>you will never get to write comics

I'm actually writing a comic right now.
Don't let your dreams be memes, everyone.
You too can make it if you try hard and get lucky.

>>93967706
how you do that?

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But I've written several succesful novels.

>>93967722
Name 5. And tell me how you do it.

Learn to write a novel and then transition into comics

>>93967732
>Write shit tons of stories
>Attend every writing competition you can find
>Send good scripts to several publishers
>Once you get a contract shit starts rolling
Now I can pretty much just send a synopsis to get a publishing deal.

>read all the fucking time
>have ideas in my head for a sci-fi/fantasy novel I've been kicking around for more than a decade
>realize that I don't know enough about people to write believable female/non-geeky characters

I mean, I could just throw something together on Smashwords and call it a day, but fuck that I have too much dignity

>>93967573
If you really want to do comics, just do comics. It's not like you need any money, just a computer. It's not like you need any talent either. Look at most of the webcomic scene.

I mean, if you wanna do comics to become famous, or having them made into a movie, or be part of the "industry", or make money or have fans or any of that stuff, yeah it's a hard long road.

But if you just wanna make comics for the sake of making comics, just make a fucking comic! No one is stopping you or anything.

>>93967870
i did make a webcomic but stopped once i fucked up a page, but now im trying at it again lol

>>93967706
Fuck, I've been trying to for years now. There's just these brick walls in my way called depression and hating my own art.

>>93967573
I already do. I'm pitching a comic to a publisher in September.

Though honestly I wouldn't do this shit as an actual career.

>>93967776
are you me?

>>93967776
Just make all your characters male geeks then.

>>93967573
Good. Comics are for faggots and liberals.

I'd rather keep my self respect than associate myself with a society of politically-inept social defectives.

>>93967573
>boo hoo comics are hard
>muh copyright battles boo hoo hoo

Shut the fuck up Jew

>>93967573
Fuck writers. If you can't draw you're fucking worthless.

>>93968020
In all seriousness, even comic writers should be able to draw and understand basic visual art principals so they can work with their artist effectively.

If you want to write comics, start with a book that will teach you some basics in visual arts.

>>93967573
People who just 'write' COMICS without doing any of the other work are lazy shits

>>93967743
Writing comics is more like play or screenwriting.

>>93967774
What are the titles though

>>93967977
>posting on this board

>>93968065
This. Many of the greats are/where able to both write and draw their stories. Eisner, Herge, Moebius, Mignola, pre 9/11 Miller, etc.

>>93968087
but the structure of a basic story is more important in a novel which translates well to comics, even more than screenwriting

>>93968143
A novel doesn't consider a visual element, screenwriting and comics do. A novel with pictures is a massive disservice to what the interplay of text and visuals can achieve.

>>93968118
Even Morrison and Moore can draw.

>>93968118
Yes, add Rob Liefeld to that list and it's perfect.

>>93968338
I like Rob fine for what he does

>>93968324
Yeah, go look back at Grant's old comics like Zenith--he's not exactly a natural artist but at least he's done it and has that background so he knows what to ask for and how a page should be broken down etc.

>>93968091
why would he want to un anonamous himself? that or he's lying

>>93967716
You just do it. Actually, it works quite a bit similar to writing a query letter to a publisher if you're trying to write a book. I think you can pitch a comic to Image with five or ten complete pages. Now, whether they take it depends on how good it is, but craft comes with practice and a heap of reading.

I wrote a 1 page comic script. Got rejected, met the publisher a year later. He says "send it to me directly." Now I'm getting published. It's not what you know but who you know

>>93967573
Good my imagination is too full of stuff from movies and comics I'd prolly just end up copying their ideas without even realizing it.

>>93967774
You can actually skip the competition part. If you get your name out there with published stories (or if you build a platform and an audience via Amazon sales or your own website), you'll be more likely to sell to publishers interested in your work. You can also streamline this process with an agent. I have a friend who pitched a novel to Andy Weir's agent, and the dude was excited to see the results.

However, getting a novel (or a comic published) is not a ticket to fame and money.

>>93967776
Write the characters your bad at, and get feedback (friends, family, college workshop class, etc.). Practice your craft and build your confidence and start submitting to speculative fiction journals and magazines.

>>93967870
A webcomic is probably a great idea because if you build an audience, you can take that information to publishers. You'll become much more enticing if you can prove that you'll make them money.

>>93968065
Duoing with an artist isn't a bad idea, but I agree (as someone who is primarily a writer) that having some visual arts chops will help your writing. Paneling and all that Scott McCloud shit gets much easier once you understand the form you're working in. Even if you always work with another artist, knowing how to tell a visual story will make your work better.

>>93968225
>A novel doesn't consider a visual element
Well, that's not quite true. The text on a page is visual, even if highly abstracted.

