I'm a hack (and slash) author.
- Thread starter RangerWickett
- Start date
jmucchiello
Hero
Depends on the comic book.Staffan said:
Marvel style use to be (when I was into comics 10 years ago so I don't know if this is still the case...):
The writer rights a short story in about 10 pages. The penciler lays it out then the writer scripts the dialog based on the pencils. This is similar to the penciler being the director.
The other method is to script it panel by panel from the get go making the writer both writer and director and the penciler more of a director of cinematography.
sniffles
First Post
I think the best writers write about what they would like to read.
There are a lot of good fantasy novels inspired by gaming - I don't mean Forgotten Realms or Dragonlance books, but things like Elizabeth Moon's "Dead of Paksennarion" trilogy, or Joel Rosenberg's Keepers of the Flame, for example. There's no reason an enjoyable fantasy novel can't be inspired by your gaming experiences.
As far as getting into tv writing, I have two friends who tried to "break into Hollywood", so to speak, and they've both given up and moved out of California. Not to deter you from your goal, but you should keep some perspective. You should also read Michael Cassutt's columns for Science Fiction Weekly (available at www.scifi.com). He has some great information about writing science fiction and fantasy for television.
There are a lot of good fantasy novels inspired by gaming - I don't mean Forgotten Realms or Dragonlance books, but things like Elizabeth Moon's "Dead of Paksennarion" trilogy, or Joel Rosenberg's Keepers of the Flame, for example. There's no reason an enjoyable fantasy novel can't be inspired by your gaming experiences.
As far as getting into tv writing, I have two friends who tried to "break into Hollywood", so to speak, and they've both given up and moved out of California. Not to deter you from your goal, but you should keep some perspective. You should also read Michael Cassutt's columns for Science Fiction Weekly (available at www.scifi.com). He has some great information about writing science fiction and fantasy for television.
RangerWickett
Legend
Tacky, I got your email. I wasn't offended or anything. I just didn't get around to replying to the thread until today, so no worries.
My current plan is to get involved with Cartoon Network, which is based right here in Atlanta. I have a friend who works there, and while that only marginally improves my chances, I intend to work toward working in cartoons, preferably something that would be on Adult Swim.
When I write fantasy, I write action fantasy with an emphasis on character development. I make the reader identify with characters who realize they aren't perfect, and then I toss the characters into dramatic conflicts - traps, combat, and love - so the reader can watch the characters suffer, and root for them to succeed. And along the way I keep the story fun by mixing drama and comedy, often playing with fantasy clichés.
For instance, in the novel I'm writing now, the parents of all but one of the characters are dead, because, well, adventurers always lose their parents.
Imagine the action of an R.A. Salvatore book without the brooding angst, mixed with The Incredibles' style of poking fun at clichés of a genre, and the channeled personal experiences of all my peers who are having trouble finding a place in the world.
I have about 90,000 words written, and the book is slightly over 2/3 done.
My current plan is to get involved with Cartoon Network, which is based right here in Atlanta. I have a friend who works there, and while that only marginally improves my chances, I intend to work toward working in cartoons, preferably something that would be on Adult Swim.
When I write fantasy, I write action fantasy with an emphasis on character development. I make the reader identify with characters who realize they aren't perfect, and then I toss the characters into dramatic conflicts - traps, combat, and love - so the reader can watch the characters suffer, and root for them to succeed. And along the way I keep the story fun by mixing drama and comedy, often playing with fantasy clichés.
For instance, in the novel I'm writing now, the parents of all but one of the characters are dead, because, well, adventurers always lose their parents.
Imagine the action of an R.A. Salvatore book without the brooding angst, mixed with The Incredibles' style of poking fun at clichés of a genre, and the channeled personal experiences of all my peers who are having trouble finding a place in the world.
I have about 90,000 words written, and the book is slightly over 2/3 done.
Sounds like you've got a decent idea about the story you're trying to tell. Right now, this sounds like your basic normal fantasy novel, at least before you get to the poke-fun-at-cliches part. That's not a slam -- I like basic normal fantasy novels. But "make the reader identify with the character" doesn't differentiate it much from, say, a thriller, or a romance novel, even. I'm still not sure what your voice is, based on the description -- and it doesn't have to be anywhere but on the page, really, but it's a fair amount easier to figure out how to write what you want to write when you know what it is that you're writing.
One bit of caution on the poke-fun-at-cliches bit: Fantasy, Romance, and Mystery genres pretty much earn their keep based on doing the same thing they've been doing for years, and people like that about those genres -- which is why those genres are still around. (Science Fiction is more about "new ideas", at least until you get into specific sub-genres, and I don't know enough about Thrillers to know if the plot is always the same or if it's supposed to be different.) I guess where I'm going with this is to say to watch out about poking fun at cliches. If you poke fun at the cliches, you have to be completely certain that you're writing something original and strong enough that nobody can look at the points you didn't make fun of and say, "Hey, this guy is pretending to be too clever for cliches, but he's using one right there!"
(It's like watching a movie where the opening involves a deliberately bad CG monster that turns out to be a special effect in a movie being made in the movie -- and then, later in the movie, real monsters appear. The real monsters have to look a whole heckuva lot better than the fake monster they were making fun of, and if there's a single awkward leg movement or bad texture, fans are going to say, "So they can make fun of other movies for having bad effects, but they can't actually do it any better themselves.")
Anyway, good luck. Send out feelers when it's done, and I'd be happy to take a look.
One bit of caution on the poke-fun-at-cliches bit: Fantasy, Romance, and Mystery genres pretty much earn their keep based on doing the same thing they've been doing for years, and people like that about those genres -- which is why those genres are still around. (Science Fiction is more about "new ideas", at least until you get into specific sub-genres, and I don't know enough about Thrillers to know if the plot is always the same or if it's supposed to be different.) I guess where I'm going with this is to say to watch out about poking fun at cliches. If you poke fun at the cliches, you have to be completely certain that you're writing something original and strong enough that nobody can look at the points you didn't make fun of and say, "Hey, this guy is pretending to be too clever for cliches, but he's using one right there!"
(It's like watching a movie where the opening involves a deliberately bad CG monster that turns out to be a special effect in a movie being made in the movie -- and then, later in the movie, real monsters appear. The real monsters have to look a whole heckuva lot better than the fake monster they were making fun of, and if there's a single awkward leg movement or bad texture, fans are going to say, "So they can make fun of other movies for having bad effects, but they can't actually do it any better themselves.")
Anyway, good luck. Send out feelers when it's done, and I'd be happy to take a look.
