Writing resources!

Posted: August 18th, 2009 | Author: admin | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , | No Comments »

Note: This was supposed to go up last week and I ended up pressing save to draft instead of publish for some reason. Oops. Anyway, here it is.

Disclaimer: Before I start I have to point out that this is by no means definitive, but I thought it’d be cool to list the resources which I have found helpful in my (very) short time aspiring to write comics.

Whilst I have only written for the small press so far I thought it’d be useful for others starting out ,or those who are interested (Why?! Run for your lives!) in writing for comics, to make a list of the websites, podcasts, and books I’ve found useful so far.

Websites

Digital Webbing: The forums on this website are a great starting place for those looking to write (and draw, letter and ink) for comics. The forum members are a good mix of newbies and veterans, with sage advice being doled out by both. Unsure of script formatting? Looking for an artist or letterer? This is the place to start. A great resource and community.

Other places that are similar (especially in the area of assembling a creative team are the forums over on Deviant Art and Penciljack. Other assorted creative discussions can be found at Jinxworld, Standard Attrition, Whitechapel, Panel and Pixel, and the 2000AD Forum.

For those looking to break into the house that Tharg built, writing and submitting a Future Shock (a short five page story) will be your first port of call. Submission guidelines can be found here. A useful community to consider if writing a Future Shock is Scriptdroids, which provides a forum like atmosphere where one can post their story for feedback and advice.

An excellent ‘uber rescource’ is the Creator Help section of Caleb Monroe’s website. The page provides a huge list of resources covering all aspects of the comic creative process.

One way to understand formatting of comic scripts and to work out things like pacing and dialogue is reading professional comic scripts. Lots of them. This is where the excellent Comic Book Script Archive comes in. There are a large number of scripts to download from a wide variety of genres and writers and comes highly recommended.

A short while ago Optimum Wound compiled an excellent list of every comic book publisher and their submission guidelines. It’s yet another excellent resource that a great deal of care has gone into. Have a look here.

Steven Forbes runs a great column over at Project Fanboy that is geared towards the beginner, providing a step by step look at the creative process, genre, and even the business side of the industry.

Twitter

Twitter of course has exploded in recent months. As well as the more social aspect the service provides, many comic pro’s are more than willing to hand out sage advice from time to time. The following list is writer biased (there are many excellent artists handing out equally good advice) and contains people who have consistently handed out great advice and observations regarding breaking into the industry with an emphasis on writing.

There are probably people missing from this list but the above are people who have tweeted things that have really resonated and stuck with me personally.

Podcasts

Whilst there are no specific comic book writer podcasts (that I know of) there are many comic centric podcasts which touch upon or talk about the creative process.

  • Word Balloon: John Siuntres interviews a comic book professional on a (mostly) weekly basis. His interviews with writers such as Matt Fraction, Greg Rucka, Ed Brubaker, Jeff Lemire, Jason Aaron are a goldmine of information and tips. They offer great insight into the minds of some of the greatest writers working in the industry today. I cannot recommend it enough, the archives are a veritable goldmine waiting to be discovered by the budding creator.
  • Creative Screenwriting Podcast: Whilst not strictly comics centric this podcast like Word Balloon provides some great insight into the minds of some of the most talented writers working today. Mileage varies depending on the guest that week but again, the archives are your friend.
  • Webcomics Weekly Podcast: A podcast run by Scott Kurtz (PvP),Brad Guigar (Evil Inc.), Dave Kellett (Sheldon), and Kris Straub (Starslip). This podcast, as the title suggests, has an emphasis on webcomics. Again valuable insight, tips and discussion are the order of the day.
  • iFanboy and Around Comics: Whilst both are usually more geared towards discussing the latest releases and issues in the world of comics both shows sometimes run interviews with writers and artists that are a great source of information. Whilst not as meaty as the Word Balloon interviews they are still a great listen. Archives again, are where it’s at.

Books

There are a few books about comic scriptwriting on the market. What one person finds helpful another may not so bear that in mind when perusing the following titles.To begin with I’ll list the books helped me the most, my ‘essentials’ as it were.

