Writing, editing, storytelling, and more from Jim Gibbons
Let’s get reflective!
2017 was a busy year, and 2018 was no different. My son turned one, my sister got married, we camped three times (one excursion was a backpacking trip covering 15 miles with my wife), we swam in Oregon rivers and lakes, we traveled (Chicago twice and Arizona), and I took my nephew to see a Trail Blazers game. On top of that, my wife started working a second job to pursue a career in public health, all while I worked my day job in marketing and pursued freelance editing and writing opportunities. It was a full, busy year. And while my wife and I have put together our hit list of things to accomplish as a family in 2019, I thought—much like last year—now would be a good time to take a look back at 2018 and see what ground I covered in my freelance career. Can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been, right? Continue Reading “2018 Productivity”
I love comics and I love beer, so I’m pretty psyched about this dream project: I’m writing the new comic Legend of Ninkasi: Rise of Craft. Ninkasi, one of Oregon’s absolute best breweries, is partnering with Dark Horse Comics for a beer-soaked adventure comic and, luckily for this beer-swilling comic nerd, they asked me to write it! Continue Reading “I’m Writing Legend of Ninkasi: Rise of Craft”
Some summer craziness has settled down, so here’s an update on the projects (that I can talk about) that have been keeping me busy! Continue Reading “Updates on a few 2018 Projects”
Last year, I jumped into the podcast pool and, in 2018, I plan to keep swimming in it!
Old news for folks who signed up for my newsletter, but I’ve joined the new crew of hosts on the Comics Experience Make Comics podcast. Led by longtime co-host Joey Groah, comics editors Nicole Boose, Heather Antos, and I will form a rotating panel of experts for people interested in learning about the ins and outs of comics creation!
Some snippets from me from the press release: Continue Reading “2018 Podcasting Update”
I’m the type of editor and writer that loves reading about writing. Maybe it’s all the role-playing video games I played growing up—it just seems like reading about writing is a great way to level up my skills. Practice is the best method for improving as a writer or editor, but I do think absorbing as much info as possible is a close second.
In that vein, and because I pay too much attention to my own productivity, I decided to start a newsletter. Continue Reading “Are you a writer, editor, or creator? Sign up for my newsletter!”
At the end of every year, my social media feeds fill with productive creative people touting how much work they’ve done in the past 365 days. Seeing how much everyone has accomplished, it’s very easy to feel like you haven’t done anything at all—or at least you haven’t done enough.
This past year, my son was born. In the most important of ways, it was the biggest year. He’s the best thing I’ve ever had a hand in creating and being with him daily is the best “work” I’ve ever done. Naturally, it was a pretty busy year. (So busy I’m finally writing those post in February!)
While parenting is a life shift that redefines everything, I still wondered how my year stacked up in terms of creative output. Even when you’re having an incredible year, at least for me, it’s hard not to try and tally your efforts. (I’m a bit of a listmaker.) When I crunched the numbers, expecting it to have been a light year in creative work, I was pleasantly surprised. I’ve had busier years, but to have done all this… Continue Reading “2017 Productivity”
It’s that time again! Time to review the last year’s reading habits.
Each year, I track what I read. I post the list here. I jot down some thoughts, and then I rinse and repeat year after year. (I explain the reasoning and history of this habit a bit more in last year’s post.)
(Previous My Year In Books posts: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016.)
No long preamble this time. Here’s the list… Continue Reading “My Year in Books: 2017”
I’ve been a comic book editor for seven years. Five years at Dark Horse Comics, one at Stela, and one as a freelance editor, roughly. In that time, I worked on 59 graphic novels and more than 200 single issue comics at Dark Horse, got 32 projects greenlit, up and running, and edited at Stela, and I’ve edited 18 different scripts (so far) while freelancing (plus some other assorted jobs).
This year, though, I finally made some headway as a writer.
Continue Reading “Writing News: Winter 2017”
Are you excited to binge on the nasal voice of a nerdy white guy? Get ready!
This past year, thanks to my good friend and compatriot, the talented and extremely hard-working Josh Wigler (Listen to “First One Out,” you’ll see what I mean.), I got into podcasting. I had a blast and it was a good way to put all my nerdy hot takes to better use than simply spouting them off on Twitter at 12 a.m. Josh and I know each other from way back in our Wizard magazine days, so it was also a pleasure to get to spend so much time with an old friend who lives thousands of miles away!
Continue Reading “Cast Your Pod to the Wind”