HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL
|
Dateline: February 29, 2008, 1:23 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #91 Pick a side on the “duplication of panels” debate. Another ticklish issue...this is a relatively new phenomenon in comics resulting from the technological advancements of the past few years, and (fortunately or unfortunately) it will continue to occur in the future. We are somewhat ambivalent when it comes to this topic...we can understand how random duplication of art can create the impression of a sequential short-cut (i.e. panel 3, page 81 using the same art as panel 2, page 32). Conversely, panel redundancy has the potential to achieve a visually compelling Warholian madness. Maybe moderation is the answer...? Or all out obsession: a five hundred panel comic book using one piece of art...? |
|
Dateline: February 21, 2008, 3:33 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #90 Give your characters a degree of credibility as to who they are, where they come from, and why they dress in flashy spandex, fish-net stockings or fedoras. Comic book characters don’t have to be ‘real’ but they should at least be somewhat conceivable. For example, The Spirit is a masked superhero protecting the secret identity of Denny Colt. Why exactly? And how secret is that identity if a child can figure out the character’s cover simply by going to the local library (see The Death of Autumn Mews)? And what’s the deal with the gloves? Please explain. |
|
Dateline: February 19, 2008, 10:45 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #89 Spend time proofreading your work. For example, the misspelled word on page 2, the inexplicable introduction of the word “voiceover” on page 123, the scene which takes place in Alphabet City (which has a corresponding map of Bay Ridge, Queens) are all shockingly hideous mistakes. Remember this: no one will be more displeazed about seeing a typo than the author... |
|
Dateline: February 10, 2008, 11:02 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #88 Consider the applicability of flashbacks. Our conjecture is that flashbacks (or back-story, secret origins, sub-plots, whatever) can be misused: a 6-to-8 page flashback sequence would seem to be the limit...14-to-16 consecutive pages is simply over-kill. Flashbacks should be used to present a key plot point, or to depict a life defining incident which might help explain a character’s personality...and this type of information usually doesn’t require more than a few panels. The trick to flashbacks is to not have them get in the way of the main narrative...unless of course pre-histories / back-story are the main story, in which case, disregard all of the above and knock yerself out... |
|
Dateline: February 5, 2008, 6:51 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #87 Try to remain realistic. Ambition is all well and good, but unrealistic expectations can lead to lifelong disappointment. Take it one project at a time, one book at a time. Try to avoid pie-in-the-sky plans...i.e.: a Zola-esque cycle of twenty full length graphic novels (or 301 individual issues about a time-traveling porcupine named Orlac) would probably fall into the ‘starry-eyed dream’ category. Bear in mind, so much of the collaborative process is accidental: pursuing the right project...finding an artist who fits the material...producing something that might actually be embraced by a semblance of an audience... |
|
Dateline: January 31, 2008, 9:56 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #86 Consider a book’s trim size. At the dawn of the 21st Century, comic books (or to use the genteel parlance of the day, graphic novels) are basically manufactured with four different trim sizes. Album formats (roughly 8-1/2” x 11”); Standard comic book format (6-3/4” x 10-1/8”); Trade paperback formats (6-1/8” x 9-1/4”); Group paperback format (roughly 5” x 7-1/2” — a trim size that almost feels like a Mass-Market Comic book, if there is such a thing). And then there is the “Other” category, those books with unusual specifications (i.e. oblong, 12” x 14”)...those hefty tomes which crush all other puny paperbacks and protrude from bookshelves like four-color ironing boards... |
|
Dateline: January 26, 2008, 6:58 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #85 Pick a side on the historical personage debate. A tricky issue...there is little doubt that arbitrary placement of dead luminaries on funny book pages can come across as Mickey Mouse or half-clever. Conversely, there is a tradition for this pictorial device…and if a comic book consists of factual / non-fictional elements, we have no problem with the insertion of historical figures. Specifically, we're thinking of pictographic renditions of Eliott Ness, Aleister Crowley, Lewis Carroll, Albert Einstein, Robert Oppenheimer, Julius Caesar, the ghost of Jeb Stuart, ect… |
|
Dateline: January 22, 2008, 1:35 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #84 Pick a side on the Photoshop debate. We aren't purists. We don't believe that comics must look a certain way. We enjoyed Bryan Talbot's Alice in Sunderland, both the pencil/ink on paper parts and the Photoshop parts. The aesthetic we were trying to achieve with Scars and Bars was that of a technologically primitive B-Movie...or a "Video Game on Paper". This is the reason all aspects of the book were crafted electronically |
