Month: February 2010

Two points about being a talent wrangler

By / February 4, 2010

Yesterday I wrote a post in which I put on my Talent Wrangler hat and discussed how I intend to spend the next month aiding and abetting Howard’s creativity so that we can get the next book done. I got a couple of responses to that post which essentially said “I wish I had someone like that.” My first response was “Who wouldn’t?” We would all love to have someone devoting themselves to making our lives easier and our creative pursuits more enjoyable. But before anyone goes misty-eyed and tries to find their perfect creative-supporter/soul mate, or worse, tries to remake their current mate by pointing at my post and saying “why don’t you that for me?” I need to make a couple of things clear.

1. Healthy relationships require balance. I am willing to devote a large part of my energy this month toward assisting Howard because on endless occasions he has dropped all of his tasks to assist me. I am also willing to do it because it is truly necessary. Howard is truly buried and needs help digging out. It is wrong for a creative person to expect this level of devotion and support without giving in return.

2. Ask what it costs, because nothing is free. My efforts to talent wrangle Howard are going to exhaust me. There will be days when I will hardly be able to see straight, but I will still need to get things done. I will be putting Howard’s work ahead of my own aspirations. Even on a temporary basis, that can be emotionally draining. These are all costs that I am very willing to pay. I love the work Howard does and I can see that this is necessary to getting the next book out on schedule. Thinking about the costs of dreams is part of moving carefully and safely toward reaching them without going bankrupt.

In which I put on my Talent Wrangler hat

By / February 3, 2010

I came home from my vacation trip relaxed, confident, and ready to tackle all the work ahead of me. Then I stood in the kitchen with Howard, one of our many quick meetings where we discuss business and schedule, and I realized that he hadn’t been on vacation. He was not feeling ready and excited for new challenges. He was feeling buried under work. That was the moment when I dusted off my Talent Wrangler hat and declared it the most important hat I own for the month of February.

We really need the next Schlock book (Resident Mad Scientist, or RMS) to be ready for print by the end of February. For that to happen, Howard needs to script and draw the bonus story, create margin art, and put together a cover. That is a huge amount of work, especially when we add in the work necessary to keep the comic updating regularly. Howard can do it, but only if he has my active support.

There is a difference between active support and passive support. Passive support says “Good idea honey. You should do that.” Active support says “How can I help you? Let me manage this boring bit.” Passive support is when I listen to Howard talk about his schedule for the day, but I don’t really track it because I am tracking my schedule instead. Active support is when I hear his proposed schedule and then shape my day so that his work flow is uninterrupted. Passive support is sometimes the correct response, It has been for us for a long time, but the time has come for me to switch over to active.

I informed Howard of my decision this morning. I told him that I intended to function as a Talent Wrangler for him. He agreed that was a good idea.

The title “Talent Wrangler” is one I’ve often heard applied to the Guest Liaisons for conventions. The job of the Talent Wrangler is to make sure that the special guests are where they need to be on schedule. The Wrangler makes sure that the guests get breaks and food at appropriate intervals. If the guest gets stressed or nervous, it is the Wrangler’s job to be soothing and to solve the problems. It is a lot of work to be a Talent Wrangler, particularly since the Wrangler is also supposed to be as unobtrusive as possible.

The risk of me taking on an active Talent Wrangler role for Howard this month is that I could turn into the ultimate nag. He can’t easily hide from me, and I don’t want him to. So I must find a careful balance between the role of Wife, who must sympathize and love no matter what, and the Talent Wrangler whose primary goal is to prod the artist to high productivity. If I am doing my Talent Wrangling right, then Howard will only be aware that work is being easier and more energizing.

I really feel like we can get this mountain of work done on schedule. February is going to be a good month.

My LTUE Schedule

By / February 2, 2010

Looks like my statement that I had no events at LTUE was premature. There have been some schedule additions and shifts in the past weeks and I am now going to be part of 4 panel discussions. I’m very excited about all the panels I get to participate in. I may type up presentation notes after the panels are over. When I am not running panels, I’ll be running our table in the Dealer’s room. Hope to see you there!

