Do you prefer writing novels or scripts?

[smokesalty]

I'm kinda curious since there's a mix of comic creators and novelists here on the forums!

I've recently gotten back to novel writing and it's been really fun, and of course there are challenges since unlike script writing I have to actually describe things instead of just going "Just work it out when you draw the pages."

I honestly like both pretty equally even if scripts are easier to write. I enjoy being able to create scenes and character moments just through words, I think it's really cool. I'm able to show the audience what I see in my head without having to spend years illustrating it, that's also a plus

I'm curious to hear if anyone has a preference and why!

[RiidDisBuk2]

I don't mind writing any of them. But if I can write a novel, I can get my work out faster than I intend to.

[BarBarKetrab]

I prefer novels. It's just more engaging than a script for me personally plus your first draft of a novel is closer to the final product than a script is to a comic.

[TheLemmaLlama]

Depends what you mean by 'script' I'm a comic creator so one might think I prefer scripts, but I actually hate writing completely scripts with descriptions and everything that an actual artists who can't read my mind can follow XD So I guess my preference is:

incomprehensible partial scripts that don't include anything I could show in a thumbnail > prose > proper scripts

[Lensing]

I write stories in my head all the time but I never wrote a novel.
My script writing is very basic and like @TheLemmaLlama I don´t write complete scripts.
I write the script into the panels and it´s usually just one sentence.
I only write scripts when I have to, when I work with someone who writes the dialogues
for example and when I want them to finish the dialogue before I start the comic, so they
know what´s going on

[KeinanX]

Easy both! Writing in general is exciting for guys like me​

[CommissarTarkin]

Scripts, to be honest. I was told that my prose is good enough that I could write a novel, but for some reason the process itself is much less enjoyable to me. I do like writing short stories, though.

[AlydaB]

Novels! :]

I was a writer long before I even knew webcomics were a thing and think of myself as 'writer' first before 'artist' or 'comic creator'. The majority of my favorite stories are books, so that's what I always wanted to create.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but there are some things you can very easily get across with words that are impossible to draw and difficult to gracefully convey with captions, thought bubbles, or wordy info dumps via dialogue. Writing is also so much faster than drawing. I miss being able to whip out a solid introduction in a week rather than over a year. :')

I still debate whether my current project should've been a book like I initially intended it to be, but any format you could use to tell your story comes with opportunity cost. Scripts are bare bones and no fun (I'm one of those writers who loves wordy, poetic description), but I enjoy illustrating them and getting to bring my fantasy world to life in a colorful visual medium. It pushes me to think and find a creative way to make the most of the format despite its limits.

As with anything, pros and cons.

[PrinceLatte]

It depends honestly, whatever I see for the visions. Somethings feel like they need to be drawn, others deserve a nvoel

[Bearkorps]

I would say more novels. While I do think that some of my stories would work well visually, I do not like writing dialogue, it's probably my major weakness with writing. It's probably a misconception, but I feel like scripts are more character focused, and I enjoy gravitating away from mine.

[Ordinaryaverageguy]

I did a little research once on what it takes to make a good script for a comic & I found it somewhat intimidating, just looking at it from the outside.

[bulgariansumo]

I used to only write in script format, even when I didn't plan on turning it into a comic. In fact, I don't think I ever scripted out my comics in advance. I still like writing scripts from time to time, but I feel like I'm able to get more description out of novel format.

The dream would be to have my writing in animated format. However, I am just one person and would not like to die trying to animate everything LOLOL. Then I'd have to find voice actors and whatnot too. So stressful!

[CommissarTarkin]

The dream would be to have my writing in animated format. However, I am just one person and would not like to die trying to animate everything LOLOL. Then I'd have to find voice actors and whatnot too. So stressful!

That's my dream as well, in the unlikely case that our comics makes it big, maybe we can pitch our idea for the animated series...

[MeltingCORE]

I prefer novels because I love painting with my words. I use art to further express the worlds in my stories.

[Sinicalcomics]

I tried writing novels for the longest time but there's something about the bluntness of a script that's so appealing to me.

[powerplantanimations]

My brain shuts off whenever I do it. It's like I'm on autopilot. Took me along time to streamline it, but after trying to get a job at DC, they gave me an example script. I took it and since then, I've been using that. It's MUCH easier when writing for a script format.

[system]

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