Embracing Your Inner Nerd

Forget that I write a blog. Forget that I talk about basic chemistry and current events on that blog. Forget that I constantly try to teach my kids history that they shouldn't be bored through until high school. Forget that I don't mind driving a minivan and that I like bands like They Might Be Giants. Forget that I got all excited because I swapped out the powersupply, sound card and doubled the RAM in my computer so I could put together a home recording studio and listen as I describe how nerdiness must be at the core of my person. Rearing its ugly head with it's cowlick, glasses and overbite in all things and in unexpected ways:

I started writing stories when I was about 13 (Nerd!). Maybe someday I will actually get something published. Who knows? I've had some concerns about the latest "novel" I've been writing.

I actually thought it would be just another short story but it has taken on a life of its own and now is so long it must be novel. Despite some ridiculous elements in the story, I was attempting to write the book with a serious tone. I've been a little worried because I have known what I wanted to write but I couldn't clearly say what audience I'm writing for. Now, I think I've figured it out.

I wasn't going to let the lack of an audience change the way I wrote the book. I figured it must be a science fiction book because it takes place in the future, it involves a robotic clone and a man-eating monster. The other night it hit me like a bolt of lightning: Even though I have already typed out 100 pages of story, this story is PERFECT as a graphic novel. What is a graphic novel? It's what I used to hear people say and I would laugh and say "You mean BIG COMIC BOOK." Sin City and V for Vendetta are both examples of graphic novels which were recently turned into films. Graphic novels are becoming very popular, very fast. I read some blog-sites of a group of people who make graphic novels for a living and I think my foundation is better than most of theirs. It looks like most of them don't actually have a strong story, they just like to draw stuff.

At two in the morning the other night, I sat down with the first pages of my novel and started sketching them in comic book form (I would post some but I don't have a scanner). It works. And the story I wrote seems to have been meant for this medium. The nerd in me knew from the beginning. The story will probably be easier to finish in this form, too. It is more work, sketching everything out like a comic book, but I'm going to try it out and see where it goes. Maybe nerdhood will have its rewards.