Any pointers for writing a comic?

[realSean_Murphy]

I'm a beginner to writing and wanted to know how you plan out your comics.
Do you right it out first, or do you draw it?
Do you mainly write it out on paper first or do you just start it out in something like word?
Also when it comes to writing with something like word is there a program more for comics?

[Puppisama]

This thread might be helpful: http://forums.tapastic.com/t/beans-of-wisdom-the-complete-guide-to-creating-successful-comics/13548/13
Short anwser:

Write it first, write at least a brief summary of the story, enough to know what happens, and try to do get some chapters out of it. And very important, write it page by page, with dialogs, so you know what happens on each page.
Write it wherever you want, just write it, write every single idea, because you might forget some later.
I use word, it does the job.

I don't have all my comic written, but I do have some chapters and pages done, and a summary of what the story is about. Thats enough to start drawing some pages. But is better if before uploading it you have 1 chapter done already. Always keep some buffer pages.

[mintycanoodles]

I planned p much my whole comic before I started, so while working on it I know generally where I'm going. I break each chapter down to scenes and figure out what i want each scene to do. I then get the actual action/dialogue down as I draw the scene, and the dialogue itself comes last.

so my pointer - have a plan, but start general and work towards specificity. but there are as many different ways to do a comic as there are comic creators, so do whatever works for you. and good luck!

[keii4ii]

I wouldn't be able to make a coherent comic if I didn't plan out all the important parts first!

That said, there ARE people who work better if they do it by the seat of their pants ("pantsers"). So it depends on the person. I think even pantsers write the scene before drawing it though, unless they're doing something experimental. The difference is that while someone like me has to have the overall structure of the whole story figured out first, pantsers can write scene by scene.

As for where to write it... whereever you want, dude! Paper, Word, whatever you feel comfortable with. I personally don't recommend paper because of the lack of Search function, but if you really like paper, who's to stop you?

[spadesart]

Write it out! Be sure to keep both an outline of your story/chapters (i do it in google docs and put bullet points of character actions, setting descriptions, important dialogue to remember, important panel thumbnails/concepts, etc) and a script of all the dialogue in your chapter (i use notepad because its easily accessible and i dont have to switch to my internet to work on the pages). trust me when I say this works 10000000000000000x better than going in blind. You don't have to write anything on paper if you don't want to, as a left handed person it just gets ink/pencil all over my hand and smudges everywhere. General rule though is write out your whole chapter before you start drawing it, trust me it'll be so much easier to keep up with.

[spooktacularprize]

Here's what I do:

*Have the story in your head first
*Begin writing an outline for each major "scene" (I don't really used chapter format so I wouldn't say something like; outline your entire chapter first
*I have a bunch of scenes written in advance; but because each scene can take upwards of 5-10 pages, I have maybe 9 scenes planned out right now; meaning anyway from 45 to 90 pages; and probably more than that.
*I write down important dialogue that I know I pretty much want to happen word for word; if I don't know the specifics of an event or scene I'll outline in very vaguely and come back to it later to get more specific
*I write down every detail about the plot and story that I have figured out thus far regardless of order, especially complicated plot details, explanations, etc.
*When I draw the scene, I draw it based on a basic idea of what i want the character to be saying; I add the exact dialogue after this on another layer.
*I draw and color the entire scene and then take a look at the dialogue again. If it seems awkward I do some rephrasing, still trying to cover the basic details of what needs to be said.

I'm not sure this is the most....conventional method, but it works for me.

[TACOBERTO]

Plan out as much as you can. Think ahead as far as possible. Writing should come first so you give your drawing structure.
Get in the habit of writing scripts and start getting in to a style that you like. In your free time it would also help to write out your comic like a book or novel (if you plan on doing a narrative)

[joannekwan]

I definitely write it out first, I'll start with a rough blurb of what I want the story to be about overall, then I move to an outline of major events, then I start scripting. This helps me find any plot holes and work on pacing, like if I find a character needs more development I'll add a scene here or there. This process is pretty essential for my plot-driven series, but for my slice-of-life Demon House, I just plan individual episode arcs, because I see that one more as a sitcom.

I use Word to do all of this but you can use whatever you desire. I just find it easier to go back and add stuff in than it would be if everything was physically written down. I used to do that when I was 12, there were a lot of long arrows and brackets with chunks of text, quite chaotic. xD

[nickricci]

My writing path was a bit winding at first, but eventually I settled into a pattern that I've stuck with for a while. Here's how I wrote Whetstone:
1. Write the story in its entirety, or at least as much as you can, as if it were a novel.
2. Divide that story into sections of reasonable length that roughly equate to chapters.
3. Each chapter becomes it's own comic once you've fleshed out all of the dialogue, panels, etc.

I use the Van Lente format to organize my chapters into workable scripts after I've written the story:
http://www.comicbookscriptarchive.com/archive/panel-1/how-to-format-a-comic-script/

Hope that helps!

[Shanny8]

Write. Word is decent enough- just remember to save your stories to something(else) where you wont lose the files if your computer crashes, gets stolen, or whatever. You can write on paper if you feel comfortable doing that.

There is no "specific" way to write comics. Google diff articles and study how others write their material. Find something that is close enough to what you want to do.

