mariannesketchnotes

Latest Posts by mariannesketchnotes

Marianne' Cartoons: Day 2: Are You Having Fun?

Day two of NaNoWriMo is upon us! The early beginnings of a project can feel giddy and exhilarating and fun. We get to meet our characters and write our hearts out. It's like being a kid at a playground and having a blast. Perhaps you have build up a nice cushion of words and face the NaNo challenge with confidence. Give yourself a pat on the back and keep writing. Perhaps yesterday was a struggle and self doubt is creeping in early. Give yourself a nice warm hug and keep writing. Your story is your playground. It is wild, and limitless in its possibilities and you get to play! Sometimes it's scary; mostly it's fun. Sometimes we fall, but we always get back up and keep going! What brought you joy today? What inspired your characters? You got this. Let's write!

It’s November 1st! NaNoWriMo month! Time to write! We are off!

NaNoWriMo Day 1: Let’s Write!

Is your writing space all prepped and ready? All beautiful and untarnished with the reality of NaNo? Usually for me, everything starts to look messy soon enough, yet for this first day: let’s celebrate the amazing challenge we are taking on! The page is blank and ready to be filled. Perhaps you’ve even got the first words on paper already. The first day is usually filled with excitement: NaNo has finally started and we can write our first words! For today: grab a piece of paper, and write. Enjoy the whimsy, enjoy the glory and fantasize about the amazing feeling of writing your story. If you start to feel anxious and don’t like what you are writing down: introduce some silliness and most importantly: keep writing! You got this!

Please note: last year, I published my Cartoon-of-the-Day including a peptalk every single day. Unfortunately, recovering from surgery is hard and I cannot guarantee the daily update this year round.

(If you enjoy these cartoons, if they help you in any way or brought you a smile: I would love to hear from you. Let’s cheer each other on!)

To whomever is interested: I am participating in Fandom Trumps Hate this year! It's a charity auction: you bid on offers & donate money directly to (selected) charities when you win. In return, you get gifted a personalized fandom gift as a thank you.

My auction page can be found here

The past two years, it's been a pleasure reading the stories written as a thank you for me and conversing with my favourite creators. This year, I'm hoping to enjoy the creator side of the auction as well & I am looking forward to seeing what I can gift away 🤓.

I'm offering a fanart gift for the fandoms: Timeless, White Collar or any of Naomi Novik's published work (Temeraire, Uprooted, Spinning Silver, Scholomance) respectively.

For Timeless fans: the incomparable SallyExactly is hosting an auction as well. She's one of my absolute favorite fandom writers, and seeing as it's good for charity: see if you can outbid me! 🫣🤫😎

Bidding is open till Sun March 5th 2023 8:00 pm EST - so don't wait too long if you're interested!

Fanfic Sketchnote Review of The Ship's Cat (Temeraire)

The Temeraire fanfic story: The Ship's Cat by Ystradwel is absolutely adorable. I am as smitten with Pan (or Biscuit as he's originally named) as Temeraire is (originally) jealous. The cat and the dragon come to an understanding while Laurence shows his bemused befuddlement. He respects Temeraire even if he knows nothing about dragons in this very early setting.

Granby is offered the opportunity to match his observations against what he has been told even earlier and it is glorious.

Enjoy this lovely little story that is well in-character for a smile and chuckle.

Frozen for a Moment in Time - Or - Unbridled Joy of Possibilities

A Timeless Secret Santa Gift for Kate Chaucer

A winter scene. A moment in time. Enraptured at the verge of possibilities. Standing at the cusp and taking it all in without rushing through. Lucy Preston and Garcia Flynn are standing on frozen ice.

