Why Do I Do It?

Whatever you do with your life, if it comes up in conversation, somebody will ask you why you chose it. It's an inevitable question, so the most useful thing to do would be to find a good answer to it.

I've found that I write comics for all of the classic reasons people will give. I enjoy the process of writing. I love making people laugh. I love creating characters, giving them life, and watching them live. Overall, it's not too impressive or inspirational.

What I found far more interesting than why I write is why I don't do anything else. It's not as though I've never done anything but comics. I've done math, various sciences, linguistics, music, and a whole host of other kinds of writing. I have both ability and interest in all of those subjects, yet I chose comics. Why not any of the others?

Math I am good at. I can add, subtract, divide, multiply in my head and I manipulate numbers for fun. But for every higher level of math I go into, I get less good at it. Math is a field I could not pursue indefinitely. I would reach a point where I couldn't learn what I was expected to and would have to leave. The best I could hope to do is teach high school or freshmen in college (which is the same thing).

Most of the sciences fascinate me. Psychology has been an interest of mine since middle school. I've always wanted to learn how the human mind works. The problem is that I could never do all of the papers in the exact, perfect APA style, nor could I ever remember all of the anatomy and physiology needed, let alone all of the psychology vocabulary.

Chemistry is also interesting, seeing the world in the smallest whole structures and finding out how they interact. Next to chemistry is astronomy, seeing the super massive objects of the universe, what they're made of, and how they act. The problem with the two sciences is dealing with all the math involved. It eventually becomes overwhelming and it eliminates my interest in the subjects. I have found that with the sciences, I will always learn what I can about them, but it is not enough to make a life out of it.

I have had music in my life longer than anything else (even air). I've always been making music and always been listening to it. In high school, when it came time to figure out what I wanted to pursue, my first thought was music. The problem was that I didn't have the drive for it. I didn't go home and practice for hours on end. I didn't push myself to be better; others pushed me toward a goal and I rose to the challenge. I saw my peers, some of whom knew exactly that they were going to pursue music, and I knew that I wouldn't stand a chance compared to them. Music was nice, but not a passion. Writing was my passion.

But why comic writing? Why not novels, short stories, newspapers, or any of the other multitude of writing possibilities? And the reason is that half of them I hate and the other half I suck at. Journalism infuriates me. The style is stale, uninteresting, and often painful to read (and write). Journalism isn't about writing; it's about finding the story. I don't want to go find stories; I want to tell great ones. As much as I enjoy the essay, the short story, and the novel, I find myself not particularly great at them, and I don't have the desire to put forth the effort to reach that level. I also don't have the desire to claw my way through the tribulations of becoming a successful novelist, essayist, or short story writer.

Comic writing fits my style perfectly. My writing, which tends to be short and to the point, allows the pictures to describe the scenery so my words don't have to. It allows me to present my ideas in any form that I desire. I have a constant drive to write them and to get better at writing them. I love learning about them, what makes them work and not work, how a person monetizes them, what has been done and what has not been done yet. This is something I think I will only get better at with age and time and I look forward to finding out.