Last time in Creating Comics! I responded to a reader looking for tips on how to get started with the actual scripting part of making comics. I gave a number of tips and suggestions, but the biggest part of the scripting process is just putting your butt into a chair and getting words on a page. (Afraid I can’t help you there…that part is all you.)

This week, I’m going to assume you put in the work, and knocked out a script. I’m also going to assume you then put in the REAL work of re-writing that script, ‘;cause let’s face it, that first draft was a turd. (Go back and read my columns on Re-Writing if you’re sitting with a first draft you’re sure is gold.) You have a draft in your hand and you think you’re ready to hand it to an artist (or draw it yourself) and make the magic happen. But before you, do, I want to give you a few things to think about.

Until 2008, I never really worried all that much about my scripts. I had always done all of my own drawing and lettering, so I never had much need to share my comic scripts with other people. But after making the decision to start working with a few outstanding artists to bring some great new comics to life, this had to change. Now I wasn’t only writing for myself, I was writing for an artist. Because of this, it was important to take my scripts to another level of quality and polish. What follows are some suggestions of things you should do prior to sending your scripts off to an artist.

Proofread. Should go without saying, right? Unfortunately, it needs to be said. You’re the writer. Proofreading is YOUR job. It’s not your artist’s job and it’s not your letterer’s job. It’s not even your editor’s job, if you have one. I’m shocked at how many people post scripts online on sites like Pencil Jack or Digital Webbing looking for feedback that contain loads of God awful errors in spelling, punctuation, sentence structure and syntax. We’re talking scripts that aren’t even fit for a remedial high school English class. I’m not even addressing the content here; I’m simply talking about easily corrected errors. I can’t count how many times I’ve looked at scripts online and haven’t made it past the first line of the script without coming across a typo. And punctuation? From the looks of many of the scripts online, you’d assume there’s a gene common to aspiring comic writers that makes them allergic to commas and periods. I even read one script that was posted online looking for feedback, where the writer said at the top, “Hey, I’m looking for feedback on this script. Don’t worry about the spelling or English mistakes. I’ve got people who will take care of that for me later.” Trust me, I didn’t worry about it. Because after coming across 15+ easily correctable errors on page 1, I stopped reading.

It’s your job to do the best you possibly can at proofreading your script BEFORE you put it in the hands of your artists. Look at it from the artist’s perspective for a moment. If you’re an aspiring writer, you’re likely partnering up with an aspiring comic artist. (I’d suggest partnering up with someone a little more seasoned than yourself…they’ll make you look good.) Realize that when it’s all said and done, they’re probably going to put more time into the comic than you are, simply because it takes longer to draw than it does to write. Also remember, most of the time you’re going to care about the script a lot more than your artist partner will. It’s your baby. It’s going to take the artist a while to get invested. So, if the artist gets a script that has typos and easily corrected errors, what’s he going to think? Well, either:

A.) You’re not a great writer. (This is not good. If I’m an artist trying to make a name for myself, I want to partner with the next undiscovered superstar. I’m looking for the next Matt Fraction or Jason Aaron. I’m NOT looking for some guy who doesn’t know the difference between “there” and “their.”)

B.) You just don’t care that much about this script. (Also not good. If the writer doesn’t care enough to run his script through spell-check, why should the artist care? Your script sets the tone for the project. A lazy script can lead to lazy art, where the artist, instead of doing his or her absolute best work, will cut corners here and there, leave out little details, fake perspective, etc.)

You want the alternative. You want to send the artist a pristine, engaging, dynamic script that inspires him to do his or her best possible work. Be professional. Proofread.

Be clear. When you turn your script over to an artist, you are entrusting your vision of the story to another. The only way to ensure that your story is told the way you want to tell it is to be as clear as possible. When you’re writing descriptions, you need to describe as best as you can, the precise picture of the panel you have in your head. Who is in the panel? What’s the setting? What’s the action? Where is the camera positioned? What is the focal point? The more of these details you include, the more likely it is that your artist will deliver.

