I’m an artist in my 40s who’s just beginning my journey in comics so I feel like a total late bloomer. Even though people tell me I’m unflappable and have grit, in my head I feel like a duck frantically paddling to keep myself moving through the water. I know to take it one day at a time, and everything—including feelings— is temporary. Still some days I don’t believe I’ll ever be the illustrator I want to be, or write the books I want to make. On those days, I remind myself about this community. I still feel like that duck paddling frantically, but one that just lets everything glide smoothly down her back.
I love the word unflappable! I'm working on this trait every day. I tend to get overwhelmed with the number of things I *think* an artist/writer *could/should* be doing which does not lead to a calm, unflappable state. These days I'm working on a "TOP 3" everyday with the goal of being done by noon. If I'm writing, that will extend into the afternoon. I know that small baby steps are what take us across the finish line (I just need the constant reminder). Love your work and I'm so happy about your books!
Thank you for sharing, Adam! A really insightful and also honest post. So much to unpack here. I’m in various stages of pitching right now, and I realize how naive I was about the timelines in the publishing world! Coming from designing for tech where everything moved at lightning speed, the publishing world feels like a painful glacial pace 😅And yet, like you said, unexpected hiccups happen and all of a sudden you’re drinking from the firehose with three deadlines back to back. Unflappability is great advice. What is success to you is also an important question, and I imagine one with an answer that keeps evolving. Checking in with yourself along the way, recalibrating daily like you said…that’s all we can do I suppose.
I’m an artist in my 40s who’s just beginning my journey in comics so I feel like a total late bloomer. Even though people tell me I’m unflappable and have grit, in my head I feel like a duck frantically paddling to keep myself moving through the water. I know to take it one day at a time, and everything—including feelings— is temporary. Still some days I don’t believe I’ll ever be the illustrator I want to be, or write the books I want to make. On those days, I remind myself about this community. I still feel like that duck paddling frantically, but one that just lets everything glide smoothly down her back.
Hey me too, me too!!
I love the word unflappable! I'm working on this trait every day. I tend to get overwhelmed with the number of things I *think* an artist/writer *could/should* be doing which does not lead to a calm, unflappable state. These days I'm working on a "TOP 3" everyday with the goal of being done by noon. If I'm writing, that will extend into the afternoon. I know that small baby steps are what take us across the finish line (I just need the constant reminder). Love your work and I'm so happy about your books!
Thank you for sharing, Adam! A really insightful and also honest post. So much to unpack here. I’m in various stages of pitching right now, and I realize how naive I was about the timelines in the publishing world! Coming from designing for tech where everything moved at lightning speed, the publishing world feels like a painful glacial pace 😅And yet, like you said, unexpected hiccups happen and all of a sudden you’re drinking from the firehose with three deadlines back to back. Unflappability is great advice. What is success to you is also an important question, and I imagine one with an answer that keeps evolving. Checking in with yourself along the way, recalibrating daily like you said…that’s all we can do I suppose.
Thanks for sharing Adam, clearly Unflappability is a superpower, one that I'm still working on at 64...