I am typing this at five minutes to midnight and so it's still Christmas! 😤 Besides: a propos for a show about time travel, Kate is in a completely different time zone which means it will still be Christmas for her well after I post this. 😉😎🤓. In other words: I am slowly recovering from my horrendous cold and wanted to post this while I had some energy. 🤧

Dear Kate, you requested a winter scene and a winter scene is what I sketched. This was a pleasure to create: from concept, to early sketch, to finished art work - I am glad you loved it as well as you did & I do hope our fellow Timeless fans enjoy it too now that I'm posting it publicly.

I had a scene in mind for how this moment came to be and where they are in time and I still hope to share it someday. For now: I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and enjoy this art as it stands on its own ❤️.

Also on A03

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - December 2nd: Thank Goodness It's Over Party

It's tradition to go out with a bang! We achieved something extraordinary: we wrote our stories. Now, it might be in first draft & still need a lot of work. It might not be finished yet or polished, but it *exists* and that is enough for now. Today: we celebrate all we DID do. We have cheered each other on, perhaps we read extracts from each other, perhaps we did sprints together or shared wordcounts and hurdles. We might have gone at this alone or with the entire community at our backs: we are here & we wrote! It's the giddyness of creation. Of creating something out of words and making it near tangible.

Dec 2nd: Thank Goodness It's Over Party

So: let's dance! Let's pop that champagne! Blow up those balloons & strings. Print out your novel and make it real for yourself: you did this. You wrote all these words - however many you wrote. Today is for partying. For the relief of being done with NaNo 2022. November is over. December is for resting, for recouping and for celebrating and our myriad of holidays that are coming up. Traditionally, from January, the Now What? Months of revision and editing begin and then Camp NaNo is not far around the corner. I wish everyone a blast in taking their stories to the next level (if desired) and encourage you to keep creating in the broadest sense of the word.

I myself have enjoyed the experience of creating these cartoons and these accompanying texts for you all. I have loved reading each and every response. For me, it's now time to take my leave and dedicate my NaNo energies to my other two Rebel projects that are clamouring for attention. It has been my pleasure and my joy.

If you have enjoyed these cartoons, if they helped you in any way or brought you a smile: I would love love love to hear from you. (For any future readers: this will still apply. I come from an older age of the internet where it doesn't matter when something was posted: responses are still welcomed. We interact with literature written literally millennia ago. I'll still be happy to read a response even if you are reading this much much later than I am currently writing. :-) ).

Thank you all & good night! Let's celebrate.

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - December 1st: Time to Rest & Recoup

We did it! The rush to the finish line is done. It's over and dusted. We are DONE. November is gone and over with and our NaNo season is coming to a close. For today: rest & start recouping. Bask in the glory of having completed your challenge and the satisfaction of having had the courage to attempt it. If you did not achieve what you set out to do: face your feelings, acknowledge them and rest in the knowledge that I am proud of you for attempting it.

Any word you wrote is one you did not have before. Life interferes sometimes and serendipity happens. For me: November is a month of creativity. It is rare that I manage to complete NaNo in all the years I have been trying - but I embrace the effort, the attempt, the striving & desire to tell stories.

Dec 1st: Time to Rest & Recoup

Take a moment to reflect and breathe. How do you feel? What did you enjoy most about NaNo this year? What did it teach you? What did you learn? Would you like to maintain your daily writing habit? Is your story finished? What would you like to integrate into your daily life now that NaNo is over? Who were your biggest supporters and how would you like to thank them? What do you need to recoup? To rest? To breathe? To celebrate? I'll see you tomorrow for the Thank-Goodness-It's-Over-Party and the final bonus cartoon!

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 30: Crossing the Finish Line

Today is the final day! The last day to write your words and still have them count for your NaNo 2022 project. I have seen many of us come up from behind the last few days, get that final wind and get within a hair of the finish line now. There is still time to get that purple winner's bar and reach your 50000 words. When you are struggling, know we are here to cheer you on! You can do it!

