If you missed it, Part 2 is here.

Step 3, write it better:

We did not discuss Team Writing in the previous two parts, so I will touch on it here. This is a very different situation than writing the entire story yourself. Let me explain. I have had three writing partners over the years, some good some bad, in the end I prefer writing solo because it suits me. As with anything, there are positives and negatives to this arrangement.

Positive:

Teamwork is an idea factory; having a writing partner is interesting because you have another perspective on a story that you wouldn't have when writing on your own. It is how most books get done. (Cliché, two heads are better than one.)

Negative:

A squabble could ruin your relationship leading to problems with story rights and ownership issues. This is a big one for me. Let’s say you just co-wrote the world’s greatest graphic novel with a partner and you get into a fight. He says; “You can’t make this story because I wrote half of it. If you do, I will sue you.” Great, you might as well shelve the idea at that point because the last things you need to kill creativity are legal problems.

Subway sketches of advanced helicopters and futuristic firearms. I try to draw something every day. Sometimes it leads to nothing, but sometimes it solves a problem. In this case, my guns lead me to helicopters, and my helicopters lead me to my final helicopter which ends up in the book.

Here is a look at the final advanced helicopter derived from my rough Subway sketches, you can see the progression and that sketching lets you work out your ideas just like a scientist tests their theories.

My recommendations here are, “Be careful.” Writing in a team environment is done all the time in TV and Film, there are actually very few writers that write alone in these industries. There are many successful writing teams, but they are usually best friends, brothers or sisters, or as stated previously, they work for a major company. Some examples of successful teams are the Academy Award-winning work of the Coen Brothers, Wachowski, Farrelly, and Weitz brothers and the Ephron sisters. 

A team should have complimentary strengths, like Ron Howard and Brian Grazer. Example, one person is technical, and the other is good with emotional material. The last thing is this; it is very common for a writer and an artist to get together on a story in the comic book world. Usually writers can’t draw, and artists can’t write, just take your ego out of the equation and you’ll be OK. For the purpose of this blog series, I am writing this from the perspective that you can do both.

Stephen King and Joe Hill collaborated on this to adapt Richard Matheson's classic suspense tale, DUEL! Most professional comic books are based on teamwork, but if you are dead set on doing on your own keep reading.

Moving on, now let’s say you have finished your story after several months of work, now you need to polish that story before you can move on. Take your story and format it so that you understand how to break out the words into pictures later on. Go back to the links provided in Step 2 and see how it’s done professionally. If you've already written it in comic format then you have no worries, skip down to grammar. If you have written your story in screenplay format, illustrated below is the formula that I use.

A graphic novel is typically a minimum of 99 pages up to 300 or more. An average graphic novel is about 100 to 150 pages. Some people may complain about this, but it’s not a rule it is a guideline, the whole thing is really up to you. However, let me say this, if you were writing your first novel and you told your friends, “Hey I just wrote my first novel.” Everyone gets excited and then ask you, “How many pages is it?” You say, “Its 48 pages long!” They smirk and most of them would say, well, that really isn't a novel is it. I know we are comparing apples to oranges here with a novel vs. a graphic novel, but the problem is the same. If you want the respect of making a graphic novel, then it should be long enough to fit that category. Otherwise, you could just make a one-shot comic book.

This is an example of a Pilot Story or a One-Shot comic book. The idea here is that if the public respond favorably, just like a new TV series, then you can make a series or a graphic novel out of it. It is kind of a test bed for new artists and writers. As well as the tried and proven. Some make it and some don't.

Comic book Format:

If you are writing in a professional comic book format, its page for page most of the time. That means one page of writing is equal to one page of comic art.

A comic book is 32 pages in length period. Usually, it's 22 - 25 pages of story and the remainder is advertisements and credit or title pages, etc…, but the total never exceeds 32 pages.

Screenplay Format:

If you are writing in film script format, here is the rule of thumb that I use to break down my script. This will be covered in more detail later when I storyboard my script. For now, the average film script is between 99 and 120 pages in length.

