Portrait Pitfalls

Write a sequence of eighteen stories and draw a cover for each one depicting the principal female character in portrait form. Don't worry, that's not a Vocal challenge! It's how I spent last year!

If however you have time on your hands and feel like trying it, here's a word of advice. Don't make the same mistake I did. Instead, allow for the gradual organic development which occurs in any ongoing series.

Because we had every kind of unexpected eventuality, believe me. Some episodes didn't have a specific female lead as such. There were covers whose stars played at best a supporting role in the story, or on one occasion didn't appear at all. I also learned not to start sketching too soon, after finishing one cover early only for the writing to go in unforeseen directions, so that the character I'd already taken pains to portray barely appeared in the finished piece. In addition, no fewer than two male characters sneakily slipped in amongst the girls, and who can blame them?

Then there were three prima donnas who each insisted on seizing the cover-spot more than once. Here's how I handled them.

1) Mini-Flash Pseudangelos

The breakout character. She starred in a total of five stories, two of which featured no other female. It was clear I had to impose limits on this girl, but even so, she still became the first to enjoy two covers all to herself. In Story 1: "False Messenger," this eponymous character (and I'm not misusing that word; think etymology) is a mysterious presence and potential threat, notwithstanding her schoolgirl disguise. By Story 10: "Candy-Sticks," she's fallen among pseudo (there it is again) beach-bikers who are feeding her addiction for the eponymous (there it is again) hallucinogenic sweetmeats, allowing for a giddy-looking bikini-clad reappearance.

2) Presh

Pretty Presh presented problems. The first of these was that she'd never appeared on a cover before, and I was reluctant for any character to make their debut under this system. Nevertheless Story 4, besides being all about Presh, was also her first time in the limelight so there was nothing else for it. I'd previously mentioned she wore beige hair-ribbons, at least, and therefore hoped that from these allusions my reading public would immediately know who the girl before them was supposed to be.

When Story 12 likewise turned out to be all about Presh, I was able to go back to the sketches for Story 4's cover and work closely from these in preparing a companion-piece. If you've read "At Pilgrim Hospital" on Vocal (Chapter One of which was Top Story, by the way, I just thought I'd mention that) you might remember Presh's Mini-Flash uniform ending up the worse for an encounter with a scissors-wielding maniac. In this I saw opportunity for her two cover-appearances to be told apart.

3) Mini-Flash Juniper

Story 8's cover-star lost the subsequent top-spot to her trend-bucking future boyfriend Mini-Flash Robin, despite being Story 9's only female character. In a series that was meant to be group-oriented I had reservations about bestowing consecutive cover-privileges on any one of the cast, and doubly wary that the honour should go to a character I'd not always written as likeable. In Story 11 Mini-Flash Juniper is female lead again, and dons a school uniform of her own, but the dramatic centrepiece went to another female character who thereby belonged on the cover.

All this worked out for the best, however, because it meant that when Mini-Flash Juniper finally had the chance to show off her new look, it was after she and Mini-Flash Robin had shared their first kiss at the end of Story 11. And Robin, I think we can all agree...it must have been some kiss.

Please rest assured this wasn't just a self-critique, so feel free to tell me how I did!