|
Dateline: January 18, 2008, 8:38 EST
HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON
#83
|
|
Dateline: January 6, 2008, 10:19 EST
HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON
#82
|
|
Dateline: December 15, 2007, 10:11 EST
HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON
#81
|
|
Dateline: December 8, 2007, 10:11 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #80 Learn how to communicate with your artist. A comic book writer’s script / panel instructions should not be set in stone tablets, handed down from Mount Sinai. To quote the grey bearded one, Alan Moore (1988): “As with all my visual suggestions, both here and in the panel descriptions below, please don’t feel bound in by them in any way. They’re only meant as workable suggestions, so if you can see a better set of pictures than I can (which I’d say is quite likely, all things considered) then please feel free to throw out what I’ve come up with and substitute whatever you feel like.” |
|
Dateline: December 2, 2007, 10:32 EST
HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON
#79
|
|
Dateline: November 27, 2007, 2:03 EST
HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON
#78
|
|
Dateline: November 15, 2007, 2:03 EST
HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON
#77
|
|
Dateline: November 9, 2007, 5:03 EST
HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON
#76
|
|
Dateline: November 4, 2007, 2:12 EST
HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON
#75
|
|
Dateline: October 26, 2007, 3:22 EST
HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON
#74
|
|
Dateline: October 19, 2007, 9:24 EST
HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON
#73
|
|
Dateline: October 5, 2007, 1:02 EST
HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON
#72
|
|
Dateline: September 24, 2007, 4:46 EST
HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON
#71
|
|
Dateline: September 19, 2007, 2:45 EST
HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON
#70
|
|
Dateline: September 15, 2007, 7:02 EST
HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON
#69
|
|
Dateline: September 13, 2007, 5:51 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #68Don’t freak out about false starts. They are a drag…and they are inevitable: what appeared so ingenious at Midnight can be perfectly run-of-the-mill less than twelve hours later. Bear in mind, half the battle in writing is ‘starting’ to write…it’s the only way to determine if a project is worth pursuing. And even then, there’s no guarantee said project will be worth finishing. |
|
Dateline: September 6, 2007, 11:32 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #67Think about use of dialogue. There is no one ‘right way’ to write anything…except maybe the phone book (or the dictionary). And when it comes to graphic novels, dialogue is not necessarily a requirement: there can be no dialogue, little dialogue or tons of dialogue. Our current thinking is that too much dialogue is just…well, too much. Case in point: we recently read George V. Higgins’s mid-70’s Cogan’s Trade, (not a comic, but close enough) which is basically 200 pages of straight dialogue…and after about 50 pages, our brain began to hurt. But what the hell: it was a popular book way back when…so who are we to judge? |
|
Dateline: August 14, 2007, 11:02 EST
HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON
#66
|
|
Dateline: August 12, 2007, 4:43 EST
HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON
#65
|
|
Dateline: August 7, 2007, 8:31 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #64Think about use of genre-writing. The format of Graphic Novels allows writers the opportunity to break apart and re-assemble differing time-worn genres: mystery, romance, sci-fi, porn, screenwriting, super-hero, western, crime, reference, autobiography are all fair-game. Forget deconstruction, we’re talking obliteration. With pictures. For further reading, see: David Boring (Daniel Clowes) and Understanding Comics (Scott McCloud). |
|
Dateline: July 25, 2007, 6:10 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #63 Focus on the plot, not on the premise. Any decent writer can come up with an interesting premise in about 30 seconds flat. Plot is much trickier, layered, demanding. Premise is the frosting, all eye-pleasing confection and decorative swirls; plot is the cake, and it needs time to cook. |
|
Dateline: July 23, 2007, 7:31 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #62 Avoid repetition. This is the single greatest potential danger for any fiction writer (along with lack of ideas, although these two perils basically go hand-in-hand). No one wants to read the same story / dialogue / characters by the same writer again…and again…and again. Except, of course, if you’re writing corporate continuity Super-Hero comics…then disregard the above. Repetition (and duplication of old themes / ideas) is pretty much a prerequisite. |
|
