Not Competent

I can't make a decision.

I have so many irons in the fire right now, and none of it will likely get resolved before I leave for vacation on February 1st. I know I need to, but like when I was regular working Joe, that week leading up to some time off seems worthless. My ability to make excuses seems unhindered however... hmm.

I've really enjoyed what I've been writing lately though. I'm doing a small booklet just on Chitterlings from my Dreams & Echoes scribblings, and like what I'm seeing so far. The world building exercises have been worth every moment just for the confidence it gives writing about characters in an alien and complex world. I wonder how many other writers have gone to these lengths to prepare to write their works?

In other news I ordered myself some new gear.

My Wacom Intuos4 Medium Pen Tablet and some sketching software should arrive Thursday. As I'd written previously, I'm really struggling with seeing certain elements of the stories I've spent the last four months writing. I really want to have a concept of their faces, the gear they carry, the interior of their homes, the places they visit, and the adversaries and obstacles they face.

I've thought about getting more serious about my artwork. My stuff isn't great, but its not bad for someone with no formal training who spends less than one day a year drawing. I generally only sketch very simplistic things to give my self a sense of scale or balance. If I had some tools I think I might be able to develop a talent and put pictures in the books that would at least give the reader an idea of what's happening.

Even if it was just a small picture, at the head of each chapter, that would probably be enough to set what I'm envisioning firmly in place for my readers. To that end I've spent some time drawing in Illustrator CS4. Some of what I created was neat, but it felt like I was making logos and designs by drawing with a piece of soap. I want something where I have a certain measure of control without it auto-correcting and straightening every line.

I need something that translates the raw feelings I have from my hand to the screen. I hate scanning my work because it always requires so much cleanup. I have to pick up smudges from the paper, correct the color on screen, etc. Hopefully drawing from the tablet into some software designed specifically for sketching will do the trick.