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 […]
Author: nickmac
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: […]
Creating Characters That Stand the Test of Time
Two things you can often catch me talking about are theme and characters–the backbone of story. If you think about it, you’ve read and seen a million characters in your […]
Writing Solid Villains
When bad guys ain’t that bad. Writing Solid Villains. Though I haven’t seen it, I’ve heard a lot of guff about this Kylo-Ren character from Star Wars, so I figured […]
Outline Basics – Pantser vs Plotter – UPDATED
Visit any writing forum and you’re only a stone’s throw away from the heated argument, “Pantsing vs. Outlining.” I wanted to update my basic outline article to put this argument […]