Dateline: July 9, 2007, 7:54 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #61 Think about the accepted modes of funny book writing. Traditionally, there have been three variations: thoughts, descriptions, dialog. Lately (in the past 25 years or so) thought and description balloons have morphed into the same thing. Lengthy “descripto-think” balloons tend to be a drag on the pacing, but they do provide interior character insight, as opposed to dialogue balloons, which aid the exterior. All of this is just an evolution in writing: long-winded descriptions in literary novels (see Henry James or Anthony Trollope) are old-fashioned and outdated. We live in an age of economy and speed… |
|
Dateline: July 9, 2007, 7:54 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #61 Think about the accepted modes of funny book writing. Traditionally, there have been three variations: thoughts, descriptions, dialog. Lately (in the past 25 years or so) thought and description balloons have morphed into the same thing. Lengthy “descripto-think” balloons tend to be a drag on the pacing, but they do provide interior character insight, as opposed to dialogue balloons, which aid the exterior. All of this is just an evolution in writing: long-winded descriptions in literary novels (see Henry James or Anthony Trollope) are old-fashioned and outdated. We live in an age of economy and speed… |
|
Dateline: June 30, 2007, 7:24 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #60 Think about costume design. No, you will not need two advanced degrees from the Fashion Institute of Technology to write your tome, but some fashion sense can’t hurt. An interesting comparison is the black / yellow / red costume sported in Daredevil #6 (which looks like a 1940’s Pittsburgh Pirate uniform crossed with the Deutschland national flag) as opposed to the ultra-modern red long-johns of Daredevil #7 (introduced by Wally Wood). And try to be somewhat unique: admittedly, the well-tailored villain clad in a black-suit / black-tie is a trifle stale…a stale look to which we plead guilty as charged. |
|
Dateline: June 20, 2007, 5:34 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #59 Learn comic book design (for interior text pages). Consider lettering, fonts, panel placement, word placement, chapter openers vs. chapter endings, ect. The most interesting page formatting in comics over the past quarter century has taken place outside of the mainstream, super-hero sphere. For the most part, corporate funnies seem somewhat unwilling to stray too far from their preexisting “look” or format. For first-rate design examples, check out Chris Ware, Rian Hughes, Kim Deitch… |
|
Dateline: June 17, 2007, 5:34 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #58 Pick a side on the Sound Effect Debate. Personally, we’re Pro-Sound Effects (from our perspective, there’s nothing quite so satisfying as CHOW! CHOW! CHOW!), although we understand how some writers might prefer a quieter script. |
|
Dateline: June 10, 2007, 5:34 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #57 Learn the history of comic book covers. It’s a relatively new art form, dating back to mid-1930’s. Check out Charlie Biro, Johnny Craig, Mac Raboy, Al Feldstein, Lou Fine, et al. Gorgeous stuff. |
|
Dateline: June 6, 2007, 8:48 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #56 Tell the truth. Undoubtedly, all fiction writers are liars, but that doesn’t mean some version of “the truth” can’t be conveyed. Use time-worn tricks to invent new arguments and facts: metaphor, allegory, satire, symbolism (all forms of fabrication / deception). Here’s the deal: fiction writing is nothing more than a license to lie. So plant your feet squarely on the ground and tell it like you see it. |
|
Dateline: May 29, 2007, 1:48 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #55 Don’t set impossible standards (or, don’t get trapped by the work). When working on a funny book, there is a potential to fret over every word, every pencil line, every design detail. At a certain point, you have to let go. Standards are hugely important, but unrealistic / unattainable standards will inevitably lead to agonizing disappointment. Remember: unless your name is Michelangelo, the whole notion of “perfection” is completely relative. |
|
Dateline: May 25, 2007, 8:41 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #54 Read Steranko. For our money, Jim Steranko is one of the four great sequential art panelists of the 20th century (along with Jack Kirby, Will Eisner & Winsor McCay). Steranko’s ability to render anatomy and action is excellent, but it is his experimentation / innovation with page design which is flat-out legendary: the trippy Surrealism, the “cinematic” lay-outs, the use of photo collages, the cut paneling. Pen and ink, and a bunch of mind-altering substances. Old school, Silver Age magic. |
|
Dateline: May 22, 2007, 3:35 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #53 Be professional. The American funny book biz is small (amazingly tiny, in fact) and you will have to get used to seeing the same faces over and over and over again. Don’t scorch the earth. Don’t burn bridges. Have opinions, but be judicious. The internet has a memory and your attitude just might come back to bite you. Above all else (if possible) avoid litigation! |
|
