Writing for Comics and Graphic Novels
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Sometime last year, the Bethesda Writer’s Center approached friend and comic creator Matt Dembicki and asked him if he would be interested in teaching an 8-week class on writing for comics and graphic novels. Matt asked me and illustrator Scott White if we’d be interested in sharing the workload with him. Matt would handle the DIY and comic history stuff, Scott would take the artists’ point of view, and I would take the actual writing and business stuff. We all agreed and came up with a syllabus.
Scott had to drop out before the class even started so we brought on Chris Piers. Our first iteration of the class was an 8-week course at the time and we probably focused too much on the business of comics and lecturing on writing for comics, not enough time exercising the students. Everyone had a semester-long assignment to come up with an 8-10 page script and we asked local artists to thumbnail the pages. Whereas I’d say the class was a success we certainly learned several ways to make it much better.
For the second iteration of the course Matt dropped out and we received a grant that guaranteed free registration for 3 high school students. We extended the course to 12-weeks and tried to include more material on the fundamentals of comics. Since we had grant money this time around, we hired some pro illustrators to 1) give genre ideas 2) give feedback and 3) provide thumbnails for scripts. We had Matt Kindt, Tom Beland, Noel Tuazon, and Jason Copland among others. Whereas we increased the amount of exercises significantly, we were asked to do more. Also, since the class was on Tuesday nights, we didn’t get any High School students. Which brings me too…
…the third and fourth iteration of the course. This time we’re doing a 10-week Tuesday night class (we have 8 students) and a 4-week Sunday afternoon class for high school students (not sure how many students we have yet). Our syllabus is primarily based around exercising and discussions.
For the 10-week course we have:
Class 1 – The Script
Introductions, a discussion on the current state of comic publishing, a discussion on the language of comics, and reviewing sample scripts from popular comic writers. In order to teach the students about iconography and how easy it is to relay ideas and objects to a reader (in case they wanted to come up with their own thumbnails or even illustrate their own minis or webcomics) we play a version of Pictionary where students have to represent what’s on their card using only rectangles, triangles, and circles.
For homework, the students have to come up with a story they wanted to work on for the semester, figure out who the target audience would be, and find examples of the art style they’d like for the book.
Class 2 – A Moment in Time
This class focuses on a single panel. We start with a discussion of the language of scripting and how to describe a scene without overwhelming an artist with details. This class is mainly exercises. We pair students up and ask them to describe their partner as if they’re a comic book character. We then ask them to describe the room they’re in as if it’s a scene in a comic book. We then present them with photos, some static, some dynamic, and some just really out there and ask them to write them up as if they’re comic panels. Then we show them a couple of quick movie clips of people walking, punching, falling, and discuss how to represent this action in a static comic panel. Finally, we work backwards from a completed page to create the script and show how information doesn’t have to be repeated. Once the tone, scenery, and characters are set you can greatly trim the level of detail that goes into each panel.
For homework, the students have to pick the location of their story segment and provide environment and character descriptions for the final comic. They also have to open up the messiest closet in their house and paint an accurate picture of it in 100-words or less.
Class 3 – Making Them Move
This panel is all about the gutters (or lack thereof) and different ways they can represent the passing of time. This class mainly looks at examples of different ways comics handle timing and has several exercises geared towards making objects move. We have students draw simple comics (like a ball dropping off of a roof) and compare their techniques. We also go back to the movies in the second class and try to represent the motions over multiple panels.
For homework we ask the students to put a couple of panels from their story together, primarily ones that represent some kind of action. We also ask the students to write a one-page complete comic story that doesn’t use any dialog or captions.
Class 4 – Talky Talk
This is the dialog class. We split it into two parts: dialog in action and talking heads. Again - lots of examples for the class from comics before going back to the movies. We’ll watch action sequences with a fair amount of dialog and block it out in comic form without losing any of the words and without stretching it out for several pages. We’ll also watch a dialog-heavy, action-light scene (probably from Rope or Glengarry Glen Ross) and block that out in comic script form. The focus will primarily be on the dialog as the sequences will be short and not complete scenes.
For homework we ask the students to write a dialog-heavy scene from their comic. We also ask the students to write a complete comic story (preferably in thumbnail form) using just dialog, as if the story is taking place in the dark.
