Writing Novels vs. Comics:

[Leyelle]

I've really liked both since I was a little kid, and have worked on scripts for comics as well as writing my own novels, so I thought it would be fun for everyone to compare their preferences, why they like one or the other, or things they think work better in one medium versus the other.

Novels:
1. You get a lot more opportunity to describe settings. While some people dislike exposition, done well (as by Charles Dickens) it can be as fun to read as the dialog. It also gives you opportunities to describe objects, people, and places in ways that you wouldn't normally think of ("With a face as big as a ham.") which gives you an opportunity to imagine the world in unusual or poignant ways. An opportunity that you don't get when the visuals are given to you and thus made concrete. I'm a poet, so I relish the chance to create a multisensory experience for my readers spawned purely from word choice and imagery. ("I imagined I could see his face turning that sickly maroon shade of fury as the texts came in one after another – exploding white bubbles of raving letters-" "A bouquet of lilies unnatural shades of black stood with their faces and leaves pressed against the window like tarry shadows, little demons with bats’ wings sucking on the glass, before wilting away into nothingness at hyperspeed.")
2. Expanding on the last idea, when you read a novel versus reading a comic, you get to imagine the characters however you want them. Certainly, you want a bit of description from the author to know what the characters are like, but then you get to fill in the blanks, which isn't possible when you read a comic. I think this is also part of the charm of audio dramas.

Comics:
1. Now on the other hand: the full impact of world settings exists best in the format of comics. We get to see the majesty of buildings, or the horrible states of decay in apocalyptic words, which might lose part of their poignancy in novel format.
2. Comics also give you a better chance to utilize silence, because you can see what the characters are doing without having to describe it. You can watch the scenes almost like frames of a movie, rather than having to make your mind understand the scenes.

What about you? preferences? If you have pros and cons of either or, or both, share them here:

Read Damsel in the Red Dress :: Damsel in the Red Dress | Tapas Novels

[voskhodart]

I love writing both! I haven't published much of my strictly written work, but I think both mediums have a lot of pros and cons. Different stories definitely work better in different forms!

Novels:

• Give a much better opportunity to describe abstract concepts, feelings, and thoughts.
• Allow the author to make clear comparisons.
• Give readers the opportunity to use their own imagination to see characters and worlds.
• Can be more restrictive when trying to describe something unfamiliar to readers.

Comics:

• Give creators the opportunity to use visual directing skills. (I even find myself referencing a lot of my favorite film concepts when I lay out my panels.)
• Make it much easier to show things that wouldn't be as easy to describe in text.
• Have the opportunity for visual gags that typically work a lot better than attempts at written humor.
• Make it a bit more difficult to clearly show the more abstract ideas in the story.

Novels are excellent for stories that don't need to rely very much on visual storytelling, and comics can do an amazing job of using art and visuals to enhance a story. I've seen plenty of comics that just... didn't need to be comics, if that makes sense. But I've also seen plenty of novels that I would have loved to have seen in a more visual format!

[Leyelle]

Give a much better opportunity to describe abstract concepts, feelings, and thoughts.

Yesss, this is exactly what I was saying, they let you use weird comparisons or describe things in ways that make you think differently

[julias_art_universe]

I'm definitely more of a comics person because writing narrative descriptions are hard for me and there so much you can describe in a picture. I love imagining strange visuals then drawing them to show my readers what I mean. Often a description of what I'm imagining doesn't do it justice. Example whatever you want to call this

I do see your point with exposition though, exposition is very hard to show in comics typically you have to find a wy to make everything make sense to the reader as a standalone in the first chapter. In subsequent chapters you can have some exposition once they care about the story. Even then it's best to show in conversation.

Another con with comics is how time consuming they are. I've been working on my current project for a year and have 150 pages (58 of those are on here) if this were a novel I'd be finished already. Frequently I find myself up late to finish a page after school. Typically I do 4-6 pages a week though my obligation for tapas stops at 3.

However, in the end it comes down to personal preference. Although I don't know much about novels I still consider them a respectable form of writing.

Also, here's my comic if you're interested

Read My Matchmaker from Hell | Tapas Web Comics

[skidiggy]

I find writing novels easier on my schedule, especially since I can write while also getting my daily fitness goals or multi-tasking on something else (like cooking or cleaning). Plus, while I like drawing comics, they take ages to sketch, ink, color and shade each image. I can typically write a chapter for my novel in the same amount of time it would take me to render a single panel of a comic.

Time permitting, I'd love to do both. If I had to choose at present, novels meet my needs better at this point though. I hope that helps.

Read Apparent Secrets | Tapas Web Novels

[Leyelle]

you can write and workout at the same time?

[Leyelle]

Novels are my thing two atm. I can write lots of scripts, but when it comes to illustrating...

"mother nature said...no child...that's not for you."

