A Novel Idea

When I stumbled upon Lucinda Naylor’s blog my Camino Real, I was blown away.  Her posts have comic book style panels that show everyday situations on the Camino, complete with dialogues and thought bubbles.  Her rough illustrations seem to capture pilgrimage moments in ways that text alone cannot.

She is a professional artist working on a graphic novel about her experience walking the Camino de Santiago.  As far as I know, nobody else has done this type of adaptation of their Camino experience before. This is a brilliant idea because she can show more than one person’s point of view. For example, one post shows both sides of the Biking vs. Hiking debate.  In another post, she shares an unusual tip on How to Save Your Knees which involves walking down hills backwards. Occasionally she breaks away from the comic panel format and shares sketches, as in her post about Gargoyles! (see excerpt below)

Gargoyles always make me smile! I have a tendency to be drawn to–and draw–the cuter less scary ones.  So that’s what I want to share today–on a day when life is feeling rather hectic, it’s good to stop and daydream of Camino gargoyles.

It is incredibly fun to follow Lucinda’s work in progress. Moreover, I think its cool that the Camino provides so much inspiration to an artist. She recently posted that she is changing focus to create a novel that will appeal to non-pilgrims as well.  Whatever direction she decides to take her graphic novel, I look forward to seeing its evolution.

Brava Lucinda! Please keep us posted on your publishing plans. Buen Camino!

Peregrinos, what are your favorite blogs about the Camino? Digame in the comments below.

If you have a Camino blog that you’d like to have featured on the Favorite Camino Blogs, email me at laurie@thecaminoprovides.com.