Remember, with rich and detailed descriptions, a strong artist can deliver the picture you have in your head. The more details you leave out, the more you’ll get the picture in the artist’s head.

Provide reference. Drawing comics is time consuming work. Think about it. Brian Michael Bendis can write five different comic books a month. How many can Bryan Hitch draw? Ten a year, maybe? Because penciling and inking is so time consuming, as a writer, you want to make things as easy as possible for the talent you’re working with. You want them spending most of their time drawing. But, if you write in your script something like, “The sky is filled with a squadron of World War II-era planes,” and leave it at that, what’s the artist going to do? Most likely, he’s going to spend time Googling old warplanes. Think about it? Do you want your artist Googling, or do you want him drawing?

Since you’ve done research anyway, (and if you haven’t, here is why you should) providing links in your script or creating a shared online photo album on Photobucket or Flickr with potentially helpful reference images should be easy. Cut your artist some slack and do some of this work for him. You may find that a lot of the same reference material that inspires your writing on a particular project will help inspire the artist as well.

On ICE: Interrogation Control Element, for example, I wrote this in the script I sent to the artist, Damian Couceiro:

Panel 1- Full black panel, save a stream of water pouring down the center of the panel.

CAP (TRIP)- There are sixteen authorized interrogation methods consistent with the Geneva Conventions.

Panel 2- Close in on the face of Iraqi prisoner Number 240, HESHAM FARUK. He is strapped down on a table, with a blindfold over his eyes. There is a strap around his forehead, which is attached to the board he’s lying on. The stream of water is filling up in his mouth and he is clearly in panic and pain. He’s being water boarded.

CAP (TRIP)- This is not one of them.

REFERENCE NOTE: This opening approach was first inspired by this short clip. Watch for great reference.http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/apr/22/advertising.humanrights

I was clear about what I wanted and provided reference. And as you can see here, Damian delivered.

Sketch a layout. Sometimes when writing comics, you’re going to ask a lot of an artist. Maybe there’s a particularly tricky action sequence that just has to be done right. Maybe there’s a page with a heavy amount of dialogue, and every word truly matters. Rather than fire that page off to your artist and hope for the best, it’s a good idea to try to layout the page yourself first.

Sure, easy for me to say. I’ve drawn hundreds of pages of comics in my lifetime. Of course, it’s no problem for me to layout a page, but what if you are “just a writer.” Relax. When I’m suggesting you layout a page, I’m not asking for a beautifully rendered piece of art. Anyone can draw rectangular panels and stick figures. Below is a page from one of Jeph Loeb‘s scripts for Batman: The Long Halloween. You’ll see Jeph did a quick and dirty layout for his artist, Tim Sale. Don’t tell me you can’t do at least as good a job as Jeph here. (For more on Jeph’s writing process, check out Writers on Comics Scriptwriting by Mark Salisbury.)

By taking a stab at laying out a page, you will better be able to answer questions like: Will it all fit on the page? Will these panels have impact? What’s the most important panel on the page? Where are my word balloons going to go? You want to have confidence that the script you send your artist will work as written. Doing some quick layouts is one way to get that confidence.

Do these things, and you’re script is ready. Once you’ve proofread your work and are sure it would pass muster in Mrs. McCaughey’s English class, once you’ve been as clear as you need to be, once you’ve provided reference where helpful, and once you are confident the pages will work as written by sketching or laying out pages quickly yourself, you’re ready to turn your work over to an artist.

Congrats!

And now things get fun. You get to take off your writer’s hat, and put on your producer’s hat, to shepherd the project from written page to finished comic. This brings up its own set of challenges of course. But trust me, once those pages start showing up in your email box, all the work you’ve put into writing suddenly becomes so worth it.

