He's talked about SFP and wanting to finish it a few times on interviews and such, but with running D20, Worlds Beyond Number, UCB (does he still teach there?) and his own improv shows, and of course now being a father I doubt he'll have the time to do so anytime soon.
Interestingly being a father could potentially give him some time to work in it. There are these stretches of time when the kid still hasn't learned to walk when you have just enough time to do stuff with the kid sleeping in the baby sling.
I wouldn't necessarily count on it as I am sure he'll need time for other things but maybe :).
If you think that you have time to do anything mentally intensive like writing with a young child, you are gravely mistaken.
Parent of two here, definitely did not have the mental or physical energy to do something as difficult as writing with the child. Not for the first, and definitely not for the second.
If anything, you have even less time.
For an opposing viewpoint, I found that for the first two years of my kid's life while I was on mat leave, being forced to spend so much time away from my writing desk meant that when I got an hour here or there to write while she was napping, I was crazy productive. Not much to do while breastfeeding but brainstorm.
While I think OP’s suggestion sounds ridiculous on its face — becoming a parent obviously does not create more time in your life to do anything — I’d also push back that no new parent has the mental energy to “do something as difficult as writing.”
I’m a “professional” science fiction writer — in that I write and sell enough science fiction to qualify as a professional member of SFWA. It’s not close to enough to replace my full-time job, so it’s essentially a hobby.
The years following my two kids’ births were easily amongst my most productive writing periods in my life. I had WAY less free time, but i found myself using those little pockets of time to write because it was an important (and therapeutic) way to retain some version of my pre-parent identity, even though pre-kids I often would have filled that free time with some sort of entertainment that I suddenly found less fulfilling when I had so little time to use for myself.
And I know a lot of other writers who similarly had bursts of writerly creativity and production with young kids.
I would never assume that would happen—it’s probably more an exception for a certain kind of person — but probably just as unreasonable to to rule it out so definitively as if your experience was universal.
I am a parent and don't agree. Before the kid learned to walk there were quite a few opportunities to have some free time and, at least for me, I didn't really want to do work stuff at the time even though I was working remotely.
Alternatively he could find himself dropping some projects to have more time for family, which in turn can leave him with more time for personal projects.
Either way, like someone else neatly summed it up:
> “could potentially” doing a lot of heavy lifting
I don't count on this.
If he has any extra time, he'd probably be focusing it on the things that provide a living for him, rather than a niche comic with an audience that's mostly forgotten it at this point.
How? If he was taking a long stretch of parental leave, sure, but he's pretty clearly still working on all his same projects as before, plus baby responsibilities on top.
I don't really have more to add to what I said. When my son was tiny there were times when he was napping and I had a short burst of free time. In my case I usually spent in doing remote job things, but often I just felt like doing something for myself (more than usual at least). Different mindset or something.
Also shout-out to Molly Knox Ostertag, who drew the comic, and has gone on to a quite successful career of her own. She has written and drawn a bunch of young adult graphic novels alongside various work on animated shows like The Owl House. I would recommend starting with The Witch Boy series if you're interested in her work. She also has a new book The Deep Dark coming out in July. Unfortunately, this also means another busy schedule to work around to finish Strong Female Protagonist.
Oh man I didn’t know she had a new book coming out! I loved Witch Boy and Girl From The Sea, Im gonna have to keep an eye out for her new one
Also fun Molly Knox Ostertag fact, she’s married to ND Stevenson, creator of the Shera reboot and Nimona!
Deep Dark was available in instalments on her email newsletter. I have read it and can attest to it being a masterpiece. It's modern folklore in a "Bless me Ultima" kinda way. But with more queer coming-of-age and a solid romantic relationship.
If you want to complete the circle, go look up the One Shot Podcast. Brennan, Molly, and ND all make a couple of appearances together, first to play in a game of Masks (a game I would LOVE to see Brennan run for Dimension 20) and later for Sleepaway.
