Initial Descriptions (How do I write a good one?)

Darkshines 2023-11-13 20:32:20 UTC #1

Sooo as the title says, I'm writing a description for my comic however, I'm not sure if it one, makes sense or is interesting enough.
Just wondering if anyone has a tips for writing a good one?

dbeirigo 2023-11-13 20:49:42 UTC #2

I'm not good at those too, but if you wanna know my process I just keep it as simple as possible and focus on the dialogue because the rest I will figure out in the drawing stage

An example.

The sun was rising, a silver knight prepares to fight a golden kinight, we can see only their eyes through their armor, there's a period of anticipation, they are on a green hill with a few threes.

The silver night strikes first the golden night blocks with his sword

They press the swords against eachother.

Silver knight(angry): you bastard!!!
Golden knight(calm): you and your entire lineage are pathethic.

Kuma 2023-11-13 22:03:55 UTC #3

I feel like this could be decompressed for dramatism (Is a very simple format)

Panel 1
The sun rises in the horizon

Panel 2
The first rays of sunlight filter through the trees

Panel 3
The Silver Knight lifts his sword and shield, taking a stance.

Panel 4
The Gold Knight stands in guard with his sword

Panel 5 and 6
Close-up to the Silver Knight eyes and the Golden Knight eyes facing each other.

Panel 7
The Silver Knight charges forward
SFX: Clang-clang-clang (Armor)

Panel 8
A close up of the Golden Knight sword swing.

Panel 9
Both swords clash with a small shockwave and sparks.

Panel 10
The Silver Knight presses on his sword and can't contain his anger.

Silver Knight: You bastard!

Panel 11
Close up to the arrogant and calm eyes of the Golden Knight.

Panel 12
The Golden Knight matches the pressure of his enemy.

Golden Knight: You and your entire lineage are pathetic.

Kuma 2023-11-13 22:07:44 UTC #4

I rarely go into detail in the script itself, I make Reference documents.

For example if I write

Panel 1 - Forest of Lerno - Dusk

GALNER, covered in a hooded tunic, walks through a hunter's path in the forest.

I don't write how the forest looks unless it's a direct interaction, scripts should focus on actions.

I have another document for the script in which I put a description of the location and reference images to help the artist. Because comic books are a visual medium first, so "describing" the environment in kinda of wasting precious text when you can have it drawn.

Darkshines 2023-11-13 22:39:43 UTC #5

Though this is actually really helpful, I was more on about the description when you're looking at the comics to read. The blurb as you will

IndigoShirtProd 2023-11-13 23:50:19 UTC #6

@CollidingByDesign I wouldn't say I'm the best at writing synopses or blurbs, so you can take what I say with a grain of salt, but I would say to focus on the character(s) and the main hook or main conflict.

Let's say it a romance story that's being written, you want to focus on the characters, a mousy, young woman and her overconfident counterpart. The main conflict between them, they're from two different worlds, one's lives on a ranch by themselves and the other has never left the city so they have differing perspectives. But even with all of that, the are able to fall in love. And if there's and external conflict, thr money or family keeping them apart that can be mentioned as well.

So, who are the characters of importance and what is the major conflict they're facing. Try and sum that up in a few sentences. And you can always come back here for more feedback.

Kuma 2023-11-14 00:01:14 UTC #7

Ah!

Ok, then what's most important to cover is

Who?
What?
Why?

Who are the characters we're going to care about? What is their goal? What makes this story different from others? Why should I read this story? Why do they want to fulfill their goals?

You need to build an elevator pitch of your story to sell it's uniqueness to the public.

llobucervallince 2023-11-14 00:05:23 UTC #8

try taking references of summaries from other comics, or shows descriptions too.
for example:

All the light we cannot see.

The story of Marie-Laure, a blind French teenager, and Werner, a German soldier, whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II.

see if there's something else that could be useful in these.

TheLemmaLlama 2023-11-14 10:04:01 UTC #9

I largely still agree with this:

What are your tips on writing a synopsis for your comic/novel?

1. Have focus. If you rely on your description to attract general readers who aren't looking for anything in particular, you don't want your description to say 'this story has X, Y, Z, W and G'. To a reader skimming over your description, that many things just aren't going to stick; it'll all blend together and they'll walk away confused about what the premise of your comic even is. Instead, you want your description to say 'this story does X. It does so much X that it's the most X comic you'll ever read'.

(Though I think you might want to do the opposite if you're banking on 'searchers' who are actively looking for specific things in comics, in which case it might help to have a variety of keywords in your descriptions and let it function like a set of hashtags :P)

2. Prioritize punchy over short. If you try too hard to cram your description into a tiny amount of space, it often ends up sounding dry (or at least that's what tends to happen for me :'D). At least if I'm on someone's page already, I'm generally willing to skim a description about the length of this paragraph x2 :]

3. If you're stuck, a verbatim description of your intent/vision for your story is surprisingly effective. Even if it breaks the 4th wall. I have taken an interest in a number of comics just from listening to creators talking about them on these forums, but when I read the descriptions for those same comics, the vast majority of them are ones I would've skipped over. Just copy-pasting their comment into their description would be better than a description that makes their story sound like yet another typical story of their genre :]

Lensing 2023-11-14 10:20:00 UTC #10

An electrifying saga unfolds as silver and gold knights clash beneath the sunrise,
where blades collide, passions ignite, and ancient legacies face profound challenges.

migxmeg 2023-11-14 19:53:47 UTC #11

Thinking about blurbs that actually got me to click through to the first episode (assuming I didn’t have some other reason to be interested in the story and just found it randomly), I’m looking more for specific information about your story than a writing sample or anything that feels generic.

I want to know the genre you’re working in (action? What kind of action - shounen? Gansters? Is there also mystery or romance? Etc.), get an idea about the main character(s), the plot and the conflict of the story. It’s not a spoiler to give the main idea and readers can make a judgment about whether it’s the kind of thing they enjoy and worth their investment. I’m probably already interested in your art based on the thumbnail if I’ve made it to your description and I can decide if I like your writing by getting into the first few episodes but I’m not going to bother if the story doesn’t sound intriguing or I don’t really understand what it’s about after reading your blurb.

Weirdo 2023-11-14 19:58:06 UTC #12

Write about your characters, basically, and the plot of the story.
If you need any inspiration you can always read my webcomic.