Challenging my norms: writing a successful comic

Back in the waning months of 2015, I was challenged to create a comic for my employer. That is a daunting request. I consider myself a solid writer, even in the world of fiction and gaming, but comics? I loved reading them, but to actually write one? (Never mind a subsequent series!) It was a challenge I wasn’t sure would net a lot of success.

Happily, I was wrong.

During that 5 year journey, I learned three important things: Story, Visual, and Connection.

What’s the story? Actually, what’s the real story?

It’s two questions in one point because you can’t answer the second without the first. And honestly, this essential pairing goes for any story writing – or, as Robert Rose has told me, any content writing, period.

Because the real story is what really matters.

There’s a simple process here, by the way. Answer the first question. Sketch out your idea through words. Start writing your story with your initial thoughts. Let it flow! At some point, you’ll realize that the true story, the real meat of what you’re trying to convey, will reveal itself. And when that a-ha moment happens, then you know how to clamp down and tighten up the writing.

When I attempted my first comic (The Human Factor), I wanted to tell a story about a makeshift disaster relief camp’s hardships. It was too big of an idea; my main character felt overwhelmed with the entire situation. Her story needed to be personal, a self-realization of her singular importance at the moment.

My artist friend Klaus pointed this out to me as well, as he was doing the rough sketches based on my first outline. He didn’t feel connected and felt a bit trapped in giving Rebecca life on the page. We had a great chat online about it. The next day, after a chance conversation with an epidemiologist who shared an interesting experience at a relief camp a few years prior, I found my character’s personal hook. I rewrote the story’s middle and end to include a little girl, similar in age to my hero’s own daughter. That gave her focus and an important goal.

That simple turn made Rebecca personal, relatable, and connected to my audience. Klaus loved it, suggested a couple of story beat tweaks (he had done a few comics before, so I appreciated the advice), and soon after, we had a multi-award-winning comic.

I’ve not forgotten that lesson and apply it as often as I can now.

Learn how to write a script that provides visual direction.

I’ve written a lot of short stories. One of the key things you learn to do when writing creatively is learning how to be descriptive, to paint the reader’s picture. Comics are a little different – you have pictures in a place that help set not only your scene (in bite-sized panels) but also provide indicators of mood, setting, action, intent, revelation, and more.

This means, in turn, that your script is much more weighted towards the dialogue. And that it matches closely with what you’re proposing to be depicted in the panels.

I’ve seen a lot of advice about scriptwriting for comics, which also is very similar in process to writing video stories. Generally:

• Break down your pages into panels; typically, you’ll find an average of 5 panels per standard page.
• Keep dialogue short and sharp. Longwindedness doesn’t really translate well into the ‘speech bubble,’ and you don’t want to be overloading in text. Is there anything in that dialogue that can be conveyed via the panel art? Shift it there, if you can.
• Be as detailed as possible in your panel notes, which should be paired with the intended dialogue. It may help to split the script into two columns – one with the dialogue, one with the panel description.

For example, from my comic Ghostly Inspiration, how I wanted to set the scene for Jordan’s storytime with the kids:

P4 panel 1	Kids clamber onto couch on either side of Jordan   We see Jordan’s backpack on the floor next to the couch. It has a hardhat next to it and is open. We see (?) some gadget-y bits, maybe part of her safety glasses (see P16) or a sleek hand-held monitor/wand	Vikram “Tell us!”   Meena “Was it scary?”   Jordan narrates [I never tire telling this story, because it was a turning point in my life.]
P4 panel 2	Jordan wraps arms around each kid, smiling down a them	Jordan “Okay, I give up!”   Jordan: “I only busted one ghost, but it was an unusual one.”
P4 panel 3	Close-up of Jordan’s face (profile?) that shows at least one earring (this will be used in her ‘past’ sequences to identify her)	Jordan “That’s how I ended up doing the work I do now.”

It’s these descriptions that help your artist in getting the visuals right for your story.

All about the artist

Finding the right artist can take time, especially if you haven’t built up a network yet. I’ve been fortunate to work with many talented artists through my time writing for tabletop and roleplaying games; I have some fantastic artists and design connections (and friends!). When I pushed out into doing comics for AIHA, I reached out to those I knew with a detailed proposal and encouraged sharing. When I had some interest, I made some time to spend chatting with them about the project, got an idea of their art style through their portfolios (make sure you ask for comic-related work or story art if you can), and see if you have a rapport with them. This connection really helps with communication and vision-sharing.

I used Klaus Scherwinski for my first two comics. When it came time for the third, he was already contracted out. Instead of putting out another call, I asked for recommendations. He pointed me to Karl Moline, an accomplished Marvel, DC, and Dark Horse artist. A couple of conversations, a discussion about the project, and a look at the initial rough sketches brought Karl into the fold. His design style is similar to Klaus – and he was willing to mimic it in his own way so we could keep our aesthetic – and we successfully brought our third issue into being.

When I started this process 5 years ago, I thought that I was really out of my league. But through a steady process, adjusting (and learning) to a new writing style and leveraging my professional connections has netted me three award-winning comics, with more in the pipeline. It’s a fantastic new aspect to my skillset, and I look forward to sharing more of these impactful stories in the future.