{"id":45372,"date":"2025-07-24T07:21:19","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T11:21:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/?p=45372"},"modified":"2025-07-24T11:09:18","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T15:09:18","slug":"keeping-good-habits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2025\/07\/24\/keeping-good-habits\/","title":{"rendered":"Keeping Good Habits"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

This is the thin 3-ring binder I bought from a dollar store near work and filled it with 97\u00a2 worth of looseleaf paper in order to work out the story of The Teenage Beast<\/em>. I am writing an outline for what will probably be a novella and have done a very rough first draft of the first chapter. I’m doing all of this longhand which greatly reduces the possibility of those outside distractions I wrote about last week<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I’ve slipped a color laser printout of my Teenage Beast<\/em> drawing<\/a> into the front of the binder in order to identify the contents. I’m pleased with the way this looks. It’s a hell of a lot better than a Dymo label<\/a>. It makes it feel real like it’s a genuine product that will sit on a shelf.<\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"

Punk Rock Girl<\/p><\/div>\n

Teenage Beast<\/em> has mostly sprung from the pages of sketchbooks both new and very old. It’s been a lot of fun, but sometimes I run out of gas and the blank page of the sketchbook stares back. I want to keep some creative momentum going so if drawing isn’t working out, I’ll turn to writing in the notebooks in order to build up the story. The writing in turn will give a direction to the drawings. Rather than drawing something and shoehorning it into the story, I’ll figure out what needs to be drawn first.<\/p>\n

If I stall out on Teenage Beast<\/em>, I have other stories that I have been developing on and off, here and there over the past few decades. I’ve been stockpiling notions and ideas in various notebooks since I took a creative writing class back in tenth grade. It’s a slog reading through these notebooks particularly the ones from high school, but occasionally I come across a nugget amidst all of the dirt.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, I want to stay busy. I want to fill the sketchbooks with my drawings and the notebooks with my writing. I want to do what I should be doing instead of falling down the rabbit hole of Youtube videos and streaming shows.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is the thin 3-ring binder I bought from a dollar store near work and filled it with 97\u00a2 worth of looseleaf paper in order to work out the story of The Teenage Beast. I am writing an outline for … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":45373,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3949,7,49,16,26],"tags":[158,17,4542,3199,907,5982,76,3661,5,4743,5981,2143,5465,25,5937,480,5983,5978],"class_list":["post-45372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-design","category-illustration","category-it-came-from-the-sketchbook","category-sketch","category-stuff-joe-likes","tag-analog","tag-cartoon","tag-cheap-sketchbook","tag-creature","tag-drawing","tag-habit","tag-horror","tag-illustration","tag-joe-williams","tag-notes","tag-novella","tag-punk","tag-short-story","tag-sketchbook","tag-teenage-beast","tag-usa","tag-wasting-time","tag-writing"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/three-ring-binder-outline.jpg?fit=640%2C751&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1ed1x-bNO","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":46763,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2025\/12\/31\/the-last-of-2025\/","url_meta":{"origin":45372,"position":0},"title":"The Last of 2025","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"December 31, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I figured I would wind up the year with another drawing of the Teenage Beast. I've been a little lax lately with the drawing as I've allowed myself to become sidetracked by my other obsession which is computers. Once I claw my way out of this particular digital rabbit hole,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Illustration"","block_context":{"text":"Illustration","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/illustration\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/last-of-2025-det.jpg?fit=640%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/last-of-2025-det.jpg?fit=640%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/last-of-2025-det.jpg?fit=640%2C300&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":44872,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2025\/04\/08\/the-teenage-beast-continues\/","url_meta":{"origin":45372,"position":1},"title":"The Teenage Beast Continues","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"April 8, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"My punk rock monster, The Teenage Beast, continues to haunt my sketchbooks as I piece together a story through doodles and develop an approach to the illustrations. I'm still figuring out where the story is going and what materials will serve me best.","rel":"","context":"In "Doodle Tuesday"","block_context":{"text":"Doodle Tuesday","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/it-came-from-the-sketchbook\/doodle-tuesday\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Teenage-Beast-Transformation.jpg?fit=900%2C676&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Teenage-Beast-Transformation.jpg?fit=900%2C676&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Teenage-Beast-Transformation.jpg?fit=900%2C676&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Teenage-Beast-Transformation.jpg?fit=900%2C676&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45103,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2025\/05\/13\/tiptoe-through-the-sketchbooks\/","url_meta":{"origin":45372,"position":2},"title":"Tiptoe through the Sketchbooks","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"May 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Having finished up the Canson XL Mixed Media Sketchbook, I am working here and there in a few different sketchbooks. The subject is still The Teenage Beast. As far as discount sketchbooks, the Ucreate sketchbook from Ticonderoga is a pretty decent pad of paper. I like how it takes inks.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Doodle Tuesday"","block_context":{"text":"Doodle Tuesday","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/it-came-from-the-sketchbook\/doodle-tuesday\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/detail-Coming-Through-Part-Two.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/detail-Coming-Through-Part-Two.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/detail-Coming-Through-Part-Two.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":44679,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2025\/02\/25\/keeping-it-in-the-family\/","url_meta":{"origin":45372,"position":3},"title":"Keeping It In The Family","author":"Joe","date":"February 25, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I was a little under the weather last week which put a damper on my doodling, but I've come back this week with another drawing and another chunk of the Teenage Beast story. The story takes place in the punk scene during the 1980s so inevitably there would be a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Doodle Tuesday"","block_context":{"text":"Doodle Tuesday","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/it-came-from-the-sketchbook\/doodle-tuesday\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Brian-Bubonic-in-Teenage-Beast-detail.jpg?fit=640%2C290&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Brian-Bubonic-in-Teenage-Beast-detail.jpg?fit=640%2C290&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Brian-Bubonic-in-Teenage-Beast-detail.jpg?fit=640%2C290&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":46177,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2025\/10\/21\/the-beast-of-times\/","url_meta":{"origin":45372,"position":4},"title":"The Beast of Times!","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"October 21, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm having the beast of times with my Pen+Gear Sketch Diary sketchbook, a gem my wife Tina unearthed for me at our local Walmart. The sturdy paper withstands the rough handling of my pencils and erasers, while its surface handles the ink from my Sailor and Pentel pens better than\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Doodle Tuesday"","block_context":{"text":"Doodle Tuesday","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/it-came-from-the-sketchbook\/doodle-tuesday\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Teenage-Beast-Gray-web.jpg?fit=800%2C1029&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Teenage-Beast-Gray-web.jpg?fit=800%2C1029&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Teenage-Beast-Gray-web.jpg?fit=800%2C1029&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Teenage-Beast-Gray-web.jpg?fit=800%2C1029&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45889,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2025\/09\/09\/when-does-the-band-go-on\/","url_meta":{"origin":45372,"position":5},"title":"When does the band go on?","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"September 9, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Here is another sketch from my developing Teenage Beast story. The crowd awaits the arrival of Brian Bubonic and the Plague. I drew this with sky blue mechanical pencil leads and Sailor Fude De Mannen fountain pens in a small UCreate sketchbook by Ticonderoga. It takes ink surprisingly well and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Doodle Tuesday"","block_context":{"text":"Doodle Tuesday","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/it-came-from-the-sketchbook\/doodle-tuesday\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Awaiting-Brian-Bubonic.jpg?fit=640%2C448&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Awaiting-Brian-Bubonic.jpg?fit=640%2C448&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Awaiting-Brian-Bubonic.jpg?fit=640%2C448&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45372"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45372\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}