Imposter Syndrome in Our Own Words

One of the great pleasures of touring this year has been gathering groups of smart, accomplished people in a room and then asking them about their worst experiences with Imposter Syndrome. I heard raw truths from creators in Chicago and San Francisco, who then brought their wisdom to bear on what we can do to make ourselves feel less alone in the face of these challenges.

These conversations were complex and enlightening, and I’m so glad to make them available for you all to listen to on the web (thanks to the support of my rad team on Patreon). Check out the audio players below to find two new episodes featuring wisdom from Craighton Berman, Michi Trota, Suzanne Walker, Bobbie Johnson, Molly McLeod, and Rose Eveleth.

I’ve got a bunch of new conversations going up soon, so be sure to keep an eye out if you’re in need of more things to listen to. Enjoy!

Inner Critic Investigation Week

This week I’m thrilled to announce the release of my latest podcast episode with writing coach Deb Norton, a long-time friend and extraordinary creative resource.

I’ve known Deb since I was 13. She brought me into my first writer’s group and taught me so much about working with my inner critic in the company of other dedicated creators. She was a huge inspiration for the 100 Demon Dialogues project, so I’ve been itching to talk with her for a while. We ended up recording an hour-long conversation about creative resistance, grit, risk-tolerance, accountability, limitations, shame, self-knowledge, protection, NaNoWriMo, recovery, process, and so much more. You can listen to the audio through SoundCloud, or watch the video if you’d rather see us wave our arms while we put everything to rights.

As a fun bonus exercise, we decided to collaborate on a series of seven prompts that will help you get to know your own Inner Critic a little better. The rules are simple: set a timer for 6 minutes and let your demon do the talking. It always wants your attention anyway, so give it the floor and see what happens.You can write lies, you can write truths. Just make a mess.

A new prompt will go up at 9am PST every day this week. You can find them on Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Patreon, Facebook or via this blog. (Gracious, that’s a lot of social media. Something for everyone, I guess!)

Thanks for reading, and good luck with the prompt! I look forward to hearing what comes up for you all.

Emerald City 2017 Here We Go

It’s that time of year, friends! I’m dusting off my tally sheets and readying my show banner for the first major convention of 2017: Emerald City Comic Con!

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A couple important notes:

My table location has changed this year. If you’re used to finding Periscope Studio (now Helioscope) in a block by the men’s restrooms in the farthest exhibition hall, CHANGE YOUR MAPS. We are now tabling upstairs in the new and improved Artist Alley section! The ECCC team (last I’d checked) were still updating their guest listings, so if you get lost and want to locate us, just look up Helioscope on the artist listings. If you search by my name, it might not show up.

Show hours are Thursday (2pm-7pm), Friday (10am-7pm), Saturday (10am-7pm), and Sunday (10am-5pm, though it’s likely I’ll have to leave a little early. If you’re only coming Sunday, stop by before 1pm!).

Here’s a map to help orient yourselves:

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I’ll also be appearing on a panel with my lovely friends Dylan Meconis, Kory Bing, and David Malki ! all about turning your weird passions and outlandish interests into viable creative careers. That’ll be happening Thursday afternoon (3pm-4pm) in WSCC 604. Can’t make the show? Never fear—I’ll be recording the panel and adding it to my growing library of educational resources on SoundCloud. Oh did I mention we’re gonna be giving away FABULOUS PRIZES? We’re gonna be giving away FABULOUS PRIZES.

Speaking of fabulous prizes:

I’ve printed up a special run of ashcan minis from my latest adventure, an oceanographic research trip across the Pacific Ocean. If you’re among the first 25 people to stop by my table and mention this post, you’ll get one for free!

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If you don’t make the giveaway, never fear. I’ve got rockstar colorist Joey Weiser (remember the great work he did on Baggywrinkles?) turning these pages into full-color gems. Here’s a sneak peek:

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I CAN’T EVEN TELL YOU HOW EXCITED I AM SO HERE IS KERMIT INSTEAD:

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LET’S DO THIS! SEE YOU ON THE SHOW FLOOR!

<3

Lucy

 

 

Panels, Podcasts, and Posts!

Hi gang! First off: big thanks to all of you who came out last month to say hello at Emerald City Comicon. It was incredibly cool to see so many familiar faces and get comics into returning hands. I promise I’ll keep cranking ’em out so you’ll have more to enjoy in 2015.

ECCCFaceNow: I have a whole bundle of audiovisual treats for you today, taken from various panels and speaking gigs I’ve done in the past few weeks.

First up is It’s Not Too Dangerous to Go Alone, a great panel run by Kenna Conklin of Geek Portland on having the guts to make your creative career happen. I got to speak alongside Erika Moen, Dylan Meconis, and Angela Webber, which was a treat in and of itself, but I also feel like we hit some great points about motivation and starting from scratch.

PanelHeaderSecond is Erika’s Freelance Like a Rockstar panel, with Steve Lieber, Dylan Meconis, and Amy Falcone. (I nabbed this recording on my phone, so the quality is a little less spectacular, but you can still hear everyone!) We discuss all the juicy freelancer topics like finding jobs, self promotion, pricing strategies, and *gulp* contracts. Valuable fun for the whole freelance family.

Finally, I got to participate in a panel on Setting Realistic Goals as part of the MakingComics.com Massive Open Online Course last week. I really enjoyed getting to digitally discuss project management, scheduling, and work/life balance with Jared Cullum, Jen Vaughn, Damon Gentry, Eric Shanower, Christina Blanch, and Patrick Yurik. Plus this one has video so you can see all our weird facial expressions while we talk.

Phew. That’s all from me for now — I hope these discussions are useful to you all!