Background for one of the scenes in plot point 2 of my graphic novel

Secret Location
Computer-altered watercolour and crayon
©2020 Charlene Brown

According to Nicholas Wilton The three best things about the artist’s journey are: 

1.      It is available to anyone.
2.      You get to make absolutely anything you want.  A graphic novel, for example.
3.      Sharing the process of figuring it out, grows you.

Speaking of figuring things out, it’s occurred to me that I should spend some time figuring this graphic novel out (and making sure it will in fact come together), before I share any more of the process. 

So I’m going to write about one of my other 2021 projects—Instagram pictures—for the next few blog posts.

Possible place for a pinch point?

Canmore Collegiate High School
Computer-altered watercolour and crayon
©2020 Charlene Brown

This building actually exists, unlike the high school I painted a couple of weeks ago.  And it too might make an appearance as a background in a fictional mountain town (apparently big enough to have two high schools) in my new graphic novel.

Pinch points are small complications or twists in the plot that serve to remind the protagonist of just what she’s up against.

I've made this sound more complicated than it really is, so here's a list of the ‘points’ that occur in a screenplay (or graphic novel derived from a screenplay).               

• Inciting incident:         setting the scene    
• Plot point 1:                 everything changes
• Pinch point 1:              reminder, complications                   
• Midpoint:                    moment of truth, reveals true nature of the conflict
• Pinch point 2               reminder, or even a twist in the plot
• Plot point 2:                 everything comes together
• Climax:                        problem solved

BTW, this is my 800th blog post.  But who's counting...

 

 

Betting on the Future

 

Starting Out in 2020

Watercolour and crayon

©2020 Charlene Brown

In a recent blog post Seth Godin made some predictions about how the infamous year 2020 will be thought of ten years from now.

“Whatever happens over the next ten years, if history is any guide at all, the year we just finished will be mostly a faded memory.

“What will matter more than what just happened is what we decide to do with where we are, daily, persistently, generously, for the next 3,650 days.

“Here’s to possibility, to justice, and to betting on the future.”

My book, The ‘Starting Out’ Years, which is finally being published, does just that.  One of my beta readers, said this last March after reading the first draft.  She liked the optimistic outlook of Fiona, the main character in Chapter 5, as she worked her way through the year 2020—and that was before we realized that 2020 was going to fall apart!

 

A time-altered memory

Banff High School
Computer-altered watercolour and crayon
©2020 Charlene Brown

The internet must contain two or three photos of every important building (and several unimportant ones) ever built in Banff. All of them except the original Banff High School, it turns out. 

This painting had to be done from memory and is as accurate as I could make it. I should probably mention that one part of the painting where I wasn’t even trying to be accurate is the flag—as you may know, the red maple leaf flag became our official flag in 1965, five years after that high school was torn down.

And if you think that’s a stretch… I only remember one occasion in all the years I was growing up in Banff that there was a flag of any sort on that pole — in February 1952 the Union Jack was flown at half-staff when the King died.

I may use a version of this painting as a background for one of the (fictional) scenes in the graphic novel I’ve started adapting from a screenplay I wrote several years ago. It may be the location of the first pinch point—more about the various ‘points’ in a screenplay (or graphic novel) in a couple of weeks.

 

The Plan for 2021

The Inciting Incident
Computer-altered watercolour, oil pastel and crayon
©2020 Charlene Brown

 My plans for this blog in 2021:

• Travel painting: We’ll see how that works out – bound to be better than 2020.
• Graphic novel: Today’s painting is for this project.  I plan to base this on a screenplay I have written, with graphics corresponding to scenes for each plot point in the play.  The novel will begin with this ‘inciting incident’ a body floating on a lake (actually a repurposed beaver pond). 
• Creative archaeology: In case my travel plans don’t work out, I may re-interpret some of the photos and sketches I accumulated in past archaeology-related travel with the University of Victoria travel study program and the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria international art tours.

Or, I could summarize my plans for 2021 with something artist Robert Genn used to say, “There’s always something to get on with, actually one damn thing after another.”