Class 5 – Scene Building
In this class we focus on creating a complete scene in comics. We structure the class around the idea of key panels; that you want to build to these big, dynamic shots and then drop it back down again, force the reader to slow-down then speed-up repeatedly. For exercises we start with Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven. We read the poem while the students pick out the key panels and then discuss their notes and compare them to three different adaptations of The Raven. We then do the same thing for the Vadar/Obi-Wan fight in Star Wars, comparing their key panels to three different adaptations of that scene.
For homework we ask the students to put together the draft of their comic scene and try to get it to us as early as possible for edits.
Class 6 – Plotting
In this class we look at the plotting across a complete story. We’ll introduce several story ideas and discuss how we’d break it down for one-shots, miniseries, OGNs, web comics, anthologies, etc. Here’s where we’ll also discuss the oh-so-important, “How to turn your 120-issue continuing series into a 3 or 4-issue miniseries.” Too often aspiring comic creators say, “It just won’t work as a mini,” without thinking about how to, you know, make it work as a mini…for now.
For homework students will write their story treatment.
Class 7 – Working with a collaborator.
This class is geared more towards lecturing and discussion. We’ll have a call-in line where comic artists can ring in and tell us stories about some of their worst collaborative experiences. In between calls we’ll talk about where and how to approach an artist, some tips for being a good collaborator, and fair agreements and negotiations.
For homework we want the students to find three artists they like and use what we taught them to draft introduction emails. They’ll be mailing these out to the artists later in the week.
Class 8 – Thumbnail Discussions
Our favorite class. This is when we get the artist thumbnails back and go over each story. Does the page look how you wanted it to look? If not, was the change for the better? If not, what did you do wrong to not convey the scene correctly?
For homework the students have to draft responses to the pages as if they were editing the thumbnails. Also, they’re asked to create a letterer’s script.
Class 9 – Pitching
We’ll go over failed and win pitches, talk about log-lines, and discuss ways to pitch our stories. We’ll also talk about what companies accept creator owned pitches and what they traditionally publish.
For homework the students will create a pitch for their projects.
Class 10 – Networking
It’s possible class 9 and 10 mesh together and class 10 becomes a question and answer day or even a genre/research class. But we will cover networking - talking about the conventions, the online opportunities, and local scenes and how to present yourself.
And that’s the class. For the high school class we essentially strip out all of the business stuff and combine classes 1-6 into 4 classes.
Scott had to drop out before the class even started so we brought on Chris Piers. Our first iteration of the class was an 8-week course at the time and we probably focused too much on the business of comics and lecturing on writing for comics, not enough time exercising the students. Everyone had a semester-long assignment to come up with an 8-10 page script and we asked local artists to thumbnail the pages. Whereas I’d say the class was a success we certainly learned several ways to make it much better.
For the second iteration of the course Matt dropped out and we received a grant that guaranteed free registration for 3 high school students. We extended the course to 12-weeks and tried to include more material on the fundamentals of comics. Since we had grant money this time around, we hired some pro illustrators to 1) give genre ideas 2) give feedback and 3) provide thumbnails for scripts. We had Matt Kindt, Tom Beland, Noel Tuazon, and Jason Copland among others. Whereas we increased the amount of exercises significantly, we were asked to do more. Also, since the class was on Tuesday nights, we didn’t get any High School students. Which brings me too…
…the third and fourth iteration of the course. This time we’re doing a 10-week Tuesday night class (we have 8 students) and a 4-week Sunday afternoon class for high school students (not sure how many students we have yet). Our syllabus is primarily based around exercising and discussions.
For the 10-week course we have:
Class 1 – The Script
Introductions, a discussion on the current state of comic publishing, a discussion on the language of comics, and reviewing sample scripts from popular comic writers. In order to teach the students about iconography and how easy it is to relay ideas and objects to a reader (in case they wanted to come up with their own thumbnails or even illustrate their own minis or webcomics) we play a version of Pictionary where students have to represent what’s on their card using only rectangles, triangles, and circles.
For homework, the students have to come up with a story they wanted to work on for the semester, figure out who the target audience would be, and find examples of the art style they’d like for the book.
