#18 The feelings wheel of writing a book

The tedium and joy of making a thing

I want to talk about the feelings of writing a book because it’s such a process.

I use the word “making” deliberately. For me, the process encompasses more than writing and drawing. “Making” feels like the biggest word that captures all aspects.

I began working on this book in 2021. I finished the version that landed the contract in September 2023. I signed the contract in November 2023. And here we are, in February 2024 already.

Doing book edits is surreal. Sometimes I’m deep into the tedium of all the things. Then I have moments away from working on the book—and it hits me: "I’m making a book!” And my favorite: the moments when I see the ink appear on the screen, the image coming to life from my mind’s eye onto the page.

So here’s what progress looks like, for one page, from a penciled draft to a near-final-ish version.

One of the magical parts of Procreate is that it can record your progress. I think it’s amazing to see this 30 second snapshot documentation of a process that took…oh gosh…two hours of work in Procreate plus numerous hours to craft the story on the page in pencil.

Thanks for being here with me. It’s fun to share this process.