In late 2013 I put together a blogpost discussing productivity that included a dorky bar chart showcasing how many comic pages I wrote each year from 2009-2013. That period was explosive for me in terms of career growth and visibility. It was exciting to launch my new creator-owned series and slowly use the momentum that came with it to get work for hire projects at some of the largest comic publishers in North America.

It’s strange looking back on that chart and realizing that some of my highest profile projects, ones I’m now closely associated with, had not happened at all yet – In 2013 I hadn’t written anything for Marvel, Dungeons & Dragons, or Conan the Barbarian.

So, almost a decade later, what has changed?

As you can see, the year-over-year wild increase that happened between 2009-2013 leveled out and then decreased. I mentioned in that original post that juggling 1000 comic pages a year alongside a full-time teaching job played havoc with my personal life and that was certainly true. I look at the most productive years on this chart (2013, 2014, 2018, 2019) and remember the intense stress they brought to my personal relationships and physical health. I also remember the pressure I felt from 2015 to 2017 to ramp things back up and maintain a crazy output level, to make sure I wasn’t squandering the higher profile projects I was a part of.

I’m still extremely proud of the books I’ve written, but also know that by the time 2019 wrapped up I was on the cusp of burning out. That’s one of several reasons why I planned to take a teaching sabbatical in 2020 so I could focus more on writing and travel. After the pandemic flared up, those ambitious tour plans came to a grinding halt, but so did a bunch of the writing…

…And that was, surprisingly, a good thing.

Being forced to slow down, write less, and not travel finally showed me a better work-life balance, one where I could still be creative, but also enjoy more personal time. I went for long walks with my wife, exploring our neighborhood in Toronto with the same sense of relaxed curiosity we previously only reserved for trips abroad. I learned how to cook dozens of new dishes, unlocking a satisfying hobby I never would have imagined for myself when I first moved away from home and could barely operate a stove. I jumped into tabletop RPGs on Zoom and, once in-person activities resumed, board game nights at home, strengthening social bonds with industry peers and other friends. I signed on with a company to handle convention appearances so Stacy and I didn’t have to spend crazy amounts of time and effort figuring out the logistics behind each trip.

I also took on writing projects outside of comics – consulting work, a bit of prose, scripting for an unreleased video game, and continuing the D&D Young Adventurer’s series. It was a period of trying different things and realizing that the skills I’d been honing in the comic industry could be leveraged in other places.

Bringing things back to productivity, what have I learned so far?

I don’t think quantity is the only measuring stick when it comes to writing, art, or any other creative pursuit, but it’s still a valid metric. How much you create does not equate to its quality, but there is natural skill growth that comes from regularly finishing projects and releasing them out into the world. I am a much better writer now than I was ten years ago, and a large part of that came from the volume and variety of projects I worked on.

Having a schedule you stick to or a deadline imposed by a client can help push past the natural creative resistance we all feel, the “imposter syndrome” that halts us in our tracks or other self doubts that keep us from achieving our goals. The early years of ramped up productivity helped train me to get into “writing mode” more easily.

And yet, productivity can also overwhelm a lot of other things and blind us in terms of how we value our time and why we create in the first place. I’m trying to be more vigilant about my time and where I put it, while also planning for a future creative semi-retirement down the road where I get to create stuff I’m passionate about on a more relaxed schedule.

The page count represents a concrete measurement of work completed, but those numbers also have meaning to me as an ebb and flow of my career. High output years are not necessarily ‘good’ and lower output years are not necessarily ‘bad’, they’re all part of the journey I’m on. The most important thing is that I still have a ton of passion for telling stories and, if I’m careful and cognizant, that gets to continue long into the future with many more bar charts to come. 🙂

If you found the above thoughts helpful on your own creative journey, feel free to let me know here (or on Twitter), share the post with others, and consider buying some of my comics to show your support.

I find this problem in comics quite a bit as well, especially modern superhero stories.

If the characters aren’t invested in this story/conflict, then it’s much harder for the audience to be as well.

I’ve written sarcastic characters and characters who know the tropes they’re in the midst of. Doing that without losing the audience is tougher than you might think. The stakes must be clear, despite their quips or desire to be above the fray.

Emotional investment and sincerity is impressively resilient to changing trends in entertainment.

Don’t act like you’re too good for the genre you’re working in.
Don’t treat the past like your doormat.

You can be irreverent.
You can be sarcastic.
You can be critical.

But, beneath all that sass, there has to be knowledge and appreciation for the strengths and entertainment of the genre you’re riffing on or else it will feel hollow.

Your best friend gets to give you shit because, deep down, they also care and want the best for you.
Treat genre deconstruction the same way. Give ’em hell and make it hurt because you know which buttons to push that matter, not because you think you’re too cool for all of it.

Fantasy and magic are especially susceptible to this kind of abuse.

“It’s fantasy, so just make up a bunch of Chosen One/Destiny shit.”
“It’s magic, so nothing matters!”

Wrong.

You don’t understand the genre or why it has worldwide appeal.

In this new video I explain why I never talk about stories I didn’t have a chance to complete or pitches that didn’t get approved, with a very special current project example pulled from a pitch that was old enough to vote!

Kieron Gillen has written high profile work-for-hire comics including Thor, X-Men, Darth Vader, and the Eternals along with creator-owned hits like Phonogram, The Wicked and the Divine, and Die. We chat about inspiration, indie publishing, shared universes, and the joy of tabletop gaming.

Todd Nauck has been in the comic business for 27 years. He’s done a ton of work for DC and Marvel along with his own creator-owned comic series.

Lots of process work and inspiration here. Enjoy!

Tamra Bonvillain has been coloring comics professionally for almost 10 years. We cover her influences, career, and a bit of process.

Find Tamra online here:
Twitter.com/TBonvillain

A new interview is up! Max Dunbar has seen incredible growth in his skills after working on Dungeons & Dragons, Gears of War, Legends of the Dark Knight, and Batman Beyond.

This video includes process pics, designs, motivation, and more.

Spike Trotman has been creating comics and helping others build their comic creating careers since the earliest days of comics online. Now she runs her own publishing house called Iron Circus Comics. Spike’s story is inspiring and she has all kinds of great advice.

Here’s my next comic creator interview! Writer Josh Williamson has been through the trenches with indie publishing, creator-owned comics, and major runs and events at DC.

We chat at length about the business, inspiration, motivation, writing craft and more. Check it out.