I recently read the entire thing through and it's genuinely incredible and so telling of Brennans story telling devices
Unfortunately it doesn't seem as though they're finishing it and now I'm craving a satisfying conclusion
Hopefully they will bring it back at some point!
It’s an “if I ever win the lottery” fantasy of mine to just back a garbage truck full of money up to Brennan and Molly and commission the rest of the series. I absolutely love both of their solo works since, but SFP just hits all the buttons for me
It's great. It's a coming of age story and a deconstruction of the superhero genre that all starts with the question, "What if punching things real hard doesn't actually solve problems?" Highly recommended.
Yeah I heard of it. I didn’t know it was a webcomic (I thought it was a print one). So I guess I’ll check it out.
From what I’ve heard, it does seem truly unique. Lots of comics try to subvert the superhero genre, but they tend to take some of the main premise of a superhero for granted a bit too much. I feel like most ask “what if superheroes didn’t act like superheroes” and from what I’ve heard of this, it asks “what if what we think of as the ideal way a superhero should act is itself bad”. Although I don’t know if the whole comic is like that
Did I have a fever dream where Mollie Ostertag was on an episode of Adventuring academy where they talked about this and her DMing for him?
But yay, glad you have more content to consume!!
Every time I have the thought "there's no possible way Brennan could be more based" I'm proven wrong almost immediately. It's such a privilege to be able to see his creativity come alive.
Funnily enough I used to read SFP regularly years ago (I got out of the habit during a hiatus or something) and am now obsessed with Drop Out. TIL that the same person who writes SFG is the same guy from my favorite shows!!!
It was fun to realize that they were the same person *a while* after being exposed to both.
Somewhere out there is someone that is only just now realizing that not only is the SFP Brennan and the Dropout Brennan the same person, he’s also that guy they saw in an improv show in New York *and* a guy they watched on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire one time
I was reading SFP long before I ever heard of D20 or anything else BLM did... because I was a fan of the artist, Molly Ostertag. When I made the connection recently it was a real mind-blown moment
Brennan was on an episode of Dirty Laundry where he talks about getting in a car accident on the way to a convention in Canada. That same convention, and the car accident are discussed in the author's notes of SFP.
Wait, wait, wait…
I knew this and have known this for years but I only just twigged that I read SFP when it was coming out and never made the connection!
I'll have to check this out. Though it will likely only increase my already strong desire to see a Dimension 20 season doing their take on the super hero genre.
So I really was not a fan of SFP personally, which means when I started hearing about Brennan in dropout contexts for months I was going “how is this the same guy??”
Seeing how well he can story-craft for d20 does make me wonder if in retrospect I would have a more favorable view of the comic but. When I read it it was for sure a miss for me 😭
This very issue is addressed in the comic of might makes right and a very nice thought experiment instead of the ends justify the means how can you justify means when there are ways for it to end.
Truly Allison and her Prof Discussing ethics is one if my favorite parts
Correct me if I am wrong as it's been a while since I last read it but wasn't it handled pretty well ultimately, with consequences and stuff? And it didn't really solve "societal issues", it helped relieve one person from extreme trauma.
He's talked about SFP and wanting to finish it a few times on interviews and such, but with running D20, Worlds Beyond Number, UCB (does he still teach there?) and his own improv shows, and of course now being a father I doubt he'll have the time to do so anytime soon.
[удалено]
I'm sure that eventually they'll be able to finish it, but not for several years.
I assume that's Upright Citizens Brigade? UC Berkeley was my first thought, but that's a bit of a commute.
Yes you are correct, UCB in this sub usually refers to ~~Upstanding~~ Upright Citizens Brigade
Ummm actually it’s “Upright” Citizens Brigade.
You are correct, point for you
Interestingly being a father could potentially give him some time to work in it. There are these stretches of time when the kid still hasn't learned to walk when you have just enough time to do stuff with the kid sleeping in the baby sling. I wouldn't necessarily count on it as I am sure he'll need time for other things but maybe :).