When I break down the action on one page of my story, it equals to 3 to 4 comic book pages. That means that every 12 pages of written film script format are equal to approximately one full 32-page comic book. Do you see where I am going with this?

Above is an example of my screenplay writing, illustrated into panels for a full page of my graphic novel.

Example: A 120-page film script would be approximately a 360-page graphic novel. (This is a very loose breakdown for this type of writing, but it works for me.)

What I’m attempting to do here is show you that you can write in any manner that you are comfortable with, and then adapt it to the Graphic Novel Format. This way you won’t have to change your writing style to something that doesn't feel natural to you.

The third option is that you write in novel format. If this is the case, just write and make it good. We’ll get into breaking down the action in a story and turning it into art later.

Whatever you do, don't stop sketching during the writing process. Believe me, writing can sometimes be very tedious work and you'll need to keep your imagination free flowing. As I said before, I sketch on the Subways every day. It helps me with anatomy, weight, and balance. If you don't have a subway, go to a mall or coffee shop.

Grammar:

This is my weakest area. Grammar and punctuation are just killers for me. If I focus too much on sentence structure and verb tense, it stifles my creativity, but it has to be done. Grammar and punctuation are the mechanics of writing. Just like knowing how to draw anatomy is essential for drawing comic books, they are the mechanics of this art form. My art instructor once told me that you have to know the rules before you can break them. I don’t know if he was the one that quoted this, or borrowed it from someone else, but I get it.

In the end, it really comes down to learning and education. I am not saying that every writer or artist needs a formal education, but it helps a lot. If you don’t have these writing skills then you must learn as you go along, or go back to school.

More sketches from the underground.

I am sure that these writers questioned themselves at some point, but in the end, not having a formal education didn't stop them either. Agatha Christie, Roald Dahl, Jack London, Nora Roberts, John Steinbeck, Mark Twain. Even if your grammar and punctuation isn't the best, you should keep writing. You can always learn the technical stuff and write it better later.

There is many great style and grammar references on the web, including some software to help you, here are just a few that I use.

1. http://dictionary.reference.com/
2. Grammar: http://www.chompchomp.com/rules/csfsrules.htm
3. http://www.libraryspot.com/grammarstyle.htm
4. http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/GramPunct.html
5. http://www.grammarly.com/
6. http://www.serenity-software.com/
7. http://www.dailywritingtips.com/how-to-structure-a-story-the-eight-point-arc/
8. http://www.library.cornell.edu/newhelp/res_strategy/citing/mla.html

Copyrighting and protecting your work is essential too. Once you have a finalized script, send it off for copyrighting to either one or both of these. It’s not expensive and you will want the peace of mind and protection.

1. Copyrighting: http://www.copyright.gov/forms/
2. Register with the W.G.A., West Coast: http://www.wgawregistry.org/webrss/
3. Or, the East Coast:  https://www.wgaeast.org/script_registration

After it's written and you have edited the story, checked the grammar, spell checked it, and you are generally pleased with your story, then let friends read it. Get some good feedback and then rewrite it again. Listen to criticism, it's OK. You would rather have someone you know give you feedback on it now, then a comic review critic shred you later. Why am I spending so much time on writing, instead of the art, because, every great graphic novel starts with a great story. How do you get a great story? You write it.

Click Here For Part 4..., Drawing Supplies and Tools.

Part 1 is here if you missed it.

Step 2, write it down:

Moving on, now that you've narrowed it down to one idea you need to write the story. I am going to approach this the traditional way. Any basic story has three parts the beginning, middle, and end, or three acts as they call it. Sometimes the end is told first through a flashback or some other instrument to give you a glimpse at what is to come, or it could be told in a 1, 2, 3 manner. If you are new to this, then write the way you would speak to a friend, and keep sketching your characters.

 

Prisoner of the Mind Character Sketches

Now keep in mind this is my opinion because my background is film scripts and that is how I write. I started writing screenplays almost 20 years ago, so this process and style is ingrained in me. There are actually many great websites which have templates and examples of comic book scripts which are an industry standard for the likes of DC and Marvel.

