Well, I’m still not actually participating in NaNoWriMo, largely because this development came a few days late and it is HARD to catch up on word count, but I was broadsided a few days ago by the need to work on a new project. This project combines a storyline I’d been tossing around for a year or so and a format I’m excited about.
I’ve kept a journal since 1996, and have often doodled in it to record what something looked like, or illustrate a sarcastic point, or show how I imagine something. I also once wrote a story in my sketchbook, with words and pictures together. These were always fun, but I didn’t take them seriously, and assumed no one else would, either.
Enter The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
When I read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, I filed away the interesting knowledge that hey, people besides me actually like this format. And I love it. I’ve seen these called “semi-graphic novels.” As with graphic novels, one key point is that the pictures are not just illustrations – they’re involved with the text. In these diary-style books, the conceit that the first-person protagonist actually drew the pictures is a powerful way to strengthen the connection between character and reader: “I’m not just going to tell you about this, I’m going to show you.”
(Also, pictures are fun.)
So I was happy to see that this kind of project was actually, you know, publishable, but I didn’t think much more about it until a few days ago, when that plot I’d been playing with tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Um, I could do that,” shortly followed by, “YOU WILL WRITE ME NOW.”
So that’s what I’m working on at the moment. It is more fun than should really be legal.
In closing, another fun thing combining books and comic-style graphics.