Making the Time

This post was submitted by Chris Eliopoulos.

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There’s a difference between an amateur and a professional. The amateur works when the mood strikes. The professional works.

I often hear people tell me they want to do a strip or write a comic or mow the lawn — really — when they get the chance.

Liars.

There is always a chance. There is always time. The only thing getting in the way is you. I’ve heard every excuse under the sun why you can’t get things done: I have classes, I have work, I’m extremely busy getting inspiration on the Internet. It’s all BS.

I’ll let you in on my life. I am happily married with two 9-year-old boys. Every morning, my wife goes to work early and it’s up to me to get breakfast for the kids, make their beds, make sure they get dressed and have their teeth brushed before I drive them to school. Then at 4p.m., my wife picks up the kids. We work with them on their homework (which sometimes takes 2 hours). We make them dinner, get them showered and ready for bed by 9 p.m. If you’ve ever had kids, you know the stress it is chasing after them to get everything done.

I also have a couple of jobs. Maybe even 3 or 4. I letter comic books. Lots of them. On average I do about 8 or so books a month. I also own a company where 4 guys letter books under my direction. I check their work, help with titles, work on styles, work with editors on giving them what they want, designing new fonts and trafficking lots of titles. It’s more than a fulltime job.

I also write and draw a quarterly comic book. I write it, pencil it, ink it and letter it. I used to color it, but it just took up too much time—I had to give it up kicking and screaming. So, that’s 100-pages-a -year of that. Also, this past year I wrote 4 issues of another comic title. Again, that is what some writers’ fulltime job for three months would be.

So, as you can see, I’m really busy. I work nights, weekends, holidays—all the time. So why add a daily strip into the mix when there is no guarantee of money, reward, or even modest recognition?

I have to.

I don’t just want to write this strip, I have to do it. And I’ve made the time to do it. And so can you. But what does that really mean?

Instead of playing Grand Theft Auto, put down the controller and pick up the pencil. Can’t miss the latest episode of Family Guy? Get a lapboard and draw while watching. If you really want to do this — if you need to do this — then do it. No excuses. A body at rest will stay at rest until acted upon.

Act upon that dream of doing a webcomic and keep the momentum.

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