A Lesson in Visual Writing
I recently came across this panel description in a script posted to a public forum. “Twelve rebellion members were trekking through the jungle. One young member was struggling to keep […]
Author: nickmac
Pacing Dialogue to Reveals
One of the new things I discuss a bit in the digital edition of the Writer’s Guide is keeping dialogue and art in sync. This is particularly important when it […]
Breaking Bubbles – TIP
When I first started out in comics a million years ago, I thought the letterer held total mastery and control over dialogue placement. I thought the writer’s job was to […]
Fictitious Terms and Exotic Proper Names
At the end of Storycraft for Comics I talk about nomenclature for a few pages. One of the things I discuss, is a problem I see often in original universe […]
Repetition, Enemy and Ally
One of the first things I look for in the first editorial pass of a script, is repetition—unwanted, accidental redundancy. Unintentionally repeating the same thing, either specifically (having the MC […]
Comic Writing Trends
I always find it insightful to stop, take a moment and really look at the trends of comic writing. Not just the trends going on today, but the trends that […]
How to Find Comic Writing Work
A question came in from the internet this week: “Nick, do you have anything on your site that gives advice to freelance writers about how to go about finding work?” […]
Works in the Movies, Not in Comics
Lot’s of movies have powerful, emotional talking head scenes like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM-gZintWDc It works in a movie because of: a) Good Acting (emotionally charged delivery of dialogue with good timing). […]
Long Shots, Short Detail – TIP
Be conscious when you call for an extreme long or wide, long or wide, or establishing shot, that you don’t try and focus on small details in the same panel. […]
Editing Page Weights
Good writing is efficient writing. In comic book scripting this isn’t simply a goal, it’s a necessity. A good comic script isn’t a monstrous, lumbering Newfoundland—it’s a German Short-haired Pointer—sleek, […]