With each one of these challenges, it gets harder and harder to say what inspires me about whatever series/movie/comic book/podcast/etc. I have chosen for the month because … well, a lot of it is the same. I’m inspired by the character creation, the world building, the themes, the social commentary, the dialogue, what I don’t want to do … All of those apply to Cowboy Bebop naturally, and I maintain that it is still one of the best television series I have ever seen. And why? Because it’s all one planned story, from beginning to end.

I’ve been very pantser-y (to put it into NaNoWriMo parlance) with most of my writing, or I’ve gotten so focused on creating an epic, multi-arc series that I just spend all my time in the planning stages and end up giving up. Rewatching the show this month has been delightful for so many reasons, but the main reason is that I’ve been inspired to treat my next project less like a novel and more like a television show. I’m writing a show bible right now, and I may actually turn it into a comic (or possibly pilot script?) depending on how it goes. But I want the story to be as unified as Bebop is, with threads woven from the first chapter to the last. Which … I know that’s how a novel works, but I haven’t tried doing things this way before.

So that’s how Cowboy Bebop is currently inspiring me: I’m creating a piece of artwork, and dammit, I’m going to treat it as such. I’ve got the soundtrack ready to go (as per usual) and will be posting some of it on a couple “on rotation …” posts next month (tomorrow! eep!); I’m working on character portraits, complete with profiles attached; I’m watching movies with the same vibe I’m going for … I’m going for this, all out. Sure, partially as a distraction from the utter stress that nursing school embodies, but still. It feels good to be creative again.

Art Credit: PennLive