Really great, Kelcey. Love how you illustrate the major plot points :) I listened as well and really related. My parents always thought I made things up, but they really did happen and they just don't remember. Every once in a while I get the validation -- I'll find a photo of someplace I'd said we went or my mom will suddenly remember. Maybe that's where my writing started -- but I think mostly it was when I was seven or eight and I wrote scary stories that oddly mimicked movies I'd seen... I guess you gotta start somewhere ;)
I'm glad you listened too! I appreciated how Julie reflected on WHY her parents may not have remembered, how the email/overseas phone call costs created an extra barrier to communication, etc. I have had similar experiences to yours of my parents not remembering things (not to mention my sister and I having very different memories of the same events!). Interesting that you started writing scary stories! Are you still into thrillers/horror?
I hear you on the sibling recall differences. Every once in a while my brother and I will clash over how something went down. I always wished we could play the video tape and see what actually happened.
I do love horror still. My stories back then were just regurgitations of what I was watching. I think my father broke me... he took us to see The Exorcist when I was 7 and The Omen when I was 9... so my stories had demons and hell hounds in them... Of course I watched all the vampire, werewolf and zombie movies in between. In my father's defense my brother and I were watching Chiller Theater on TV when I was 4.
Anyway my early writing wasn't so much original work -- but I think that's how we learn, by emulating or literally copying what successful writers do and eventually we find our own voice and style, and create something of our own.
We were allowed to watch some crazy stuff back in the day!
And yes, my early writing was mostly imitation too. I have a cute little illustrated book I made, and I'm like, Oh, that character I drew is basically Ziggy. (The little cartoon guy)
Really wonderful Kelcey. I spent a good bit of time in my mom's studio making dreadful things but she never said much other than, "If you like it, we'll fire it, if not, smoosh it and start something else." She said that about wax pencil on paper, watercolors, whittling in wood, hitting stone with a chisel, whatever it was. She was a Peale and loaded with talent.
Wow, your mother sounds awesome, thanks for sharing! A quick look at your kid's story reminds me of Shel Silverstein! I edited a book about making comics and visual stories, though it's more for adults. https://rosemetalpress.com/books/the-rose-metal-press-field-guide-to-graphic-literature/ But there are great books about children's book illustration out there!
I’m so glad I discovered this newsletter. It’s what we need more of! And the memory thing reminds me of one of the all time great podcast episodes, where Rob Corddry was on Heavyweight and him and his family disagreed on if Rob had indeed broke his arm or not as a child. Fascinating and hilarious.
Thanks for the kind words, Erik! And that sounds like a great story! Isn't it wild how our experiences and memories can be so different? Fascinating to consider.
Thank you so much! It doesn't seem like she lied (though I just added an edited clarification to the post in case it's not clear). She talks about it in depth in the podcast, and it seems that they just really didn't remember, which she understands better now as a parent herself. She was also living abroad, and email was a new form of communication, and phone calls were expense, so she said there was never great communication about it.
The first project I assign to my MFA Visual Narrative students in the Story Visualized Text and Image class I teach is their origin story. They’re always so interesting!
Both she and her parents are probably wrong about what happened. Our memories are very unreliable, because every time you do a recall you are actually rebuilding that memory, and errors can creep in. It feels like a definite recall, but it’s not. It can be shocking when evidence contradicts what feels like a treasured and solid memory!
For sure! I experienced a lot of that when I wrote my graphic memoir. I dug into a lot of old photos, diaries, and videos, and...not everything was as I recalled!
I can't begin to express how much I love this. AND, I got to send a note to Kate DeCarvalho, the illustrator who created that chicken back in 2009 for my first book, which was never published. Thank you so much Kelcey!
this is a beautiful piece. as always, i love your art and the stories you tell with it.
my origin story is that i got bit by a radioactive me, so i developed the proportionate strength and abilities of myself. (that's ONE of my origin stories, at least.)
Thanks for sharing your post! It's fascinating how we make decisions and shift directions based on fears and sometimes misunderstandings. Looks like you've combined art + author dreams with comics!
This happened to me! Not on email, but my mom had a story about me running away from home when I was TWO! Obviously I did not actually remember much of it (some), but it had been polished and embellished over the years as I pestered my mom about how she let a two year old run away. Shortly before she died, my mom and I were chatting and I brought up the running away story (which I had written down) and she said, "that never happened!" 😲
What a lovely story. Thank you for sharing it! It made me reflect on my own writing and the origin story I feel I am currently in. I'm going to check out that podcast too!