 

When creating a graphic novel you wear many hats. As the writer, you should always carry something to take down random notes for your story. I keep my sketchbook handy for just that reason. As the artist, you should always have a sketchbook or IPad handy.

I choose to write in a screenplay format for my graphic novel because I am also the artist and the only one that has to interpret my words. With my finished story, I have a good idea of how the scene should play out through storyboards. If you have a busy schedule or live in an environment that is not conducive to writing, then you have to make time for it. Go to a park, or the Library to get away from the hustle and bustle. If you are trying to model your story after the professional comic book writers of today, here are some resources to help you.

Comic book scripts to read for reference.

1. http://www.comicbookscriptarchive.com/
2. http://homepage.mac.com/dmcduffie/site/Scripts.html
3. http://www.warrenellis.com/?p=10319

Film scripts to read for reference and the "How To’s" of writing.

Hollywood screenplays to read for reference: http://www.script-o-rama.com/table.shtml

Screenplay writing 101: http://www.screenwriting.info/

Formatting your screenplay: http://www.simplyscripts.com/WR_format.html

Don’t get caught up in the formatting yet, it will only delay your writing. There are many ways to tell a story, and you should write it the way you feel most comfortable.

Prisoner of the Mind Screenplay

American Author and Cartoonist James Thurber http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Thurber said, “Don’t get it right, get it written.” You have to put it all in writing first, then you can always go back, edit and enhance. If you don't write it, you’ll have nothing to edit or enhance.

More on that here. http://procrastinatingwritersblog.com/2009/07/dont-get-it-right-get-it-written/

Here are some more tools to help you get your story written. Start with a character description. The thing that makes most stories believable even if the setting is on another planet, are people. We all connect with people and personalities, this is important! If you do this before you start drawing everything will go much faster. This is an extensive list so only use what you need.

Character Description Template

Physical Description:

Gender:
Species:

Sexuality:
Age:

Birth date:
Astrological Sign:
Height:

Weight:
Hair color:
Eyes:
Body type:

Physical Condition:

Scars, marks, and tattoos, handicap:
Clothing:
Possessions, jewelry, etc:
Personality type:

Likes:
Dislikes:

Goals:
Fears:
Manner of speaking (accent, speech impediment, etc...):

Physiological condition:

Positive characteristics:
Negative characteristics:
Quirks

Background Information

Family and History background:
Home:.
Birthplace:
Occupation:

Click here for Part 3 ... Write it better.

Step 1, the idea:

I have decided to re-post this series after many emails from the last one I did.

I started this site many years ago to document my experimental path to making a graphic novel. I have deviated on occasion from the real purpose here, but lately I've been getting back to the mechanics and art of visual storytelling.

This is a multi-part series on how to make a graphic novel based on my own experience. There is always more than one way to do things so keep in mind that if you've done it a different way and you’re reading this now, congratulations! Keep going in the direction you're going and we will both get there together. There is no wrong way of doing things, only a different way.

Sometimes I outgrow my tiny studio and overflow into the dining room.

The professional comic book industry does things a certain way which I will mostly adhere to. However, there are several things that I do differently to achieve the same or similar results. In the end, my book is as professional as anything on the market is today.

Prisoner of the Mind prototype. I have gone through over 100 revisions and counting. It takes a while to get it right. We'll get into more on that later.

The difference is, that I employ time-saving devices to streamline my process. Remember it is only you, not a company full of writers, pencilers, inkers, letterers, graphic designers, and editors. You can see that you will wear many hats in the graphic novel making process.

I like to see things visually, so wall placement is part of my process of elimination.

Throughout this series, I will give you many links and resources to help you. I suggest you read my entire post first, then go back and click on the links for more information. If you click on the links as you go, you might get lost on the way to the light at the end of the tunnel because the tunnel is long.

Ok let's get to work, so, you want to make a graphic novel or comic book. You are creative, artistic and a decent storyteller. That’s good, you’ll need all of your skills to pull it off. First of all, don’t think about anything format related yet, like the number of pages, size of the book or any of that. We will have plenty of time to get into the technical details later. The first and most important step is a good story idea.