Dateline: May 16, 2007, 5:15 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #52 Learn how to edit. Rather important, particularly if you are working without a licensed, board-certified editor. Examine and re-examine your work. Kill-off parts of the story that get in the way, that are repetitious, that don’t constructively advance the plot. Kill-off superfluous characters. Have an idea about pacing: how many words per panel, how many panels per page. Ask yourself the following question: can the story be told as effectively (or more effectively) at 100 pages as opposed to 150 pages? Remember: longer doesn’t necessarily mean better. |
|
Dateline: May 12, 2007, 6:55 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #51 Don’t over-commit yourself (or, don’t kill yourself working). There is a constant burn-out potential for those toiling in the funny book industry: long hours, crash deadlines, ceaseless demands, enormous amounts of hand labor required. 12-hours a day is too much. 10-hours a day is too much. Hell, we’re down to a measly 3 hours a day, and barely keeping it together. Yes, imposing limits on oneself is easier said than done…and “the right balance” always sounds good in theory. However, the ability to get out of bed in the morning (without crushing, crippling pain) is highly underrated. |
|
Dateline: May 8, 2007, 7:31 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #50 Do the work. This might sound trite and self-evident…this might sound like some silly cliché along the lines of “perspiration vs. inspiration”…but when it comes to creativity there is but one truth: art takes shape as a result of daily practice. Devise a schedule and stay disciplined. Avoid pie-in-the-sky plans. Add a layer of labor each day. At some point (if all goes well) you will end up with something worth preserving. If possible, stay sober… |
|
Dateline: May 4, 2007, 11:42 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #49 Create an entire universe of characters (see: Peanuts, Archie, Doonesbury, Asterix, X-Men, what have you). Most of the enduring strips / comics will have more than one engaging “cast-member”. Distinguish the different characters by giving each one a distinct personality, not simply a unique appearance. Give the reader the opportunity to choose a favorite: Linus vs. Lucy; Jughead vs. Reggie; Cacofonix vs. Geriatrix, ect. |
|
Dateline: April 29, 2007, 3:02 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #48 Make it funny. Even if you’re working on the most depressing, grim, tear-squeezing memoir, a few jokes sprinkled in won’t kill you. There is such a thing as dark humor. Fuuuuuuuuucccckkkkk…it’s called “comics” for a reason. |
|
Dateline: April 21, 2007, 5:42 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #47 Keep it consistent. There will be many, many elements to your tome and the rendering of the art will take many months / years. Try to keep the design / layout / art / lettering as uniform as possible. Anomalies / discrepancies are inevitable. Problems will be minimized if you standardize all aspects before commencing. The goal is to make the first page and the last page look like they belong to the same book. |
|
Dateline: April 18, 2007, 8:09 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #46 Don’t get hung up on the “right way” to tell the story. A straight, traditional, chronological narrative can work just as well as a flashback heavy, multiple perspective, split structure. A narrative is like a jigsaw puzzle and the order in which the pieces are set into place doesn’t matter. What DOES matter is that the same pieces from the same puzzle are used: the finished story needs to make sense! |
|
Dateline: April 15, 2007, 10:32 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #45 Use lots of EXCLAMATION POINTS!!! You are engaged in the art of comic book writing, so don’t be afraid to add “special effects” to your script. Use a gillion goofy gimmicks: eloooooongation of words, boldface, onomatopoeia, UPPER CASE, lower case, *asterisks*, and, of course: italicized ellipsis…with exclamation points!!!! |
|
Dateline: April 9, 2007, 3:45 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #44 Read Philip Wylie’s Gladiator. Yes, this blustery book is slightly stilted and ponderous, but the seismic influence it had on the “Super-Hero” genre can not be ignored. The theme of alienation is alluring in a campy / kitschy way, and the lurid cover from the pulp paperback edition is vintage cheese (five babes eyeing a ripped Hugo Danner). And speaking of recent comic book adaptations, Legend (Chaykin / Heath), inspired by the 1930 Wylie novel, is quite worthy. |
|
Dateline: April 5, 2007, 3:45 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #43 Read EVERYTHING. Astrology, French Naturalism, gardening, Tobias Smollett, art criticism, political history, Hollywood Babylon, artist biographies, Lester Bangs, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Black Mask magazine, pre-Raphaelite poetry, Bob Haney, the dictionary. Don’t limit yourself to comics exclusively. Acquire a vast expanse of knowledge. Try to remember all you have learned… |
|
