Inktober is over half way over and as of this writing I am caught up but by the time this posts–well, we’ll see. This year has been more challenging for me than last year for a variety of reasons but as a result I am also enjoying seeing my progression and failure in real time.

Inktober art with word prompts

Like NaNoWriMo, Inktober is challenging regardless of your skill level because the focus of the month is on quantity (50k or 31 drawings generally speaking). When I was putting together my prompt list I had expected to have more time to devote to each drawing and so I put together a prompt list based on things I had been wanting to draw but also wanted to devote extra time to because I’m just not very fast in my renderings. One thing that can be discouraging during Inktober is that some artists can render amazing line art in a day but this is derived from their regular drawing practice. When I was creating the above collage of the first 19 pieces from the month I had to face which pieces I cringe about posting and which ones I feel more happy with but the truth is that some of the pieces I am unhappy with also helped me figure out some things I have been struggling with. What I find delightful in most of the pieces is that, just like last year, I took on subjects I had been wanting to draw but had been nervous about attempting. I can also see how my trepidation registers in my art and that’s so helpful.

I’ll post another update once the month is over. There’s also some mild Preptober being done but this year my attempt at NaNoWriMo is not particularly serious. October has been devoted to drawing and November will have that focus shifted back to rewrites. Vaguely I’ll be shooting for 50k but my main focus is on getting further with rewrites and returning to editing. I’ll also be writing posts for my Patreon, both private and public posts. That preparation has meant that some of my nighttime reading is of my own work which I’ve been finding is actually a really good approach because I dream about my stories and wake up with solutions for the rewrite.

Are you participating in Inktober this year? How’s it going for you?
Are you going to participate in NaNoWriMo? What do you think of the new site design/forums?