Disclaimer: I am just an amateur writer and don't know the true inner workings of comic book writing. I am just speaking of personal experiences without any formal training or experiences. I am not a published writer nor a well read one. I desire to be and this is, again, just a brief detailing of my experiences in self taught comic book writing.
Ever since I started reading comics again a couple years ago I wanted to write them. I immediately began primitively sketching characters and writing up back stories. This wouldn't be my first attempt at comic book writing. I started writing comics as early as 3rd Grade. So I had a basic grasp on how to do it this time around.
Problem started arising when I wanted to tell grander tales that couldn't be contained in 8-10 pages. So to remedy the problem I started dissecting comics and tracking down the scripts to compare to the pages. Luckily for me one of the first trades I bought earlier on was 52. 52 contained a lot of the the extra nuts and bolts that go into comic book writing, and I ate it up. I started to read comics not for enjoyment, but for education as they were the only tools I had to study the art. I soon learned that I was no where near ready to write a comic the way I wanted.
So I began experimenting with script writing techniques. To understand the difficulty that comes with writing a comic book script, one my see an example. So here is a rough example of a script you might see in a big name comic like The Avengers, Thor, or X-men.
Page One
Alright on this page I want about 5 panels [or cells depending on the comic] arranged in the following order. Panels 1 through 4 will be evenly spaced squares. 1-2 on the top. 3-4 on the bottom. I want Panel 5 to be on the bottom of the page and be the width of two panels together and the height of one of the the smaller panels.
Alright on this page I want about 5 panels [or cells depending on the comic] arranged in the following order. Panels 1 through 4 will be evenly spaced squares. 1-2 on the top. 3-4 on the bottom. I want Panel 5 to be on the bottom of the page and be the width of two panels together and the height of one of the the smaller panels.
Panel One: In this panel I want Character A and Character B to be talking. There will also be a caption box in the upper right hand corner.
Caption
Meanwhile
Character A
What do you mean?
Character B?
I mean this
This process as you can see is tedious and honestly can be more or less tedious depending on your artist or co-writer. I unfortunately didn't have an artist or co-writer. So I have to write the most tedious complex script that includes the placement of bubbles, captions, characters, and background. This is without a set writer. Of course there is another method to writing I didn't think about till reading more into comic writing.
That method would prove to be the easiest and simplest for me, outside of doing my own art. That method is writing a basic script and including a breakdown sketch of the scene. Instead of writing the placement of the characters I sketched the whole layout and blocking. I like this method but only works if I could find an artist. Sadly I haven't been able to find one that will work for free. Outside of dating an artist (which I have considered) I would have to illustrate my own comics. Not that hard most would say, but most don't have a weak art style like me.
So I came to a crossroads. One path I could continue the basic script, breakdown method. Another path would be write the most tedious script ever. The third option would be pay for an artist (which I wasn't about to do). The fourth one (and simplest) would be to quit writing the comics and move on with my life. The final option would be sit down with a piece of paper, a pen, and force myself to become a better artist.
I decided on going down two paths simultaneously. Them being the basic script, breakdown method and forcing myself to become a better artist. I soon learned that it isn't an easy road to travel. A great amount of crinkled, ripped up paper came from my desk as I grew frustrated at myself. Eventually after about a year of practice I achieved a point that I feel that I can actually start illustrating the comics, and beginning soon I will start posting them online via some web host client for Web comics. Not my ideal situation but it will work for now. Hopefully I can build a fan base to warrant myself purchasing a domain, till then I will be hunting the Internet for web host clients. Hopefully I will have 12 issues written and mostly illustrated by August allowing me to update them regularly through the school year during which I have the most difficulty devoting time to it. Here is to me actually getting some where with this idea.
PS
I will probably write a more detailed blog on the writing process, it is even more complex then presented here and requires some knowledge.
Meanwhile
Character A
What do you mean?
Character B?
I mean this
This process as you can see is tedious and honestly can be more or less tedious depending on your artist or co-writer. I unfortunately didn't have an artist or co-writer. So I have to write the most tedious complex script that includes the placement of bubbles, captions, characters, and background. This is without a set writer. Of course there is another method to writing I didn't think about till reading more into comic writing.
That method would prove to be the easiest and simplest for me, outside of doing my own art. That method is writing a basic script and including a breakdown sketch of the scene. Instead of writing the placement of the characters I sketched the whole layout and blocking. I like this method but only works if I could find an artist. Sadly I haven't been able to find one that will work for free. Outside of dating an artist (which I have considered) I would have to illustrate my own comics. Not that hard most would say, but most don't have a weak art style like me.
So I came to a crossroads. One path I could continue the basic script, breakdown method. Another path would be write the most tedious script ever. The third option would be pay for an artist (which I wasn't about to do). The fourth one (and simplest) would be to quit writing the comics and move on with my life. The final option would be sit down with a piece of paper, a pen, and force myself to become a better artist.
I decided on going down two paths simultaneously. Them being the basic script, breakdown method and forcing myself to become a better artist. I soon learned that it isn't an easy road to travel. A great amount of crinkled, ripped up paper came from my desk as I grew frustrated at myself. Eventually after about a year of practice I achieved a point that I feel that I can actually start illustrating the comics, and beginning soon I will start posting them online via some web host client for Web comics. Not my ideal situation but it will work for now. Hopefully I can build a fan base to warrant myself purchasing a domain, till then I will be hunting the Internet for web host clients. Hopefully I will have 12 issues written and mostly illustrated by August allowing me to update them regularly through the school year during which I have the most difficulty devoting time to it. Here is to me actually getting some where with this idea.
PS
I will probably write a more detailed blog on the writing process, it is even more complex then presented here and requires some knowledge.