Friday Feb 12, 9 AM
Paths to Publishing: When is traditional best and when should you choose an alternative.
This will be a fascinating discussion between people who have taken all sorts of publishing routes and who have been in the business for years.

Friday Feb 12 3 PM
Living with the Artist (writer): Functioning as support personnel to a creative person.
I’m really excited about this one. At the moment the only panelists are Dawn Wells and I, but we may shanghai some of the other artistic supporters we know. Since the topic of this panel is going to be my life focus for the next month as we drive the next Schlock book into print, I am very passionate about the topic. If nothing else come to hear us tell stories about our more-famous-than-we-are husbands.

Saturday Feb 13 3 PM
The Experience of writing a good blog
I’m glad I’ll get a chance to discuss blogging with these panelists. They are all excellent writers and I expect to learn a lot.

Saturday Feb 13 5 PM (2 hours)
Making a Living as an Artist
I remember when this panel first appeared at LTUE. It was about 12 of us in a room, so we just pulled the chairs into a circle and chatted. Last year it was 10 panelists in a packed room and there wasn’t enough time to talk about everything. So this time there will be two hours. The wealth of artistic experience on this panel is incredible. I recommend it to anyone who wants to pursue a creative career, not just to visual artists.

Coming home was the best birthday present

By / February 1, 2010

I’ll fess up. I deliberately scheduled travel on my birthday because I wanted to hide from it. I’m not bothered by getting older. I’m quite happy to tell people my age (37). I know that aging has some unpleasant things in store for me eventually, but I’m just not worried about it yet. I was hiding from the cloud of expectations around my birthday. The trip itself needed to happen for many reasons, but traveling on my birthday was hiding. I wish I could claim that this was a fully self-aware choice. It wasn’t. Only in hindsight am I able to see the whys behind my decisions.

I have five people in my immediate family who love me dearly. They want to surprise and delight me for my birthday. I would love to be surprised and delighted, partly because it is fun, but even more because my delight would make them happy. But it is really hard to surprise someone who is expecting it. And it is just as hard not to expect anything for your birthday when you know that something is being planned.

So this year I turned my birthday into a travel day. As I expected, the necessities of travel completely overshadowed the birthday. The expense of travel was put into the budget instead of gifts. Then I arrived at my mother’s house and discovered a party waiting for me. It was a lovely party, pleasantly low-key. And the gifts were all well chosen. With Key Lime Pie. (Note to my subconscious: if you’re trying to avoid birthday stuff, don’t travel to Mom’s house when you know how much she loves to give gifts and celebrate with parties. Also, why don’t you just tell me what you’re trying to accomplish? That would be so much simpler.)

The remainder of the weekend was spent in celebration of other people’s birthdays and I enjoyed it all. I loved seeing Gleek and Patch play games together as the only kids at Grandma’s house. I loved seeing my Grandma watch my kids. I loved standing in the hallway out of sight and listening to my Mom tell stories to an excited pair of children. I loved watching idiotic made-for-tv science fiction movies with my Dad. I loved hugging my Grandma and listening to her stories. I want to do all of those things again soon. (Except maybe the idiotic Sci Fi movies. We can pick something better next time.)

But time came to go home. The kids were sorry to leave and glad to go at the same time. I felt the same. Then we landed in Utah and it was one of those bright winter days where the sky is so blue you could swim in it. And Howard was there at the curb waiting for us with a big smile and hugs for everyone. And the kitchen was clean with a vase of fresh flowers just for me. And several people left birthday cards while I was gone. And Link hugged me like he never wanted to let go again. Then he whispered “Happy Birthday Mom.” And Kiki’s eyes lit up as she walked in the front door to see me already home. And she hugged me like she never wanted to let go again. And Howard bought the most adorable little dish scrubbers that have suction cups so they stand like little people on the edge of the sink. And that last thing is a little bit silly to list with all the rest, but every single thing about coming home made me feel so happy.

I am so glad for my life. I am glad for my family. I am glad to be here. I am ready to dive into tomorrow and get everything done so that we can get the next Schlock book out on schedule. I am excited to do the exact same things that were oppressing me before the trip. Life is good. I had a great birthday.