I love how you tell stories with pictures! I have not listened to this episode yet, but now I'm super interested. I'm wondering about my own fiction origin story and anatomy and sports. I've always been fascinated by "real life" more than creative writing and did not turn to fiction until I couldn't sell a memoir I was working on (FOR YEARS). So many things to think about here! Also, I'm inspired to draw a little more when I think about interesting stories and interviews I hear and somehow want to write about, but don't know how. As always, thank you!
How interesting to learn that you turned to fiction after trying to sell a memoir! When I got my PhD (English but with Creative Writing track/dissertation), the only tracks were Fiction or Poetry, and memoir was pretty much scorned as not literary. It wasn't until I got my job and had to teach creative nonfiction (in addition to the fiction workshops I was hired to teach) that I fell in love with nonfiction and realized that maybe should have been my "track" all along. Drawing was something that came late to me too--after I read Maira Kalman and Alison Bechdel, I was headed in a new direction! So fun to see you drawing too! Do you think you'll go back to memoir??
I am absolutely captivated by your illustrations and your writing and literally just everything about this story and your page. Truly phenomenal.
Goodness, Cici, THANK YOU. 🥰
🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍
ME TOO!
Hey,
And so am I!
Love this. There’s a Toni Morrison quote that helps me immensely: “First of all, I must trust my own recollections.”
Yes to that Morrison quote, Tina! Thank you!
Really great, Kelcey. Love how you illustrate the major plot points :) I listened as well and really related. My parents always thought I made things up, but they really did happen and they just don't remember. Every once in a while I get the validation -- I'll find a photo of someplace I'd said we went or my mom will suddenly remember. Maybe that's where my writing started -- but I think mostly it was when I was seven or eight and I wrote scary stories that oddly mimicked movies I'd seen... I guess you gotta start somewhere ;)
I'm glad you listened too! I appreciated how Julie reflected on WHY her parents may not have remembered, how the email/overseas phone call costs created an extra barrier to communication, etc. I have had similar experiences to yours of my parents not remembering things (not to mention my sister and I having very different memories of the same events!). Interesting that you started writing scary stories! Are you still into thrillers/horror?
I hear you on the sibling recall differences. Every once in a while my brother and I will clash over how something went down. I always wished we could play the video tape and see what actually happened.
I do love horror still. My stories back then were just regurgitations of what I was watching. I think my father broke me... he took us to see The Exorcist when I was 7 and The Omen when I was 9... so my stories had demons and hell hounds in them... Of course I watched all the vampire, werewolf and zombie movies in between. In my father's defense my brother and I were watching Chiller Theater on TV when I was 4.
Anyway my early writing wasn't so much original work -- but I think that's how we learn, by emulating or literally copying what successful writers do and eventually we find our own voice and style, and create something of our own.
We were allowed to watch some crazy stuff back in the day!
And yes, my early writing was mostly imitation too. I have a cute little illustrated book I made, and I'm like, Oh, that character I drew is basically Ziggy. (The little cartoon guy)
We can call your character "influenced by Ziggy" ;)
Hahaha, yes! 😁
Really wonderful Kelcey. I spent a good bit of time in my mom's studio making dreadful things but she never said much other than, "If you like it, we'll fire it, if not, smoosh it and start something else." She said that about wax pencil on paper, watercolors, whittling in wood, hitting stone with a chisel, whatever it was. She was a Peale and loaded with talent.
Anyway, I wrote a kid's story and I want to illustrate it, so which book of yours should I look at to get started? Here's the story btw. https://westonpparker.substack.com/p/no-more-naps
Wow, your mother sounds awesome, thanks for sharing! A quick look at your kid's story reminds me of Shel Silverstein! I edited a book about making comics and visual stories, though it's more for adults. https://rosemetalpress.com/books/the-rose-metal-press-field-guide-to-graphic-literature/ But there are great books about children's book illustration out there!
Thanks Kelcey, I will check it out.
you might want to look at Uri Shulevitz’s “Writing with pictures,” and Molly Bang’s “Picture This,”
as a starting point…
Yes, great suggestions!
Thank you Jen.
I’m so glad I discovered this newsletter. It’s what we need more of! And the memory thing reminds me of one of the all time great podcast episodes, where Rob Corddry was on Heavyweight and him and his family disagreed on if Rob had indeed broke his arm or not as a child. Fascinating and hilarious.
https://episodes.fm/1150800298/episode/NDU5MDdlOGMtMjk0My0xMWU4LWI2M2ItY2Y1NjIwMDM3NDIy
Thanks for the kind words, Erik! And that sounds like a great story! Isn't it wild how our experiences and memories can be so different? Fascinating to consider.
