![]() You can break up the page however you choose, or not break it up at all and tell a whole story in one image.Īdding text adds another dimension. You can tell stories in any direction, leading the reader’s gaze across the page in any way you like – left, right, up, down. Why write comics rather than a ‘normal’ book? There are so many reasons! A picture communicates meaning in an instant, and can transmit thoughts and feelings that are hard to describe with words. And they cost very little – you don’t need expensive equipment or a studio, just a pen and paper. They can give a voice to writers who are marginalised for any reason. Diary comics are also an incredibly rich, varied, experimental, complex political art form that can say so much about people and society. It feels emotionally beneficial to put my thoughts in order and ‘get them out’ on paper, to acknowledge the things I’m worried about.īut therapeutic value and artistic value are not mutually exclusive. I start enjoying making artistic and narrative choices. When I’m concentrating on how to draw something, I stop thinking about how I’m feeling. ![]() Everyday moments can grab a reader who recognises the situations that you describe.Īnd it’s therapeutic. There was suspense, grief, fear – all the things that make for a great ‘story’, although it was actually my life!īut comics about ‘small’ things can be just as moving, poignant and meaningful as comics about life-changing events. Fascinating and funny characters came and went the whole time: kind and charismatic doctors and nurses chatty porters very old patients talking about their amazing lives – fudge, fags and running for the bus are the secret to longevity, apparently. It gave me something to do during long stints in hospital. I could also educate people about what symptoms to look out for, and give healthcare workers a better understanding of what it was like to be a patient, by drawing those exchanges that made me feel well cared-for – and those (few) that left me feeling baffled, dehumanised or not taken seriously. Other cancer patients and supportive readers got in touch to cheer me on, and I was able to let people know how I was feeling, how treatment was progressing, and what they could do to help, without having to have the same upsetting conversations over and over again. Sharing my comics really helped me to feel less alone in that experience. ![]() I started writing diary comics and posting them online to inform people about my experience of illness and disability, caused by a bowel cancer diagnosis during my first pregnancy (my son is fine now and so am I).
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