![]() Depending on your intended approach to producing the comic, there are many accepted ways to approach formatting. ![]() This is why formatting your script in a clear, easy-to-follow way is so important.įortunately or unfortunately, a standard format for graphic novel scripts does not exist at least, I haven’t found it. The last thing that we want as writers is for our reader to get lost using our map. The pictures and symbols on a map do not hold a candle to the actual experience of the trip, but reading a map can either be a simple, pain-free, enjoyable process for the reader that leads them from spot to spot along the journey or it can be just plain awful. A script is a visual experience for the reader.Ī script is like a map for your story. Needless to say, reading those scripts was not fun.Ī script is not just words on paper. I often found it difficult to make out what information was describing the action, what was a line of dialogue, who was saying which lines, what was background information unnecessary for the reader but potentially interesting for the artist, what was direction for the artist, etcetera. I love reading scripts but sometimes the writer seemed to be making up the format as they went. One of my responsibilities was to read spec script submissions and I was floored by how many different formats were used for graphic novel scripts: screenplay format from a screenwriting software, stage play format written in Microsoft Word, prose outlines with sample pages of finished work… At least know if it ends on a happy note or if it’s a tragic journey you’re setting out on.Last summer, I worked as an Editorial Intern at First Second Books. No, you don’t need to know the particulars but have an idea, a destination. Know the ending before you write the beginning.Take notes of what you want to change but save the editing for the second draft. Force yourself to get to the end before you go back and change things in what you’ve already written. Decide how many scenes is necessary to get from point A to point B and deal with each scene as its own little story, with beginning, middle and end. 1st act, 2nd act, 3rd, act, individual scenes. Break it down into manageable parts if you feel looking at your entire story is overwhelming.And it makes the actual writing SO much easier. The good thing is you can do this anywhere, anytime. Take notes or just run through the scene in your head. Think through scenes before you sit down to write them.Write your first draft with the door closed. If you have people critizing or asking the wrong questions it can totally derail your process. This means the first draft is yours and yours alone. Stephen King talks about writing with the door closed or door open in his book On Writing (which I can highly recommend). Resist the urge to show your writing to anyone before the first draft is finished.It’s a first draft and it will be edited later! Don’t worry about grammar or mull over character names or location description, just get the story beats down. ![]() Perfection is not what you’re going for.You can always change the particulars later. Get it on paper, beginning, middle and end. Here are some pointers for getting that first draft done: After all, if it’s a first draft, you don’t have to be Alan Moore right from the go! And after I learned to write a script, the next most important lesson was to think of my script in terms of drafts. Writing a script for my comics was the lesson that took my process to the next level. Using post-it notes or index cards can be very helpful in planning your story When you’re writing your script, it’s important to take the pressure off and ban your inner critic from meddling. ![]()
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