>>93968655
By visual element, I mean an actual image instead of a description.

>>93967573
good, because i'm largely uncreative and have no ideas

>>93968698
Text is an actual image, and the novel, the artifact, is an entirely visual product; and writers have to consider how sentences, paragraphs, etc. work on the page. In fact, I'd call the care screenwriters need to take with visual information into question due to two concerns. First, they don't have nearly as much say with form given strict industry standards of how screenplays are formatted. Second, very few screenwriters have a say in how their screenplays will be presented on screen, so you tend to see bare bones descriptions of setting, character, etc.

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>>93967573
>have this great cast for a murder mystery novel series I want to do
>also have a few of the murders already planned out
>never write anything because I don't know how to format it correctly
>Also because I'm afraid it'll come off as pure cringe
I don't know how to gain enough confidence to start.

>>93969229
Start on a smaller project first, you dork.
So many stupid writers want to start with multi-book series and shit.
Short stories should be your best friend until you're actually good enough to write long form prose.

>>93969293
Or the equivalent, 1-5 page comics that tell a single or just a few gags or a very short story

>>93969376
An interesting exercise is to take a modern Marvel or DC comic and rewrite it to be five pages. What's really essential to the story and what's just filler? Learning the difference will help you a lot when you want to make an original story

>>93969376
Precisely.
Like, for the 'novel' I'm making, I'm making it an anthology type piece with like a dozen short stories in it that are all connected via setting.
Instead of writing 200 pages, I only have to write 10-20 a dozen times. I dunno, seems easier to me especially as a novice.

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>>93967573
>10-15 years ago
>wanted to write a comic in tandem with an artist for the end of high school project that exists in my country
>was denied because you don't actually see the work of the writer on the page, so I would have I had to do 50% of the art to get credit
>lost contact with artist
>never wrote a comic
I did write short films later so... yay?

>>93967997
Found the Disney exec. Shouldn't you be in the muppet thread

>>93967573
Why not just learn to draw? Then there's absolutely no barrier between you and creating your own comics.

>>93969906
It's also more rewarding, or at least you get the satisfaction of achieving something more often, which is a good motivator.

>>93969845
That's the 2000ad advice, and any British anons hoping to get published should keep an eye out for when they're accepting applications and Future Shocks.

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>>93967573
>get script writing software
>write a comic script
>????
>you've written a comic

The reality is that you're a lazy uncreative "ideas guy" faggot who even if you had an artist, inker, colourer, and publisher completely at your disposal you'd piss around doing nothing and maybe shit out some barebones cringeworthy attempt at a story after a long long long time and that's about it. Kill yourself, to be quite honest, it's not like you're living anyway. You're complaining about something that you can literally just go and do right fucking now, but instead you're shitposting on an autism awareness online help center chatroom. How pathetic.

>>93968114
it never fail to make me laugh when an anon tries to act high and mighty on a website dedicated to debating Tibetan rotoscoping.

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>>93970123
>write a script
>artist is drawing it at this very moment

Can someone post some bad webcomics so I can build some confidence?

>>93967921
>>93968410
Can you actually pitch comic scripts without an artist, though? Where? I've been looking and all publishers usually want to see finished art before even considering a script. And before you say, learn to draw, I'm a passable artist, but I don't have time to both draw and write and keep my day job.

>>93971168
It's so rare that you might as well consider that it never happens. Better off finding your own artist friends and going in with them.

>>93967573
I always start writing stories, but always run into one of two problems.

A) My anxiety takes over and I get scared people will linch mob me if they don't like the story or

B) I have no idea how to write endings.

>>93971168
No Publisher will take just a script. I've got an artist working with me and I met the publisher at a previous con. So I've got that to my advantage.

>>93971226
>>93971296
That's what I figured. Oh well. Need to keep looking for an artist, then.

>>93971396
Digitalwebbing forums

Thats where I got some good artists. Just say you're paying and your inbox will flood with messages.

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>>93971228
Here's a trick: write the last scene, or even just the last line, of the story first. Then work on your outline with that ending already fixed.

Can't help you with the anxiety tho sorry.

>>93967776
>realize that I don't know enough about people to write believable female/non-geeky characters
This is where reading things outside SF/F, comics, etc. helps, especially reading literature and the classics.

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>>93970955
>write a script
>artists not drawing anything to do with it at any moment because I don't know where to find artists looking to produce a work for commercial distribution

>>93971608
Or, ya know, actually interacting with real people face to face.

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>>93970123
You know anon this one post out of the million of other similar posts worked and now I will inexplicably do what you say because you are mad this is how conversation works and you can definitely convince people of things by bitching and insulting them and I will now kill myself as you instructed.

>>93967573
If you're decent enough at writing to write a comic but aren't good at art, why not just write a novel instead?