Dateline: April 2, 2007, 11:12 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #42 Read the novel…and the graphic novel. Adaptations of literary classics have long been a staple in the funny book biz, and recently some of our favorite prose works have been turned into comic books: Paul Auster’s City of Glass (Karasik / Mazzucchelli), William L. Gresham’s Nightmare Alley (Spain Rodriguez), and a whole slew of Raymond Chandler stories and scripts. Always a worthwhile experience: and more agreeable than seeing the movie. |
|
Dateline: March 29, 2007, 3:16 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #41 Make the main character compelling and convincing. Yes, this is a stock concept, nothing but a writer’s trick, but we submit that this device is fundamental in any form of fiction writing (realism, fantasy, super-hero allegory, whatever). Make the reader care about your lead performer. Make the reader want to keep reading. To this end, spend time with the classics: read Shakespeare, Dickens and Melville. |
|
Dateline: March 22, 2007, 3:19 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #40 Learn to write (really stating the obvious here, but what the hell). Spend three hours a day for eight years practicing, revising, experimenting, emulating. Then burn all your output and start from scratch. Create your own world; develop your own style; find your own voice. Don’t bother with post-graduate “writing” school: they teach conformity / conventionality / institutional drivel…all which will needed to be un-learned in the future. |
|
Dateline: March 18, 2007, 6:22 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #39 Don’t over-use Pop Culture references. In the first place (given the short-attention-span nature of the universe), these references will have the inevitable effect of dating your work. In the second place, these references are mostly derivative. In the third place, they betray a laziness in the writer, as if he’s unable to come up with his own original jokes / punch-lines / metaphors. Conversely, if your graphic novel is of the social satire nature (i.e. Mad Magazine), disregard all of the above: Pop Culture references are a prerequisite. |
|
Dateline: March 12, 2007, 4:54 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #38 Write the ending before starting the art. In other words, plot the entire book out. Use thumbnails / note cards for each page and have the entire book written before turning it over to the artist to begin drawing. When it comes to graphic novels, The End should really mean The End… |
|
Dateline: February 27, 2007, 9:56 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #37 Don’t skimp on the action. Sequential art is a visual medium and, visually-speaking, action is more gripping than non-action. Our general rule of thumb is one page of over-heated histrionics to every three pages of historical set-up. To quote the master, Raymond Chandler: “When in doubt, have a man come through the door with a gun in his hand.” |
|
Dateline: February 15, 2007, 11:51 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #36 Read Curt Vile. Without a doubt, Vile’s comic-strip Roscoe Moscow from the late ‘70’s is an underground classic. The art is hilarious, in the vein of Gilbert Shelton and R. Crumb, and the writing ludicrously low-brow. Vile penned a sci-fi spoof, The Stars, My Degradation, before abandoning art altogether. In the ‘80’s, he adopted a new stage name, frequented New York City and gained a degree of distinction by writing costumed vigilante comics. |
|
Dateline: February 7, 2007, 1:54 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #35 Do the research (or, “Write What You Know, Once You Know It”). Here’s the deal: it takes months / years to create a graphic novel, so there is no excuse for the writer to take short cuts. Investigate, study, learn…be the author and the authority! (For superb examples see Moore/Campbell’s From Hell or Ottaviani/BTA’s Bone Sharps, Cowboys & Thunder Lizards). If you don’t do the research, if your work is written quickly with little planning and no authenticity…it will be dismissed as depthless entertainment and swiftly forgotten. |
|
Dateline: January 27, 2007, 2:59 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #34 Read Winsor McCay. To say Little Nemo in Slumberland is “great” or “wonderful” is a mundane understatement. Simply put: McCay is the most significant American cartoonist of the 20th century. His paneling, composition, pacing are still revolutionary one hundred years after the fact. But one question: what’s the deal with his speech balloon lettering?! |
|
Dateline: January 19, 2007, 4:59 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #33 Don’t over-write. By definition, the “graphic novel” is a completely different medium than the “daily cartoon strip” of yester-year (Chester Gould or Milton Caniff, for example) and graphic novel readers will be digesting way more than four-panels per sitting. Impose some limits on your script. Too many words per panel/page can be a drag on the pacing. Remember, it’s important to keep eyeballs moving & pages flipping! |
|
Dateline: January 7, 2007, 3:59 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #32 Accept the fact that you will never completely know the whole history of comics. Focus on one aspect of that history. Our predilection has always been crime comics, from Herge’s Tintin to Lev Gleason’s Crime Does Not Pay to EC’s Crime SuspenStories |
