omg this post was so good lol I relate hard to the sitting in the bathroom for 10 min just vibing cuz its all too much (i usually just go home or freeze up in a corner of the party or something dumb)
ok wait I have a lot of responses too:
1. I'd never heard of achewood and now I can't stop reading the comics thank you
2. you mighta told me this already but are you LA based? If so let's hang soon! there's a bunch of LA writers here that are cool and so we could all get together and be awkward turtles again!
3. I definitely trend toward comedy stuff so I'd say I'm a comedy writer? I hvae a couple scripts I'm writing (saying that phrase makes me want to jump off a building - there's no greater shame for a writer than uttering the words "i'm working on a few scripts)
4. I have more questions but I will save them for more times when I will comment woohoo
1. Haha, I honestly hadn't heard of Achewood before either, but a friend recently shared this cartoon with me and I was like... this is too fuggin' relevant.
2. I am LA based!!! I would love to hang out!!! I want an awkward turtle community! Please let me know whenever it is that you all hang out soon.
3. I totally get feeling weird about writing scripts in L.A. because it feels like "everyone is doing it", but I still think it's cool as shit and I always will. I authentically think it's brave as hell and I'm so sick of people shaming others for pursing their dreams. Like, calm the fuck down haters! We get it-- you hate yourself! Lol.
4. Yay more questions! Sorry for this late reply btw, I just got home from the writing residency and I'm still recalibrating, but it was on my mind to respond to this the last several days.
Omg, Jason! Thank you so much for reminding me about the NCS in LA! Someone had brought it up to me at the party and it just got lost everything else I was processing that night. I'm bummed I wasn't able to meet you too, I love your cartoons! That party was such a whirlwind, right?! I can't tell if it was even just a fever dream. Hopefully they'll do it again next year and I'll actually get to you meet you. St. Nell's has been, unsurprisingly awesome. Truly having the time of my life out here!
Thanks for posting that achewood comic on the subject of humility. Where I grew up there was a strong culture of _tall poppy syndrome_, which meant any kind of talent was branded as 'showing off' pretty much immediately. I'm still working my way out of that mindset decades later.
My takeaway from that was: share and talk about your projects! Not because you're showing off, but because if you think your project was cool or interesting - _other people will too._ It's not about you, it's about the cool thing you did.
Great article, thanks for sharing Aaron, I totally agree. Something that's been helping me to be more open about sharing my life is that I always find people who match my joy -- and those connections give me life-- and I love returning the good energy for them.
Like a lot of people, I'll accidentally focus on the disconnects, where people made me feel bad for being happy about something in my life.
I'm just endlessly working toward disregarding those people because they're always going to exist, but I don't have to focus on their negativity. Much better to seek the people who can be happy for you when you get a win.
They really were shockingly kind and friendly, it was so nice. I found the residency because I follow the person who started the residency on IG (Emily Flake). She's also a New Yorker cartoonist, so I followed her for that originally, but she was always talking about this residency, so I kept looking more and more into it. St. Nell's also offers a lot of one-off sessions online, which I had done one before, it was really cool. A lot of Late Night writers are often hosting those, which I just thought was so cool. When I went to the NYer party almost everyone was familiar with this residency too, which was fun. Half the women either already did it or said they were considering applying.
Oh that's awesome! One of my goals this year is to try short story writing or maybe some sort of zine or comics. I want to look into writing classes and workshops. It's good to know this stuff is out there!
Omg Leah, YESSSSSSS!!! Have you ever been to L.A. Zine Fest? Their applications just closed, but it'd be worth checking out if you want some ✨inspiration✨. St. Nell's residencies all revolve around humor (sketch, writing, improve, cartoons), but if you're considering fiction writing I guarantee there are similar offerings out there. I did a cartoon mentorship in Portland once too. It's really nice to get the chance to immerse yourself around other people who are doing the same thing! The resources from the connections you'll make are ENDLESS. I'm so excited to see what you do this year!! Keep me posted!