I just start out more along the line of throwing stuff against the wall and see what sticks- once I find an idea that I like and can further develop, then I start building & shaping it. I even type out various outcomes & scenarios so that I can get an idea of what direction I want the story to go.

[Aspie_Gamer]

Some people like to plan things out page by page panel by panel and that's perfectly fine, but I know I'm not really that kind of writer. I prefer the "by the seat of your pants" writing approach since ideas I have for a chapter almost always change on the flip of a coin. Usually its "how do I condense my ideas, but still get the point(s) across that I want to make for this chapter?", but occasionally things I didn't originally plan to have happen in Life of an Aspie just came to me like all (fairly) good ideas do. For example, I never planned to have Susan play Dragon Age: Origins at the start of LoaA, but since it worked so well in establishing her Asperger's, I thought "Why not?" and threw it in.

[okellymx]

1. Start with a small story and make sure you finish it.
2. Make a summary with the theme and an outline, make sure you have an ending. Majors events will help.
3. Then write what happens within each page for the first chapter. This doesn't have to be very detailed if you are the one drawing it. I use 1-4 sentences to describe what happens per page as my script with occasional important dialogue.
4. At this time you can start drawing the storyboards or roughs for the first chapter and go back and write the remaining comic script.
5. Do What you feel like doing, there are no true answers.

This is what I'm doing because writing detailed scripts and every idea of the whole story keeps me from starting the comic and takes much longer. I've tried to plan out as far as possible but it doesn't help me actually start the comic. No amount of preplanning will make up for inexperience. You will learn as you go.
Your first story will probably suck but that's okay, getting used to writing stories and finishing them is probably the most important thing to writing. That's why most Manga artists have to make one-shots. They get experience writing and finishing comics. Eiichiro Oda created 5 one-shots before starting one piece.

So in short do what feels good to you and in time you will learn how to get better by actually finishing comics.

[punkarsenic]

i think when it comes to writing, every artist does it very differently. id recommend starting with smth like a one-shot series while you figure out what method works best for you - i threw myself right into my first longform webcomic and had to do a whole lot of figuring out as i went along.

personally, i write out the story first in close detail, noting every emotion expressed and details worth showing (basically, write it like a book but mayb less fancy language) - then i start scripting it into panels and pages.
in that, i sketch out the pages in a sketchbook and note down the dimensions of the panel, colouring notes, where text will be, etc etc basically note down everything because you never know what youll forget later.

other comic creators just jot down (or even remember) their storyline and go. you can be as vague or as detailed as you like in planning - but if you plan it out earlier, the drawing stage will be so much easier.

conveniently, youre likely working on your own on a webcomic - so all your sketching and scripting processes only need to make sense for you. youll likely develop youre own code for getting across your intentions - just make sure you explain it to anyone that helps you out along the way!

also, not exactly part of the method but: gather up buffer pages. maybe have about three weeks worth of updates ready-made before you start posting, and if you do choose to write and draw in separate stages, make sure youre still writing while drawing pages, and vice versa - you dont want to be stuck with that awkward pause while you script the next cluster of updates (like i do lol)

[vongcw]

Lol - so many answers. Here I'll tell you mine too for Aetherwar.

First phase: Brainstorming
This is the most exciting phase. Write down all your characters. Create bios for them. Sketch them. Think of interesting conversations they have. Think of epic adventures they have etc. I guess the important thing is finding some way of recording things down. Don't worry about what you think of. Nothing here is set in stone.

By the way, I have spent long periods just in this phase. Months. Years... Not recommended for consistently producing comics. But no matter what you need some good time spent in this phase.

Second phase: Outline
I don't create an extremely detailed story. But I do make sure the backbone of the story is strong. This is like the main flow of events. Does it make sense? Does it engage? What are the vital elements that if you miss the story makes no sense or is weakened? Answer the IMPORTANT questions. What is the theme of the comic? Meaning what is the main question it is trying to ask? What are your hook points? What's unique about this story?

For Aetherwar, this was a three week process. I had one pretty intense script and threw the whole thing out just because I felt I was introducing too many elements and in fact that story needed a prequel: the current one I'm drawing. 7 iterations later I found I was a lot closer to what I wanted.

Phase 3: Making it into a comic.

Okay. Some people like thumbnailing the ENTIRE comic first. And when they are happy with it they ink and colour the whole thing.

For me I prefer going a scene at a time constantly referring to my backbone i produced in the last phase. Why? Because I have this weird thing where... well believe it or not, the characters start taking a life of their own. It's really odd. I'm panelling out a scene and the two characters suddenly start saying things to one another that I didn't plan for but just feel right. I'm often left blinking at the screen wondering why the heck I just typed out what I did. A secondary reason is that scenes can also take on a life of their own. A sudden demand for quiet or a small cute funny shot.

The problem with this is sometimes a single scene can demand your entire backbone to change thus you risk creating a plot hole or lose your original theme. However, because of the life and uniqueness this brings to the characters and because I feel people are always more engaged by interesting people doing boring things than boring people doing interesting things, I believe it is worth it.

Well, I don't think my method is particularly better than anyone else's and I see a lot of good advice already. For whatever it is worth though, I hope it helps! It's a long road, so get started! At the end of the day, we all learn best by actually giving things a shot.