|
Dateline: January 5, 2007, 4:13 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #31 Learn the history of comics. Not just capes and crime-fighters…all comics! Yes, this task will require many, many years of intensive study, but knowledge of the past is essential. It’s a fascinating story…and one which will reveal how your small contribution fits into the larger picture. |
|
Dateline: December 15, 2006, 4:13 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #30 Find an artist to fit your writing style. There are a thousand artists out there…and a thousand different styles. Most of the great comic book artists/cartoonists are versatile enough to handle multiple drawing techniques, but they’ll have one “look” which is theirs and theirs alone. Conceptualize the world you’re trying to create and select the artist accordingly. |
|
Dateline: December 5, 2006, 6:13 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #29 Think large. Here’s the deal: the Graphic Novel art-form is still in an embryonic stage, so operate with an over-sized ambition. Experiment, challenge, invent. The rules are still being written. Write some of your own… |
|
Dateline: November 25, 2006, 1:55 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #28 Do one thing…and do it really well! We’re sticking with the crime genre, exploring new worlds, but never straying too far from the genre boundaries. Here’s the point: you’ll be competing with a hell of a lot of other books out there, so set yourself apart…and do your thing better than anyone else! |
|
Dateline: November 23, 2006, 10:56 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #27 There is no such thing as a misuse of the “element of surprise”. Predictability is stale. Predictability doesn’t keep the pages turning. Use magic-tricks / vaudeville / sleight-of-hand to keep the reader guessing. In short, incorporate surprise into your masterpiece… |
|
Dateline: November 11, 2006, 1:58 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #26 Keep promoting. Do conventions…and more conventions…and even more conventions…and tell everyone! The suspicious looking guy on the D Train! The guy behind the counter at the local bodega! The two ladies of the night on Avenue B! Everyone!! |
|
Dateline: November 5, 2006, 6:37 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #25 Be prepared to promote your work. You will be selling it for the next three decades and your enthusiasm must never waver! Yes, you will get tired of thinking about it, of talking about it. Yes, you will sometimes wish it were shorter as you lug it through airports/train stations/subway terminals. But always remember: there is someone, somewhere who is dying to read your masterpiece…now go find them! |
|
Dateline: October 19, 2006, 6:31 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #24 Write a great book. Here’s the point: getting a book deal from a so-called “real” publisher will NOT make your problems go away. Most of the books published yesterday / today / tomorrow will die a slow death…because they are competing with other pretty good books. Pretty good has no shelf life. Pretty good has an expiration date. Therefore, the lesson for today: write a great book…and the rest will take care of itself. |
|
Dateline: October 11, 2006, 8:39 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #23 Make friends with booksellers. Presumably you will want your masterpiece to adorn the shelves of the local “indy” friendly funny book purveyor. To this end, you will need to explain the significance of your work…and then charge them 50% of the retail price for the privilege of peddling… |
|
Dateline: September 23, 2006, 8:41 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #22 Take another break and come back to it later. Chances are that you will get too close to the project, consequently missing some key elements / problems. Put it down for a while and return with a clear head…and a fresh set of eyes. |
|
Dateline: September 12, 2006, 9:45 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #21 Wait until you’re Thirty. Most of what you write / draw before the age of the 30 will be a practice exercise. The transition process from amateur to professional is time consuming, and it will take you years to find your “voice”. Your initial forays are necessary…unfortunately they will also be inconsequential. |
|
Dateline: September 6, 2006, 2:28 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #20 Don’t freak-out. Here’s the deal: things will go wrong. The files will be f*cked-up; the printer will burn to the ground; the cartons will be water-soaked; the covers will bind upside down; pages 124-129 will be missing; the airplane will be re-routed; the train will be delayed. Don’t freak…have a couple of martini’s and try to think about something else… |
|
Dateline: August 26, 2006, 2:29 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #19 Risk everything! If it’s a “success”, God bless! If it fails, you take all the ridicule and go quietly into the night… |
|
