The Invisible Man, in a classic cartoon style.
So, I haven’t been around for a while, but I’ve been busy doing art! Some commissions, some fan art, and some OC work. I’ve been going full force into the classic cartoon rubber hose style and plan on keeping it going! Maybe doing a webtoon or web comic sometime this year. I’ll be posting more often, and trying to engage as well.
-Jordan
Rise and Fall
“I am often asked why I did what I did. I’ve never really had a good answer, aside from that I wanted to. I understand that that may sound, oh, I don’t know, cheap? It was fun. Have you ever seen a city on the brink of destruction by your hand? Have you ever seen thousands of eyes staring up at you with tears in their eyes as you prepare to end everything they’ve ever known? No? Yes, well I suppose you wouldn’t. It is a feeling that can be described. To hold their hero by the collar of his shirt, watching them watch as his lifeless body falls hundreds of feet to the ground below. Maybe you do understand that though. Not in the same way that I do, but that is your job, right? To understand me. That’s why they sent you here, right? I’ve seen the headlines, the big question. ‘Why Didn’t Doctor Diabolical Destroy New City?’ It’s an interesting take. You would think that everyone would be happy, would be grateful they still live…Achieving your goals isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, let’s put it that way. Killing him wasn’t as gratifying as I thought it would be. All the foiled plots. All the punches to the face, leaving me like this. I didn’t wear a mask when I first started, did you know that? It was just the goggles; the face mask came later. After the eighth broken jaw. Have you ever spent your life trying to do something, and then when you finally do it…you realize it wasn’t the right choice? I’m not talking morally for the record. This isn’t some guilt that bubbled up when I realized that killing him made me a bad person. My purpose was to fight him, to make his life hell. To capture you repeatedly. Deep down I think I knew it. Maybe that’s the answer as to why I did it. Here’s a headline for you, Ace Reporter Bree Rose, ‘The Rise and Fall of Doctor Diabolical - Deadliest Villain in New City - Reveals the Truth!’ I turned myself in because I was wrong. Killing him ended everything. Not in the way I thought it would. I thought when he was gone, I would rule this city, then the country, then the world. Truth is I needed him. Without him, my purpose is gone. Spin that however you want, paint me full of guilt, or make me a monster. It doesn’t matter anymore, he’s gone, and I might as well be as well…
…what did you say?”
My debut all-ages graphic novel series is currently funding on Kickstarter! If you like fairies, adventure, and strong female protagonists check it out! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jordanjscavone/poppy-black-all-ages-graphic-novel
New header image!
I really like the mossy bricks and font I chose!
I finished the first chapter of my WIP and I am motivated! Yay!!
FFF 98 - The Last Time - Flash Fiction
There is a prison on the top of a hill. It is small, only holding twenty prisoners at a time. It is quite beautiful for a prison. There are no fences, no barbed wire, no towers with guards, there are no guards at all. Yet none of the prisoners try to escape. Not since the last time. For you see this prison has one incredibly unique feature that no other prison, or place in the entire world seems to have. If you try to escape this prison, you find yourself back in your cell, waking up in your bed like you did the morning before. The only difference is something is wrong, something is missing. Maybe a tooth you never had knocked out is gone, or your only pair of shoes are missing, or if you are very unlucky a limb or organ. While escape is not impossible in this prison, it is not possible to escape with your life. So, if you find yourself at a prison without guards, we suggest you note the sign by the gate reads, “They found out about us. They’re coming.”
My submission for @flashfictionfridayofficial prompt this week!
You've been visited by the random OC question fairy! :D ~☆
What does your character think about their past? What would they change about it? How has their past affected their actions and thoughts?
Cillian, the the other MC in NIGHT WARRIOR, was abandoned as a child and his lack of parental affection sometimes messes with him.
You've been visited by the random OC question fairy! :D ~☆
Does your character have any traumatic childhood experiences/memories? If so, how has it shaped their youth/adulthood?
No memory of her father outside of his name.
You've been visited by the random OC question fairy! :D ~☆
How easy is it for your character to feel anger? What’s usually a good tip-off that they’re experiencing this emotion? (Physical reactions, movements of appendages, etc.)
Viranda, the MC of NIGHT WARRIOR, has a fairly short temper. Her tell is usually eye twitching and head tilting.
Thanks for ask!
jordanjscavone-author reblogged
Diversity in Writing
I did this post for Write on Com. Figured it would be worth sharing here also.
