Grab the Lapels

Meet the Writer: Problems With Infinity


 I am so pleased to have Sarah, creator of the blog Problems With Infinity, at Grab the Lapels. Sarah is a web comic and story teller who invites you into her life to read “tales of a delusional maniac.” Please be sure to follow Sarah’s blog to get great content about children watching scary movies, stupid buttons, crawling out of windows to escape parties, and becoming a dinosaur!

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Why did you start a blog?

Normally I’m a pretty reserved person. A lot of people who have met me probably don’t know the real me that well. I kind of have a copycat personality until I know someone well enough, and only then will I let them know how weird I really am!

This past year has been a hard year for me, and I hit my personal rock bottom. At the time I had also been reading a lot of memoir style books and thought, ‘Hey I’m just as fucked up as these writers, why can’t the world know about how fucked up I am?’

So I started my blog, Problems With Infinity, to kind of liberate myself from being so afraid to let people in. I’ve been overjoyed at the amount of positive feedback I’ve received; it’s been really wonderful.

What was the first comic you ever created about?

I was pretty young, maybe 5 or 6, and there was this Garfield comic game my aunt had on her computer. I made a couple of comics that I thought were the greatest things ever created. When I showed them to my family they all laughed so hard; I was very proud.

Later I found out that they had been cracking up because of how many words I misspelled! Thank god I have spellcheck now.

What did you want to be when you grew up, and does this choice influence your writing today?

Hmm, I never really wanted to be something for a long period of time. I mean of course there was the bird phase, the songwriter phase, the queen of everything phase…For a while I wanted to be the god of the wind, and at some other point I wanted to be the kind of vet that could bring pets back from the dead…(I should not have been allowed to watch Pet Sematary).

I’m still not quite sure what I want to be when I grow up, but I’d like to think it will be something related to sloths or spider monkeys. Or else, maybe I could start a goat sanctuary and write comics about my goats… you know, the typical dream job.

I think all of that stuff influences my writing in some way, maybe? Not sure…

What happens when you’re not happy with your writing/drawings?

I get really excited about my writing and drawings in the beginning, but once I’ve worked on them for a while I start to suspect they might be terrible.

I tend to get really depressed and pitiful and basically beg my boyfriend to let me know that they are funny and okay to post. Once I post them and get some positive feedback, I recover enough to start the process again.  It’s quite pathetic really, but that’s honestly how it goes with me.

How do your friends and family respond to your writing?

I haven’t told many people about it, because I worry it will affect what I can confidently post about. But most of the people I’ve told have been very supportive, and that is pretty amazing considering when I decide to do something I get kind of obsessed with it. Which is really unfortunate if you happen to be someone I’m close to.

Are you reading anything right now? 

Most recently I finished the Liveship Traders Trilogy by Robin Hobb, which was amazing. And tonight I’m planning on re-reading Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic for inspiration.

Are you writing or drawing anything right now?

I just finished up writing a piece about dressing up in weird costumes as a kid and the fallout from that.

I’ll probably start drawing pictures for it at the coffee shop on Monday, and then get depressed about it all on Tuesday. I’ll seek all types of reassurance on Wednesday, and post it courageously on Thursday. On Friday I’ll be in a state of drunken regret, but by Saturday I’ll be pretty sure I’m awesome and I’ll start on my next piece.

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18 comments

  1. Reblogged this on Problems With Infinity and commented:
    Hey everyone! Sorry I’ve been a bit slow getting my next post up, life has been pretty hectic, I’m sure there will be more on that coming up.

    Here’s an interview (my first!) I had from Grab the Lapels complete with a few illustrations! Hope you enjoy, and my next post should be ready this Wednesday or Thursday!

    Liked by 1 person

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  10. I’ve been following Sarah for a while now, and have even subscribed by email, to be sure I don’t miss any of her posts. She’s absolutely brilliant. Which kinda makes me glad to see that she has to go through the all-too-familiar self-doubt-exhilaration phase as the rest of us (sorry, Sarah!) 😀

    Liked by 3 people

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  11. “I’m still not quite sure what I want to be when I grow up, but I’d like to think it will be something related to sloths or spider monkeys”

    Take it from someone who has been through all that. Go with the sloth, spider monkeys are way too much work.

    Liked by 2 people

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  12. Nice interview with Sarah! A few thoughts: Comics changed my son’s life (He’s on the autism spectrum.) Garfield, Wimpy Kid, Nate gave him insights and wise cracking language he needed to survive in the social jungle. Sarah, you can change lives too. Plus, another note for Sarah on sloth loving. Look up Lucy Cooke and slothville.com

    Liked by 3 people

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  14. I think I love how candid you are the most. Trust me when I tell you, I got through the same process with my writing. I’m so glad that I can read your world. You help me more than you realize. And congrats on the interview. You made it through without crawling out a winder!!! I’d of probably just laid there and fumed at the mouth at the thought of someone actually being interested in my thoughts.

    Liked by 1 person

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  17. Fuck you’re funny Sarah! You remind me of Jennifer Saunders. I expect lots of people know where to come now to turn their cloudy days into sunny ones…so, you really are a magician. Cheers

    Liked by 1 person

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