Day 30: Crossing the Finish Line

Tonight: take a moment and feel it down to your bones. You set yourself this task and you faced it down. You are still here at the end of the month. NaNoWriMo is about setting yourself a challenge. It is about succeeding in the extraordinary by attempting something as foolhardy as writing a novel, and something as mundane as creating a daily habit of writing. It requires bravery, persistence, determination and grit. And by still being here, by still writing away till the clock runs out - you are a winner (regardless of purple bar status).

Let's celebrate together tomorrow! For now: let's cheer on anyone who is still writing, who is still pushing on & help eachother through this final glorious day! We can do it!

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 29: Join Your Fellow Wrimos at a Write-In

It's the penultimate day of NaNo 22 and it's time for that final push to get to your finish line! Find your fellow wrimos and let's encourage each other. A (virtual) write-in is a time and place where we all come together to write our stories. We can do this! If you have already completed your work: cheer your fellow wrimos on. If you haven't: let's buckle up and Get.This.Done. It's two days & one night left and every word you write in your story is one you did not have before.

Day 29: Join Your Fellow Wrimos at a Write-In

Who do your characters go to for support and encouragement? Who is cheering them on? Consider what you and what your characters need to conclude their story. Find companionship and comfort in the fact that people around the world are writing together with you in this challenge. Let's put pen to paper & write!

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 28: Seeing Yourself Reflected

Storytelling can be like looking in a mirror. Every story, like every author, is unique. There are glimpses of yourself hidden away and buried deep. Perhaps you consciously added details of your own life and own philosophy. Perhaps they creeped in on their own.

Day 28: Seeing Yourself Reflected

It is both a beauty of writing and a terror: the fear of being known to your readers. And yet is it not also marvelous: to leave something of yourself and who you were. We still engage with literature written millenia ago, study its contents, enjoy its humour, tragedy and catharsis. We are all human, storytelling is deeply engrained in us and yet the unique particularities that you bring are like no other.

We are in the final days of this NaNo and there is still time to get your words written and your story out. Take heart in the feeling of community and know we are here to cheer you on. Keep writing and share your thoughts!

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 27: Make a Nice Meal

Eating is an activity we do multiple times a day (I hope!). It's part of our everyday lives. When is the last time you carefully crafted a meal, sat down with friends and focused on what you were eating? Feel the crunch of fresh vegetables in your mouth, be comforted by the warmth of a cup of tea and smelled freshly baked bread? Creativity thrives on careful attention and nourishment: a focused attention of the mundane & finding the extraordinary within it.

Day 27: Make a Nice Meal

Have your characters made marshmallows on a fire? Sat down together and actually fed themselves? Enjoyed meal in a fancy restaurant or made a home-made meal for loved ones? Eating is part of our every day lives - how much is it part of theirs in your story? Enjoy! Let's keep writing and find the joy in the moment.

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 26: Visualize Your Story

Have you made any fanart yet? Drawings of what your characters look like? Maps of where they live? Favourite childhood memories that bring joy when they resurface in a moment of struggle? We are all inherently creative and I love how NaNo encourages us to embrace it in the broad sense of the world. Whether you make art by drawing, by writing, crochet or sculpting or something else entirely, we are all artists together.

Day 26: Visualize Your Story

When you are stuck on storytelling, it can help to draw a map. Where are your characters now? Where would they like to go? What obstacles do they face in their paths and what shortcuts are available to them? Like your NaNo writing: your drawings don’t need to be pretty or polished - a first sketch, like a first draft, just needs to exist.

If your characters are fighting you: challenge them to draw the way out themselves! Have them sketch their heist or adventure. Allow them to get nice and messy with paint to express themselves or perhaps lament that they stopped drawing past childhood and wish they could embrace their inner artists again. Have them pick up a pencil and explore the absolute FUN that embracing creativity brings and renew it in yourself. For we are in final days of this creative madness. And we are still here! We can do this. Put your pencil to paper and create!

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 25: Channeling Atlas: Carrying the World on Your Shoulders

We are Atlas: we not only dreamt up our story worlds, we are singlehandedly holding them up in the sky and breathing life into them. As writers, the weight of our story can sometimes bear us down as we struggle with finding a way to make sense of our narrative.

