I've always liked writing. I think that perhaps that's a cliche, and so probably is the fact that I read out the entire library at primary school. Perhaps more unusual was that at that age I used to hide under tables with books.
And I really have liked comics for a long time. From the celebrated I Kill Giants to Raina Telgemeier's Sisters and Andi Watson's Gum Girl, to issue by issue comics such as Zodiac Starforce and The Wicked and the Divine, I've loved, read, and bought a staggering amount. (Don't let my bank balance think of it.) While I'm no artist, the writing thrilled and inspired me. There are so many stories that could be told if only I was able to, I used to think. I cursed the fact that drawing digitally was beyond me, at first.
Then I began to want to do something as a career. I wanted to be a comic book writer. I was inspired not only by Kieron Gillen, whose writing is truly amazing, but all of the comic books I read, and even some online comics that are page by page; Sister Claire, for example, is a writer/artist duo's creation, and is wonderful. I wanted to create something as beautifully haunting as Far to the North, as sweetly sad as Blindsprings. I still want that.
I'm a writer, I write things all the time, and then leave them unfinished. I read every comic book I can, and every time the school library got a new one in, I immediately read it through. Some of this resulted in incorrectly categorised books being sent off to the Sixth Former section of the library, I'll admit, but I loved them so much that I blitzed through the entire comic book section of the Sixth Former library when I became one. I adored The Phoenix magazine with its serial stories, and I really, truly want to write something that's as gorgeous as the beautiful comics I read.
This came to a head when I read The Wicked and the Divine. This was an artist and a writer creating beautiful, gorgeous things, and they already had created things before. It was wonderful, it was horrific in places, it was a love letter to music and popstars and fandom, and I wanted more than ever to do that. So, I reasoned, why couldn't I? Why couldn't I be a script writer, no matter what? I could type and write no matter what else went on.
I am a writer, and that can be all kinds. I don't just have to try and write a novel, but I could write a comic script. I could work for Image, Marvel, or Dark Horse. I just have to put my all into it. I can create something as beautiful as the works I admire, but I must absolutely put the effort in. No more unfinished pieces; I'm going to bring home the gold.
