awkward together

Turning uncomfortable situations into humorous stories is what Elaine Short, of Logan Square, has been doing for all twenty-four years of her life. 

The Pittsburgh born, L.A. grown and now permanent Chicagoan has used her awkward sense of humor and witty writing to grow her career.

“I started drawing comics three years ago when I was bored out of my mind with no job and living in my uncle's house,” said Short, who says she just took to the art after seeing her uncle’s sketches.

Once Short discovered that she could draw, it didn’t take long before she dubbed her character’s name, “Funny Girl.”

Short, who lacked confidence as a teenager, now embraces her moniker because it forces her to defy it.

“After a certain point in college, I realized no one cared who I was or what I did,” said Short. “So, why not just do what I want? Why not say what I want? My friends think I'm funny. Maybe others will, too.”

With that in mind, Short decided she was going to write a book – no easy feat considering the high cost of printing.

Thankfully, she has experience with fundraising.

Short previously worked for the wildly popular game, Cards Against Humanity, which was initially funded via Kickstarter. 

“We started doing an introductory workshop with some folks from Kickstarter,” said Short, who now works full-time as an associate editor for a custom publisher in the Loop. “It was interesting, very fun and I learned a good bit about how to use Kickstarter myself.”

During Short’s last month of working for Cards Against Humanity, her boss instructed her to focus on drawing her cartoon and that he would help her create a Kickstarter to get her book off the ground.

With the help of her boss and some contributions from her friends, Max Temkin, co-creator of Cards Against Humanity and Luke Crane, games specialist at Kickstarter, her book started to become a reality.

Shortly after, the title of Short’s book was created.

“Max has a great knack for short titles, and Let’s be Awkward Together seemed to just pop from his mouth immediately,” said Short. “And it stuck.”

Temkin and Crane also suggested that Short ask for contributor’s awkward stories and that it would empower readers to donate money.

They were right. 

“There's nothing like seeing yourself crudely drawn into a 4-panel black and white comic,” said Short, who says she could not resist the alluring idea of having a written book you can hold in your hand, which was her motivation for publishing her book.

After gaining 202 backers and raising $5,551 within 30 days on Kickstarter, Short’s book, Let’s be Awkward Together earned enough money to be printed.

You can pick up a copy of Let’s be Awkward Together from Uncharted Books in Logan Square and experience the true humor of “Funny Girl” for yourself.