5 February 2018.
Dear <<First Name>>,
Do you make new year’s resolutions?
I’ve never been inclined—mostly because, like other people, I know how bad I am at keeping them; a perennial half-hearted one is “Don’t buy any more new yarn and knit through my yarn stash”. But recently I was struck by this interview with Daniel Pink, author of (among other books) When: in it, he talks about “chronological landmarks”—times like New Year’s Eve, one’s birthday or the beginning of a new month—and how they drive people to change their habits for the better. He recommended exploiting such times for your own benefit. So that’s what I’m trying to do.
One of my new year’s resolutions is to write this newsletter more. I was thinking about what I could do with it, and I was reading other people’s newsletters, trying to come up with ideas. Then it struck me that newsletters are kind of like the new blogs: it’s regular missives from people whose work you’re actually interested in straight into your inbox.
I used to keep a blog, but just haven’t been able to keep it alive in recent years. I thought this newsletter might be one way to do that. So in each edition, along with news about what I’m working on, what I’m up to and what’s making me happy, I am going to send you a “post” about something I’ve been thinking about recently.
Enjoy!
In this issue:
- New year’s resolutions and 2018 goals
- Australian Comic Arts Festival (ACAF)
- Eternal Life
- What is making me happy
- Upcoming events
New year’s resolutions and 2018 goals
Speaking of new year’s resolutions and 2018 goals, one thing I’ve noticed a lot of creative friends are doing is talking about what they hope to create this year. It’s pretty exciting seeing friends and creative peers doing such amazing stuff, and I am genuinely looking forward to seeing what they produce this year. However, for me, I want this year to be a quiet one.
I know: it sounds totally counterintuitive. I shouldn’t be telling you this. I should, instead, be talking about the story I’m trying to write (in prose of all things)—the one set in a slightly dystopian future dominated by a workaholic culture whose end result is a dropping birthrate because people are just too busy and too tired to meet romantic partners and start families. I should be outlining some of my plans for other creative projects (like the story about the mythological zoo or the girl who disappears), or hinting at stuff that I Just Can’t Talk About Yet (don’t you hate it when creators do that though?)
But no. This year is about doing a bit less.
A couple of years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting comic writer Tom Taylor at a Supanova Pop Culture Convention after hours gathering. (Tom Taylor has written for the Big Two—Marvel and DC Comics—as well as for smaller publishers like IDW, Dark Horse and Boom!, and his titles range from Injustice, Star Wars, X-Men, Iron Man to my personal favourite, The Deep, published by Gestalt Comics here in Australia and recently adapted into an animated series on Netflix. [It’s about a family of deep sea explorers. So much fun!]). Not only did Tom very generously answer all my questions about how he writes comics and how he fell into the business in the first place, he also reciprocated and showed interest in me and my work. I talked a little about what I was doing, but also spoke of the challenges, and also mentioned being a parent as I know he’s a parent too. (I think we have kids who are the same age.) I wanted to know how he managed to do the work while raising young kids because I wanted to know how I could do it too. He replied—perhaps in horror (I couldn’t tell)—“You have a two-year-old!” In fact, if memory serves, he said it twice.
It struck me as a bit odd then and it still strikes me as being odd now. But I understand what he was getting at: young kids are hardgoing, and it’s difficult to do much else when you have them. Still, having a two-year-old was easier because she still had a day sleep and I wasn’t working. These days, my now-three-year-old does not nap, I am working two part-time jobs (which is equivalent to about 1.5 days per week, and I know that doesn’t sound like much, but it’s huge for me), I still volunteer at church and at my daughter’s school, and I’m still doing the lion’s share of the domestic labour, including managing the household mental load. (If you don’t know what that is, check out this helpful comic by French artist Emma.) In addition, I’m trying to keep up the writing/editing/self-publishing/comics-selling/running workshops on the side. You can see how insane that is (and why I devoted nearly zero time to this newsletter last year).
In the Australian comics community, I don’t actually know anyone else in my position. I don’t know many other mothers of young children who also make comics. I know quite a few fathers of young children who create comics. But from what I’ve gathered, for the majority, their partners are the ones who run their households and carry the mental load. I think they would say that it would be no different if the roles were reversed; I want to say that it is, because having a supportive wife is different to having a supportive husband. (Please note: my husband is very supportive.)
But I’m not going to elaborate on that. I feel like anything I say on the topic would be misinterpreted and would be completely unfair to my husband, who, as I said, is wonderful and supportive. My purpose in writing about all of this is not to start a gender war about who is doing what and whether that’s fair. Instead, I’m trying to be realistic about the state of my life: I am a working mother with a seven-year-old and an almost-four-year-old. Life is going to be challenging for another year—at least.
