The Beaten Track

**Flashback**

At some point In my elementary school years, I started to go there by myself.

My mother showed me a few times how to do this (while looking both sides when crossing the road, of course) and told me once school is over to go this way straight home.

And I did. Every day. I was a good kid.

Then one day after school, I happened to go back home with another kid from my class, who lived in the building next to me. We started by going in the usual way when suddenly she took a turn to the left. I was so confused and scared. Where is she taking us? We should be going home! But that kid was very convincing so I followed.

The new way lead us into this small park that had swings in it. I never knew about this place, and felt like I've discovered something huge! After being on the swings for awhile, we left the park, yet in another unknown way to me until we were back in our street.

I know it sounds stupid, but for kid-me it was mind blowing: There are more than just the one way my mom showed me to get home?!

**Now**

The reason I mention this memory in context of creating a comic book (which is the whole point of this blog, mind you) is that I think sometimes it's really easy to act like a story you have can go only in one way, when in fact there are literally endless ways to get from one point to another.

And I know, it's hard to think, plan and come up with a story that is full and complete from start to finish, so once it's done - why would anyone want to change it?

The short answer is you don't.

I mean, don't have to completely finish it in order to challenge it. There are lot of stops during the process you can ask yourselves - is that the best way to tell this? How else can it go down? Then try a different way to get to the same point (and sometimes playing around with an idea might also spark a new ending point that could be better).

The current series I'm trying to create - the gay super hero comics - changed at least 7 times in the last 9 years in a really big way. Not just scenes here and there, I'm talking Plot shifts, characters that changed, combined or completely removed, themes and even the ending.

If you are now thinking: 9 years?! that's a lot of time to work on something! You're mostly right. But it's not the only thing I was working on (I managed to self-publish my first graphic novel 2 years ago and just finished a short webcomics not so long ago). Other than that, I think why it took so long is that I wasn't sure about the story. It never really clicked even if I might got to a point where I thought: Ok, this is it!

Then something always happened that made me rethink it.

The last time was because I encountered a story that resembled what I wanted to do. It was a huge part of the story, and I was so annoyed and frustrated.

At first I was even trying to come up with reasons why it's completely ok not to change anything. Things like: every story has been already told anyway, and great minds think alike, and it's not exactly the same. But it bothered me. And the fact it bothered me made me go into active thinking mode. I'm sure you know this, when all you think about is your story even if it's not in the front of your mind? It just keep on processing in the back until once in awhile, you are suddenly jolted with a realization or a story point you have to write down (I think it was while I was in the shower. it's always in the shower, isn't it?).

The new plot I come up with feels much more suitable to me, and in a lot of ways a lot simpler - in a good way. I am really happy with this new direction - one that I would never get to if I was stuck to the rules I made that this is the only way to go.

There's no harm in trying.

It's not like I destroy anything in order to try something new. I create parallel worlds of "what if it was going in a different way", so I can compare between all of them, and at the end choose which world I should stay in.

I think I got to a point where I no longer afraid to test my story. I even kinda like it (I guess this is why it takes me so long to finish it - among other things).

The problem for me is that I should really practice what I preach. Sadly, I don't do it as a part of my process - and I completely should. It's always outer forces like that story I felt was too close to mine, or feedback I get (more on feedback in future post) But I guess it makes sense - I was always one to be drugged to new territories other than discover them by myself.