NEXT: The Dip

Tyler James is a comics creator residing in Newburyport, Massachusetts. He writes and draws Over, a romantic comedy online graphic novel updating every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He also writes Tears of the Dragon, an epic fantasy webcomic. His work has been featured at Zuda Comics, and includes Interrogation Control Element, a political action thriller, and Super Seed, the story of the world’s first super powered fertility clinic. When not making comics, Tyler works as a game designer and content producer for a software company.

Contact Tyler directly at tylerjamescomics@gmail.com, keep up with him at his blog, or follow him on Twitter.

Attention Readers: If you enjoy this column, you might be interested in checking out The ComixStreet Recap. It’s a new series I’ve begun where I share and comment on interesting topics, resources, and events relevant to comic creators. The column is bi-weekly, and posts on Thursdays.

Previous Columns

1: Big Goals
2: Resolutions
3: The Great Idea
4: Research Part I
5: Research Part II
6: The Killer Pitch Part I – The High Concept
7: The Killer Pitch Part II – The Synopsis
8: Pay Your Artists
9: Zuda Comics- A Tale of Five Submissions
10: Creating Great Characters Part I (Or Why Wolverine is Everywhere)
11: Creating Great Characters Part II (Or Why Wolverine is Everywhere)
12: Structurally Sound- The Beginning
13: Your Reputation
14: Structurally Sound- The Middle
15: Structurally Sound – The End
16: Your First Con
17: Beat It
18: Memorable Scenes
19: Mailbag
20: Comics Dialogue – Part I
21: Comics Dialogue – Part II
22: Baltimore Comic Con – Part I
23: Baltimore Comic Con – Part II
24: Is It Worth It?
25: The Re-Write Part I
26: The Re-Write Part II
27: The Re-Write Part III
28: Taking Initiative
29: Setting the Table for a New Year of Creating Comics
30: Ready to Script

Welcome back everybody! While this Creating Comics! article will, of course, focus on things comic related, it truly applies to anything in life. We live in amazing times where the possibilities for pursuing our passions are seemingly boundless and the opportunities for interacting with people with shared interests and passions have never been greater. I recently read a book called Tribes by Seth Godin. A central tenet of Godin’s book is this: Ideas that spread, win. And in case you haven’t noticed, it’s never been easier to spread a good idea. The internet and social networking tools are changing the way we interact, and offer incredible promise for spreading powerful new ideas. Want some proof? Sure thing. Let’s talk about three good ideas in the comics community that have spread like wildfire over the past year.

Item 1: If you’re an independent comics creator, I’m guessing you’ve heard about Indy Comic Book Week. (If not, you need to be paying more attention.) Indy Comic Book Week isn’t so much an event as it is a call to action. When Diamond Distributers announced earlier this year that it would not be shipping comic books the last week in December, a few independent creators saw this as an opportunity. The simple idea: Since there won’t be new Spider-mans and Batmans on the shelf that week, perhaps, for just that week only, comic book stores would be willing to carry some new independent titles and place them in that prime new arrivals shelf space. A good idea, for sure. If they wanted to, I’m sure the originators could have had some success with it, contacting all their local stores and getting them to carry their books. Might have been a savvy move for a few creators, and turned into a nice local story. But they didn’t choose to keep the idea to themselves. Through the power of social media, they shared this idea with the world, and Indy Comic Book Week is no longer just an idea or a call to action. It’s a movement. Now dozens, if not hundreds of creators around the country (world?) are involved and more than twenty comic shops have signed on and will be vocally supporting the event. Independent creators are out there hustling to get their books done. Ka-Blam has signed on and is offering discounts for Indy Comic Book Week books. Creators are using innovative tools such as KickStarter as a method of fundraising to cover printing costs for their books. Indy Comic Book Week is becoming a big deal, and though still a few weeks away, I’d argue is already a success. Ideas that spread, win.


