High and Lows – TIP
Creating the highs and lows of the emotional roller-coaster ride is not done by contrasting flat, dull panels against exciting ones. <<which is what most people think>> It’s done by […]
Author: nickmac
In Media Res
When starting your story remember thy Roman poet’s advice, ”IN MEDIA RES” or “In the middle of things.” This is especially important with ORIGIN stories which tend to have very […]
Anchoring Sound Effects
When scripting sound effects I always specify the source of the sound, like this; 2 SFX (ENERGY) SSSSHHHHHSSSSS 9 times out of 10, your panel description is going to do […]
Time Management and More
Time Management, Writer’s Block and Hitting the Wall… Writing is a personal process and sometimes the best tips we can discover are not ones dictating specific format or practical technique […]
Threat of Violence
A critical concept in writing (comic or otherwise) is understanding the difference between “Threat of Violence” and “Violence” itself. The former creates tension, a cornerstone of good storytelling (and a […]
Ensemble Casts
In a Q+A post, someone asked: How many main characters are too many when writing a first issue? When you’re scripting for a single protagonist, your story can be written […]
On the Nose
On the nose dialogue; “Fugetaboutit” In the Writer’s Guide to Comic and Graphic Novels, I talk a bit about good vs. bad dialogue and discuss the writer’s most blaspehmous mistake–on […]
Discovering Your Story
Bear with me, I’m going to tell you one of the simplest, most effective tips I know when you first sit down to write a story in just a moment… […]
Showing Not Telling
In the Jeopardy, Conflict and Stakes section of the book, I talk about keeping these elements present in the story and “on page” as much as possible. I go on […]
Story Arcs
“How do you build a story within the 20 page framework of a comic while at the same time building the story for a larger story arc?” The short answer: […]