Diversity in Writing
by author Ellen Oh
Recently, I was part of a conversation where an author said the following: “But there’s been a lot of anger from some quarters about “appropriation” and “exoticism” … I’m terrified of incurring the kind of wrath I’ve seen online, and have decided I’m not qualified to tackle diversity head on.”
Guys, if this is you, then I want to talk to you about why it is okay to “tackle diversity.” If you are the type to say, “Yes, I want to include diversity! I just don’t know how.” I want to talk to you too, because there are right ways and wrong ways to do it. But mostly I want to tell you how important it is that you all are trying. Thank you for that. Because I was once that little girl scanning through the books desperately looking for someone like me, who wasn’t a stereotype. And now I have kids who are doing the same thing. Thank you for wanting to have this conversation.
But if you are scared about being called out for including diversity in your book, then wake up and smell the diapers, children, because you are not going to be able to make everybody happy. Someone somewhere is going to be offended for something you wrote and for a reason that you never intended! You wrote a girl empowerment book? How dare you put down feminine girls! You wrote about sexual exploitation? How dare you write a slut shaming book! You wrote a POC main character? How dare you white person try and exploit minorities!
Look, I’m Korean American and I wrote a fantasy book based in ancient Korea. I studied it for 10 years on top of all that I knew from being raised by Korean immigrants. And yet I had plenty of people bash me for getting things “wrong” about Korean culture in my book – and most of them weren’t even Korean! So the one thing I can promise you with absolute assurance is, someone somewhere is going to be irate at you for writing. Whether it is the fact that you wrote a POC character or the fact that you are posing in your author picture with a hand to your cheek, someone is going to hate you for something. Listen, you are not ever going to make everyone happy. That’s just human nature. I bet someone out there is reading this post right now and pissed off at me just because they don’t like my face. What can you do? You can start not caring about making everybody happy.
Now writing about POC is a bit different in that most people are afraid of being called a racist. So they avoid diversity because of it. However, let me reassure you that by not including diversity, you are also being called a racist. Maybe not to your face, but you are. And guess what? Being called a racist is nowhere near as painful as dealing with actual racism.
Now that I have freed you from the fear of being reviled on the internet, let’s talk about a few things that you need to keep in mind:
- Do your research and be respectful. Don’t culturally appropriate from POC and then claim that your world is different therefore you can do whatever the hell you want with it. Call your world whatever you want, but if your world looks and sounds like China, and you even use Chinese words and architecture and terms specific to that culture, then don’t pretend it’s not China and mix us up with every other Asian culture. It just reeks of sloppy research and not giving a damn. If you want your world to feel Asian without specifically calling out a specific country, it can be done – see Eon/Eona. See The Last Airbender series.
- Avoid stereotypes. There are many. The magical negro, the blonde bimbo, the smart Asian math whiz, the ghetto talking black kid, the feisty Latina, the Asian dragon lady, the cryptic but wise Native American, the uppercrusty WASP, etc. Using stereotypes is lazy writing. You don’t want to invest in your character’s development to go beyond an easily recognizable trope. Don’t do this.
- Exotification of another culture. “But remember, there are two ways to dehumanize someone: by dismissing them, and by idolizing them.” ? David Wong. I think the context of this quote was about women and how men view them. But it works well in this context also. If you don’t include POC in your book, you are dismissing them. If you do include POC but make them exotic and other-worldish, you are going the other way. Neither is acceptable.
- Check your privilege. Don’t get mad that I used the “P” word. I know privilege can be a touchy subject. Asking you to be aware of your privilege is not the same as calling you a racist. What I’m doing is asking you to be aware of it. If you are a female, then you know that male privilege is very real. Take what you understand as male privilege and make a correlation to white privilege and you will see what I mean. And if it helps, read this: http://ted.coe.wayne.edu/ele3600/mcintosh.html
- Reach out to minorities for help. If you know nothing about the culture that you want to include in your book, then reach out for help. Yes, you can find a lot of information on the internet, but some things you can only learn from people who live that culture 24/7.
It won’t be easy, and it shouldn’t be! You will probably make mistakes. And that’s ok! You’ll learn from them and you will fail less and less the more you try. But the most important thing is that you try. Because you are writing for kids. All our kids! And they need to see that their books can reflect their world.
