LEAP DAY I hope that you celebratethis intercalary date(24 hours morethan were had years before)and three-hundred-six days that remain.
Category: WRITING
Utah Events This Weekend
Utah events this weekend and Monday: I’ll be talking about creative processes and selling comics, books, and more. Should be a good time. See you there?
FREE Printable Zine / Short Story
The Seeing-Spectacles of Aberdeen Gray: a Short Story / Zine by Jess Smart Smiley Check out this 8-page mini zine I made out of a single sheet of paper and keep reading to find out how you can print and fold your own copy! What’s Inside The whole story is in this tiny, pocket-size zine…
The Seeing-Spectacles of Aberdeen Gray
A Short Story by Jess Smart Smiley 4-5 minute read Aberdeen Gray was convinced she was cursed. She claimed that her eyes were made blind by her husband—“The Conjurer” she called him—because she refused the “singularly ugly and frightful” portrait he had gifted his bride for their wedding. Young Frederick was shocked by Aberdeen’s response,…
Wardenclyffe’s Presentation (A Short Story for Fyretober)
Wardenclyffe’s Presentation Jess Smart Smiley I have chosen my subject. My tools and supplies are arrayed before me. Master Wardenclyffe tends to the maintenance and construction of the other machines. The warehouse is substantial and frequented often by Master Wardenclyffe’s countless investors and admirers. Many financiers, heads of state, cultural mavens, and military leaders observe…
Halloween Zines by Jess Smart Smiley
It’s spooky season, baybeeeee! I love this time of year. Things seem to turn quieter, more contemplative. AND DON’T FORGET ALL THE SPOOKY! In case my monster look-n-find book, collection of spooky comics, cutesy vampire graphic novels, magical, mystery, maze comic, witchy paper pictures, and series of monster-filled picture books don’t SCREAM my love for…
Getting the Most Out of Your Sketchbook
There’s a big difference between a sketchbook and a portfolio. Growing up, I erased, scribbled over, and tore out my mistakes so that only my best work remained. I didn’t know any better at the time, but I could have gotten much more of out of my sketchbooks with a few simple tweaks. What I…
I Wrote a Novel!
I’m happy to share that I FINISHED WRITING THE ROUGH DRAFT of my gritty sci-fi adventure novel last night! Clocking in at 175,000 words and exactly 700 pages, my sketchbook ideas are now fully fleshed-out characters, creatures, and technologies that make up a single, cohesive story. Is it perfect? YES! Just kidding. Among other things,…
Making & Revising My Graphic Novel (2/3)
Read part 1 here or keep reading to learn how I found and reached out to beta readers, and shared my all-ages graphic novel before it was published. Finding Beta Readers It might be somewhat easy to find people online who want to read a book for free, but I figured I would need to…
Making & Revising My Graphic Novel (1/3)
Read on to learn more about: Creating my 224-page rough draft in 3 weeks while stuck in bed Finding beta readers to proofread my graphic novel Setting up surveys and forms to gather feedback from beta readers Using reader feedback to revise my graphic novel Hi! My name is Jess Smart Smiley. I’m an author/illustrator…
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