Day 25: Channeling Atlas: Carrying the World on Your Shoulders

As our characters run rampant and have all kinds of ideas for what is happening, as our plotpoints diverge and refuse to come back together to be neatly tied off, as self doubt creeps in and rears its head when our first draft doesn't look as polished as we'd secretly hoped: we set our shoulders, bear the weight and keep. it. high!

We are in the final stretch of NaNo now. For some exhaustion may be setting in, while others are celebrating their early victories. Remember: your story depends on you to hold it up; we can bear its weight & there is still time. Keep writing!

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 24: In Need of Medical Help?

Adventure comes with a price and as writers we often do like to make our main characters pay it. When they get injured, is there a doctor available? Medical staff? Decent supplies? Some painkillers? A nice suite in a hospital or a cold and windy little hut in the middle of nowhere?

Day 24: In Need of Medical Help?

As writers we face our own health challenges: are your wrists strained yet from the excessive typing or are your hands cramping up? Perhaps you tackled a really bad cold or had the flu during November. *waves hi!* NaNoWriMo should not come at the expense of your health, so I wish you all well. We still have a stretch of month to go, so get a good night sleep if you can & let's get this done!

NaNoWriMo – My Cartoon of the Day – Day 23: Just Keep Writing

We are approaching our final week! Are you flying yet with your story well advanced? Or does it feel you are slowly crawling your way up a mountain? Regardless of where you are: we can keep writing and even crawling is progress. If you need to rest for a bit to lick your scrabbed knees: enjoy the view and remember the view from the summit will be even sweeter. An empty page cannot be edited and having gotten this far: we can make it to the final stretch. One more week to go till we can enjoy the satisfaction of having made it to the finish line.

Day 23: Just Keep Writing

Remember to take a breath and look around at this glorious experience. When the sweat drips from your brow, your legs hurt and your shoulders chafe from the backpack: there is pleasure to be had in facing the experience head-on and living life to the fullest. Likewise with our stories: there can be hardship in committing those words to paper, but the experience of having done so will stay with you. Stand up straight. Stretch your body. Drink a sip of water. And Just Keep Writing! We can do this.

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 22: Which Stories Inspire You?

I fulfilled a childhood dream and have a mini-library in my attic filled with my favourite books. I love browsing through my shelves and findings favourites to read. Writing well starts with reading often. What do you enjoy? What works for you (or doesn't)? How do stories work? For this NaNo challenge: what stories inspire you and what elements are you paying homage to?

Day 22: Which Stories Inspire You?

Bring an element of fairy tales into your science fiction story, add dragons to your historical fiction and incorporate a romance trope into your gritty realistic thriller. Steal your concepts liberally and write generously and keep telling your story!

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 21: Let Nature Inspire You!

Inspiration often strikes in the oddest places and yet a reliable way for me to call down that creativity strike is to take a walk outside. Breathe in the cold crisp air, smell the fallen autumn leaves and look at the calmness and tranquility of the trees. Feel the wind on your cheeks, the warmth of dragon scale gloves° and the joy that comes from moving your body.

Day 21: Let Nature Inspire You

Take a moment to glance around you and feel where you are in this moment. What do your senses tell you? What is the weather like and when did you last move around & smell the air? Where are your characters right now? What do their senses tell them? What would they like to do to relax or feel better? What is it that you need to call down a creativity strike? Let's write!

°Why, yes, I absolutely adore my self-made,  crocheted dragon scale mittens that I often erroneously refer to as gloves and I still wear them every winter day as I have for the past 6 years. There's a reason for their recurring appearance in these texts and that is that they make me feel *fabulous*. Wearing your own art is such a magical feeling & I highly recommend it.

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 20: Magical Portals & New Discoveries!

