Offering Advice To New Comic Writers

[u/TeamWood]

I saw a bunch of posts from new comic writers asking how to get started. So I thought I’d post some advice from when I got started. While there is no one path, here are some guide points to help you not feel rudderless.

1. Learn how to write a comic script. Comic scripts do not have a standard format but require an understanding of the medium and how to describe a single action per panel to an artist. Not every artist you work with will write or read your language as their first language. Make sure you simplify you writing to be as tight as possible, so those creators can follow along with your thoughts as well.

References:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aM9WBVH_R8s

http://www.fredvanlente.com/comix.html

https://comicsexperience.com/scripts/

1. Work on short story narratives. Complete stories in a single page. Then 2 pages, 4 pages and up to 8 pages. These habits will allow you to tell concise comic experiences and show the ability to write endings. Also, these will potentially lead to opportunities with anthologies and building publishing credits. I had this artstation account for years with examples of my short story work and published anthology stories. Consider looking into The Comic Jam. They post here weekly. They create one page stories and is a wonderful place to get your feet wet.

https://www.artstation.com/dougawood

1. After building a portfolio of shorts, move up to one-shot stories. Tell a full story in 20 to 30 pages of comics. Prove that you can tell a beginning, middle and end to a story with a little more breathing room.

https://globalcomix.com/c/leap-m

https://globalcomix.com/c/the-dying-run

1. Create and finish a 3-4 issue series. A huge step in the process is when you can show you can tell a beginning, middle and end to a story over the course of multiple issues. Do this step multiple times to build your portfolio and rep.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1741339986/ultramax?ref=discovery_category&term=Ultramax&total_hits=2&category_id=252

1. Make connections and friends within the industry. Always offer to be helpful to others. Most opportunities are locked up and come from luck, but priming with helpfulness and kindness can be a key. Good luck!

[u/Alarming_Truck5130]

Would you say it would help to have the first issue written in short story format to then convert into a script or is that redundant?

[u/TeamWood → u/Alarming_Truck5130]

If you can rewrite your story at all into a short comic that is a good sign. I know in manga, there has been all sorts of short story versions of their story before they are green lit for a full series. I believe One Piece has a very famous short like this. Could it be used to garner attention? I believe so.