 Some of my early character sketches for Prisoner of the Mind

If you have a good imagination, you probably already have several ideas bouncing around in your head. Before you proceed, you need to figure out which one is the strongest. I will approach this in two parts.

1. You have too many ideas and don’t know which one to develop.
2. You have no idea what to write.

I have a solution to both problems, let’s tackle number one first.

You have too many ideas. Let’s say you have five different ideas. Take all of the ones you have and compare them to what’s been done already.

If I really need some inspiration I go back through my sketchbook and pluck out one character then develop it further until I have something interesting.

Example; If you have a story about an average character that develops some type of superpower, check out what’s gone before. Chances are you’re not reinventing the wheel here. Spiderman, Daredevil, Hulk… You will most likely find it hard to beat those stories without copying them in some way. 

If it’s already been done, cross it off your list. Unless, it really, really, really stands out in some unique way that perceptive comic readers will say hmm. Ok, now after you are down to say three final ideas figure out which one makes the most sense and which is the strongest. Here is what I do to figure this out.

Creating the best idea: Come up with a working title for only three ideas and then write one or two sentences to describe what the story is about.

These are mine:

1. Prisoner of the mind is a neo-noir thriller set in the near future of New York, the Unforgiving City. An agent accidentally uncovers a seventy-year-old secret, which opens a door that cannot be closed.

1. Vault of Heaven: The vault of heaven opens once every millennium. A burning star falls to the earth and new life is born.

1. Ghost Circus: Do you believe in magic, werewolves, or the supernatural? If you came face to face with your disbelief, would you die from fear? Throughout history, one ringmaster has taken his mysterious circus of freaks to one lucky town somewhere in the world. Children watch and believe, without fear when they are young, but when they grow up everything changes and fear creeps in. No matter how old you are, it’s not too late to believe, is it too late for you?

Here is some additional info on writing a story synopsis:

Now that you have three ideas, think about what your main character will look like. Start sketching. Many times, you’ll make two or three sketches right off the bat, and know that this story isn’t your strongest. Great! Save that one for later. Focus on the one that rises to the top of your list. It is all about process of elimination. Once you have it down to one story, then you need to write.

Here is a stack of P.O.M. scripts that I have collected for each revision over the years. Eventually, they will probably be recycled.

In my case, I chose Prisoner of the Mind because I already wrote the first treatment many, many years ago and I always wanted to draw a spy noir thriller so I had a jumping off point. Second, there are too many crappy stories about aliens and ghosts floating around out there anyway. You can only choose one because you are going to be working on it for a long time. Keep the other stories in a file somewhere and when you finish your first one, revisit the others down the road. Write them in a word document, don’t write them directly into your blog. Why, because the web is notoriously unstable and you would hate to lose everything because a server went down somewhere and wasn't backed up. I also print out all of my stories just in case that happens.

Back to problem number two. You have no idea what to write your story about. OK, start by breaking it down.

The Ancients was a story about discovering an old civilization that I started to develop in the 90's.

Is it a story about superheroes, on the other hand, non-superheroes? Is it set in the past, present or future? What era do you want to re-imagine? WWII, Neanderthal, a distant alien planet orbiting a double star? Remember, it’s all about the process of elimination.

Once you have an era or an idea, expand on it. With my stories, I like to include historical facts that are somewhat re-imagined for today. Think Forest Gump or Captain America, both stories had some historical foundation that really grounded the viewer/reader in facts, and then twisted them into fiction.

I am personally a huge fan of Science Fiction, so all of my stories tend to have a bit of that in them. If you’re still hurting for ideas try reading these, and play a little game called.

WHAT IF?

Be creative, what if this didn’t happen, or what if someone else got there first, or what if history got it wrong?

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_science
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_technology
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_physics
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_United_States_inventions_(before_1890)
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacefaring

From this list, you should be able to generate some cool ideas.

Still don’t have any solid ideas? Try this: Writing techniques using the snowflake method: 

Once you have one idea write it down and keep going until you have three. Go back to step one above. You want to start with three ideas then pluck out the strongest to develop your story.

Click here for Part 2 ... Write it down.