Friday, January 19, 2018

Spellbound by Comic Creation by Shawna Coppola


I’ve always identified as a writer--not so much the kind of writer who actually writes, per say, but rather the kind of writer who revels in the glory of having written--who frequents local coffee shops, noshes on baked goods, stalks social media, keeps up with the Kardashians, and wakes up the following day magically holding a beautifully-bound book in her hand that she herself has written.

This kind of writing identity is difficult to sustain.

It’s not that I dislike writing. I’m actually one of those annoying people who enjoy writing, especially when I’m riled up enough to feel as though I have something important and/or entertaining to say. I even enjoy revising, most of the time. And--not joking--reviewing copy edits is something I actually look forward to.

I KNOW, right? So obnoxious.

The problem is, I’m easily distracted when I’m writing. There’s always an email to answer, a celebrity feud to navigate, a gallon of milk to buy. So if you’re looking to me as a writing mentor along the lines of Donald Murray (Nulla dies sine linea--never a day without a line) or a Stephen King, who once shared that his average daily word count hovered around 2,000...you may want to look elsewhere.

I don’t even privilege words when it comes to writing. (Gasp!) To me, writing is so much more than composing words. It’s broader than that. In my book Renew! Become a Better--and More Authentic--Writing Teacher (Stenhouse, 2017), I spend all of Chapter 3--close to 5,000 words--trying to convince my readers of this in what can only be characterized as an exercise in irony. But since writing that chapter, I’ve embraced this notion a hundred times over. I’ve practically thrown myself into practicing digital composition, remixing, comics--even emoji stories!

It’s the comic writing, though, that’s ensnared me the most with its novel, razor-sharp hooks. I have never identified as an artist--that is, not until very recently--and yet I am simply spellbound when creating comics. Unlike when writing prose, I am nearly impossible to distract when composing a comic. I have missed appointments; I have neglected to shower; I have failed to feed my children dinner while in the process of writing a comic. And though I still have so, so much to learn, I can already see myself improving as a comic artist, which is like a magical elixir, compelling me to experiment more, fail more, produce more.

This year, I not only want to continue to improve the comics I compose by hand; I want to learn how to create webcomics--yikes!--using a program like Procreate or Medibang Paint. I want to continue to learn from and absorb the brilliance of mentors like Chaz Hutton, Lucy Knisley, Sarah Andersen, and Reza Farazmand. And I want to do it all while remembering to shower and feed my children dinner.

Wish me luck.


Shawna Coppola is a K-6 literacy specialist and the author of Renew! Become a Better--and More Authentic--Writing Teacher from Stenhouse Publishers (2017). When she is not teaching, presenting, or consulting, she writes comics and posts for her blog, My So-Called Literacy Life. You can connect with her on Twitter (@shawnacoppola) or Voxer (ShawnaCoppola) to talk books, education, or the Kardashians.

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The #TeachWrite Twitter Chat Blog is dedicated to providing a space for our community to connect and share their voices about writing and teaching writing.  We are looking for guest bloggers who would like to blog on topics related to being a teacher-writer. Educators and writers of all levels are invited to join us in this space. More information can be found here

1 comment:

  1. I could never in a million years imagine myself as a comic creator, but nevertheless, your post was so entertaining. I love to lose myself in creative projects. As my children are now out of the house, I only have to remember to feed the dog and the cat, and occasionally, the husband. Thanks for writing for our TeachWrite blog. I bought your book and am going to re-read Chapter 3 right now.

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Write for Us!

The #TeachWrite Twitter Chat Blog is dedicated to providing a space for our community to connect and share their voices about writing and teaching writing. We are looking for guest bloggers who would like to blog on topics related to being a teacher-writer. Educators and writers of all levels are invited to join us in this space. More information can be found here.