I've been working today on putting the finishing touches on what will be my first-ever actual submission for a comic book series. And by “putting the finishing touches on,” I of course mean, “getting started.” I've been working on the dreaded pitch document in my head for a couple of weeks now, but today was the first time I actually sat down and committed words to paper.

So far, so good.

I'm taking Wednesdays off from work this month, because in addition to this submission, I've got ... let's see... four short stories I need to write in the exceedingly near future. So, hopefully with the addition of these January Wednesdays, I'll be able to carve out enough time to (a) finish the submission and get it ready to drop in the mail to Publisher To Be Revealed Later on the 31^st, and (b) get a good start on at least a couple of the stories I need to write for my upcoming Anthology With No Name.

Here's the logo for what I hope and pray will be my first published comic book series (or miniseries, as the case may be):

Rest assured, I'll be filling you guys in at great length on TWILIFE in upcoming columns.

What I've Learned This Week and/or Recently About Writing Comic Books

There was a period of time during 2006 where I got into a bit of a negative funk. I was having trouble getting anything going with my comic book writing. I felt overwhelmed, overworked, and overstressed. It seemed like there were simply not enough hours available to me in which to do anything productive. Between work and my responsibilities at home as a husband and new father, I just felt like it was nigh impossible for me to break on through to the other side and actually get into a consistently productive rhythym with my writing.

I also felt like I was the victim of some vast, cosmic conspiracy – like surely every other struggling comic book writer had two, three, or maybe five times the “free” time I had in which to pursue their dream. It just wasn't fair.

Lucky for me, I got over it and went on to have a banner year in what will surely be one day known as the Successful Comic Book Writing Career of Elton Pruitt.

I realized it didn't matter what anyone else's situation was. They weren't me (duh!). The only thing that mattered was my dedication (or not) to my dream of writing comic books, and my willingness to do whatever it took (or not) to make that dream a reality.

Of late, I have realized that there are probably a lot more guys like me than I ever thought there were. And by “guys like me,” I of course mean, “extremely handsome and talented comic book writers who constantly struggle to balance the conflicting demands of work, family, and writing.”

Guys Like Me

• David Schwartz, writer of the most surprisingly wonderful book in years, Meltdown, gets up at 4:00 in the morning to write. Like me, he's married with child.

• Jason Aaron, writer of The Other Side and Scalped and soon-to-be-anointed the Writer Guy We All Want To Be, is a stay-at-home dad for his “day job” and writes those ridiculously good comic book scripts whenever he can carve out some time, around his responsibilities as a husband and father. 

• Brian K. Vaughan. Okay, BKV doesn't really belong on this list, because he is that rarified individual who actually writes for a living (you know, the guy we all want to be someday). But you've gotta admit, that's a pretty swell list!

Next Week on General Hospital

If you haven't read Augie De Blieck Jr.'s latest Pipeline column over at CBR, I highly recommend it. He talks at some length about the similarities between soap operas and comic books, which is a subject near and dear to my heart. And if you read his column first, it'll make my future column on the subject that much more interesting.

In The Far-Flung Future,

I hope to interview Chris Ryall of IDW as part of a column on adaptations. He's currently writing an adaptation of Clive Barker's The Great and Secret Show, and he's doing a stellar job of bringing Barker's rich, intricate story to comic book life. Adaptations are something that really get me excited. I've got to get me some of that in my own writing future. I'm absolutely fascinated with the notion of adapting literary short stories to comic book form. Why? I guess just to see if it can be done. Or more precisely, done well. Think of it as a think-tank or experimental lab for the comic book medium. That's how I think of it. I want to (somehow, someway, if I can finagle the rights) adapt one of Raymond Carver's remarkable short stories. “Cathedral.” “A Small, Good Thing.” “What's in Alaska?”. I'd start with one of those three, I think. Some of Flannery O'Connor's stories also cry out to be adapted into comic book form (to me, if no one else). Then, there's what would probably be my dream adaptation of all time: Stephen R. Donaldson's The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever. It should really be a movie (a trilogy of movies a la Lord of the Rings) but since that'll never happen, what could be better than bringing it to life as a comic book?

Uh-Oh. Scary Stuff Ahead.

2007 is my big breakthrough year. Or, that failing, the year in which I cry like the only girl in junior high with no prom date.

It's a weird, scary feeling, to be mere weeks away from actually submitting my labor of love, TWILIFE, to a publisher. And to have actually registered for this summer's San Diego Comic-Con. And to be corresponding on a regular basis with four top-notch comic book artists, all of whom I will be doing stories with this year for my upcoming Anthology With No Name.

I'm light years ahead of where I was in January 2006. I only hope I can say the same thing again next January in comparison to where I am today.

Thanks for tuning in to another installment of Running Up That Hill. And if you run into Aimee Mann in your travels, please have her drop me a line about an interview! I know you guys think I'm crazy, but I'm dead serious about interviewing her in an upcoming column.

Just you wait...

Elton Pruitt writes comic books in the bustling metropolis of Little Rock. His first published story will appear in Sequential Suicide, due in early 2007. He hasn't smoked a cigarette in 739 days! And if you visit him in EltonSpace, he'll be delighted – particularly if you subscribe to his blog!