[lignorice]

I write both! I started from comic on my childhood days (when I was in elementary to junior high) and switched to novels from senior high school because it takes a lot to draw what I want

For me, the pros and cons are as follows:

1. Novel
   Pros:
   a. Describes better profound feelings when your characters are not essentially moving.
   b. Have more opportunity to show the characters' thinking process/reasoning
   c. Giving more chance for the readers to fill the blanks with their own sensory interpretation up to their imagination (like @Leyelle said)
   Cons:
   a. Sometimes make the reader sleepy (esp when it's a long explanation which requires thinking, or to a reader which is not really fond of long sentences)
   b. Difficulities in explaining motions (it's like okay I better show you via drawing)
   c. Prone to repeat the same words (need to learn more and more vocab) or using words that are uncommon to reader (which leads to confusion)

2. Comics
   Pros:
   a. Conveys directly your character design, your setting, with exactly how you want. Easier to get the reader into the same page about these.
   b. Easier to convey the action, motions.
   c. Some things are just better shown in drawings (especially jokes. Kinda hard for me to joke in novel)
   Cons:
   a. Kinda hard to explain characters' thought or feelings (you need to emphasize in drawing). For me, sometimes better conveyed in writing.
   b. Takes a lot of effort, especially drawing motions, perpectives, and copy paste the characters' faces and not forgetting things like characters' height, etc for consistency.

I agree with @voskhodart that different stories work better in different forms. I have drafts which better off as novel, RPG, and comics. I even have one that better off as dating sim game!

[skidiggy]

I feel that. It's the little things, like hands, feet, machines, cars, interiors, (some) animals, hair, landscapes... Oof, that list of things I struggle with illustrating keeps getting longer.

[Leyelle]

symmetry, architecture, male bodies, water, glass, fire, shadows, light...

[ThunderChicken]

I prefer to write because I tend to get wordy. But I do love to draw, and it is my life's goal to turn Wild Nights, Hot and Crazy Days into a comic. It's just that drawing takes so much time, and time is one thing I do not have a lot of.

[Leyelle]

who does in this crazy hectic world, tbh? to be independently wealthy...

[UrMom]

Gosh, I admit I absolutely hate writing. I'm a visual thinker. It takes so much longer, and it's so much harder to describe something via text or speech than just drawing it out. Doesn't help I've always had trouble with focus when reading, so I didn't really get to enjoy it until the past couple of years. That being said, I can see novels leaving a lot more to the imagination. Even if something is described (For example, a character having fair skin and long, brown hair.), readers can still mentally visualize small details differently based on their experiences and preferences. As opposed to visual art where you get what you see, and there's no room for reader's imaginations... outside of character background/lore details that would only be vaguely described in conversation or small visual hints. Which can be pretty nice, like when you have a monster movie where it would be more beneficial to not show the monster, since what viewers imagine will be much scarier than the actual thing.

[Leyelle]

I didn't realize adapting to the format of writing a script would be so hard, but I hadn't done it in a while, and going from completing a novel to starting a script almost entirely from scratch is feeling like trying to learn to walk again.

[Leyelle]

how about the amount of abridging dialog you have to do when writing a comic strip versus a novel? my novel is like 70% conversations, and my comic has a lot of convos too, but i keep having to cut them shorter nervous sweat

[Animal508]

I'm writing a novel because my writing skills are better than my drawing skills. I still struggle with perspective and shading, not to mention the larger time commitment.

I may work on a comic in the future, but it would be after my novel is completed.

[Leyelle]

i'm collaborating with an artist so thankfully my lack of skills aren't a barrier

[Leyelle]

I love describing things in ways that give readers more of an idea or a feeling than a clear idea what's going on. Less because I want to leave it to their imaginations, and less because I feel like clarity or too much detail can sometimes dilute the emotion. but there are levels. sometimes giving an excruciating level of detail is just that. excrutiating. it's like that in the second chapter of "Damsel in the Red Dress" where Alicia describes her physical agony in vivid detail.

[Leyelle]

Designing outfits and hairstyles are so much more fun in comics than in novels. it's pretty boring to describe an outfit (unless something interesting revolves around it, like the scene in "Pink Wrapper") maybe it'll grow on me, but designing an outfit is one of my favorite parts of the comic process

Read Damsel in the Red Dress :: Pink Wrapper | Tapas Novels

[Leyelle]

Now that i'm working on another comic script, i'm appreciating the way that comics allow you to add lots of little details like Easter eggs, while with a novel, you have to explicitly state them. If you mix it in with a lot of other details as a sort of offhand comic, you can still surprise people with it's relevance later on, but because they actually have to read it, they automatically pay more attention it's a lot more difficult to surprise them with the thing when it comes up later.

I think one way you CAN succeed at this is to make something feel like you already know it's relevance and then surprise the readers with greater relevance later. Like I did with Alicia's screen saver in these chapters

Read Damsel in the Red Dress :: Nebulous Gray | Tapas Community

Read Damsel in the Red Dress :: Cooties (Part. 1) | Tapas Community