea with some kind of doggy treat, a snack or perhaps dinner out with your wife if it’s a really grand idea worth celebrating, all to ensure that your inner puppy will keep performing that trick. What can I say? Pavlov was right.

From The Complete Funky Winkerbean Volume 15