>>93971516
Thanks, I'll check it out.

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>>93971779
And this is why when you die the world will be no different than had you never existed.

>>93969293
Short stories are fundamentally different objects than novellas, novels, or novel series; getting good at one doesn't necessarily you'll be good with the others. However, since the time involved in writing shorter works tends to be shorter, starting with stories is a good way to build confidence and certain skills.

>>93969906
You can also trick yourself into writing a novel this way, where you maintain the same characters in each "story." The result is picaresque, but that can always be changed with some revision.

>>93971168
Not to my knowledge. You need completed pages for Image, and they're the only comics publisher I looked into.

As to how busy you are...well, you're probably not busy enough to justify your statement. You have to give something up. I haven't written or revised much all summer partially because I've wanted to do some drinking, reading, and wandering out of doors. I'd need to change that schedule. That's true for everyone who wants to write, produce visual art, etc., even people who call themselves writers, artists, whatever. Very few of these people do that sort of thing for real pay. Most need to keep another job.

>>93971859
Novels, short stories, comics, etc are all suited to different kinds of narratives and writing. I've got folders split into comics, novels, short stories, and others because each idea is suited to a different form of storytelling.

>>93971608
>>93971636
Basically, the end goal is learning empathy. However, writers worried about writing realistic characters should remember that you only need to convince your audience that this person is real. You've gone off the rails if you begin asking "Would a woman, Kryptonian, person other than me do X?" Convince your reader that this specific person will.

>novel is less than three chapters away from completion
>already going to edit the fuck out of it to fix minor errors and establish consistency
>desperately want an actual editor to go over it

honestly even if it goes nowhere I'll be satisfied just knowing that I tried my best and actually have a finished product

>>93967706
sup, hywfag?

>>93972999
What draft are you on? If this is a first draft, you have a ways to go still. Unfortunately, few editors do developmental work, and copy editing—while important—is a last step sort of venture. You might want to find people to read and comment on elements such as plot, character, etc. However, if you're feeling confident, shopping for an agent isn't a bad idea either.

>>93973118

First draft, yeah. That's actually a relief, knowing that I've got a ways to go. I have plenty of time to approach the mammoth task of actually putting my manuscript out there in a professional sense. I'm gonna run it by my friends, and then maybe a professor at my community college as well. My plan is to give some questions to my "beta testers" to help kind of guide their critique and recommendations.

I've also thought about getting on social media to network and build connections but in the wake of all of the Hugo drama and the state of social media in general, that's kind of counter-productive and I could be pigeonholed into some sort of tribal struggle.

>>93973037
I assume this is a how's your writing/webcomic?
More the former, and not at all the latter.

>>93973334
its all good.

>>93973289
Having questions for your "novice" readers is a good way to keep the critiques targeted, but building up a community of writer or would-be writer friends is great for workshopping with knowledgeable people outside of a classroom setting. Admittedly, I need to recognize that it's not always easy to find a community of writers, so you may consider building up a community from people you know who read a lot of the kind of genre you're working in. If you have friends who are big speculative readers or who work in bookstores, etc., I'd start there before wading into new connections via social media. I don't know of any speculative forums, but I bet there's a big audience on the internet too. I don't know which way you lean on the whole Hugo thing, but wherever you seek your readers, you'll get a sense of who you want feedback from and who you don't. Thoughtfully, disregarding feedback (even good feedback) is as important a skill to cultivate as learning to take feedback.

>>93972916
It would probably be doable with a less crazy day job, but I work at a game studio, and the intermittent crunch times are killing me as is. It may seriously come down to switching careers in the end, but I do deeply care about my day job (which does also involve creative writing, just not comics), too, and don't want to leave it if there's a chance to manage the juggle with my sanity intact. At least I still have time to write, drawing is the time sink.

>>93974990
What kind of hours are you working? What about your weekends? I know it can be hard to build written and visual work on little free time, but it's what most writers and artists have to do. Almost all the artists and writers I know are teachers or students, for instance.

I dunno. I seem to do okay. Ongoing webcomic. Crowdfunded anthology. OGN coming out from a publishing house in Fall 2019. Publishers and artists alike want to work with me on new projects.

I got extremely lucky though. But I can't draw a lick and have seldom had any money at all until now.

>>93975410
How do you kidnap an artist for your webcomic?

>my friend is becoming an english major
>has an interest in writing comics
I don't have the heart to tell him his writing sucks, he can kind of draw though.

>>93975800
In the end, you're almost always gonna have to pay to play. The trick is to find a way to not pay a cent yourself. Which is much easier said than done. But it can be done.

Whether it's joining a collective that pays out, crowdfunding, pitching to a publisher who's cool with a webcomic to print transition, or just finding a really generous benefactor, people have done. Just don't rely on it. As I said, I got super lucky myself.