I’m wondering if her parents, maybe, lied?!
I love so much about the way you captured and shared this…
Thank you so much! It doesn't seem like she lied (though I just added an edited clarification to the post in case it's not clear). She talks about it in depth in the podcast, and it seems that they just really didn't remember, which she understands better now as a parent herself. She was also living abroad, and email was a new form of communication, and phone calls were expense, so she said there was never great communication about it.
oh yes, I wasn’t thinking that she lied, but that her parents did! (or as you say, “didn’t remember” ).
Another friend of mine asked if she lied and I may have conflated my responses! I worried that it wasn’t clear in either direction! Thank you!
The first project I assign to my MFA Visual Narrative students in the Story Visualized Text and Image class I teach is their origin story. They’re always so interesting!
Oh wow, that's so cool to hear! I'm going to add it to my class this week!
Both she and her parents are probably wrong about what happened. Our memories are very unreliable, because every time you do a recall you are actually rebuilding that memory, and errors can creep in. It feels like a definite recall, but it’s not. It can be shocking when evidence contradicts what feels like a treasured and solid memory!
For sure! I experienced a lot of that when I wrote my graphic memoir. I dug into a lot of old photos, diaries, and videos, and...not everything was as I recalled!
I can't begin to express how much I love this. AND, I got to send a note to Kate DeCarvalho, the illustrator who created that chicken back in 2009 for my first book, which was never published. Thank you so much Kelcey!
Oh my, thank you, Jessica! And how fun to learn the backstory of the wonderful chicken! Love the #AmWriting podcast!
dear kelcey my friend,
this is a beautiful piece. as always, i love your art and the stories you tell with it.
my origin story is that i got bit by a radioactive me, so i developed the proportionate strength and abilities of myself. (that's ONE of my origin stories, at least.)
thank you for sharing as always!
much love
myq
That is a most excellent origin story!
I’m so happy to have discovered your Substack via Noted. I’m a singer, but this story about origin stories really speaks to me. Thank you!
Oh wonderful! Thank you so much, Liz!
Ha! I unknowingly shared my origin story in my newsletter two weeks ago: https://delaneygibbons.substack.com/p/showing-my-bloomers
How exciting!
I loved this post☺️
Thanks for sharing your post! It's fascinating how we make decisions and shift directions based on fears and sometimes misunderstandings. Looks like you've combined art + author dreams with comics!
This happened to me! Not on email, but my mom had a story about me running away from home when I was TWO! Obviously I did not actually remember much of it (some), but it had been polished and embellished over the years as I pestered my mom about how she let a two year old run away. Shortly before she died, my mom and I were chatting and I brought up the running away story (which I had written down) and she said, "that never happened!" 😲
Whoa! That's wild! The story, the writing it down, the recanting!
I have been contemplating on this as an origin story, but in fact I quit writing not too long after this. 🤔 Hmm..
Oh! You may need to listen to that podcast episode!
Done.
What a lovely story. Thank you for sharing it! It made me reflect on my own writing and the origin story I feel I am currently in. I'm going to check out that podcast too!
Oooh, I love the idea that you are currently in the midst of an origin story! A powerful time. Sending you good metamorphosis vibes!
I love how you tell stories with pictures! I have not listened to this episode yet, but now I'm super interested. I'm wondering about my own fiction origin story and anatomy and sports. I've always been fascinated by "real life" more than creative writing and did not turn to fiction until I couldn't sell a memoir I was working on (FOR YEARS). So many things to think about here! Also, I'm inspired to draw a little more when I think about interesting stories and interviews I hear and somehow want to write about, but don't know how. As always, thank you!
How interesting to learn that you turned to fiction after trying to sell a memoir! When I got my PhD (English but with Creative Writing track/dissertation), the only tracks were Fiction or Poetry, and memoir was pretty much scorned as not literary. It wasn't until I got my job and had to teach creative nonfiction (in addition to the fiction workshops I was hired to teach) that I fell in love with nonfiction and realized that maybe should have been my "track" all along. Drawing was something that came late to me too--after I read Maira Kalman and Alison Bechdel, I was headed in a new direction! So fun to see you drawing too! Do you think you'll go back to memoir??
Seeing this interview captured here in this way is ❤️. Thanks for listening!
❤️❤️❤️