There’s a saying that’s almost exactly 30 years old that states that nostalgic repetition in pop culture follows a 30 year cycle. Hence, The Sandman came out on Netflix about 30 years after the comic finished its run in the mid-90s. And the Addams Family film (1991) came out just shy of 30 years after…
Category: Writers on Writing
Neurodivergent Storytellers… Unite
When I write an essay about writing, I try to be transparent about the issues at stake. I am neurodivergent. And being neurodivergent leads to some difficulties, but also some opportunities that other writers might or might not have. But there are a lot of issues. Partly because I am a complex person and partly…
The Self-Care Collision
We talk a lot about self-care here. We’re all aware of how important it is, and as we’ve developed our policies and worked with writers, we’ve emphasized that every one of us needs to take the time for self-care. To set boundaries. To be honest about how they’re feeling. And perhaps most of all, to…
The Beauty of Rough Edges
Little Cat was rooting around in some old pile of things today, and what he found surprised him. Lately, Little Cat is used to being the co-star of a bunch of three-cell comics with thought bubbles and a little signature in the corner. But what he uncovered was something older. A series of one-cell memes…
What Makes a Writer?
What makes a writer? There are as many answers to that question as there are people who call themselves “writers.” What makes me a writer? Confidence in my own work and a feeling that I can trust my own voice to speak up with. The truth is that I started calling myself a writer at…
Good vs. Likable (Caturday Question)
Good Writing is the Best, and Cheapest, Special Effect The point here is that good vs. likeable is a false choice. You like what you like, right? And nobody can tell you otherwise. Also, there’s no inherent reason why pornographic films should have worse writing than any other kind of entertainment. I seem to recall…
If you Give a Mouse a Research Project
Third grade, they say, is the year that school shifts from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.” I can remember my own third grade year feeling a lot harder than school had up until that point. And one of the things that happened that year was that my third grade teacher insisted that we…
Unintended Consequences (Caturday Questions)
What happens when you do something that turns out to have unintended consequences? Middle Cat loves his Human-Mom. He goes out to the choicest nests and picks the nicest gifts for her and leaves them, pungent and appetizing, at the foot of her bed. But does she appreciate it? No. Quite the opposite. Why does…
Character Motivation (Caturday Questions)
Middle Cat said something interesting the other day. He said: “Character is the most important part of any story. If you think back to any of your favorite books, or even movies, the thing you’ll remember most clearly is the character. And probably the most important part of that is character motivation. If you know…
Originality (Caturday Questions)
Middle Cat and Little Cat have tried to gin up a bidding-war for their artwork. Middle Cat’s brand trades on its sophistication. His claim to originality is that he is a cat who does not scratch furniture. Where, you might say, is his artwork, then? Middle Cat boasts that he is a performance artist; that…