Post by Dingoleap on Aug 15, 2017 6:38:09 GMT -5
Thank you <3
I just wanted to take the time to thank everyone (yet again) for all the birthday wishes and the love. You are all such amazing, wonderful, irreplaceable friends, and you have certainly made by life brighter, both by being my friends and by giving me the confidence to work on my writing and develop it to the point its at today. I don't think I ever would have gotten here without every one of you behind me. These past years have been hard for me. I've been faced with physical, mental and emotional challenges, and I feel I have to thank you all again for being there every step of the way. I went through a bit of a slump writing-wise, and my pretty much year-long hiatus where I barely wrote anything didn't phase any of you. Because of your support, I've come back stronger. I've grown, as both a person and a writer.
Shadowface - words will never express how much you mean to me. You have become one of my closest friends and one of my biggest inspirations. You've been an editor, a fan, and, when I needed it, a critic. Without your encouragement, I really don't think I would have gotten this far. You've always believed in both me and my stories, and I don't think I could ever thank you enough for that.
Tuesday - my dear friend. Your works continue to motivate me to better my writing and to branch out with it. Your way with words is incredible. You are, in every sense of the word, an inspiration. You've helped me not only with my writing, but with issues closer to home, including the subject of my identity. You've done so much for me these past few years <3
Mint - man oh man, where would I be without you? Every post puts a smile on my face. You're like this omniscient narrator, this great mother figure who looks after us all. your support has been invaluable throughout the years. As a friend, I love chatting to you, and you're one of the few people I feel I can be fully open with. Your continued support in everything I do is one of the things that keeps me going. Thank you one million times over, from the bottom of my heard.
Brownie - I feel we don't talk as much as we used to (probably because we're both so busy) but you continue to guide me nevertheless. Your constructive criticisms over the years have been invaluable <3
Crescent, Moon, Phantom, Owl and everyone else - to all of my other friends and fans, thank you so much for supporting me throughout these years. As many of you know, a writer is nothing without her fans. All of you guys have helped shape me into the writer I have become today. I would list all of you individually if I could, but it would require more words than I could ever say. Thank you again, from the bottom of my heart. You all mean so much to me, more than you could ever know <3
So, what's next for me?
More importantly, what's next for my stories? Since it suddenly dawned on me just how invested you are in all of my work, not just RtD, I figured I'd give you an update.
As some of you may know, I graduate high school soon. My last exam is on the 30th of October (so close!). After that, I will be taking a year off to travel a bit and to work on my own projects for a while before starting university. Considering that I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel, I now have a more concrete timeframe for my projects.
Westward (the new and improved version) will be re-released in November - the first page will go up the first week, if not the first day, and will update weekly. I'm determined to do at least one page a week. For those who are curious, the pages will be posted both here and on Deviantart.
What can you expect from the new version?
- better, more consistent art. This is a big one. I'm adapting a more traditional approach that I'm much more comfortable with, and the result of that is a higher quality of art.
- A better, cooler, more fleshed out villain, with an actual role to play. The comic has always been primarily about overcoming one's inner demons, but our villain played a key role in driving the events of the story, and I didn't have a villain I enjoyed until now.
- More interaction between characters, accompanied by better dialogue. I've been taking it slow with dialogue, focusing more on how the characters would usually interact with one another before considering how the circumstances would further effect things. The result is perhaps some of the best dialogue I've ever written.
- More worldbuilding. Things like culture and religion play a larger role.
- More diversity amongst the cast.
- Other cooler things
Most importantly, I fixed major plot holes (like having an actual villain). The time apart from the comic has allowed me to step back and look at it objectively. I've always had a very specific idea as to how this story needs to be told, and now that I've had some time apart from it, I know exactly how to do that. I've realised what the story desperately needs, and it is so much better than it was before.
In the lead up to November, I am hard at work hammering out concept art for characters and key places - including some actual reference sheets for the characters - which I plan to start posting from next week. I am so, so excited to share this story with you all!
I have other projects in the works, too, that will make their online appearance in the new year. The first of them is Razor's Edge, the details of which you may have seen drifting around... it's set in the future, in a world where genetically modified wolves take the place of human soldiers in order to reduce the amount of human lives lost at war. It's about truth, power and moral ambiguity. It's about loss, overcoming that loss and how much you're willing to sacrifice before you loose a part of yourself. There's also a good dash of treachery, betrayal and a good Ol' government conspiracy, just to keep things interesting.
The second is Where The Road Ends, which I'm tentatively sketching out concepts of. Conceptually, it is my most ambitious project. All I'm really willing to say about it at this point is that it draws heavily on urban legends and the 'nothing is as it seems' trope. It's set in the backwoods of Colorado. There's also a ghost. His name is Jack.
Then of course, there is my beloved Return to Dust. You can expect sporadic updates for the rest of the year, before I settle into a more steady routine.
The best place for updates will probably be here, or Deviantart (once I finally get around to making an account). Of course, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me! I live for questions.
Well, that's it from me for now! Stay tuned for the next chapter of RtD, to be released before the week is up!
