Scott Chantler is an award-winning graphic novelist and the writer of Two Generals, which was selected for Best American Comics in 2012. He is also the first cartoonist to be appointed Writer in Residence by a Canadian university, and we’re proud to have him at UWindsor.
His office on campus is open to any writer or artist who needs motivation, inspiration, ideas, or help with their work. I asked him a few questions about his writing and drawing process and what the life of a writer is like.
When did you start writing?
I started writing professionally in 2004, for my book Northwest Passage. But I’ve always made up stories and tried to put them down on paper. I was that kind of kid.
Did you start out more interested in writing or art?
I was a kid who liked to draw. But you figure out pretty quickly that if you make up stories about stuff you want to draw (dinosaurs, knights, giant robots, etc.) that it gives you a reason to draw lots of them. So I would say that drawing came first, but just barely. It’s hard for me to even separate the two in my head.
About how much do you write/draw per day? Do you think artists or writers should practise daily or do you think they should only when they feel inspired?
I’m usually at the desk ten or twelve hours a day- at least on weekdays. I’m not necessarily writing or drawing that whole time–sometimes I’m answering emails, or any of the other day-to-day fussing around involved in running a business. But most of time I’m writing a script or drawing pages.
I think artists and writers should draw or write as much or as little as they want to, but, if they want to do it professionally, they should definitely get in the habit of doing it every day, inspired or not. It’s okay to take a day off now and then if you need one; recharging with a long walk or by seeing friends can sometimes give you (the) creative boost you need. But generally, the inspiration you’re looking for is at your desk, not someplace else. “Writer’s block” is only a thing if you let the highway patrol in your head turn you around at the checkpoint. You need to train yourself just to plow through it, like in an old Burt Reynolds movie.
Does winning awards motivate you to write/draw more?
I don’t know if it makes me want to do more, but it does make me want to do better. As if I need to keep earning that award, somehow. I get nominated for lots of things, but the only thing I’ve ever actually won is the Joe Shuster Award, for Tower of Treasure, which is a book I’m not even very happy with in print. So I’m weirdly self-conscious about it, as if they made some mistake and I need to correct it by making the next book even better.
What is your greatest fear when one of your books is getting published?
Most of the time it’s that the colour will look okay. Colour printing, even in 2015, is pretty much a crapshoot. They can show you proof after proof, but it’s anybody’s guess what the book is going to look like when the comp copies get delivered to your door. I’ve really never been happy with any of my colour work in print. I come from a black-and-white indie comics background, and liked that much better. The book you got back actually looked like the files you sent.
Sometimes, though, you worry that people are just going to reject the book itself. Most of my work has been very well-received, but I certainly don’t count it. The book I have coming out in the spring, The Dark Island, ends with a couple of twists, one of which is going to be pretty shocking for young fans of the series. Maybe they’ll just hate me for it, and think I’ve ruined the series. Who knows? But you can’t second-guess yourself. You need to be confident enough to put your work out there to be judged, or else you wouldn’t be doing this.
Can anyone be a writer?
I believe in talent, but that it only gets you so far. Writing is a skill. So is drawing. Anyone can learn to do them, the same way anyone could learn to play the piano. We can’t all be Mozart, but anyone can learn to play the piano serviceably well. Same goes for writing. Where passion comes in is in the desire to put in the necessary time and effort to learn the skill. It’s not one or the other, it’s both.
What have you learned so far from being the Writer in Residence at UWindsor?
I’m not sure. I’m trying to keep a diary of my time here, so maybe by the end I’ll be able to look back and have some insight into the experience. For now, I’m just having fun, working hard, enjoying meeting new people, etc. Ask me again in two months.