Talking Knick-Knacks
and finding stories
Finding stories can be a right tricky old business. For me, anyway.
So I’ve been trying different ways to get my brain moving.
I’m working through Lynda Barry’s Making Comics. I really like her diary comics exercises but there was one I thought wasn’t interesting.
Until I actually tried it.
The way you’re supposed to do this is:
Keep a diary for a week. Spend 5 minutes writing about whatever’s on your mind. Then spend 15 minutes drawing an animal that you don’t really know (without reference) for 15 minutes.
At the end of the week, make a six panel comic using your drawings. With each animal saying the first sentence that you wrote each day.
I expected to get a series of “Animals say the funniest things” type drawings, which I thought would not be interesting.
But an unexpected narrative came out of it.
It stressed me out to do 15 minute drawings without reference - so I farted about with the rules and did my own version.
It doesn’t really make any sense but it still has it’s own internal logic.
What did the bird do that was so exposing? And how did it involve spaghetti? Was the bird’s mum there when it happened, or is she calling because she heard about it from the neighbours?
Those are story threads poking through, inviting me to pull on them.
And clunk … whirr … my brain can start moving!
The way I did this exercise was:
Keep a diary for a week. 5 minutes writing whatever was on my mind. 5 minutes observational drawing of one of my decorative knick-knacks.
At the end of the week, decide drawing one knick-knack would be better. Do a series of 5 minutes observational drawings from different angles.
Add the first sentence from each day to each of the drawings.
Discard two of the drawing/text pairs because it makes a tighter narrative.
Cross out the word yesterday because I don’t know if it’s necessary.
Write about it in my newsletter.
It was definitely a good way to mess about with how text and image can change each other. And a good lesson for me in not dismissing something just because I think I already know what the end result will be!
Here are a few talking knick-knacks that I made along the way:
Do you have any tricks you use to get your story-brain going? I’d love to hear about them if you fancy sharing!
Useful links:
I went to a really helpful online workshop from
hosted by Orange Beak Studios called Finding Ideas Through Play. Definitely worth signing up to Tor and/or Orange Beak’s newletters to hear about it next time it runs.Sequential Artists Workshop So much good stuff here, including free resources. Make yourself a big cup of tea and be prepared to lose several hours when you follow the link!
I love that book and ALsSO scoffed at this exercise! I'm inspired to go back, your outcome is brilliant
A simple yet brilliant idea! I love how the creatures take on their own personalities from the words you had written in your diary!