Any time, Leah! It's one of my favorite things to pump up friends into creative ventures. It's only been within the last year or so that I started believing that I could "be a writer" and it's honestly been so fun. It's wild to me that I deprived myself of this for so long... and now I can't shut up! Lol, I have to make up for lost time, apparently.
Cool experience. Fun to read your perspective on the party and to imagine how to navigate among talented cartoonists gathered in one space. What do New Yorker cartoonists talk about at parties?
I remember everyone talking at one point about how we can get really neurotic in our final drafts of bought cartoons-- specifically redrawing the dot of an eye, because if you lift your pencil too quickly just a subtle wrist move can completely alter an expression. Or how on Fridays we'll hold out hope past 5pm for the famous "O.K." email, which in New Yorker parlance means your cartoon has been chosen for print. A lot of people I spoke with talked about the by-gone era of submitting your cartoons in person and how before Covid there would be a long line of cartoonists waiting outside of Emma's office on Tuesdays to share their ideas-- how a lot of cartoonists became friends in that hallway. Today it's all email though. It made me very envious of the cartoonists who live in NYC. I wish I could have ever submitted in person because when you get rejected in person you get feedback, which can be so helpful for future ideas. Some cartoonists talked about local gallery shows and what kind of art really inspires us. That was really fun to hear! I ate it up. I'm often pretty isolated as an artist, so it felt like a feast of conversation. Thanks for asking, John! Even now I'm trying to keep this reply length in check because I could babble on it forever.
Those eyes must convey the exact message, right? What a great topic. Cartoonists can appreciate a well controlled wrist and probably can do forensic work on people’s handwriting (“Their wrist is loose and at the mercy of a light grip of the pen”). I can imagine the synergy of waiting together in person to submit and then going out for lunch after. Good for everyone to gather at the party. Thank you for sharing your experience!
Of course, John! I love to share, glad you liked reading. Oh how I crave that synergy! I'll just have to keep pretending that that world still exists and that I ever was part of it, hahhhh. *single tear*
Not a question, just a comment: "I simply ran out of shits to give. I like to tell myself that my nascent wrinkles are a secret superpower: The more I get, the stronger I become." Wait til you hit 50. You will forget you ever had shits to begin with. 😆
So glad you went. So glad you enjoyed yourself so much. Most glad you shared the experience with us.
Thank you so much, Scott! I do have to keep reminding myself that aging is a gift. I do look forward to forgetting I ever possessed these "shits" we speak of. The shits of yore! I'm glad you enjoyed my share. Even though I've progressed past concerning myself with "haters" I do still worry at times if what I write is even interesting at all, so it makes me glad that you enjoyed the read.
One thing I'm (slowly) learning as I lean into writing for someone other than myself and my spouse is that I need to trust those who've subscribed to the journey. If they are on board, they must have found it interesting enough at one time to click the little box. And if they decide it's no longer interesting, I have to be OK with that, too. (Which is hard.)
What keep me reading your posts is that even though it seems on the surface that we could not be more different, I can relate to almost everything I read from you. It's almost as if there's more to people than just the surface. Wow. That's almost deep.
I love this, Scott! It's honestly such a pleasure to feel an unexpected connection with another person these days. It's one of my favorite parts about being online recently. I feel like I'm finally finding my happy spaces online and I inevitably end up having lovely conversations with more people who, like you said, can seem so different from the outside, but are really not. It's a fuckin' pleasure! Look at us go!
omg this post was so good lol I relate hard to the sitting in the bathroom for 10 min just vibing cuz its all too much (i usually just go home or freeze up in a corner of the party or something dumb)
ok wait I have a lot of responses too:
1. I'd never heard of achewood and now I can't stop reading the comics thank you
2. you mighta told me this already but are you LA based? If so let's hang soon! there's a bunch of LA writers here that are cool and so we could all get together and be awkward turtles again!
