Expand Beyond Comfort

  One thing I have learned about being a writer is you must be able to expand beyond one particular area or writing technique.  Huh?  I shall explain.  In my quest in becoming what I call a full time/all the time writer, I have come to the understanding you MUST have a lot of great products to sell.  If you are not selling, you are starving.  Problem here!  As one who writes novels and still holds a day job this meant I was going to starve for a LONG time before making this dream come true.  Understanding this dilemma, I took it upon myself to expand my comfort zone.  Oh and believe me it went well beyond this zone and I dove head long into it.  Comic book writing!

  WHAT??  How did this happen?

  One of my closest friends who I am collaborating with on MANY adventures is also the artist behind my novel series EVERWING (artist - @gregeales).  He is originally a comic book artist and took it upon himself many years ago to expand his technique into my favorite world, the fantasy realm.  This world I created has many stories to be told and in particular, there is a smaller series which I always felt would be a great comic book.  Greg felt the same after hearing the story and he challenged me about a year ago to venture down this path and start working it.  I agreed.

  What a great path it has been!  Here is what an artist would expect from you if you ever have the desire to try this type of writing because one thing to remember, most of the story is told in the art with the words just enhancing the surrounding.  Yes, this was a big change in thought since the words are everything in what I have created.

  Artists work in panels (where we writers work in scenes) and these panels have limited space so less is better when it comes to words.  The panels work like this…..

Comic Book #1

PAGE ONE – <2 Panels>

PANEL 1:  THREE SHOT – Character 1, Character 2, Character 3.

    The setting in the background is a forest. The characters are standing on a small cliff overlooking a lake. Character 1 is fishing.  Character 2 is reading and Character 3 is pointing and laughing.

Character 3:  I don’t think you are catching anything today.

            Character 1:  Yes I will! You watch! (Excitedly)

            Character 2:  Shhh, I am trying to read!

PANEL 2:  TWO SHOT: Character 1, Character 3.

  The focus is on Character 1 & Character 3.  Character 3 is now looking over the small cliff and shaking his head.  Character 1 wears a scowl.

Character 3:  I’m waiting…

            Character 1:  Just get away from me.

 

  As you can see it is close to screenplay writing (close but not exactly) and when it comes to the writing few words.  The description allows the artist to understand the scene you are working to portray.  It also helps to cut down on the redraws or rejections on the artwork plus keeps things happy between the partnership of the writer and artist. Very Important!

  I hope this helps if you ever desire to expand beyond your style or area of writing.  Remember to always push yourself as a writer.  It will only make you a better one.

Greg and I are working on three different comic books.  Something I never expected to do! I love this writing stuff! 

Happy Writing Writers! 

Go Writer Go!