Unapologetic

When I read a review of my work, I do enjoy the ego boost I get from praise on my creative endeavors, but I do try to learn from the mistakes that reviews point out. Art is subjective so a review on art is just as subjective, but this isn’t a retort on a particular review I’ve taken a stance against. This is about how I take the various constructive criticism and let it rattle in my brain and hopefully it comes out in a form useful to me.

I read the latest review on Dusk -

http://geeksofdoom.com/2009/07/07/comic-review-dusk-vol1/

And I’ve noticed a theme that has popped up in several reviews I’ve read. The writing is good, but just not good enough. The stories need polish. I need to improve. It’s rough.

This isn’t a pity party. Those comments made me wonder what I was trying to say with my stories. And besides in the end it doesn’t matter what I try to say, the reader will take away what they will from a story. The act of writing and reading is always going to be different, so there is no point in worrying about the reader having a different perspective on a story.

Ah, but I digress. The lead character in Dusk is a mess because I like flawed characters. I find it far more interesting to read about someone who is broken. I don’t see the inherent beauty in the world. I think life is random bits of happenstance and you do what you can with what you are given. It’s rough.

And I think that’s what I’m trying to say with Dusk. I’m not trying to tell you a story with a steady measure, it’s raw and hoarse from screaming. Yes I believe in story structure and logic, but I don’t think it should be so clear cut. Sometimes you just can’t color inside the lines.

Now I’m not trying to make myself sound Avant Garde or more clever than I actually am. I’m just a guy who hides behinds comic book stories about vampires when he tries to express himself to the world. This is probably one of the few times I’ll be so open about where my stories come from and what they mean to me. It’s probably because I’m in that weird lucid state of mind one gets when you’re up way too late.

So yes, Dusk is unapologetically a horrid mishmash of a emotion spewed at as a story. It reflects the writer in that manner and what I want to say to the world.

Yeah I need some sleep