>>93967906
stop being a pussy and meet your deadlines. if you can't even do that, you shouldn't be doing it at all

>>93975879
So long as you can figure out dialogue, you don't need to be a GREAT writer so long as you have a competent artist pulling you along.
It's not an ideal situation, but not impossible, either.

>>93968020
>>93968065
>>93968118
As some one who can't draw do to nerve damage in my hands I find this greatly disheartening.

>>93979942
My uncle didn't learn to draw proper till he was 23, now he's a storyboard director. He learned drawing caricatures at a theme park. 100s a day.
It all comes down to practice.

>>93976456
You're right anon. I've had a lot of problems with deadlines in the past, I need to learn to meet them or just quit. How do you keep yourself on track?

>>93979942
>nerve damage in my hands
Didn't read this part, sorry anon. But in the words of the great Stan Lee "Fuck artists"

>>93980550
>tfw you're 23 and you still haven't learned to draw properly

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mfw writing and publishing a comic with a trio of really good friends of mine based off of HL2

>>93970087
Which is generally September to March. I once wanted to try and do a drive of threads on /co/ to convince anons to put in a Future Shocks story.

>>93975879
His writing should get better over the course of his degree. No one begins a writer.

>>93980575
Try getting site-blocking extensions so you don't blow your time on 4chan. LeechBlock is working well enough for me.

>>93967573
Best way to get into the industry is to self=publish a wed comic. You can get a bit of add revenue as well pending on popularity. Anyone can write a comic, writing a good comic would be a better non-shit posting title.

>>93980575
I get in o a mindset where if i don't meet deadlines, something really terrible s going to happen. what is your strongest motivator? something you would be devastated without? Well, your going to lose that if you don't meet those deadlines. you'll be on the street. it's basically a fear motivator, but it's not extreme like death to where you'll be clouded, just "oh shit I better do this or else" sort of thing. the thought of loss is a huge motivator for a lot of people. writers block is normal and you should allow yourself to take breaks, but make sure those breaks aren't hours at a time. heck, get yourself on a schedule, set goals for yourself and meet them.

>>93968114
Hey, man. He's just here for the pedo cartoons. Have some respect.

>>93968118
I thought they were just failed screen writers.

>spend a decade learning how to draw
>finally break in to the business
>some exec's idiot nephew is the writer you're paired with
>he fills up every page with horrendous dialogue and needless exposition
>spend the next fifty years of your life drawing Batman comics
>fired and replaced with some Brazilian kid
>contract states it's illegal for you to sell your own artwork
>die penniless, living out of a motel

wew

>>93968655
Semantics, you know exactly what he means
A font on the page is absolutely not the same as visual art. Yes, yes, congratulations, font is an artform, and language on the page can be considered some kind of representational art! Irrelevant to the discussion

>>93981715
Give us closure...finish HL3

>>93984830
That's probably true for the new age of comic writers.

>>93984894
sounds good to me


(who is this actually in reference to?)

I make my own comics. I'm dedicated to my craft, but I know I'm not perfect. This summer I made 2 short 4 page Zines that I've been handing out for free at local cons just for shits and giggles. One of my books actually made it onto a well known artist's instagram.

It's not about making the best or being the best. It's not even about practicing every day of your life (although practice certainly is an important aspect). Success comes only when you push yourself to create something you know isn't going to be perfect. So many people get wrapped up in the idea of their magnum opus that they overlook the fact that it has to also exist. You may never be a professional, this may only be a hobby or something you do on the side, but that doesn't mean you've failed. The only time you can truly fail is when you decide to give up

>>93967573
Good, I don't want to work for such a disugsting, bloated, worthless industry. All I want is for the industry to die, and be legally disallowed to be resurrected in any other way, and for comicbooks to be associated with 'talentless hacks' forever.

How possible is it for someone with no drawing skills at all to make something passable with poser or something? Just good enough to tell a story without shelling out thousands for an artist.

>>93987410
Anon if you don't have art skill or money then you're screwed. There's only three ways to get that comic done and its either learn yourself, pay someone or already be friends with an artist.

>>93987511
Which is why I'm asking about the viability of using tools like poser to compensate for my artistic failings.

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>>93967776
>don't know enough about people to write believable female/non-geeky characters
>dignity

a-anyone want to start a pseudo-studio with me, we can share our shit ideas and art together as a team

Let's say that I had a completed script that I want to hire an artist for, but I'm worried from stories that I've heard that the artist may take the script after I've pitched it to them and try to pass it off as their own work. Is there a guide to getting all the legal stuff shored up so that I've got my rights secure and issues of this sort won't screw me over?

this thread has some helpful info so I'll give it a bump

>>93990753
What he said.

>>93967573
Doesn't hamper my ability to complain about them.