COMICS: 6 Great Tips for Writing Comic Scripts

So you've got your awesome idea, and you've got a willing pencilmonkey ready to draw the pages with you, so how will you go about getting the pictures in your head onto the page?

1. First, we have to establish whether you are writing AND drawing this comic, or just writing it. If your are also the artist, then you may be able to develop some sort of shorthand for yourself when you write the script. If you are a very intuitive artist or storyteller, you may want to dispense with the script altogether, and just go straight to a sketchbook. If you are the writer, then you're going to have to write the whole script, and not cut corners. Start by looking at some example comic scripts. You can find some online, or in bound volumes such as Panel One by Nat Gertler.

2. Be Clear. You're going to have to translate the images you have in your head onto paper. If the positioning on someone's hand is important to the story, then make sure you tell the artist that. You can use movie terms like close-up and long-shot if you wish to communicate the framing of the panels.

3. Be concise. Take a look at a lot of comic scripts. Some of the best ones are expressive with their words, but concise with it. It's rare you can get away with an Alan Moore-level of description, nor would you necessarily need to. Describe the action. Write the dialogue. Then move on, allowing the artist to do their part of the deal.

4. Be nice. The script is like a long-form instructional letter from you to the artist, and if you want them to stay on for more than one issue, you'll need to not patronise or offend. The artist has gained their position for a reason; they're a darn fine penciller, so treat them with respect and let them get on with the thing they do best.

5. Be Dynamic. There are moments in a comic where you're going to have to express back story, or convey story through dialogue, but reading two people talking can be deadly dull. Shake it up a bit by having unusual framing, dynamic action or great backdrops. Spiderman, for instance, is rarely pictured standing still - he'll be upside down, swinging from a web, gripping a wall or flying through the air.

6. Be Fast! It's rare that you'll get paid a great amount for writing your script, so you may want to get it done as soon as possible. You also don't want to keep the process held up; after you write it, the penciller has to draw it, then it gets inked, coloured, lettered, edited, printed and shipped. So keep the business going and the energy up by getting your part done. Fast!

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COMICS is a regular series of posts looking at writing for the comic book industry.

image: Marek Kowalik http://www.sxc.hu/profile/winblows