Item 2: I’m still kicking myself for not attending the New England Webcomics Weekend earlier this year. In March, hundreds of webcomics creators and enthusiasts convened on a small town in western Massachusetts for an impromptu festival to celebrate webcomics. Conceived and organized by Meredith Gran of Octopus Pie as an excuse for a small group of her cartoonist peers to get together for beers, with an invitation to fans to join along, the idea caught on like wildfire. Before long, the guest list for NEWW read like a veritable who’s who of movers and shakers in the webcomics community. The event consisted of webcartoonists exhibiting their work, panels on topics like how to make a cool t-shirt, and the Half-Pixel crew even recorded a live episode of Webcomics Weekly during the event. Positive reviews and pictures of event reverberated throughout the webcomics community immediately after, and as a result, webcomics weekend events, such as the recent Dallas Webcomics Expo are sprouting up in other areas. Ideas that spread, win.

Item 3: This article goes live on Day 30 of the 30 Characters Challenge. If you follow me on Twitter, no doubt you’ve heard of it. In late October, having put off fleshing out characters for a new super hero universe I wanted to create long enough, I had an idea. I should commit to creating a new character each day for every day of November…30 characters in 30 days. I realized that if I kept this idea to myself, I’d only be accountable to myself (and thus not very accountable.) So, I decided to share this idea with the world…or at least my tiny corner of it. But instead of sharing it as a declaration of “Hey look what I’m doing?”, I decided to share it as an invitation of “Hey look what I’m doing? Care to join me?” And as it turned out, more than twenty other creators were just as crazy as me, and decided to take up the challenge. As a result, hundreds and hundreds of new characters have been created (all of which can be seen and commented on at the 30 Characters Blog.) A supportive community of creators has sprung up around this simple month-long challenge. And there are even creators out there who have decided to do the challenge on their own, posting to their own blogs. Ideas that spread…well, you get the picture.

These three items are just a small fraction of the wonderful grass-roots ideas and events that are spreading across the comics community. Now I have to ask, what about you? Do you have an idea? (Of course you have a freaking idea! You have tons of them!) A better question is this: What can be learned from the recent implementation of these successful ideas when it’s time for you to implement yours? Well, here are my takaways:

1.) Simple is beautiful. One of the most glaring commonalities of the three items mentioned above is that the initial ideas behind them are ridiculously simple. “Create 30 characters in 30 days, one for every day in November.” “Webcartoonists unite for a weekend festival celebrating the artform we love!” “No books shipping from Diamond? Not to worry, comic book shops…Indy comics has you covered.” Good ideas? Okay, sure. But we’re not talking Einstein levels of genius here. More often than not, ideas that spread, ideas that win, are simple and direct, and can be summed up in a pithy sentence or two. When ideas are simple and clear, they’re easily plugged into the sentence that starts, “Hey, did you hear about…” And if you want your idea to spread, you want a lot of people saying that sentence. So if you have a good idea, think about how you can express it as simply, clearly, and directly as possible…and then watch it spread. (NOTE: This is especially true for your comic book idea pitches as well. If you can’t sum up your story idea in a sentence, you’re not ready to pitch it.)

2.) “The Man” isn’t in charge anymore. Guess what? Big media doesn’t have a chokehold on the good ideas anymore. There are independent Youtube channels with higher viewership than some network TV shows. The ideas mentioned above weren’t initiated by large media entities, but rather by engaged members of the comics community at large. Many creators reported that New England Webcomics Weekend was among the most enjoyable and successful shows they’ve ever attended. Apparently, you don’t need to be Wizard to put on a good comic book show. (Just ask Scott Kurtz.) The Indy Comic Book Week Team (Jake Ekiss, Vinh-Luan Luu, Paul Milligan & Matthew Warlick) didn’t have to get anyone’s permission to put out their call to action. We’re living in an age where it’s up to you and I to give ourselves the green light.

