Five years ago (was it really that long?) I compiled a post called Some Thoughts on Creating Comics and there was overwhelmingly a nice reaction to it. I didn't stop noting down thoughts and ideas - purely for my own personal motivation - but I didn't publicly post any follow-ups.

Partly this was because I did get a handful of comments of the 'who does he think he is?' kind, and I fully agree with that. I am no big name, no famous dude, and no wise guru. But the second 'thought' on my list was:

You can learn from anyone, no matter what their level of expertise, no matter what their age is. Stay humble and be generous.

And while it's difficult to be both humble and promote a self-written blog post, I am publishing a follow-up in the spirit of hoping others might find some of these thoughts resonate with them in some way. It's quite likely you'll agree with a few and disagree vehemently with others. This is a personal list.

As I said last time, these are extracted from a file I've kept on my desktop for a number of years that I add to whenever a thought occurs that I want to keep. Some are born out of my own experience, and some are from observing fellow creators. All of them should be taken with a pinch of salt, and none are any kind of gospel!

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The great thing about making comics is that if you do a not-too-good drawing then there's another opportunity with the very next panel.

Comics - the art is the page, not the panel; the reason is the story, not the art.

Personally, and generally, the fewer creators who have worked on a book the more interested I am. The optimum is one.

There is no quick fix to success. You need kung-fu - effort!

Once your book has been released into the wild, it must fend for itself. Let go.

What your peers think about your work is of interest, but what your readers think of your work is of value.

Don't 'write women'. Write people

Getting bad reviews as well as good ones is a sign that your book is reaching people outside the comfort zone of your friends and family. This is a good thing.

Don't give away your comics - people don't appreciate free stuff as much as the stuff that they've paid for. Give a discount, maybe, but your work is always worth something.

Publishers paying creators for original new comics, made to be comics, shows the health and value of a national comic industry.

To keep an artist going, give praise at least once a week.

If you really want to know a subject you mustn't just read about it, you must write about it.

In my comics the 'camera' is generally an observer, not an active participant, but this is just a preference, not a law.

Don't believe anything a publisher promises unless it is in black and white in a contract. And sometimes, even then ...

If you're drawing an interior scene, draw a little plan of the set, even if you don't see everything in the comic - it helps to keep the background consistent and you'll know what should appear in each view.

If there's something you find difficult to draw, make sure you include it in your story.

Every time I finish a story I want to out-do myself on the next one.

I favour the 'Victorian ankle' theory of drama and excitement. If you show too much, so much of the time, then dramatic events have less impact. Use action well.

The primary purpose of a publisher is not to be your friend, but to make money out of you.

It can take ten good reviews to wipe out the taste of a single bad one.

I want to make stories for swimming in, not paddling in.

Dialogue can be just as compelling as action.

People often say "it'll all be worth it - one day they'll turn your book into a film!". I'd rather they said "what a brilliant comic - it's just right!".

Would you like to know the magic ingredients that go to make a wonderful story? There are three: blood, sweat, and tears.

It's not the kind of pen you use that will improve your drawing, it's the kind of brain you use. How do you make your brain better for drawing? Draw, and keep drawing.

Children are not the next generation of comics readers. They're comics readers right now.

When people are critical of your work you either want to give up or you want to work harder and do better. Choose the second option and you'll have a greater chance of success.

You have to put yourself in luck's way in order to be lucky. Get your work out there.

Sometimes you have a wonderful idea, full of possibilities. Then you tell someone about it and it turns to ashes.

Yes, I do manga. I also do fumetti, bande dessine, manhua, historietas, strips, chitrakatha, serier ... Comics!

It doesn't matter how little it is, just make sure you do something productive each day, even half-an-hour. You'll feel better.

Gamers, stamp collectors, comics fans; these are not tribes, they're groups of individuals each with a hundred different other interests too. Don't lump.

There's great satisfaction in making a new story out of old facts.

No one sneezes in a story unless it means something.

Nostalgia and tradition are wonderful things - but don't hang on to them too tightly. Use them when you need to, but let them go just as easily.

You don't have a 'strong male character' so let's get rid of the 'strong female character' description too. We're all brave, cowardly, strong and weak. Actions should define character.

No one is owed a readership. Every single reader you gain is earned by the daily effort of creating your comic. If you have them, they are deserved.

Even your biggest fans will forget you once they put your book back on the shelf.

Don't be your own enemy with negativity and self-pity. It's difficult enough to have any kind of success without holding yourself back. Be your own best ally.

The less you charge someone, the more work they'll ask you to do.

Be an awkward author sometimes - be nice, but care about the details of your work.

Don't wait to be 'in the zone' before you start drawing. It won't happen. The only way to get 'in the zone' is to start drawing, usually when you're not 'in the zone'.

Is that artist better or worse then you? It doesn't matter, but I'd suggest you get off their path and get back on to your own!

My mission is to find people who like my work, not to force people to like my work.

To keep the fire burning you have to feed it with pages of art. It will keep going for a while without being fed, but before too long it will go out. Then you you have to make a big effort to rekindle that fire - it won't just happen. Best to keep it going.

Too many opinions can dilute an idea to almost nothing.

It's not how good you are at drawing, it's how good you are at ideas.

If you need to draw an animal, don't just look at still photos but look at videos of how they move as well - it will give you a feel for the creature and the drawing will be better.

Uphill: plotting, scripting, roughs and pencils; downhill: inking, colouring and lettering.

My favourite comic pages, from my own pen, are all due to storytelling, not the art. Even just a little success on the page makes it for me.

Art is exposing your vulnerability, and what's more human than being vulnerable?

Don't dismiss the power of understatement in comics, not everything has to be overacted with extreme gestures.

There's no such thing as a 'boring layout' for comics - it just has to be clear. If you think the layout is boring then the story is not doing its job.

The background is the Fifth Beatle. By that I mean sometimes it helps to think of environment as another character in the scene.

Don't fight the world - just do the best you can, with the things you're good at, in your own little corner of it. Lots of people doing that will have a greater effect than one person trying to do everything.

See part one here.