Really good read
jordanjscavone-author reblogged
reblog if you're a history nerd and tell me what period in history is your favorite, i'll start: 300 BC
if you're a history nerd + writer, do you incorporate history into your fiction? if you're a fantasy writer, do you like creating your world's history within your world such as past monarchs, disasters, works of art, etc?
I like ancient Chinese/Japanese culture, and when I write fantasy I like to do the history first :D
Flash Fiction Friday #96 “In Your Arms”
Toby could feel the heat on his face, the light pointed at him hurt his eyes even through his closed eyelids. The white noise machine helped soothe him, and he was able to sleep until the light was turned on. With a squeak, the light adjusted off his face and he was finally able to open his eyes. Forgetting his arms were strapped to the bed he was on he attempted to rub his eyes free of sand, but the metal bands only dug into his skin. It wouldn’t have hurt if he wasn’t already bruised from the hours of struggling. The man in the white hazard suit was back. “Here again?” Toby could barely recognize his exhausted voice. The man didn’t engage and just went about his business. The leather strap on Toby’s head made it hard for him to turn to see what he was doing. Blood trickled from a cut that hadn’t finished healing the last time Toby tried to turn his head. “You gonna answer me, or no? I should sue your ass for malpractice after this. I only came in for a routine check-up.” No response again. Toby was getting mad now. He hated being ignored. He was about to scream before the door opened and another doctor in a hazard suit entered the room. “Any changes?” The new doctor spoke to the first. “None. Still non-verbal. Hasn’t moved an inch.” “Non-verbal?” Toby grunted out the words. “I would move if you would let me!” He struggled again but the straps kept him in place. He shook his whole body, moving all the parts he could but it made no difference. They must have reinforced them. “Good thing we caught him when we did. He just happened in for a routine check-up. Imagine if he didn’t come in, he could have been patient zero this. I’ve never seen a virus cause a coma in only twelve hours.” Toby’s ears perked up. He wasn’t in a coma. He was strapped to this bed, being ignored by some paranoid doctors. The first doctor turned to Toby and lifted his right arm. It wasn’t strapped down at all; Toby just couldn’t move it. It was like his arm didn’t belong to him anymore. “Dave, look at this.” The first doctor was looking at the underside of Toby’s bicep, near his armpit. “It looks like a puncture mark. Did this guy have any drugs in his system?” The second doctor flipped through Toby’s chart. Toby’s eyes frantically bounced between them. “None.” “This must be how he got it, someone must have stuck him with something. I bet he and had no idea.” “Wait! That’s it!” Toby shouted, but the doctors continued to not react. “On the subway on my way here. That strange guy in the black coat. I thought he was some whack job who just pinched me when he walked by, but-“ “Attention all hospital staff.” A voice echoed through the PA system. “The entire hospital is now on high alert! Please check all your patients for puncture wounds on the backside of their arms. We have five more cases of virus-induced coma. The hospital is officially on lockdown, the virus is being injected, in your arms.”
Two weeks in a row, I hope you like this one. Feel free to let me know what you think!
WIP Characters
One of the WIPs I’m working on follows a LARP group, so I got to play around with character design by making their everyday designs as well as their LARP personas! This was a lot of fun to do, and I got to utilize two different Picrew’s so they aren’t quite perfect in terms of color and such, but I did my best (I’m also horribly color blind so I probably think the colors are almost identical haha)
OC interview Qs! Who would you say has influenced your life the most? How so? Were they a positive or negative influence? | What is one of your biggest pet peeves? How long can you tolerate it for before speaking up about it, or can you tolerate it at all? | Are there any places in your world you would love to visit? What would you do there? Do you think you will ever get to go there?
I'll answer as Viranda the MC in my YA urban fantasy novel.
"My biggest influence is probably my best friend, Bee. She got me to do things I'd never normally do and learn so much they has helped my writing. Plus she reads all my WIPs. I don't always want her influence, but she always tries to help me for the better."
"My mom's fake nice voice. It really pisses me off, I just leave the room now when she does it."
"I would love to visit Greece to see all the states and places that inspired they mythology stories I love! Also, Germany! To see where the Grimm's collected and wrote their fairy tales! Maybe if this book sells I can afford to go, and take Bee with me!"
Thanks for the ask!
Bianca almost cutting Sasha in half with that hair whip! That made a WALTER chop sound like a cat's meow.