Over the weekend, Bryan Lee O’Malley appeared at New York Comic Con panel for a conversation with Cory Doctorow about his latest book, Seconds.
Following the great success he achieved with the Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series, he wanted to “do something super arty and weird.” For Seconds, O’Malley set out to write “a very external character…characters who just barge through life.” The star protagonist of this story, Katie, was partially inspired “by an obnoxious rock star.”
Regardless of the project, two parts of O’Malley’s creative process remain constant. First, he has to create the perfect mix tape because he will likely listen to it “thousands of times.” Second, he takes this approach: “every new book idea, I’m just going to tackle a problem and fix it.” What’s the initial step you take when you start a new project?