(Continued from yesterday's commentary)

So how was 2013 Me able to whip through 44 pages of Empowered vol. 8 in a month, despite not being any faster at the tasks writing and drawing than Present-Day Me?

Time for Speed Hack #2: Waaaaaaay more work hours!

See, I can't actually write and draw comic pages at a greater speed, as such—but I can generate the illusion of production speed by working much longer hours with fewer interruptions. And lemme tell ya, folks, during that feverish late summer of 2013, I was living this volume's climactic story with no interruptions whatsoever as I pared my meager existence down to nothing but (ahem) The Work.

That summer, I rarely left the house except to pick up mail and groceries; no trips to "the city," or anywhere else. I stopped working out entirely—no walks, no cardio hikes, no lifting, no nothin'. Didn't watch movies or videos, barely read any non-fiction books or manga, and never talked (or communicated, period) with any friends. (Social media down to a minimum, I'd assume.)

Thus, I was able to jack my work hours up into the tough-to-achieve range of "true 12 hours" of pure writing & drawing—or even the fabled "true 16 hours"—for weeks and months at a time.  I say "true 12 hours" because I've seen many artists claim to be working in that range, when I know damn well they surely ain't, unless they're the slowest creators to ever hold a pencil or stylus. Squeezing the "true 12+" of pure creation outta your workday is no easy task, and represents a feat of discipline that deserves to be addressed with respect.

(Continued tomorrow!)

Today’s Patreon update: In an attempt to scratch out more worktime to complete the long-gestating Empowered vol. 12, I've switched over to a Monday/ Wednesday/ Friday Patreon posting schedule that won't feature the fixed content format I previously used. So, who knows what today's post might feature? Could be Life Drawing or Distressed Damsels content (both of which are featured at least three times per month), or something in the Work Stages, Vintage Con Sketches or Design departments, or possibly something entirely new. Golly!

-Adam Warren