I think new writers are too worried that it has all been said before. 

Sure it has, but not by you.

— Asha Dornfest

I’m technically done with my Finish Your Novel writing class, but I’m still not ready to post what I worked on (and what I’m still working on), so more on that later.  But one of the things I wanted to get back to this year was a writing thoughts post like I used to do all the time, and I found the perfect quote by writer Asha Dornfest, author of Parent Hacks: 134 Genius Shortcuts for Life with Kids, to kick off this ‘new’ monthly regular feature.  🙂

I also found this amazing and super relevant dragon artwork by Australian deviantartist Neytirix called Shadow Dragon to share, so now it’s both a writing thoughts and an art feature post, yay!

Asha’s quote about writing, that it “has all been said before,” really resonates with me.  When I tried to explain my novel Finding Dragons to my class — at it’s core it’s about a girl who finds the last drake in her world, and then goes on to (hopefully!) find the rest of the dragonkin — I often feel like I’m just retelling my favorite story of all time… namely, The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle.  (See one of my favorite posts ever about my presentation on that book here.)

And the artist Neytirix also comments on her Shadow Dragon art post above that “This design has probably been done before like many others but OH WELL.”  And I’m sure she’s right — someone has probably done a stained-glass style dragon like this before, and I’ve probably even shared a few examples.  But guess what — I still love this artwork and her take on it!

In fact, my whole blog itself is a testament to Asha’s quote! 

How many dragons have I posted over the last two years, eh?  Big dragons, little dragons, painted dragons, clay dragons, fabric dragons… the list goes on and on!

And just because I post dragons this week, it doesn’t mean you, my dear dragon-loving readers, won’t come back next week, and next week, and the next and the next, because all of these dragons are unique to the artists who dreamed them up and then shared them with the world — and more dragons are always better!

But of course, you’re also here to see the dragons, so next up is Neytirix’s take on Dragon Riding, a commissioned piece for Silver-wingx, which you can also see in more detail as you watch Neytirix speedpaint it in 4 minutes on her YouTube channel.  It’s a dragon, with a rider, and a river, and a skyscape — but just because I’ve seen that before doesn’t mean this isn’t amazing as hell!

Up next is the adorable A Summer Afternoon, a birthday gift to her friend SoronaSulea and featuring a completely different, chibi style of dragon in Neytirix’s unique style.  This one is also on her channel in a 3.5 minute speedpaint, where you can watch her change the concept of the cute dragon on his back from sitting with his friend, to curled up, and finally to this position enjoying the sun!

And Neytirix changes her style again in this portrait of her friend system-Destroyer‘s dragon Amber Night, “one of the most complex” requests she’s ever seen, and her attention to the details really pay off in this beautiful piece.  Check out the 4 minute speedpaint to watch this one come to life.

Then we come to another bright painting of chibi dragons, “all [of her] babies together,” she says, called Through the Duckweed.  They are very cute as a set, I must agree!  You can check out the 2.5 minute speedpaint, which brings out all the adorable details in each dragon, including the highlights on the left-most, the little creature riding on the back of the center one, and the great expression on the right-most one, hiding in the water.

Then here is what will become my latest phone wallpaper screen I’m sure, because I can’t get over how adorable it is — this one is called I Can Do That Too!!, which is what this little baby dragon is telling the fireflies landing on his head as he lights himself up!  A commission for her friend Yumenex, Neytirix’s 3 minute speedpaint is amazing — and just remember, even though you can watch these in a few minutes, this artist spends hours creating each artwork!  I’m supremely jealous.

And finally — since I have to keep reminding myself about how many different dragons and dragon stories there are in the world, and that my dragon story can only be told by me, so I need to get on with telling it! — here is Myriad, another birthday gift for one of the artist’s friends.  I love the falling stars, and this 4 minute speedpaint shows Neytirix’s detailed work from vague sketch to completed painting.

I’ll admit, even though I’m now back on board with writing my dragon story — shushing that nagging feeling in the back of my mind that “it’s all been said before” — after taking this class and seeing how far other writers were in the process of “finishing their novel,” I feel like I’m still at the vague sketch phase.

But one of my assignments was making a plan, to make this the year I really finish my novel — so it might mean a few more missed blog deadlines (like this one, sorry!), but I do plan to continue to see this project through!

Make sure you check out Neytirix’s deviantart gallery, as well as her YouTube Channel, her Tumblr, and follow her on Twitter and Instagram for more amazing artwork.

Thank you as always for reading, watch for another art feature later this week to make up for my late post today, and remember to take care and stay creative!!

Image credits:
+ Asha Dornfest quote from A Writer’s Life: A Q&A With Tribe Conference Speaker Asha Dornfest, by Jeff Goins at his blog Goins, Writer; quote image from his Pintrest page
+ All dragon artwork in this post by Neytirix: Shadow Dragon, Dragon Riding, A Summer Afternoon, Amber Night, Through the Duckweed, I Can Do That Too!!, and Myriad.