Tales from the Blog

Tools for Writing Comics Pt. 1

I present to you three guides by the industry's brightest minds: Peter David, Alan Moore and Brian Michael Bendis.

The Darkest Reflections

The best sort of hero/villain throw downs are those in which the villain, using his power, abilities, origin, personality, or some combination of the four, provides a direct contrast to the hero. He is the hero gone wrong, the hero who is sent off the deep end.

The Three Act Structure

Aristotle stated that dramas have beginning, a middle, and an end. Really cool since the Greeks invented drama. Screenwriters get much more detailed with requirements of what goes into three acts of a movie.

Twitter Monthly Writing Challenge

High school English teacher and YA writer Kristy Acevedo made out this tweet that would be called the Twitter Monthly Challenge with the hashtag #JuneWritingChallenge.

Communicating with your Artist

No matter how meticulous you are in describing to your artist what you want, you will come to a moment where it feels like that line from Cool Hand Luke-A failure to communicate. When working with an artist on a project be sure to watch what you say.

How to Find an Artist

I'm back after so much going on in the outside world. I blogged about writer topics like conflict, story set up and comics. Now I'm going to cover a daunting challenge in creating comics…finding an artist for your work.

The Big Brawl!

Conflict can come in many different forms. From Michael Keaton battling his substance abuse in Clean and Sober to the battle between the Caped Crusader and the Ultimate Hunter in the DC Comics/Dark Horse Comics crossover Batman vs Predator. Whichever way you put it all drama is conflict, it stands in the way of the protagonist accomplishing his goal. But it doesn't have to be limited to a single conflict: it comes from within and without. The protagonist might have to face obstacles that are arranged for him by his opponent and from within himself.

Source for Creating Characters: Yourself.

When creating characters for your stories the greatest challenge is making them "real". Personality traits. Flaws. Character tics. Take your pick. But did you know you can add something really cool to your characters…Yourself.

What a Rip Off!

This post comes from two things. First, the experiences of other writers who been accused of biting other writers. Second, serious thinking on embarking the writer's path.

Small Stories against a World Frame

Ideas are everywhere. You just gotta know where to look. Another approach to storytelling is to tell small stories against a world frame.

What I'm Trying to Say.

The theme of the story should be as solid as the story's plot. If it's not as strong as your plot, then your story can't sustain itself. What you should do is think about what you're going to "say" in your story while planning the story in your mind. For me, nothing's important as what you're "saying" in your fiction.

Writing Habits: The 90 minute Sessions

Take at least an hour & thirty minutes (90 minutes) a day to write. Did I hear somebody in the third row say "90 minutes? But I can't spare that kind of time to write my paranormal romance novel in a month with just 90 minutes a day." Yes you can.

Myth-Taken!

Comics and fantasy writers have sometimes turned to a particular mythology to create characters that are modern takes on the likes of Hera, the Furies, and Zeus himself.

Bring on the Bad Guys!

Villain. Bad guy. Antagonist. Villainess. Black hat.

Call them whatever you want, they can leave a bad feeling for other characters. Whether it's the dragon Smaug from J.R.R. Tolkein's The Hobbit or The Flash villain, the telepathic simian Gorrila Grodd. More times we think of the hero as the mover and shaker of the story, the protagonist. However, it's the antagonist who drives the plot of the story.

What If?

Fictionalizing Friends.

Hi all bright minds of the Circle.

I've seen the subject of basing characters on your friends come up in the circle once or twice and I know writers get squemish at the idea because of legal suits from them. Yes, that can happen.

Working with Established Characters.

Alrighty, boys and girls! Are you looking to put in your writing into comic books? If you are, here's a little heads up: When you're writing for comics and graphic novels, you'll be appointed with established characters at one point or another. Clearly, anybody will tell you about a comic book writer who's worked on your favorites. *Comic book master Peter David states that when working with characters like Zatanna or the X-Men, you're being handed a certain degree of reader investment and it's easier to sustain and build an audience with established characters than ones made from scratch.

My Influences as a Writer.

When I chose literature for a career, I thought of my influences and comic book writer Kurt Busiek came to mind. Kurt Busiek is one of the reason I chose my career path as a writer.

Comic Book 101: Special Edition!

I know that this group is unfamiliar with writing for comic books and graphic novels. So I'm bringing forth more knowledge on the craft. First, we'll begin with formats.

Full Script-This gives the artist and editor the entire story descriptions of scenes, dialogue, sound effects. Character dialogue is written in all caps. Action descriptions of characters and setting are described in each panel up to several paragraphs or less. Plus, each page should start fresh on another piece of paper with a notion of how many panels. Another thing to take heed are the modifiers.