I promised to continue updating the comic throughout the holidays and I managed to do so, but as the title of today’s blog states, I don’t know how I did it.
The biggest obstacle was the mere fact that it was that confusing week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve/Day. There is something about that week that facilitates feelings of bewilderment, fatigue, and an overall desire for rest. Powering through it in the name of productivity is difficult, even if all other circumstances are favorable.
In the past my biggest obstacle would have been entertaining my son during his school break, but he’s older now and mostly entertains himself, whether it’s with video games or books. He doesn’t want to hang out with me as much as he used to, which is a blessing for my productivity but a curse for my heart. Regardless, needing to entertain him wasn’t an issue.
Entertainment for him came in the form of a surprise visit from my wife’s best friend and her kids, who stayed with us for a number of days after their holiday plans fell through. Having a house full of visitors should have been a huge obstacle, but my wife and her friend not only managed the kids, they regularly took them out for activities so I could have space and time to work!
But those major obstacles taken away, I still had a hell of a time getting through my comic pages. Every panel was a slog, every line of dialogue came after several rounds of edits, every decision was second-and-third-guessed. My time to make pages felt doubled, and the act of drawing felt draining. Despite mostly everything being in my favor I still felt an oppressive weight on my spirit, like I was fighting through a fog that wouldn’t go away.
That week is weird and I don’t know how anyone gets through it.