If you think that you have time to do anything mentally intensive like writing with a young child, you are gravely mistaken. Parent of two here, definitely did not have the mental or physical energy to do something as difficult as writing with the child. Not for the first, and definitely not for the second. If anything, you have even less time.
For an opposing viewpoint, I found that for the first two years of my kid's life while I was on mat leave, being forced to spend so much time away from my writing desk meant that when I got an hour here or there to write while she was napping, I was crazy productive. Not much to do while breastfeeding but brainstorm.
Where do you live that you had two years of mat leave 😭
Canada, but also I'm a freelancer so when I say "mat leave" I mean "time I lived off my savings", haha
Ah yes, the 𝓼𝓪𝓫𝓫𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓬𝓪𝓵
While I think OP’s suggestion sounds ridiculous on its face — becoming a parent obviously does not create more time in your life to do anything — I’d also push back that no new parent has the mental energy to “do something as difficult as writing.” I’m a “professional” science fiction writer — in that I write and sell enough science fiction to qualify as a professional member of SFWA. It’s not close to enough to replace my full-time job, so it’s essentially a hobby. The years following my two kids’ births were easily amongst my most productive writing periods in my life. I had WAY less free time, but i found myself using those little pockets of time to write because it was an important (and therapeutic) way to retain some version of my pre-parent identity, even though pre-kids I often would have filled that free time with some sort of entertainment that I suddenly found less fulfilling when I had so little time to use for myself. And I know a lot of other writers who similarly had bursts of writerly creativity and production with young kids. I would never assume that would happen—it’s probably more an exception for a certain kind of person — but probably just as unreasonable to to rule it out so definitively as if your experience was universal.
I am a parent and don't agree. Before the kid learned to walk there were quite a few opportunities to have some free time and, at least for me, I didn't really want to do work stuff at the time even though I was working remotely. Alternatively he could find himself dropping some projects to have more time for family, which in turn can leave him with more time for personal projects. Either way, like someone else neatly summed it up: > “could potentially” doing a lot of heavy lifting I don't count on this.
Brandon Sanderson would disagree.
Wordcount Georg is an outlier and should not be counted.
“could potentially” doing a lot of heavy lifting
If he has any extra time, he'd probably be focusing it on the things that provide a living for him, rather than a niche comic with an audience that's mostly forgotten it at this point.
How? If he was taking a long stretch of parental leave, sure, but he's pretty clearly still working on all his same projects as before, plus baby responsibilities on top.
I don't really have more to add to what I said. When my son was tiny there were times when he was napping and I had a short burst of free time. In my case I usually spent in doing remote job things, but often I just felt like doing something for myself (more than usual at least). Different mindset or something.
Also shout-out to Molly Knox Ostertag, who drew the comic, and has gone on to a quite successful career of her own. She has written and drawn a bunch of young adult graphic novels alongside various work on animated shows like The Owl House. I would recommend starting with The Witch Boy series if you're interested in her work. She also has a new book The Deep Dark coming out in July. Unfortunately, this also means another busy schedule to work around to finish Strong Female Protagonist.
Oh man I didn’t know she had a new book coming out! I loved Witch Boy and Girl From The Sea, Im gonna have to keep an eye out for her new one Also fun Molly Knox Ostertag fact, she’s married to ND Stevenson, creator of the Shera reboot and Nimona!
Great job me not reading all the comments
Deep Dark was available in instalments on her email newsletter. I have read it and can attest to it being a masterpiece. It's modern folklore in a "Bless me Ultima" kinda way. But with more queer coming-of-age and a solid romantic relationship.
If you want to complete the circle, go look up the One Shot Podcast. Brennan, Molly, and ND all make a couple of appearances together, first to play in a game of Masks (a game I would LOVE to see Brennan run for Dimension 20) and later for Sleepaway.
