Charles Dickens Wrote Web Comics

So Oliver Twist was basically a web comic.  The reason people put up with what was essentially a young adult fairy tale by a debut author was the same reason people watch Two and a Half Men: It was free.  Like a web comic, no one really had to commit to it; people just checked it once every couple of months - kind of like Dresden Codak.

Oliver Twist was published in 24 installments in a literary magazine from 1837-1839, which I think goes a long way towards explaining why it reads like your Victorian granny's diary if your Victorian granny saw lots of people get hanged. Look at this installment in the 1838 Bentley's Miscellany - each chapter is seriously like: oh Harry teaches Oliver how to write to-day, then the next one is like Rose and Harry all declare their love for each other.  At which point rabid fans wrote Dickens letters like, "OMG! rpse and harry are teh cutestEVER  lolz!!!!!!!" Thus, Oliver Twist was basically a web comic, or at least a bad 19th century sitcom.

Unlike Oliver Twist, books by new authors these days aren't free, so readers don't have the chance to try them out in little bite-size pieces. Web comics are awesome, but a significant percentage of their awesomeness comes from the fact that it's the advertisers paying for them. You might buy one of their t-shirts, but you get a t-shirt out the deal, plus certified wearable proof that you are a huge hipster.  Same thing goes with a lot of TV shows - most are fairly crappy, which is why TV executives know we'll only watch them if they're free. Books, on the other hand, just keep getting more expensive. Some people (not me) might say, why pay to read when you can look at pictures for free on the internet? (not porn)

Oliver Twist was free.  AND it had pictures:

Then Mr. Bumble gets yelled at by Strawberry Shortcake and oh
fuck it I have no idea what's happening in this book.

Real Life vs. Writing Life

Despite some very good intentioned vows to blog regularly, I have totally failed to post here for the past two months. I have a good reason, though: I (finally) got a full-time job.

At first, I had mixed feelings about it. It's a wonderful job working in wildlife conservation, something even more important to me (and the world) than books.  I wanted to be writer since I was 12. I wanted to save animals since I was 6.  So I guess this dream has seniority.

But I miss being able to write all day long every day. Sure, it sucked when we couldn't pay the rent and my boyfriend begged me to get a job as a barista. But before he came home, my days were endless, free-wheeling riots of imagination. I came up with ideas for and started no less than 5 new books.  And I miss it.

Now, here's where the "mixed" part of my "feelings" comes in: Even after my six month wonderland of writing, I'm happier working.  Even with my 1.5 hour commute because we fail at finding a new apartment, I'm happier now in my little office than I was at home.  Because I love getting out, living, contributing to the world.  Not just the fantasy worlds in my head.

But here's the silver lining to the cloud that's already pretty fluffy and awesome: Working makes us better writers too.  Why?  Because you have to interact with lots of different people and see all the struggles in the world before you can write well.  Do you think Kurt Vonnegut would have been a quarter as trenchant if he hadn't worked as a used car salesman first?  Hell no!

Plus, I get to spend all day learning about these:


African Wild Dogs :)  Dying in Zimbabwe :(



Saigas :)  Dying in Uzbekistan :(



Cheetahs :)  Dying in Botswana :(

(I realize that one line about not being able to pay the rent makes my life sound like a huge bummer.  But it's not!  Actually, the times when I've been dirt poor have been some of the happiest of my life. Hm.  I think there might be a post in there.)