TRANSMISSION #9 //THE GREAT ESCAPE

I’m always trying to find a particular balance in my work.  After years of hearing from studios’ preaching ‘work/life balance’ I found a certain degree of it with motorcycles.

Anyone who has known me in the last few years knows how well that turned out (cue SFX of crashing, sirens, gunshots, llamas screaming, rending of metal).  I’m happy to say I’ve recently enjoyed mountain biking and stand up paddling – hours spent in the forests or on the ocean does more for my writing process than, well, anything.

But there is another aspect of ‘work/life balance’ I feel quite privileged to experience regularly  – and that is finding escapism in not only my entertainment but in my work itself.

I’m a big fan of the ‘B+’; ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, CONAN, CTHULHU, DOC SAVAGE (y’know…FUN shit).  I love every opportunity to lose myself in far-off lands, insane scenarios and unexpected concepts.  And I really love it when it happens in my own writing.

I’m big on visuals while working on a project – currently I’m writing an epic fantasy adventure filled with all manner of insanity (THE LEGEND OF TY).  I find surrounding myself with mood boards, story boarded sequences and character references allows me to cue up mental movies for each narrative beat, mental movies that can keep my mind occupied for hours at a time.  It’s a process I’m sure many writers engage in and something I look forward to everyday.  Creating work you can be proud and satisfied with is one thing – happily losing yourself in a world you’ve created from some random ideas is something else.

Or…maybe it’s something to be concerned about.

Is an often overwhelming desire to escape the mundane complications of adult life for some time with evil queens, sarcastic wizards and sexy bounty hunters a healthy and good pursuit?

Damn right it is.  And that’s why I am very fortunate to do what I do.

END TRANSMISSION.

-Sean