Thank you all again,
- Dingo
I just wanted to take the time to thank everyone (yet again) for all the birthday wishes and the love. You are all such amazing, wonderful, irreplaceable friends, and you have certainly made by life brighter, both by being my friends and by giving me the confidence to work on my writing and develop it to the point its at today. I don't think I ever would have gotten here without every one of you behind me. These past years have been hard for me. I've been faced with physical, mental and emotional challenges, and I feel I have to thank you all again for being there every step of the way. I went through a bit of a slump writing-wise, and my pretty much year-long hiatus where I barely wrote anything didn't phase any of you. Because of your support, I've come back stronger. I've grown, as both a person and a writer.
Shadowface - words will never express how much you mean to me. You have become one of my closest friends and one of my biggest inspirations. You've been an editor, a fan, and, when I needed it, a critic. Without your encouragement, I really don't think I would have gotten this far. You've always believed in both me and my stories, and I don't think I could ever thank you enough for that.
Tuesday - my dear friend. Your works continue to motivate me to better my writing and to branch out with it. Your way with words is incredible. You are, in every sense of the word, an inspiration. You've helped me not only with my writing, but with issues closer to home, including the subject of my identity. You've done so much for me these past few years <3
Mint - man oh man, where would I be without you? Every post puts a smile on my face. You're like this omniscient narrator, this great mother figure who looks after us all. your support has been invaluable throughout the years. As a friend, I love chatting to you, and you're one of the few people I feel I can be fully open with. Your continued support in everything I do is one of the things that keeps me going. Thank you one million times over, from the bottom of my heard.
Brownie - I feel we don't talk as much as we used to (probably because we're both so busy) but you continue to guide me nevertheless. Your constructive criticisms over the years have been invaluable <3
Crescent, Moon, Phantom, Owl and everyone else - to all of my other friends and fans, thank you so much for supporting me throughout these years. As many of you know, a writer is nothing without her fans. All of you guys have helped shape me into the writer I have become today. I would list all of you individually if I could, but it would require more words than I could ever say. Thank you again, from the bottom of my heart. You all mean so much to me, more than you could ever know <3
So, what's next for me?
More importantly, what's next for my stories? Since it suddenly dawned on me just how invested you are in all of my work, not just RtD, I figured I'd give you an update.
As some of you may know, I graduate high school soon. My last exam is on the 30th of October (so close!). After that, I will be taking a year off to travel a bit and to work on my own projects for a while before starting university. Considering that I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel, I now have a more concrete timeframe for my projects.
Westward (the new and improved version) will be re-released in November - the first page will go up the first week, if not the first day, and will update weekly. I'm determined to do at least one page a week. For those who are curious, the pages will be posted both here and on Deviantart.
What can you expect from the new version?
- better, more consistent art. This is a big one. I'm adapting a more traditional approach that I'm much more comfortable with, and the result of that is a higher quality of art.
- A better, cooler, more fleshed out villain, with an actual role to play. The comic has always been primarily about overcoming one's inner demons, but our villain played a key role in driving the events of the story, and I didn't have a villain I enjoyed until now.
- More interaction between characters, accompanied by better dialogue. I've been taking it slow with dialogue, focusing more on how the characters would usually interact with one another before considering how the circumstances would further effect things. The result is perhaps some of the best dialogue I've ever written.
- More worldbuilding. Things like culture and religion play a larger role.
- More diversity amongst the cast.
- Other cooler things
Most importantly, I fixed major plot holes (like having an actual villain). The time apart from the comic has allowed me to step back and look at it objectively. I've always had a very specific idea as to how this story needs to be told, and now that I've had some time apart from it, I know exactly how to do that. I've realised what the story desperately needs, and it is so much better than it was before.
In the lead up to November, I am hard at work hammering out concept art for characters and key places - including some actual reference sheets for the characters - which I plan to start posting from next week. I am so, so excited to share this story with you all!
I have other projects in the works, too, that will make their online appearance in the new year. The first of them is Razor's Edge, the details of which you may have seen drifting around... it's set in the future, in a world where genetically modified wolves take the place of human soldiers in order to reduce the amount of human lives lost at war. It's about truth, power and moral ambiguity. It's about loss, overcoming that loss and how much you're willing to sacrifice before you loose a part of yourself. There's also a good dash of treachery, betrayal and a good Ol' government conspiracy, just to keep things interesting.
The second is Where The Road Ends, which I'm tentatively sketching out concepts of. Conceptually, it is my most ambitious project. All I'm really willing to say about it at this point is that it draws heavily on urban legends and the 'nothing is as it seems' trope. It's set in the backwoods of Colorado. There's also a ghost. His name is Jack.
Then of course, there is my beloved Return to Dust. You can expect sporadic updates for the rest of the year, before I settle into a more steady routine.
The best place for updates will probably be here, or Deviantart (once I finally get around to making an account). Of course, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me! I live for questions.
Well, that's it from me for now! Stay tuned for the next chapter of RtD, to be released before the week is up!
Thank you all again,
- Dingo