A story contains untold magnitudes and there are so many possible choices: who is telling the story to whom? Where are they located? How honest are they? What choices do your characters make when confronted with the plottwists you dreamt up?  The sheer creative act of storytelling requires bravery. Shifting through this realm of possibilities and finding which door you want to open and which approach you'll take.

Day 20: Magical Portals & New Discoveries

Storytelling transforms. It lifts you up from your everyday life and places you in the midst of this world of yours. It allows you to look at the world through another's eyes and walk in their shoes. It's a magical portal all by itself and that's not even including all those hidden portals we so often find in fiction. Are there any portals in your story? Ways your characters leave their regular lives and get thrust into adventure? Allow yourself to be amazed & keep writing away!

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 19: Rescue Mission Alert

Uh'oh! Someone is in trouble! Time to break out all the stops & plan the rescue mission! Have you got your Loveable Dragon? Feisty Princess? Hidden tower far away? Adventure Map? Story Ninjas? Bumbling Knight? Superskilled and sly Character Assassin accompanied by the ever elusive & infamous Traveling Shovel of Death?

Day 19: Rescue Mission Alert

While your characters are off endangering themselves and saving each other: how are you holding up yourself? In need of rescue yet? Have you been feeding your plot bunnies? Or are they so vicious they are running away with you? What is the goal you set for yourself? Plan your own mission and consider: what do you need to keep your momentum going for the next few days? Remember: there is still a large chunk of the month left & we can do this!

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 18: Dressing Up All Fancy: Organize a Ball!

Your characters get a fancy engraved invitation to attend a glorious ball! A chance to dress up prettily and party the night away. A romantic subplot is lurking around the corner as they ask if there's still space on the dance card? Or perhaps it's a time of intrigue and mystery as all the major players are in attendance and secret identities come crashing down?

Day 18: Dressing Up All Fancy: Organize a Ball!

Whether it be a night of magical bliss or horrifying dread - a fancy ball is a chance both for bringing story lines together as characters meet and for branching out as there's so much more happening beneath the surface! Watch out for story ninjas, get your fanciest jewelry ready and have a blast!

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 17: Main Characters Take Charge!

It is a truth universally acknowledged that characters in stories are prone to take on lives of their own. We are well into week three of NaNo and this is often the moment when your characters stop waiting for you to come up with a story and start insisting on steering the wheel themselves!

Day 17: Main Characters Take Charge!

What shenanigans have your characters gotten up to that you hadn't planned out? Any new characters who walked onto the page and insisted on being part of your story? Resistance against the ideas you had for them and blazing a path of their own devising? How have your story and your characters surprised you?

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 16: ML Appreciation Day

It's Municipal Liaison Appreciation Day! Time to show some heartfelt appreciation to all our wonderful volunteers who facilitate our NaNo communities. Everyone who organizes Write-Ins, who hosts and moderates a forum or server, sends carepackages and encouragements: thank you! What I love about NaNo is the self-challenge and the call to creativity, as well as the feeling of community: how all of us are writing our own stories on our own and yet together.

Day 16: ML Appreciation Day

Who would you like to show special appreciation to today? Send some virtual flowers? A surprise plotbunny? A lovable raptor? A nice message filled with kind words?

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 15: Crossing the Half-Way Point Today

I struggle to believe it, but we are about to cross the half-way point! How are all your energies holding up? How is your word count? Regardless if you are far ahead or far behind: remember that there is still another half of the month to go & anything is possible! We can do this.

Day 15: Crossing the Half-Way Point Today

Take a moment to bask in the sensation that we made it here! These markers are a good place to reflect on all our achievements thus far, be they large or small. The sheer fact you are still here is to be applauded. Take a breath. Look around. Celebrate. And keep writing: one word at the time!

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 14: Adopt a Plot Bunny from the Pound!

Plot Bunnies come in all shapes and sizes! Some are utterly adorable, others absolutely vicious, and yet others both! If you ever feel yourself running out of steam during NaNo, simply plan a trip to the Plot Bunny Pound where there are many lovable twists&turns just waiting to be adopted.