Last November at GenreCon, I was very encouraged by the writers who are mothers who told me that their careers didn’t really take off until after their youngest started school. I took it as confirmation that this stage is difficult for all mothers and that I shouldn’t be beating myself up too much about my output. So I’m not going to.
This is why I’m going to take this year a bit easier. I’m exhibiting at less cons and running less workshops. I’ve got an extra child-free day up my sleeve for writing, reading and even resting (as my sleep has been ridiculously bad lately—perhaps because of the weather). I’m going to try make life a bit more sustainable and less insane. I’m going to keep chipping away at the prose story I’ve been haphazardly scribbling. I’ve got a writers retreat booked for July (and I’m soooooooo looking forward to it!) I’m going to write this newsletter more regularly. And Paul and I are going to finish Eternal Life.
I hope you’re looking forward to this year as much as I am.
Australian Comic Arts Festival (ACAF)
ACAF is on in Canberra next weekend! If you’re a comics fan, a creator or even a wannabe creator, please join us: the festival takes place across three days and each day has a different focus: Friday is devoted to an academic conference about comics; Saturday is devoted to creator professional development; and Sunday features a comics market, plus panel sessions, portfolio reviews and other fun things.
The guest line-up is also quite spectacular: it features artist Nicola Scott (who works on DC and Image comics; I recently enjoyed the first volume of Black Magic, a supernatural crime thriller drawn by her and written by Greg Rucka); Louie Joyce (artist on Past the Last Mountain, which won a Ledger Award last year); Ryan K Lindsay (writer on Negative Space, which also picked up a Ledger Award last year and is well worth your time; it’s about depression and corporations who profit from keeping you miserable); Craig Phillips (Giants, Trolls, Witches, Beasts); and heaps of other amazing creators in Australian indie comics. And me.
I’m doing a panel on crowdfunding with Gary Charloner, Louie and Ryan on the Saturday, as well as a comics lab. Then on Sunday, I’m on a panel about women in comics in film with Amanda Bacchi, Robbie Miles, Emily Smith and Nicola Scott. I’m very much looking forward to it! If you’re attending, please come and say hi.
Eternal Life
Paul has just sent through some inks for Eternal Life Part 6 and I couldn’t be happier with how things are looking. We’ve added two extra pages to the epilogue and I think it makes the story work better. I can’t wait to show it to you.
We’re aiming to have Part 6 ready for Supanova Sydney.
What is making me happy
In the spirit of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour, here are a few of the things that have been making me happy lately:
- Movie: Mary and the Witch’s Flower: Here’s a mini review:
Enchanting film made by Studio Ghibli alumni that contained elements reminiscent of other Studio Ghibli films (e.g. Kiki on her broomstick; Calcifer from Howl’s Moving Castle; even some of the monsters from Spirited Away), but was still a wonderful and thrilling story in its own right told with breathtaking animation and attention to detail. I did like how it exploited the trope of bored-child-on-summer-holidays-who-has-just-moved-to-a-new-place, even if it didn’t quite turn into Harry Potter (and I have to admit I kind of wanted it to!) Also, the cats were just adorable, and I very much want a cottage like the one she finds on that island.
- Novel: Newt’s Emerald (Garth Nix): If you like Regency romances with a touch of magic featuring a mystery involving a lost family heirloom and a cross-dressing heroine, this book is definitely for you. Tremendously good fun!
- Comic: Nightlights (Lorena Alvarez Gomez): I was first drawn to this book because Gomez’s art is so gorgeous and colourful, but I was also pleasantly surprised as how poignant and interesting her storytelling is: Sandy is a little girl who loves to draw, and often moves through life as though lost in a dream, neglecting the everyday things around her. But then a creature—a supernatural being—takes a rather unhealthy interest in her drawings … Highly recommended. Might be a little too scary for your children.
- Podcast: “How to stop wasting time and start wielding it”: Donald Miller interviews Daniel Pink on the Storybrand podcast (37 min): This is a really fascinating interview about the nature of time and how to make the best use of it. As I said, the bit about chronological landmarks was fascinating, but also the part about chronotypes and the natural pattern of peaks and troughs that make up the workday.
- Letterboxd: I did not know I needed a social network devoted to movies in my life, but I totally do. You can rate, review and log movies you’ve seen and add movies to your watch list. (This is very handy when it’s Saturday night and you suggest watching a movie with your husband, but neither of you can think of what you want to watch.) I hope one day it also has a helpful recommendations service—much like Netflix’s “Since you liked _____, you might like _____”. To find out what I’ve been watching and what I think of what I’ve been watching, find me here: https://letterboxd.com/kbeilz/.
Upcoming events
Thank you again for your interest and support!
More soon.
Karen Beilharz
Hivemindedness Media
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