Homeless Guys Have an Opinion Too – TIP
Somebody PM’ed yesterday asking me to confirm or repudiate some advice on comic writing he received. Nothing against homeless guys, but the point here is when you turn to public […]
Author: nickmac
Cut your Character Motivations – TIP
Don’t waste time including character motivations, plans or goals in your script unless it has something to do with the visual of the panel. Examples: Joe is riding his bike […]
Character Personality
I’m working on a new character breakdown, trying to capture his personality in ink, so I have a strong foundation when I start scripting him. What do you think of […]
Accents in Comics
Accents are a distinct pronunciation of dialogue and a detail many less experienced writers quickly embrace. Usually with far too heavy a hand. Accents in comics are a slippery slope […]
Double Page Spreads
Someone who purchased the Working Writer’s Guide to Comics and Graphic Novels had a question about formatting a double page spread. Because comic real estate is generally in such high-demand, […]
Real world premises – TIP
When you’re working on real world premises, you can often take some creative license and meld fact with fiction, but you can’t contradict fact with fiction. Important distinction.▪ About the […]
Loose Vs. Thin
If you’ve bee following this site for a while, you probably already know the difference between a “loose” and “tight” comic script. A tight script can essentially touch on any […]
Scene Selection Part 2: Only Your Best
So you’ve read Scene Selection and Narrative Drive and have a good understanding of which scenes stop narrative drive dead in its tracks… You understand that comics are a highlight […]
Cut Your Entrances (and exits) – TIP
I’ve talked about page/scene weights. One of the most superfluous panel setups are CHARACTER ENTRANCES, usually walking in through a door. GET RID OF THESE. Showing a character opening a […]
Mini-series Outline – TIP
When you outline your mini-series, don’t try to break the story into issues WHILE you make the outline… Instead, make the outline as one complete story, then when you’ve got […]