Day 14: Adopt a Plot Bunny from the Pound!

A word of caution: Plot Bunnies often come in multitudes and are know to multiply rapidly whenever they find a loving home. If you ever find yourself in the position where you have too many Plot Bunnies you can comfortably sustain: the Plot Bunny Pound is also happy to work with you to find another writer's home. Come play with these adorable, plot gnawing and heartmelting little creatures!

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 13: Draw From the Well of Creativity

There's a concept called "An Artist's Date":* where you plan a date with yourself to refill your artistic well of creativity. For some, that's visiting a museum, or playing around with pencils or crayons, or taking a walk in nature, or crocheting nice warm dragon scale mittons for winter. Treat you inner artist to a fun, engaging experience that will spark your imagination & inspiration!

Day 13: Draw From the Well of Creativity

During NaNo, we draw heavily from our well! Is the creativity still flowing nicely? Take stock, replenish it & draw upon its stores! Are you inspired by your story? Your characters? Let them experience your walk through their senses! Send them on a mission to indulge their passions! What nourishes your & their inner artists? 

*From Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way. She recommends scheduling an Artist's Date regularly to grant yourself the time to refill your well of creativity.

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 12: Plotholes? What plotholes?

Writing during NaNo can sometimes feel like you are building a tower of cards or a jenga tower that is about to topple over & I am here to tell you: play recklessly! Explore those new adventure twists & directions your characters want to take you! Go build a story on patched-over ground and shore up your plot with plot bunnies & raptors & ninjas!

Day 12: Plotholes? What plotholes?

Get your story gleefully written. Get a draft on paper & take comfort in the solid trust you'll be able to put in those structural repairs in the editing process. For now: keep writing! Keep telling your story & know that your imperfections make you unique and marvelous & interesting & in the editing process you'll be able to polish them beautifully. Plotholes? What plotholes? indeed! 😆 Have a blast!

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 11: Self Care: Get a Good Night Sleep & Write Your Dreams

Sometimes, it's time to burn the midnight oil and sometimes, it's time to sleep! It's hell week, so let's be kind. Get to bed on time, rest your body & mind, and get inspired by your dreams!

Day 11: Self Care: Get a Good Night Sleep & Write Your Dreams

If you don't want to sleep or cannot: then send your main characters on a sleepover adventure! Hang out with friends, make nice food, and chat into the night and let them get to know each other better. Or use the age old trope: there's just one bed! and make them deal with those nice and uncomfortable situations - as you please!

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 10 - Just Keep Writing

Word by word & day by day: let's keep writing away. Whether you are struggling or blazing ahead: channel your inner-Dory and remember the song. 🎵 Just Keep Writing Just Keep Writing 🎵

Day 10: Just Keep Writing

All the small words add up and progress is progress. The words don't need to be pretty or polished or particularly well written: for NaNo the challenge is getting the words, any words, to tell your story. Let's get them written!

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 09: Take a Moment to Relax When You Need It

NaNo is more akin to a marathon than a sprint. To keep the stamina to last us through the entire month: it is important to take care of ourselves and relax when we need it. Get yourself that nice cup of tea, sit down in the fresh autumn air for a moment and take in the moment. Breathe! Take a moment and gather fresh energies.

Day 09: Take a Moment to Relax When You Need It

Keep writing your story. One word and one day at the time. These storms will pass and the way out is through!

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 08: Hell Week

The first week of NaNo flew by in a rush and now we are already in week two. Traditionally, the second week of NaNo is considered especially hard as self doubt comes out to play for many of us, tiredness sets in and starts to demand more attention, and yet: we are still here!

Day 08: Put Up Your Umbrellas to Guard Against Hell Week

So: let us put up our umbrellas against the possible storms ahead and brace ourselves against this challenge: we can DO this together.