3.) Honesty + Authenticity + Accessibility + Transparency = High Chance of Success. You know who I feel bad for? The hucksters, the charletons, the tonic peddlers… they’re living in the wrong era. Maybe we’re just a nation of cynics and skeptics (which isn’t always a great thing) but people today can spot a phony from a mile away. The only choice is to be authentic and upfront with people. Keep it real. When I was getting 30 Characters off of the ground, I used a free WordPress Blog to post my call to action and encouraged comments and feedback. From that, I quickly sought to pull other creators into the Challenge, gave them author privileges on the blog, and listened and responded to feedback about how it should be organized. If your idea is going to require the participation of others, it’s best to be honest about what you are asking from them, and accessible to the tribe you’re building.

4.) It’s not about taking the credit. An important question to ask yourself when initiating an idea is this: Is this idea about you or is it about the change you wish to see? If your idea is solely intended to promote yourself or make you a bajillion dollars, it’s going to have a tough time spreading. If the event was titled Meredith Gran’s Webcomics Weekend and she charged large table fees to participate, not as many creators would have made the trip. If the guys behind Indy Comic Book Week tried to monetize the idea, acting as a middle man between participating shops and creators, the idea would not have gained the momentum it has. Had I made 30 Characters entirely about me and my comics, I’d probably be the only one doing it. Focus on building and spreading the idea. Do that well, and the credit (and perhaps the financial return) will eventually come.

5.) Take a shot. What’s the worst that could happen? “Nothing ventured, nothing gained,” right? I mean, we all know it’s true. “We won’t make 100% of the shots we don’t take.” Yup, heard that one, too. In fact, one of the biggest aspects of the collective American mythos is the celebration of our pioneer, adventurous, risk-taking spirit. It’s supposedly ingrained in our DNA? And yet, how many of us are truly taking any risks? What about you?

Here’s a test. When was the last time you completely failed at something? Anything? Big or small? When was the last time you tried a new sport or skill and fell flat on your face? When was the last time you approached a beautiful stranger and were completely rejected cold? When was the last time you tried a new recipe and it came out awful? If it’s been awhile, it could be just that you’re WAY too awesome. (Possibly.) But more likely than not, it’s that you aren’t taking enough chances. And why? It’s because we have an almost paralyzing fear of failure. There are psychological and physiological reasons for this of course. After all, rejection stimulates the same areas of the brain as physical pain (and physical pain sure does suck.) Negative criticism impacts most people negatively about three times as much as encouraging praise does positively. But at the end of the day, if the idea is a good one, and you give it a shot, even the worst case scenario is better than not doing anything at all.

If I had put out my invitation for 30 Characters and heard a crickets-type response, what then? Well, hell, I still would have done it myself and brought some new characters to life. If the Webcomics Weekend idea never caught on, it still would have been a good get together for local webcomic creators. If 99% of comic shops said thanks but no thanks to the Indy Comic Book Week idea, well, there’s still that 1% that say sure, we’ll put up your books. The point being, even if the idea never catches on, what have you got to lose? Take a chance every now and again. Be afraid to fail, and do it anyway. It’s called living. Try it some time. You just might like it.

Because this is an article on a comics news website, these are the examples of ideas that have spread wider than their originators had ever dreamed within the comics community. But things like this are happening everywhere. If you haven’t heard of Gary Vaynerchuk, just wait about five minutes…the guy is everywhere. He’s a guy who transformed his passion for wine and people into a multimillion dollar business and a 10 book deal. (Take 10 minutes and watch this clip when you finish the article. He’ll make you laugh and fire you up.) Or how about the guy behind iwearyourshirt.com? He’s taken a ridiculously simple idea and turned it into a new career, making a killing as a professional t-shirt wearer. Opportunities abound, regardless of your passions. The time to act is now.

In this article, I’ve tried to share my take-aways and tips for making things happen. While the possibility and prospect for turning your good idea into something great has never been better, I want to finish up on the question of why. Why bother? What if my idea is going to require a lot of work, with no guarantee of success? If it’s truly a good idea, surely someone else will have it. Why not let them do the work? You already said it can’t be all about the credit or the money. Why me? Why now? Why bother?