Class 2 – A Moment in Time
This class focuses on a single panel. We start with a discussion of the language of scripting and how to describe a scene without overwhelming an artist with details. This class is mainly exercises. We pair students up and ask them to describe their partner as if they’re a comic book character. We then ask them to describe the room they’re in as if it’s a scene in a comic book. We then present them with photos, some static, some dynamic, and some just really out there and ask them to write them up as if they’re comic panels. Then we show them a couple of quick movie clips of people walking, punching, falling, and discuss how to represent this action in a static comic panel. Finally, we work backwards from a completed page to create the script and show how information doesn’t have to be repeated. Once the tone, scenery, and characters are set you can greatly trim the level of detail that goes into each panel.
For homework, the students have to pick the location of their story segment and provide environment and character descriptions for the final comic. They also have to open up the messiest closet in their house and paint an accurate picture of it in 100-words or less.
Class 3 – Making Them Move
This panel is all about the gutters (or lack thereof) and different ways they can represent the passing of time. This class mainly looks at examples of different ways comics handle timing and has several exercises geared towards making objects move. We have students draw simple comics (like a ball dropping off of a roof) and compare their techniques. We also go back to the movies in the second class and try to represent the motions over multiple panels.
For homework we ask the students to put a couple of panels from their story together, primarily ones that represent some kind of action. We also ask the students to write a one-page complete comic story that doesn’t use any dialog or captions.
Class 4 – Talky Talk
This is the dialog class. We split it into two parts: dialog in action and talking heads. Again - lots of examples for the class from comics before going back to the movies. We’ll watch action sequences with a fair amount of dialog and block it out in comic form without losing any of the words and without stretching it out for several pages. We’ll also watch a dialog-heavy, action-light scene (probably from Rope or Glengarry Glen Ross) and block that out in comic script form. The focus will primarily be on the dialog as the sequences will be short and not complete scenes.
For homework we ask the students to write a dialog-heavy scene from their comic. We also ask the students to write a complete comic story (preferably in thumbnail form) using just dialog, as if the story is taking place in the dark.
Class 5 – Scene Building
In this class we focus on creating a complete scene in comics. We structure the class around the idea of key panels; that you want to build to these big, dynamic shots and then drop it back down again, force the reader to slow-down then speed-up repeatedly. For exercises we start with Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven. We read the poem while the students pick out the key panels and then discuss their notes and compare them to three different adaptations of The Raven. We then do the same thing for the Vadar/Obi-Wan fight in Star Wars, comparing their key panels to three different adaptations of that scene.
For homework we ask the students to put together the draft of their comic scene and try to get it to us as early as possible for edits.
Class 6 – Plotting
In this class we look at the plotting across a complete story. We’ll introduce several story ideas and discuss how we’d break it down for one-shots, miniseries, OGNs, web comics, anthologies, etc. Here’s where we’ll also discuss the oh-so-important, “How to turn your 120-issue continuing series into a 3 or 4-issue miniseries.” Too often aspiring comic creators say, “It just won’t work as a mini,” without thinking about how to, you know, make it work as a mini…for now.
For homework students will write their story treatment.
Class 7 – Working with a collaborator.
This class is geared more towards lecturing and discussion. We’ll have a call-in line where comic artists can ring in and tell us stories about some of their worst collaborative experiences. In between calls we’ll talk about where and how to approach an artist, some tips for being a good collaborator, and fair agreements and negotiations.
For homework we want the students to find three artists they like and use what we taught them to draft introduction emails. They’ll be mailing these out to the artists later in the week.
Class 8 – Thumbnail Discussions
Our favorite class. This is when we get the artist thumbnails back and go over each story. Does the page look how you wanted it to look? If not, was the change for the better? If not, what did you do wrong to not convey the scene correctly?
For homework the students have to draft responses to the pages as if they were editing the thumbnails. Also, they’re asked to create a letterer’s script.
Class 9 – Pitching
We’ll go over failed and win pitches, talk about log-lines, and discuss ways to pitch our stories. We’ll also talk about what companies accept creator owned pitches and what they traditionally publish.
For homework the students will create a pitch for their projects.
Class 10 – Networking
It’s possible class 9 and 10 mesh together and class 10 becomes a question and answer day or even a genre/research class. But we will cover networking - talking about the conventions, the online opportunities, and local scenes and how to present yourself.
And that’s the class. For the high school class we essentially strip out all of the business stuff and combine classes 1-6 into 4 classes.
Labels: comics
posted by Jason at
9:07 AM
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