What does it take to be a decent comic book writer?

What does it take to be a decent comic book writer?

Step 1: be a decent writer.
Step 2: learn a thing or two about the character and history of what you're writing.

Step 2 is optional.

Try making a short 10 page comic to see if you're cut out for it

Step 1: Find a good comic book artist

Step 2: There is no step 2

it's literally all about the art. Writers are a dime a dozen.

Being a good writer capable of subtlety, nuance, humor, etc; simple as that.
If you mean big 2 cape writer, then I recommend getting familiar with a character

Know how to write properly.
Know that you will have to revise your scripts multiple times before having an artist depict your story.
Having the art necessary to help set the tone for your story.

Writr a lot and read a lot, especially out of your comfort zone.

Write as if you're writing a common everyday conversation. That way you'll learn to do dialogue that sounds natural and doesn't come off as forced. And as you advance, try adding outlandish themes into those lines, without lowering the quality of the dialogue itself.

Genre fiction in general is pretty poor dialogue-wise, mostly because writers cannot integrate fantastic themes into it without ruining and making it cringy.

Panel composition. Pacing. Tone. Motion. Dialogue. Conflict. Resolution.

That's it.

Practice practice practice, also good critisim from your peers and the willingness to learn from your mistakes.

Writing is hard, characters are hard, world building is hard.

If you want quality you have to be willing to bust your ass and put your heart and soul into it, otherwise all you'll make is soulless shit.

Also be aware there are always going to be people who hate what you make, if they aren't giving valid criticism you can use to grow as a writer then pay them no mind.

OP, I'm in the same boat as you. The best advice in this thread is - read anything that can hold your interest, and takes notes on what you like/dislike.

has a solid idea, too. When you're done, try to find works by amateur authors, because they're the ones that don't have professional editors that fix their errors, and you'll see what bad writing can be. Purple prose, redundancy, lack of detail, etc.; you'll find it all. Go back and reread your own work, and see if you're finding the same errors. Then comes the editing, and moving forward.

Also, when you're writing that short story, just write it beginning to end. First drafts are never final drafts, and you'll never get to that final draft if you spend forever trying to get it perfect the first time. I've been guilty of that one, but just blowing through it and getting your ideas down in order is a massive accomplishment by itself. Polish it once there's something to polish.

Now, when it comes to depicting your story as a comic, paneling becomes a huge thing. If you have any favorite comics, go back and really study the pages as you read. See what it is that makes them work for you. Watch their placement of characters in the panels, and how their dialogue falls between them. Learn how to translate important details and actions into visuals - comics are a very "show, don't tell" medium, though sometimes you can do both with a narration over a scene, via a flashback or some such device.

(cont)

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Once you've got an idea of what you like to see in comics, start thumbnailing pages to work on your own comic's layout. Work on character placement, where your speech will go, how much of the scene you want visible in each panel (is something in the background important and can't be covered?), etc. Think about things like light sources and how they can adjust the mood of the scene. Try to make the story/action move at an even pace between the pages. If you've got an artist on board, work with them on how much instruction they need to pull off what you have in mind. Some artists like to have everything spelled out for them, while others can take a basic idea and run with it.

Finally, feedback. Find some honest people that won't mind proofreading your work and be sure to tell them that you're looking for actual critique, not just "it's good." There's nothing wrong with being told that your work sucks, so long as there's justification behind it, because that's what you learn from and work with. Revise, and ask again. Keep in mind, though, that this is your work - if you're getting someone suggesting that you change too much about what makes your story what it is, you may want to pass on their advice. It's not so much of an "it's my style" excuse as it is that they may just not be into this story and want something else. Don't compromise what you really want to do to please one person, especially if other people reviewing the story don't share their complaint. If they DO, however, you may want to step back and look at what it is you're doing, or how you're doing it.

Start small, get gud, and don't stop. It takes a lot to keep up inspiration to work on a big story, so try to stay inspired by taking in the works of others that you enjoy, and use that to make your own work.

Good luck, OP.

>Only want to write Sup Forums material
>Can't fucking draw
What do I do

>captcha: estudio frick

OP here, this small thread has been quite helpful, I truly appreciate the advice.

Just one quick question for you user, do you happen to know any short comic books that excel in the aspects you mentioned? I am not exactly well-versed in the medium.

t.pencilmonkey

How is Marvel working out now that they chased off all their writers?

It all comes down to what you enjoy and what you find inspiration in, really. If you have a local comic shop, I'd say stop by there and tell them you're looking for short series within a certain genre or that may have a certain type of character/story that you're looking for. Check out their suggestions, then tell them what was a hit, and what was a miss. They should be able to help you out from there.

Personally, I just take a look through the small press section and skim anything that catches my eye, since it seems small press titles are more likely to be a miniseries than an on-going. I'm lucky in the sense that my comic shop will let me open comics and flip through them before buying. Check out the new release section, as well.

You can also just browse the graphic novel section and look for stories that are completely contained in one book, or perhaps a few volumes.

Alright, thanks for the help user.

What if I want to be a good writer and artist at the same time?

It can be done, you just have to get good at both.

>le natural dialogue meymey
This shit is what leads to Bendisspeak though

so the implication there would be that bendisspeak is unnatural, and therefore does not apply?

Something can be simultaneously natural yet awful.
Case in point, Arsenic, niggers and garden weeds.

Learn to write good, ei: don't learn to write with the goal of being a comic book writer.

Try to break the mold and make your own stories that aren't just a bunch of references.

Same as everything else: practice.