To answer this question, I’m going to borrow again from Godin’s Tribes and the most memorable line therein. “Initiative = Happiness.” Think about it, because it is 100% true. The happiest people I know are the ones who regularly and consistently put ideas they are passionate about into motion. They don’t wait for the world to happen to them. They make things happen. In an earlier article in this series, I talked about how to develop great ideas and the frustration caused by ignoring a great idea. It’s still a little early for New Year’s resolutions, but how’s this for a lifetime resolution: Resolve to never let another good idea die in your head. If it’s something you’re passionate about and have the capability and resources to pursue, then get after it! And it if it’s not something you’ll be able to tackle alone, then share it with the world, and perhaps someone else will run with it. We only get one shot at this life. Why hold anything back?
****

Readers Note: Creating Comics! The Art + Craft will be taking a short hiatus. This will be the last article in 2009. I sincerely want to thank all of you who have been reading, commenting, or emailing to say you’ve found value in this column. I’m taking a breather due to the always busy holiday season approaching, as well as to spend some time putting into motion some of MY big ideas for 2010. If there are specific topics you’d like me to address when the column returns in the new year, please let me know.

Finally, if you’ve enjoyed this or any article I’ve written in this series and want to take a minute to give me an early Christmas gift, please consider commenting below, sharing with a friend, posting a link on Twitter or Facebook, Stumble it, post on Digg or Reddit, or any of the other ways we share things we like in this amazing interconnected world in which we all now live.

God Bless and have a happy holiday season.

Best,

Tyler James

Kill your babies, kill your darlings, whatever expression you want to use, a truism that all writers know: In re-writing, you’re going to have to destroy a lot of what you’ve created. And many times, that may mean even cutting some stuff that you absolutely love. Maybe it’s for reasons of pacing. Maybe it’s because the scene stalls your story’s momentum or doesn’t quite work for the characters. This can be hard to do, but it’s a necessary part of the writing process.

In an earlier column, I talked about the importance of steadfastly continuing to write and move the story forward. Don’t have the perfect line of dialogue? That’s fine. Throw down something cliche and move the story forward. Not sure how a fight scene should play out? No problem, write “They fight” and MOVE THE STORY FORWARD. If writers waited for every page to be perfect before they moved onto the next one, then no script would ever get finished. But this only works if you are committed to eventually coming back to the script and polishing and rewriting until your script absolutely shines. The trouble with “your babies” is that usually on their own or in the right context, they could be great.

Common “Babies” that might need killing:

The Baby: A particularly witty line of dialogue.
The Problem: That line doesn’t jive with the character delivering it, and you’re forcing words in your character’s mouth rather than letting him speak naturally.

The Baby: An incredibly interesting fact or tidbit you’ve uncovered from your research that you weave into the script.
The Problem: It comes off as straight exposition, and reads more as a textbook or Wikipedia article than a work of entertainment.

The Baby: A humorous gag or dynamic action sequence.
The Problem: It doesn’t move the story forward and stunts the flow of the narrative. Just because something is funny or a scene is good, doesn’t mean in belongs in the script you’re currently writing.
I’m going to share with you a baby I had to kill. This was an important scene from the first draft of Over. Given that my script is a romantic comedy, the beat is an important one- this is “the cute meet” scene, that shows how the protagonist, Felix, first met the girl he’s still pining for, his ex-girlfriend Faith. Give it a read, and then I’ll discuss why I had to kill this baby of mine.
INT. AT THE BAR

Felix confidently strolls to the bar and tries to flag the
barkeep unsuccessfully. He glances around the bar, checking
out the talent.

He sees Faith for the first time, talking to a guy looking
like a circa-1980′s DON JOHNSON.

Felix and Faith make eye contact.

Felix looks away, and tries in vain to get the barkeep’s
attention.