  • Writers on Comic Scriptwriting Volumes 1 and 2: These books contain interviews with a number of established and new comic writers. The interviews cover things such as breaking in stories, their working process and habits and influences. The majority of the interviews also contain script excerpts so the reader can see the different approaches one can take with a comic book script.
  • Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud: This is to me is the textbook to really deciphering what comics can do as a medium. McCloud talks through such issues as comics history, structure and composition. He does all this of course via the medium of a comic book. Easy to grasp and absolutely essential. The sister volume ‘Making Comics’ is more concerned with the physical creation of the books but is still a great read.
  • Story by Robert McKee: I’ve seen numerous professionals in all manner of creative industries recommending this book. Whilst I understand it isn’t for everyone I found it (for the most part) very helpful. McKee talks in depth on such topics as structure, character and dialogue and the principles of writing a strong story.  A rule of thumb for most of these texts: don’t take everything in them as scripture. Incorporate what YOU feel comfortable with, what makes you feel positive about creating something.

The above three titles are probably the books I’ve returned to time and time again, but there are others which I’ve read which are all helpful in their own way.

  • Ultimate Spider-Man Scriptbook by Brian Michael Bendis: As mentioned before, it’s a good idea to try and read as many comic book scripts as possible. This book provides a good cross section from the ongoing USM series. Each script is prefaced by a piece of commentary from Bendis illustrating story choices and structure. Another good one to read to get a good sense of structure, pacing and especially dialogue.
  • Alan Moore’s Writing For Comics: A small volume in comparison to the other titles on this list but, hey, it’s Alan Moore. Brief but insightful.
  • The Writers Journey by Christopher Vogler: I think it was Geoff Johns who recommended this in an interview. This book takes the stages of the Hero’s Journey (as laid out by Joseph Campbell) and talks about them in the context of constructing a story. The book is centered on screenplays but the principles and ideas can be applied equally to comics.
  • On Directing Film by David Mamet: Bendis has recommended this in a number of interviews and it’s not hard to see why. It’s another brief book but Mamet is an excellent guide, talking about shot choice, character and dialogue in a very compelling manner. Again, it is geared towards film but the majority also applies to comics.
  • On Writing by Stephen King: Part memoir part guidebook. This was the first book King completed after his infamous accident and I can’t recommend it enough. King writes in a direct down to earth style, getting across ideas and concepts that no writer should be without, whatever the medium.
  • Best of Tharg’s Future Shocks by Various: This book is here for those looking in the direction of 2000AD. This volume includes works by future superstars Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison and Peter Milligan. There is no better inspiration or education for writing a good future shock than reading the best the concept has to offer.
  • Strunk’s Elements of Style: A small, simple volume covering basic grammar and punctuation. The book also has a section on common mistakes which is worth the money alone. Small but essential.
  • How to Make Webcomics: This volume from Image Comics is by the team behind the Webcomics Weekly Podcast mentioned above. The book covers almost every aspect of creating your very own webcomic from web hosting  to merchandising. Whilst the book is mostly geared towards the cartoonist it contains many useful sections for those looking towards the web as a publishing avenue.

The last two volumes are not comic centric but are two books that had a profound effect on my nonetheless.

  • War of Art by Stephen Pressfield: I found this book via a recommendation in the afterword of “The Nightly News” by Jonathan Hickman. The book explores the notion of Resistance (think of it as a force, procrastination is just a sub section of it) and how it prevents us from undertaking creative endeavors. The term ‘life changing’ is bandied about far too often by some people. So I’ll merely say that it changed my attitude to the time I devote to creating and writing for the better.
  • The Successful Novelist by David Morrell: This one was a recommended book by Tony Lee via his Twitter feed. Whilst some of the aspects Morrell covers in the book are done better elsewhere, there was one section in particular (concerning planning and outlining)  that has changed my work habits for the better.

As I said at the beginning this is by no means a ‘definitive’ list and I don’t claim to be any kind of expert or future superstar in the making. I, like many others, am merely trying to find my way in a creative field that many find daunting. This list is mean to provide a few pointers towards resources, people and texts that I have found to be insightful, interesting and inspirational. I hope that people will check them out and find them equally useful.