I’m not entirely sure when I first discovered naval oranges. I know I didn’t really think of them much as a kid, but somewhere in adult life I stumbled across them and realised these – at least in Belfast – tended to be a winter treat. They’re big, fat and if you’re lucky, juicy oranges. I suspect the ones we get are nowhere near the treat they are in Spain or other countries where they can fall ripe from the tree instead of requiring shipping.
I spent a happy day googling them once when Iwas trying to figure out exactly what they were (because even now they’re often just labelled “Big Oranges” in most shops here, presumably so when the season ends they can be replaced by another kind of Big Orange that has pips).
Did you know they all come from a mutant fruit, because they’re seedless every tree has to come from a cutting from that original tree.
And, as a mark of how different humans can be, someone posted on bluesky “What’s the most over rated fruit” to which someone else responded “The Naval Orange”
Have you tried Miracle berries? A few years ago (oh god, that’s probably actually a decade or more now) I did. A weird little African berry that when chewed and mushed around your mouth it has a peculiar effect of masking your sour taste buds, making every thing you eat for the next 30 or so minutes that much sweeter. A sort of bitter-cancelling berry.
I should really try a miracle berry with a naval orange.
(I know you’re asking, has Paul finally run out of things to blog about on a daily basis… maybe?)
Writing
Yesterday I set a single pomodoro timer to write up a script for what would be a theoretical issue #3 of Terran Omega. A skeleton draft. And 30 minutes did it.
My drafting process is to start with page 1, include dialogue or other bits (enough that later I know what the page is doing and so I can go back and figure out panels) and then move on to the next page – but from page 2 onwards I write in two page chunks. Pages 2-3, Pages 4-5, Pages 6-7. This helps me remember that the page turn will happen on odd pages, and it makes the process that little bit easier.
Later I can go in and chop those pages up, if I want to, but also if they’re a double page spread then that’s fine.
I wrote 20 pages that way in 30 minutes. Though to be fair I’d been mulling those things over for a bit of time before I started. The thing is now I have a first draft. It’s a matter of editing. And I might do that today.
I think I’ll be aiming for 20 pages – ending a strip on even page numbers is good, because you can get a nice dramatic page turn on the last page.
Yesterday on Social Media
Via my pal, John Reppion
With #SmallProphets on everyone's minds, you might be interested in some extra info on Homunculi. Back in 2017 I wrote this piece: "How to Make a Homunculus" for the Daily Grail [link]
And… ok, that’s enough, isn’t? See you tomorrow.
