Toon Thursday Blast from the Past! Social Media Edition

Social media continues to find new ways of invading our time and brain space and making our lives more complicated and annoying, so I thought I'd bring this old chestnut out of the archives. This really IS never gonna happen!

Have a happy and hopefully productive writing week, everyone!

Toon Thursday: Writing Retreat Redux

...I don't know if it's "redux" so much as "rerun," but oh well. I'm going to a writing retreat this weekend (IN HAWAII!!) so it seems appropriate to repost this cartoon I did a while back:

I'm really hoping that "writing" slice is actually the majority of this trip. I am determined to finish this project! In the meantime, here's a really fun tidbit of news that landed in my inbox this week--share with any audiobook-loving teens you know:

SYNC: Free Audiobooks for Teens, a Summer-long Program Encouraging Literacy through Listening 

Portland, Maine, February 28, 2017– The SYNC Audiobooks for Teens program, sponsored by AudioFile Magazine and powered by OverDrive, kicks off its eighth year on April 27th. Authors represented include Daniel José Older, Franz Kafka, Ruta Sepetys, and Nikki Grimes. With parents, teachers, librarians, and teens looking for good media within easy access, SYNC is the perfect way to engage teens with new literature for their earbuds.

SYNC makes available two FREE audiobook downloads every week, to each and every registered listener, all summer. In 2017, 32 titles will be given away through the 16 week-long season. Teens, librarians, club leaders, and educators may sign up for email or text alerts and can learn more at www.audiobooksync.com.

Toon Thursday: Writer Nightmares Redux

I've been sitting on this idea for a while (too busy to 'toon--very sad) but here's the second installment of Writer Nightmares. More to come!

This one is loosely based on reality--my own and others'. I know many a writer who has lost a critical file to computer catastrophe...and on one memorable occasion, though I didn't lose any files, I ACTUALLY HAD SMOKE COMING OUT OF MY HARD DRIVE. So. Here it is.

TOON THURSDAY: Writer Nightmares

Hey! It's a new toon, in a new series of toons I should be able to exploit for quite some time. What writer doesn't have nightmares (usually waking nightmares) about all manner of career mishaps and embarrassments? Well, probably not if you're Neil Gaiman, but the rest of us mere mortals have this problem. This particular installment was inspired by an article I read on Lithub entitled "Remembering the Worst Book Signing Ever"--and if you haven't read it yet, GO. You will laugh and cry. Anyway, here's your toon.

A. Fortis and TS Davis in Revisionland

To be honest, one or both of us is always ALWAYS in Revisionland in some form or another. And when we're lost in Revisionland I tend to go back and re-run old installments of Toon Thursday to cheer myself up. So, I have one of those for you, but lo and behold, as I scoured our archives I also found some useful advice which I posted and should probably follow.

I also need to give myself a little encouragement to keep going and keep the energy flowing. Anyone out there have useful tips for when you know you need to tackle the rewrite but your own mean brain is trying to sabotage you? Writers, what are some of the ways you're nice to yourself when the job gets frustrating? What are some of the carrots you turn to when the stick's not working? Food bribery? Affirmations? Distractions?

Chime in in the comments below, and please to enjoy this oldie but goodie pie chart.

Toon Thursday: The Return of Psychobabble for Writers

That's right--last time's rerun was just a teaser for the real thing: a lovely new cartoon featuring everyone's favorite bummer topic, DYSTOPIAS. More precisely, the shiny happy people who write them. Any resemblance to existing writers, living or dead, is purely coincidental. No angry notes this time, thanks.

Throwback Toon Thursday: Psychobabble from Four Years Ago

I'm trying to come up with a new installment of Psychobabble for Writers, but I've been too busy to get inspired (or, for that matter, to even think about a new and original post of any kind...). Therefore, here is a Toon Thursday from the past for your enjoyment and delectation.

Toon Thursday: Never Gonna Happen

It's nice being back on a semi-regular schedule of Toon Thursdays. (Psst! Did you know I've also started posting my toons over on Tumblr?) Let's see how long it lasts this time...