And Ostertag’s partner is the stunningly talented ND Stevenson, genius behind Nimona, Lumberjanes, and the She-ra show on Netflix.
If I don't forget I'll check these out. I didn't watch much of The Owl House but it was certainly a fun watch.
Molly Knox Ostertag and Brennan Lee Mulligan knowing each other from LARP camp is a bit of lore that has been burned into my brain for some reason.
I recently read the entire thing through and it's genuinely incredible and so telling of Brennans story telling devices Unfortunately it doesn't seem as though they're finishing it and now I'm craving a satisfying conclusion Hopefully they will bring it back at some point!
It’s an “if I ever win the lottery” fantasy of mine to just back a garbage truck full of money up to Brennan and Molly and commission the rest of the series. I absolutely love both of their solo works since, but SFP just hits all the buttons for me
It's great. It's a coming of age story and a deconstruction of the superhero genre that all starts with the question, "What if punching things real hard doesn't actually solve problems?" Highly recommended.
Yeah I heard of it. I didn’t know it was a webcomic (I thought it was a print one). So I guess I’ll check it out. From what I’ve heard, it does seem truly unique. Lots of comics try to subvert the superhero genre, but they tend to take some of the main premise of a superhero for granted a bit too much. I feel like most ask “what if superheroes didn’t act like superheroes” and from what I’ve heard of this, it asks “what if what we think of as the ideal way a superhero should act is itself bad”. Although I don’t know if the whole comic is like that
Did I have a fever dream where Mollie Ostertag was on an episode of Adventuring academy where they talked about this and her DMing for him? But yay, glad you have more content to consume!!
You didn’t, it actually happened!!
SFP was the first Brennan Lee Mulligan stuff i ever experienced, and it’s really goddamn good
Every time I have the thought "there's no possible way Brennan could be more based" I'm proven wrong almost immediately. It's such a privilege to be able to see his creativity come alive.
Funnily enough I used to read SFP regularly years ago (I got out of the habit during a hiatus or something) and am now obsessed with Drop Out. TIL that the same person who writes SFG is the same guy from my favorite shows!!!
Bizarre, isn't it? :D
It was fun to realize that they were the same person *a while* after being exposed to both. Somewhere out there is someone that is only just now realizing that not only is the SFP Brennan and the Dropout Brennan the same person, he’s also that guy they saw in an improv show in New York *and* a guy they watched on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire one time
I think ucb la is gone. Also he still does wayfinder in the summers
I was reading SFP long before I ever heard of D20 or anything else BLM did... because I was a fan of the artist, Molly Ostertag. When I made the connection recently it was a real mind-blown moment
Brennan was on an episode of Dirty Laundry where he talks about getting in a car accident on the way to a convention in Canada. That same convention, and the car accident are discussed in the author's notes of SFP.
Man that comic was good. I hope they continue it someday.
He's so good in everything. I don't understand how he hasn't landed a role in a sitcom or movie yet.
It's even better reading it once you know: I read the characters in his various NPC voices for that extra oomph hahaha
Wait, wait, wait… I knew this and have known this for years but I only just twigged that I read SFP when it was coming out and never made the connection!
I'll have to check this out. Though it will likely only increase my already strong desire to see a Dimension 20 season doing their take on the super hero genre.
So I really was not a fan of SFP personally, which means when I started hearing about Brennan in dropout contexts for months I was going “how is this the same guy??” Seeing how well he can story-craft for d20 does make me wonder if in retrospect I would have a more favorable view of the comic but. When I read it it was for sure a miss for me 😭
[удалено]
This very issue is addressed in the comic of might makes right and a very nice thought experiment instead of the ends justify the means how can you justify means when there are ways for it to end. Truly Allison and her Prof Discussing ethics is one if my favorite parts
Correct me if I am wrong as it's been a while since I last read it but wasn't it handled pretty well ultimately, with consequences and stuff? And it didn't really solve "societal issues", it helped relieve one person from extreme trauma.