3. I definitely trend toward comedy stuff so I'd say I'm a comedy writer? I hvae a couple scripts I'm writing (saying that phrase makes me want to jump off a building - there's no greater shame for a writer than uttering the words "i'm working on a few scripts)
4. I have more questions but I will save them for more times when I will comment woohoo
1. Haha, I honestly hadn't heard of Achewood before either, but a friend recently shared this cartoon with me and I was like... this is too fuggin' relevant.
2. I am LA based!!! I would love to hang out!!! I want an awkward turtle community! Please let me know whenever it is that you all hang out soon.
3. I totally get feeling weird about writing scripts in L.A. because it feels like "everyone is doing it", but I still think it's cool as shit and I always will. I authentically think it's brave as hell and I'm so sick of people shaming others for pursing their dreams. Like, calm the fuck down haters! We get it-- you hate yourself! Lol.
4. Yay more questions! Sorry for this late reply btw, I just got home from the writing residency and I'm still recalibrating, but it was on my mind to respond to this the last several days.
I’m sorry we didn’t get a chance to talk! I had a similar experience of overwhelm at that party and I’m still reeling.
You should take the LA cartoonists up on that invite— the LA chapter of the NCS* are a lot of fun, and very supportive.
Enjoy St Nell’s! That house is magical.
*National Cartoonists Society.
Omg, Jason! Thank you so much for reminding me about the NCS in LA! Someone had brought it up to me at the party and it just got lost everything else I was processing that night. I'm bummed I wasn't able to meet you too, I love your cartoons! That party was such a whirlwind, right?! I can't tell if it was even just a fever dream. Hopefully they'll do it again next year and I'll actually get to you meet you. St. Nell's has been, unsurprisingly awesome. Truly having the time of my life out here!
Thanks for posting that achewood comic on the subject of humility. Where I grew up there was a strong culture of _tall poppy syndrome_, which meant any kind of talent was branded as 'showing off' pretty much immediately. I'm still working my way out of that mindset decades later.
I read this really short post which helped me reframe things: http://carl.flax.ie/dothingstellpeople.html
My takeaway from that was: share and talk about your projects! Not because you're showing off, but because if you think your project was cool or interesting - _other people will too._ It's not about you, it's about the cool thing you did.
Great article, thanks for sharing Aaron, I totally agree. Something that's been helping me to be more open about sharing my life is that I always find people who match my joy -- and those connections give me life-- and I love returning the good energy for them.
Like a lot of people, I'll accidentally focus on the disconnects, where people made me feel bad for being happy about something in my life.
I'm just endlessly working toward disregarding those people because they're always going to exist, but I don't have to focus on their negativity. Much better to seek the people who can be happy for you when you get a win.
What a cool experience! Thanks for sharing. I bet it was a fun group of people. How did you find your writing residency?
They really were shockingly kind and friendly, it was so nice. I found the residency because I follow the person who started the residency on IG (Emily Flake). She's also a New Yorker cartoonist, so I followed her for that originally, but she was always talking about this residency, so I kept looking more and more into it. St. Nell's also offers a lot of one-off sessions online, which I had done one before, it was really cool. A lot of Late Night writers are often hosting those, which I just thought was so cool. When I went to the NYer party almost everyone was familiar with this residency too, which was fun. Half the women either already did it or said they were considering applying.
Oh that's awesome! One of my goals this year is to try short story writing or maybe some sort of zine or comics. I want to look into writing classes and workshops. It's good to know this stuff is out there!
Omg Leah, YESSSSSSS!!! Have you ever been to L.A. Zine Fest? Their applications just closed, but it'd be worth checking out if you want some ✨inspiration✨. St. Nell's residencies all revolve around humor (sketch, writing, improve, cartoons), but if you're considering fiction writing I guarantee there are similar offerings out there. I did a cartoon mentorship in Portland once too. It's really nice to get the chance to immerse yourself around other people who are doing the same thing! The resources from the connections you'll make are ENDLESS. I'm so excited to see what you do this year!! Keep me posted!