Felix looks back in the direction of Faith, and sees her
leaving Don Johnson, approaching him.

FAITH
Hi.

FELIX
Hello.

FAITH
I told that guy you were my
boyfriend and the jealous type.
Will you talk to me for a minute
until he finds someone else to
bother?

Felix smiles.

FELIX
Not sure I can do that.

FAITH
(looking around)
I’m sorry. Do you have a
girlfriend?

FELIX
No. It’s just…I believe that
might technically qualify as a cock
block.

FAITH
(smiles)
So?

FELIX
So that’s a clear violation of guy
code. It’s in the manual.

Felix glances over at Don Johnson, who casually sips his
drink and scopes out the bar.

FELIX
And come on, he seems like a
perfectly harmless dude. No visible
deformities. And a nice bonus, he’s
channeling Sonny Crockett, so-

FAITH
Who?

FELIX
That reference a little dated?

FAITH
Guess so. But you don’t have to
worry. It’s not a cockblock if he
never had a chance.
FELIX
Not your type?

FAITH
Not my type. And, I have a
boyfriend.

FELIX
(slightly disappointed)
Oh.
(looks around)
Why isn’t he saving you from Sonny’s
clutches.

FAITH
Not here. Long distance thing.

FELIX
Got it.

An awkward pause, then Felix extends his hand.

FELIX
Sorry, I never got your name. I’m

Felix.
Faith slides in close, covering up the shake.

FAITH
You’re really bad at this fake
boyfriend thing.

FELIX
Right. Sorry.

Felix tosses a hard glance over at Don Johnson, who has been
watching them. Don catches the look, pretends not to
notice, and walks away. Faith turns and sees him go.

FAITH
My hero. Let me buy you a drink.

End scene. Let’s talk about why I killed it.

Now, was it the best scene ever? Certainly not. But it served the beat- “Guy meets girl and they hit it off.” Serving the beat, moving the story forward, that’s the first task of the writer when it comes to writing scenes. But re-writing is all about making sure it serves the beat and does so in as entertaining a way as possible. So, why did it have to go? A few reasons:

To eliminate cliche. Guy meets girl in a bar. Ever seen that one before? Yawn, I know. It’s been done to death. Sure, I liked the banter about the cock-blocking, and yes guys and girls do meet in bars all the time, but this scene didn’t scream originality. Looking objectively at this scene, it could be plugged into any comedy-drama script, not just the one I was writing. There was nothing unique or original here that made it clearly a scene from MY story. So, it had to change.

Redundancy. About twenty pages earlier in the script, there was a much funnier scene that also takes place in a bar. Be wary of this. Especially in comics, where you can put your characters in literally any place or situation you can imagine, why be so mundane as to keep returning to similar locations? Mixing up locale makes for a better story.

Push the funny. The Don Johnson gag…it worked for some readers who read my script, not for others. While I love people still stuck in the 80′s as much as the next guy, again, it’s been done before, and I felt I was leaving some humor on the table. So I pushed myself to write something funnier.

So, what’d I do to fix this scene? The beat is the same, the guy and girl still meet and hit it off. But I changed the setting to something more appropriate to my story (a copy center near a comic convention) which resulted in a change in the dialogue and an addition of some of new characters. The revised scene is a more original and better serves my story.

That’s all I have on re-writing. It’s not easy and it’s a ton of work, but remember, the difference between a good script and a great script usually comes down to the time put into it. I wish you all good luck with your rewrites. Hopefully some of these tips are helpful as you comb through your scripts and put in the effort to make them the best they can be.

NEXT: What Are You Waiting For? Take Initiative!

One of the best ways to improve early drafts of a story is to get some feedback from others. While getting feedback is something you should certainly do, first a warning. You cannot rely on others to make you the writer you want to be. YOU have to develop your own internal editor. YOU have to learn to objectively evaluate your own work with the same critical eye you apply to others. YOU have to do the real work, sitting your butt in front of the keyboard for hours on end to make your story sing. Getting feedback from others does not free you from the responsibility of learning to edit and revise your writing.

