Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for February 06, 2024

Did anything come out for pig?

A writer’s greatest expense: aspirin.

My biological sister, the writer, would LOVE this one(1)!!!! Dan aka…

I seriously doubt that Pig consented to this, Rat.

Now we know how Pastis gets his ideas.

Its called writing! Haw haw!

Is that what Pastis does when he’s short of ideas?

Larry Niven used to set himself to writing 2000 (or something like that) words a day- any words, there just had to be 2000 if them. After a few days he was so bored with random words he wrote a story instead.

I wrote a weekly column for thirty years and sometimes had to push it to the last minute before something came. Can’t imagine doing it daily.

After that whack all you are going to get from Pig is “Pig Latin”!

Rat said, “You hit yourself …” What happened to the yourself part?

Just ask Adam. He’ll tell you that you need more coffee.

Plagiarize.

Stick with Rat for more useful tips.

writer’s block

and tackle?

Rat’s method just causes pain, not inspiration.

I do this as a game. Pick any two actors, preferably a pair that never worked together, and try to come up with a story. Carl Weathers and Lena Horne. Go!

Most writers use a metaphorical stick, like a bottle of something.

Sometimes, you just need a little inspiration.

Incidentally, this is also the cure for Magacritosis.

It really isn’t. My advice: have fun and enjoy it.

Hang in there, mister Pastis, I’ve got some mustard plaster for that … oooh, a gumball!

An ad writer I used to know would use the dictionary when he got writer’s block. Pick a random word, and force a connection between that and the product. He said creativity was basically putting two things together in a new way, and that forced creativity.

That was unkind, Rat.

Look for a new day job.

some comics. he has bacon strips!

I just pour myself a shot of whiskey. Its a trick I learned back in college while writing a paper for Philosophy 101. (Got an A.)

Note to self – never sing “Hit me with your best shot” when Rat is around………..

Is this the writer trying to break the cycle of “this sucks, that sucks” theme of Pearls?

Can’t wait to hear the idea once he comes to…

Behold! The writing process for most of today’s Hollywood movies and streaming shows!

Are gumball machines still a thing? I can’t remember seeing one any time recently.

I bet Stephen King could help with suggestions.

That’s easy. You create a comic strip and call it MALLARD FILLMORE

well thats one way I guess

Rat’s a self-proclaimed writer … Pig should have asked Rat for a demonstration.

Even harder for a comic strip writer! But Steven does a great job every day!

Try some ABC gum, after all, it’s all been done before anyhow.

Don’t drink yourself into a stupor for ‘inspiration’. Rat tried that years ago and it didn’t work out for him.

Kinda like tough love, only different!

He was asking for a friend, Pig’s not a writer