Dateline: August 16, 2006, 5:26 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #18 Bring “life” to the subject. This is the challenge. Forget the stale, the dead, the cliché-infested. Go for something original and authentic. It’s all about life, folks! LIFE (whatever the hell that means!?) |
|
Dateline: August 10, 2006, 7:52 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #17 Learn to write minor characters. To this end, read Dickens, Hammett, Zola, and Herge. Your book will have many, many characters, and all of them should be given an opportunity. Don’t rely too much on stereotypes. Give them “major” differentiation / attributes / personalities. |
|
Dateline: August 2, 2006, 7:51 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #16 Keep looking. Always be receptive to new ideas. You don’t know everything there is to know…in fact, you never will. Keep looking and eventually you will gather an arsenal of facts, evidence and documentation, the necessary elements to construct your masterpiece! |
|
Dateline: July 25, 2006, 9:59 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #15 Make friends with artists. Yes, many of them are subversive revolutionaries who live outside of the so-called “moral society”. But they are also responsible for whipping off such trifling monuments as The Sistine Chapel, The Wreck of the Medusa and Guernica. Make friends with artists…they are more interesting than real estate agents. |
|
Dateline: July 18, 2006, 5:55 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #14 Take a break. Take many, many breaks! Or you will suffer a debilitating case of chronic burn-out. Fight through it…exercise, stretch, rest…try not to develop any bad habits! |
|
Dateline: July 5, 2006, 5:55 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #13 Learn cinematography. Point of view / perspective / lighting / depth are all critical to what you’re doing. You’re writing with pictures, and position / paneling is your alphabet. |
|
Dateline: June 30, 2006, 1:27 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #12 Devise a daily work schedule: i.e. the evening hours between 6:00 PM and 10:00 PM every day are reserved for working. We work constantly, quite literally morning, noon and night. In the future, there will be plenty of time to rest, particularly once we begin to decompose... |
|
Dateline: June 27, 2006, 11:43 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #11 You decide when it’s finished! If you’re not happy with something, go back and re-work it. Again…and again…and again…In other words, don’t bother with schedules! Most likely you will miss every date you impose upon yourself. |
|
Dateline: June 23, 2006, 1:13 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #10 Don’t read spend too much time reading blogs. Most of the information transferred across the digital landscape is relatively useless. The minutes / hours used to study a computer screen can be more productively spent on your own project. The information you need will be conveyed to you eventually, in a more conventional manner. |
|
Dateline: June 10, 2006, 9:53 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #9 Become an expert…in something other than comics. The comic book biz is already crowded with funny book experts, and they really don’t need any more wise-acres. Set yourself apart. The more obscure and distinctive, the better. |
|
Dateline: May 28, 2006, 5:19 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #8 Learn book production: text paper, cover stock, binding styles, cover finish, French flaps vs. printed ends, headbands, ect. |
|
Dateline: May 17, 2006, 11:42 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #7 Learn design. Point sizes, type faces, fonts, borders, margins, screens. Chapter openers should be placed on the recto pages. |
|
Dateline: May 6, 2006, 11:42 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #6 Learn music. This can be done in your spare time. Understand the difference between beats, bars & measures, whole notes and quarter notes, 4/4 time vs. 6/8 time. Remember, paneling is pacing. |
|
Dateline: April 29, 2006, 8:42 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #5 Read Watchmen by Alan Moore. At least three times. |
|
Dateline: April 23, 2006, 5:47 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #4 Learn the difference between a recto (right) page and verso (left) page. Chapter openers go on the recto page; punch lines should be placed at the top of the verso. |
|
Dateline: April 14, 2006, 5:49 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #3 Make a plan. Then make a contingency plan in case your first plan falls apart. You will need to learn how to adapt without standing still. |
|
Dateline: April 8, 2006, 11:49 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #2 Learn to draw. Practice for ten years (say four hours a day). Stay focused. Don’t allow the sad reality to sink in. Maybe you won’t ever be better than slightly above mediocre, but so what! Lose your dreams at your our risk. |
|
Dateline: April 4, 2006, 11:49 EST HOW TO WRITE A GRAPHIC NOVEL: LESSON #1 Unless your name is William Faulkner, Jim Thompson, or Mickey Spillane, it will probably take you longer than three weeks to complete your Graphic Novel. Pace yourself and don’t get discouraged. Try not to rely on artificial stimulants to influence your creative output. |