library: Browse The Strips
Lynn's Comments: I was a member of the Art Centre board in North Bay for a few years. In an effort to make the theatre more profitable, a friend and I drove to a neighbouring town's theatre to find out how they managed to stay in the black. Thinking they had a magical formula, I begged them to tell us the secret to their financial success. The answer, sadly, was Bingo. Bingo became one of our main resources, too. You'd think the wonderful art of live theatre would have brought in enough to pay the bills!
Monday, May 25, 2015
Lynn's Comments: I always enjoyed the opportunity to pop a bit of rhyme into the text of FBFW. I love to read and write poetry, and am partial to poetry that rhymes. A comic strip, like the dialogue in a play, has to have a cadence: a rhythm so as to move the audience smoothly along. Excessive commentary, even a single word out of place, can take you out of the moment and weaken the punch line. ie:
"What do you call a dog with no legs? --. It doesn't matter. He won't come anyway."
(This works.)
"What would you call a dog if it didn't have any legs" --It doesn't matter because he wouldn't come if you called him anyway!"
(This one you stumble over.)
It takes time to learn how to write with an economy of words; to be able to engage your audience thoroughly and not waste precious seconds on "roadblocks." More after dinner speeches should be written this way!
"What do you call a dog with no legs? --. It doesn't matter. He won't come anyway."
(This works.)
"What would you call a dog if it didn't have any legs" --It doesn't matter because he wouldn't come if you called him anyway!"
(This one you stumble over.)
It takes time to learn how to write with an economy of words; to be able to engage your audience thoroughly and not waste precious seconds on "roadblocks." More after dinner speeches should be written this way!
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Lynn's Comments: Any time I have done a presentation and felt that I had screwed up terribly, I think about the times when I have had to cover for someone else. After I leave the stage, my head spinning with "Why did I say that?" or "How could I have forgotten such an important point?," I simply say to myself, "Well, at least I showed up!"
Monday, September 7, 2015
Lynn's Comments: When the Dundas Valley Journal ran my cartoons, I was thrilled. It didn't take long, however, for me to wish for a larger space and a bit more money. They paid me $10.00 a gag, and when I asked for $15, they stopped buying.
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Lynn's Comments: As one of the few female syndicated cartoonists, I was often asked how I was treated by the men in the profession. Like every other woman, I'd been targeted (by a few people) with the usual crap and I learned to live with it. My revenge was to do a better job than my detractors.
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Monday, November 2, 2015
Lynn's Comments: One thing I have never been good at is small talk at big parties. Some folks can rip into a crowd and have a great time chatting about trends, politics, and the weather--I'm more likely to say hello to the folks I need to talk to, then head for my hotel room and bed.
Monday November 14, 2016
Lynn's Comments: Before I had my own business, I dropped my son at daycare and went to work like most other single moms. When Aaron was sick, I had, of course, to leave work, pick him up, and take him home. I felt guilty for leaving my job. I felt guilty for resenting the interruption in my day, and I felt guilty for not being a stay at home mom.
Thursday July 11, 2019
Friday July 12, 2019
Saturday September 7, 2019
Lynn's Comments: I've told this story before, but here it comes again!
I was beginning to regret having the characters age in real time. I was losing the art and sweet comedy of "the baby days." My young characters were speaking in adult language and having adult concerns. I talked to Cathy Guisewite ("Cathy"), and she suggested that Elly should have another baby. I argued that I only had two kids in real life and didn't know what it would be like to have three. She said, "Lynn, it’s a comic strip. Make it up!"
Sunday September 8, 2019
Lynn's Comments: When copiers became commonplace, everyone squashed and copied their faces…and other personal things, as well. In one office at McMaster University, where a large copier was in constant use, I saw the distinct form of a cat pressed onto the plate glass surface. There were no photocopies left at the scene and there was no cat on the premises. The outcome of the caper was not known, but people did look for scratch marks on the arms of workers in the area.
Monday September 14, 2020
Tuesday September 15, 2020
Wednesday September 16, 2020
Monday September 21, 2020
Tuesday September 22, 2020
Lynn's Comments: In a situation like this, I'd find a way to have half an hour to myself so I could stand in a hot shower and pray for relief. This is the one time when a "let down" is a very positive thing!
Monday January 18, 2021
Lynn's Comments: We're living in Vancouver now, so I sure don't miss the snow! The rain, however, is worth grousing about!
Saturday April 24, 2021
Wednesday November 10, 2021
Saturday April 30, 2022
Tuesday December 6, 2022
Lynn's Comments: Here is where the "inflatable nose"” is evident. Whenever I wanted to show Elly at her worst, I drew her nose larger. I didn't do this intentionally; it's what came out of my pen! Since much of the strip was based on real life, I've always been grateful that my nose remains the same size—no matter what I'm thinking.