Character Development Through An Artist's Eyes

Being an artist, I tend to understand things better through visual representations. Because of this, I sometimes like to describe my character development through color.

Here’s how my main character in Brilliant Idea #2 develops throughout the plot. It only covers the beginning, middle, and end, because I don’t want to give away too much of the storyline just yet, but I think you can probably get a general idea of what’s going on.

1) Softer tones represent naivete and youth.

2) Bold dark tones represent chaos, discomfort, and discord.

3) Bright colors represent growth and new life.

Something about that last one reminds me of Cake Wrecks and really makes me want to eat a cupcake.

When Everyone Wants the Same Job

I’ve applied for the same job at a local publishing company at least six times in the last few years. Everyone wants to work for this company. That’s no exaggeration, friends. Everyone wants to work there. They have a superfun laid back atmosphere and they let you wear jeans to work. (Gasp.)

In the past, I’ve managed to land one interview and I’ve received two rejection letters encouraging me to reapply in the future. Lately, they’ve had a slew of openings and when a new one is posted I send in my resume in hopes that it won’t go to the bottom of the slush pile. I usually change my resume up each time, hoping that something will catch their eyes this go around. And if it doesn’t, I’ll keep sending in my resume until I get the job or they put a restraining order on me. You see, I know I’d be awesome at the job so I’m just reminding them that I’m still here, ready and waiting to do my part in helping their company succeed.

Occasionally, a tiny voice inside my head tries be a Debbie Downer and tell me that their H.R. department probably thinks I’m a crazy stalker (this could quite possibly be true) and when they see my name they automatically shred my resume, but I ignore the voice because I have a legitimate strategy. I want to show them that I’m dedicated and I go after the things that I want and I don’t let rejection or failure stop me from doing my best. I just figure out what’s keeping me from succeeding and I revise, revise, revise.

So what happens if I never get a call back? Simple, I’ll get a job somewhere else and be just as happy. At least I know I’ve put forth my best effort and I’ve gained a ton of knowledge from the experience.

Being Inspired

Some of you may be wondering about yesterday’s momentous occasion that went unexplained.

To make a long story short, I had a breakthrough in writing.

It’s the kind of breakthrough that brings epic relief and it’s the kind of relief that makes you feel like you can do anything. You might think I’m talking about my work in progress, but alas, I’m simply referring to my resume.

Two days ago, after an amazing conversation with a good friend of mine, I was inspired to sit down and rewrite my resume. You see, when I’m wearing my Graphic Design Hat, I’m really good at creating visual hierarchy, typesetting, sniffing out hard-to-find problems, and making sure the composition is perfectly balanced.

However, it’s usually when I’m wearing my Graphic Design Hat that I forget to put on my Writer’s Hat. So, yesterday I put on my Writer’s Hat while I redesigned my resume and the result was a fabulous story about a superhero designer that regularly saves clients in distress from super villains like Ugg Lee Desine and Un-Herdoff Khompany.

Anyway, it’s nice to feel that inspired every now and then, isn’t it?