A couple of fellow comic book creators (writer/editor
Jason Rodriguez and artist
Jason Copland) recently posted their New Year's Resolutions online, and their commitment and outright ballsiness in doing so inspired me to do the same.
So, here goes:
Elton Pruitt's Resolutions for 2009
1. Write Sunday through Thursday, every night, for at least 2 hours. Last year, I got a little burnt out on burning the midnight oil, and pulled back on the time I spent writing for the sake of my sanity (and sleep). But what that led to was a really lameass work ethic. My wife and I have a 3.5 year old son, so the heart of any evening revolves around him. Although her job is incredibly stressful and requires her to work a lot in the evenings, she goes out of her way to give me one Writing Night every week. On those nights, I get to go straight from the day job to the local brewpub, where I write for several hours.
Last year, I wound up in a bad habit of relying only on those nights to get anything done.
This year, it's gonna be a different story. I'll still have that weekly Writing Night as an ace in the hole. But it'll be supplemented by four other nights -- a minimum of 8 solid hours -- and in taking this disciplined approach, I'm going to dramatically increase my productivity.
2. Take it in stride when life gets in the way of writing.Last year, I tended to get all out of sorts if anything interfered with that sacred Writing Night. This year, now that I've got so many more hours each week dedicated to writing, I'm determined to not let life's little unplanned events get me bent out of shape.
Just last night, some work stuff wound up eating into my scheduled 9:00 - 11:00 writing time. I felt myself starting to tense up and feel frustrated and annoyed. But I caught myself, and managed to relax, and instead of a wasted evening -- which is what would've happened last year -- I wound up starting my writing at 9:30 and getting a lot of good work in in spite of the late start.
3. Don't over commit.I've always been bad about over committing myself. There are so many stories I want to tell, and so many artists I want to work with. But I'm just not the kind of guy who can juggle a bunch of different projects at the same time and be productive.
So, this year, I've got a plan for the next few months, and I'm sticking to it. And it goes something like this:
FUGUE
PORNTASIA
RIVETED
And when those three pitches are out the door and onto the appropriate editors' desks, I'll turn my attention to something I've thought and talked about doing for well over a year now: Zuda.
There's a wonderful artist I've been talking to for a couple of years now who's interested in working up something with me for Zuda, so by golly, I'm going to buckle down and get the creative fires burning and Just Do It!
But only after I finish what's already on my plate. No more over committing!
That's all, folks!Short, sweet, and 100% doable: that's how I'm rolling this year with my resolutions, and in the totality of my commitment to writing comics.
What about you?