Maniccartoonist

Through generations of our ponderings over spiritual and political order, and the building and destruction of countless societies, there remains the endlessly recurring question, "What is the purpose of life?" Augustine, and others, voiced their belief that the human purpose is to seek happiness. Now, doesn't that just make sense?

For some, happiness is synonymous with love, for others happiness equates financial security, and still for many others happiness is defined completely differently. Regardless of our gender or parent culture, everybody wants to be happy, right?

Wait. All this babbling will make sense in a bit ;).

I lurked around brigits_flame for awhile before attempting to submit my own writing. The first prompt I remember was: "Happiness in a Bottle", in fact, I'm fairly certain that today's featured writer was the first FLAMER that I ever read! For today's edition of the Writers Showcase, we have an interview of sorts to supplement the usual bio. I hope you read and enjoy!

Welcome to the Writers Showcase of January Week 3, and say hello to the multi-talented Maniccartoonist!

Bio:

Hey gang! My name is Aaron, but you all know me better as maniccartoonist. I've been participating in Brigits Flame's competitions for a little more than a year now. I love being a part of the Flame because you guys constantly keep me on my writing toes with new chatters, intriguing topics and a community of support. I've been more productive in the last year than I have ever been before thanks to you guys!

My current projects include two different novels (both in the preliminary stages right now- hopefully I can focus enough to finish one of them) and another blog which I use as my "professional" blog. Don't worry, though- my LJ is always where my newest work is posted first. :)

I had a children's book published in 2008 called Jimmy Platypus and the Good Farmer, though it's gotten less than stellar publicity. I won't slander my publisher here, but let me give this advice for those seeking publication: do research on your publisher first, and try to get an agent if possible!

My interests (other than reading and writing of course) include cooking, playing games with my friends (all sorts of games- tabletop games, board games, video games, creative games, etc), exercise, old time radio, coffee, beer, the outdoors... there's not much I DON'T enjoy, come to think of it.

The following is taken from a chat with Aaron on the darkside of Yahoo Messenger :D

Kathy: I'm very interested in your other choice for creative outlet: drawing. When you chose to go to college did you have a tough time choosing your major at all? Were you confused about whether to choose art, writing, or architecture?

Aaron: My first year in college, I was a fish out of water. I had no idea what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. In a lot of ways, I still don't. After my first year, I took the admittance exam to get into the architecture program. I passed, and I figured, "well, this is better than having no path at all!", so that's what I did, and that's what I do now. I do enjoy it, but it doesn't offer me the creative outlet that writing and cartooning offer me.

Kathy: Tell me a little about your cartooning.

Aaron: Well, I started drawing cartoons when I was about 10. Just little short strips about characters I made up- one of my original characters was actually Jimmy Platypus, the star of my children's book. I wish I had a site for my cartoons, but alas, I do not.

Kathy: (My next question revealed too many spoilers for the chosen piece, so I'm leaving most of it out.) I sincerely enjoyed the ending of this story and really like the female MC, Cori. Is there a certain woman that was your inspiration for Cori?

Aaron: Haha! Well, like most of my characters, she's an amalgam of different people I know. I borrowed her ability to remain focused and unimpressed [cut for spoilers] from a good friend of mine I went to college with. I borrowed her free spirit and ability to think for herself from someone very special to me (and that's all I'll say about that!)

Kathy: Considering the topic for which the chosen piece was written, what are your thoughts or advice to others on the search for happiness?

Aaron: Happiness? Oh wow, that's tough. It's so hard to define just what it is to be happy, since there are so many different levels of happiness. I'm pretty happy most of the time, but am I as happy as I possibly could be? The answer is almost always no. I guess my best advice would be to not allow your joy to be affected by your happiness. I'm not always happy, but I'm almost always joyful.

The Chosen Piece:

This is one of my earlier pieces that I wrote for Brigits Flame. It's about a magic genie named Bartleby and a girl who realizes something about what she wishes for. I hope you enjoy it!

The Link:
http://maniccartoonist.livejournal.com/99168.html

 

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