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smokesalty
Apr '22

Most of my edits have come after finishing my script, which made me realise that some things I thought would be relevant to the story actually weren't. I will often cut the scene- and if there's something important established I will find another place to introduce it in the story. There have been some scenes that have been re-written entirely.

I usually write a list of things that need improving. I will spend my time working on improving things until I'm satisfied with it.

I also go back and add foreshadowing. I edit character dialogue since I realise that a character wouldn't word something in that way or that it may be too on the nose. If I feel something is telling instead of showing, I think of ways to convey this naturally around the scenes I already have.

I will also fix general pacing issues in my script- but most of the time I assume I'll work out the pacing in the comic pages themselves. In terms of the actual comic, there are times where I will add an additional page or panel to improve the overall flow of a scene.

How do you guys edit?

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Kaydreamer
Apr '22

I don't really formally 'edit', and that's because editing is kinda baked into my writing process itself.

My process is very... chaotic. I'm not a proper pantser - I mostly know where I'm going with my story - but I script whatever scene pops into my head at the time, between whatever characters, in whatever order. This all gets thrown into one giant 'note' in my phone. I'll read through these snippets occasionally, replay them in my head them, add new snippets, change old ones to reflect newer ideas... Some get changed a lot, others, not at all. Some I abandon entirely.

When I start a new chapter, I'll go through all the snippets which, chronologically, are supposed to go in that chapter. I'll copy them out to Scrivner, arrange them in order, add whatever connecting tissue they need between them, make sure they flow well and make sense, and that's basically my script done.

Where writing ends and editing begins in that mess is... very fuzzy. :joy:

TheLemmaLlama
Apr '22

Hmmm, I haven't actually finished my whole script yet so I guess I also consider my 'macro-level editing' (e.g. pacing, shuffling around/deleting scenes, foreshadowing) as just part of my writing process. Though I've had a few strips which were part of my plan up until I got up to drawing them, at which point I was like 'this is so tedious to draw, is this strip really necessary?' and I found my answer is 'no' so I abandoned it :stuck_out_tongue: So I guess I also use laziness as a filter for editing out scenes XD

As for the parts of my script I've actually written (i.e. scenes in line to be drawn), I edit via thumbnailing! By putting down some visuals, I get a better sense of how the scene flows and often find ways to rephrase some of my more awkward-sounding lines because the added constraint of having them fit in the panels without being cluttered is actually surprisingly helpful :stuck_out_tongue:

So I guess I kind of rely on my drawing process for editing :o No wonder I can't write novels XD

NickRowler
Apr '22

My writing process is a bit unconventional… I usually thumbnail and script together because that is the only way I can organize my thoughts. I also have to do it traditionally. It also means that most of my “first draft” dialogue is very vague. And it is not until I bring things into Photoshop that I actually made it sound better.

Example the script will have a character saying, “I am sad.” But the final comic might have them saying, “Wow, this sucks. Now I feel like crap.”

I also tend to write a lot of pages (and even chapters) that just get scrapped or Frankensteined together. I am sometimes worried about people noticing the seams. I do have one chapter which was 3 or 4 chapters stitched together…it was sort of a mess to write.

Lady_T_Musings
Apr '22

My editing process goes

  1. Ridiculously detailed outline

  2. Word vomit on each point until there's enough for what I believe constitutes a chapter

  3. Add some kind of grammar in there so that things make sense for when it's time to thumbnail

  4. Put in dialogue for characters instead of descriptors

Bonus Round into Drawing

Once I'm done with dialogue I'm ready to thumbnail and only glance at the script, preferring to draw based on feeling. Then Feel silly once I start putting my word bubbles down bc odds are my dialogue will have to change quite a bit since I've either added or removed a scene based on how I wanted the flow to go when drawing hahaha.

Though as I continue with this comic of mine, I'm developing better habits about the pregame warm-up for making comics. It just makes life so much easier to pay closer attention to the script, but I do leave room to breath over trying to account for every detail since shiz happens and gotta have room for a change in inspiration :purple_heart:

powerplantanimations
Apr '22

I re-read the story for 40 minutes five times and then I do the descriptions separately. After I finish an episode, I go back to my series outline and make changes so I can foreshadow stuff.

BoomerZ
Apr '22

I use an outline. Every panel gets its own number. My episodes are usually 30 panels or around that, so I start with just numbering 1-30. I know where I'm going with my comic so I just have to get there. I start with dialogue. It doesn't have to be good, it has to be written down. Just put it to paper. Quick notes like "Gavin looks confused". Before a dialogue I usually put the first letter of the person talking. Once you get the scene on paper, now edit. Go back and read it. Contract words as much as possible. Add or subtract anything to make the dialogue more clear. Then save and walk away. The next day look at it again. You will be surprised what you wrote is not what your brain is reading. Your brain will add "the" and "a" to make the sentence make sense to your mind. Fresh eyes will find this. It's why if you can afford it, editors help. After this, I treat it as a script for a movie and start the roughs as a storyboard. Trying to make the dialogue work in the shots. As I'm roughing it out (zero reason for thumbnails if you are digital) you can still edit, but usually at the inking phase the dialogue won't change from there. I also fill in the dialogue without balloons on the panel so I know what space is blocked. Don't waste time drawing something if you won't see it anyway.

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