Omg, I'm definitely going to check out LA Zine fest! Thanks for the tip! I will def keep you posted. Thanks for pumping me up :)
Any time, Leah! It's one of my favorite things to pump up friends into creative ventures. It's only been within the last year or so that I started believing that I could "be a writer" and it's honestly been so fun. It's wild to me that I deprived myself of this for so long... and now I can't shut up! Lol, I have to make up for lost time, apparently.
Haha. I'm glad you pushed yourself to do it's been really fun to ready your work!
Cool experience. Fun to read your perspective on the party and to imagine how to navigate among talented cartoonists gathered in one space. What do New Yorker cartoonists talk about at parties?
I remember everyone talking at one point about how we can get really neurotic in our final drafts of bought cartoons-- specifically redrawing the dot of an eye, because if you lift your pencil too quickly just a subtle wrist move can completely alter an expression. Or how on Fridays we'll hold out hope past 5pm for the famous "O.K." email, which in New Yorker parlance means your cartoon has been chosen for print. A lot of people I spoke with talked about the by-gone era of submitting your cartoons in person and how before Covid there would be a long line of cartoonists waiting outside of Emma's office on Tuesdays to share their ideas-- how a lot of cartoonists became friends in that hallway. Today it's all email though. It made me very envious of the cartoonists who live in NYC. I wish I could have ever submitted in person because when you get rejected in person you get feedback, which can be so helpful for future ideas. Some cartoonists talked about local gallery shows and what kind of art really inspires us. That was really fun to hear! I ate it up. I'm often pretty isolated as an artist, so it felt like a feast of conversation. Thanks for asking, John! Even now I'm trying to keep this reply length in check because I could babble on it forever.
Those eyes must convey the exact message, right? What a great topic. Cartoonists can appreciate a well controlled wrist and probably can do forensic work on people’s handwriting (“Their wrist is loose and at the mercy of a light grip of the pen”). I can imagine the synergy of waiting together in person to submit and then going out for lunch after. Good for everyone to gather at the party. Thank you for sharing your experience!
Of course, John! I love to share, glad you liked reading. Oh how I crave that synergy! I'll just have to keep pretending that that world still exists and that I ever was part of it, hahhhh. *single tear*
Not a question, just a comment: "I simply ran out of shits to give. I like to tell myself that my nascent wrinkles are a secret superpower: The more I get, the stronger I become." Wait til you hit 50. You will forget you ever had shits to begin with. 😆
So glad you went. So glad you enjoyed yourself so much. Most glad you shared the experience with us.
Thank you so much, Scott! I do have to keep reminding myself that aging is a gift. I do look forward to forgetting I ever possessed these "shits" we speak of. The shits of yore! I'm glad you enjoyed my share. Even though I've progressed past concerning myself with "haters" I do still worry at times if what I write is even interesting at all, so it makes me glad that you enjoyed the read.
One thing I'm (slowly) learning as I lean into writing for someone other than myself and my spouse is that I need to trust those who've subscribed to the journey. If they are on board, they must have found it interesting enough at one time to click the little box. And if they decide it's no longer interesting, I have to be OK with that, too. (Which is hard.)
What keep me reading your posts is that even though it seems on the surface that we could not be more different, I can relate to almost everything I read from you. It's almost as if there's more to people than just the surface. Wow. That's almost deep.
I love this, Scott! It's honestly such a pleasure to feel an unexpected connection with another person these days. It's one of my favorite parts about being online recently. I feel like I'm finally finding my happy spaces online and I inevitably end up having lovely conversations with more people who, like you said, can seem so different from the outside, but are really not. It's a fuckin' pleasure! Look at us go!
I assume you've heard this before: https://youtu.be/TXK03FHVsHk
I have not, but this is absolutely delicious, thank you for sharing. ✨
Thank you so much, Mitchell! :D