Toon Thursday: Return of the Inner Critic

I suggest clicking to embiggen this one, since I had to reduce the size to fit the width of our center column. 

Toon Thursday: The Writing Guru Returns!

I am seriously chuffed that I have managed two new cartoons in the past month. I hope this marks the beginning of a new Toon Thursday resurgence, and a bit of momentum to get my cartoon Tumblr going. This one's pretty silly. Here you go.

Toon Thursday: LOOK IT'S A NEW CARTOON!

Hey kids! Are you writing a mystery or thriller but just can't seem to decide WHO, in fact, DUN IT? Well, fret no more, because Toon Thursday has a brand-new addition to the Writer's Toolkit JUST FOR YOU. Just spin the wheel, and you can blame it all on that seemingly harmless elderly citizen. Here you go. Thank me later.

Toon Thursday Redux: Writerly Daydreams

During this early part of the year, there have been a lot of conversations about writing goals, and what we all plan to accomplish by hook or by crook (or, in some cases, by copious amounts of caffeine and/or wine). Often, though, despite our best efforts we spend time dawdling and dreaming...something I drew a cartoon about a while back:

One of my many writing-related goals this year is to whip up a few more brand-new Toon Thursday cartoons here and there--we'll see how I manage. And I'll have some new book reviews commencing next week, and picking up again after this year's Cybils Round 2 is done. In the meantime, enjoy Tanita's reviews and have a creativity-filled weekend, replete with writing, daydreaming, and possibly donuts. (Or pie. Pie's good, too...)

Toon Thursday Flashback: Game Shows for Writers

I was watching an episode of Chopped last night while making dinner, so it seems appropriate to revisit this one! And, never fear, I do have plans for actual NEW cartoons in the very near future, by which I mean sometime after this month ends...at which point I will also UPDATE THE ARCHIVE I've also been neglecting. Sigh.

Toon Thursday Flashback Edition: Social Networking for Writers

Sadly, the passage of time has not made this one any less accurate... Happy Thursday!

TOON THURSDAY: New and Probably Not Improved!

New cartoon today, as promised! I've had the sketch of this one sitting around for at least a week. I couldn't not draw this one. It made me snicker. Um, why, yes, it IS semi-autobiographical... Enjoy.

Toon Thursday Blast From the Past: Here's to Miracles

I actually do have a new cartoon in the works, but it's currently...a sketch on a miscellaneous scrap of paper. I posted this toon in honor of the fact that my novel-in-progress is still slogging through the quagmire of many pieces of paper, both large and small, and here's me hoping for a miracle!

Toon Thursday: Oldie but Goodie

Featuring everyone's favorite place to write, "Le Cafe Snooty." I'm pretty sure it's reappeared in several of my cartoons by now. Any resemblance to actual places is definitely coincidental.

Toon Thursday: Writing Retreats - The Real "Story"

Since I'm leaving today for a weekend writing retreat (during which I sincerely and fervently hope to make serious progress on my WIP), I thought it would be appropriate to repost my cartoon featuring a writing retreat pie chart. Enjoy!

Toon Thursday: Exciting and New! (Like the Love Boat!)

Difficult as it may be to believe, somehow I managed to come up with a NEW CARTOON today. It's been a while, and for that I apologize. Plus it's one of the sort-of weak ones where I recycle the part I already drew, and just add new text. (Do other cartoonists do that? Or am I just SUPER lazy?)

Anyway, one other thing, in case you didn't know: the Cybils Awards call for judges is open, and if you're a blogger in the area of children's or YA lit, you should check it out! It is a really fun experience, and provides a lot of insight into what it's like to judge one of those fancy-schmancy book awards.

Toon Thursday: Wheel of Dystopias!

Hey, kids! Do you want to write a hot debut dystopian novel? Do you long to chronicle the exploits of technologically advanced yet sadly trapped Dome People and the gritty, valiant outsiders who scrabble for existence on the ruined and disease-ridden earth? Then spin the wheel! Soon you'll be writing the next big novel and raking in those movie adaptation dollars! (*Note: Writer's Toolkit does not guarantee any success of any kind! We made it all up!)