Now that I’ve gotten the disclaimer out of the way, let’s talk about the value of feedback. Unless you’re writing solely for yourself (which, if you’re writing comics is usually not the case) you need to be sure you’re writing to entertain an audience. Getting an outside perspective on this is often necessary. It’s much better to get feedback at the draft stage prior to publishing, filming or having pages drawn. I learned this the hard way this year.
I sent my script for ICE: Interrogation Control Element to artist Damian Couceiro without getting any objective feedback on it. He did wonders with the script and drew gorgeous artwork. Prior to submitting to Zuda, I sent the script to an editor, thinking perhaps it just needed a dialogue polish. However, after getting notes back from the editor, I realized that I needed to insert two additional pages to establish the antagonist in order to grab the audience within the first few pages. This cost me more money, and would have been cheaper had I figured this out PRIOR to having pages drawn. Lesson learned: Get your feedback at the script stage.

There are two types of feedback I want to discuss. I feel both have their place, but you should know their strengths and limitations.

Feedback from Family and Friends – When you’re just starting out, it’s hard to find people excited about reading a first draft of your scripts. So, what do we do? We turn to the people in our lives who love us and can’t say no. I’ve heard some writers advise completely against this. I say, go ahead. Just recognize what this feedback is and isn’t.

Getting feedback from mom or your buddy Chuck is good for the old ego. And you know what, you just finished a first draft and you deserve a “thattaboy.” Hell, you’ve created something. You’ve put something new into the world that didn’t exist before, and there’s no reason you shouldn’t have people that care about you have the chance to read it and acknowledge it. So get your slap on the back. And occasionally, an idea or two about how to make it better. (My mom, as it turns out, has a great knack for proofreading. And I, as it turns out, have a great knack for typos.)

This kind of feedback is also good for getting the everyman’s reaction. Human beings are hardwired to recognize a good story when they read or hear one. If something is supposed to be funny and they laugh, you’ve probably done your job. Likewise, if something is confusing to them, you probably were not clear enough. Sometimes it helps to watch them as they’re reading. If they’re turning pages and engaged in the script, that’s a good sign.

However, friends and family often have a tough time providing one thing in their feedback: honesty. If a reader cares about you and has a stake in your emotional well-being, you can’t expect total honesty from their critique. Most often, rather than getting what they truly think, you’ll get what they think you want to hear. And that won’t help you one bit. Also, most of your friends and family aren’t writers in the genre or format that you are writing in. Just because someone has seen a few movies or read a few comic books doesn’t mean they can ably critique a script for either. Therefore, family and friend critiques are a poor means to get serious, actionable suggestions and solutions for improving your script. For that, you need a professional.

Feedback from Objective Professionals – I use both the terms objective and professionals loosely here. To a certain extent, we all have subjective biases that color our opinions. And by professionals, I simply mean someone who has done what you’re trying to do. Want feedback on a comic script? Find someone who’s actually written a couple of them. If you’re just starting out, you’re probably not going to get Brian Michael Bendis to critique it. In fact, I know you won’t. But try to find someone who is both more accomplished than you and has no reason not to give you honest feedback.

Now, there is a drawback to this kind of feedback. See, these people have zero stake in your emotional well being, and thus they may give you their best Simon Cowell impression. So, if you know you can’t handle someone tearing your work to shreds in a seemingly cold hearted fashion, don’t try to get this kind of feedback.

However, if you’re not ready for this sort of grilling, you’re not ready to have anything published either. If you think it’s tough getting negative feedback from an editor who is looking at your work with an eye to make it better, how are you ever going to deal with feedback from the readership at large? Again, it’s better to be eviscerated in the draft stage when you can still make changes, than publish and have the world trash your work.

What feedback from objective professionals can provide is a strong road map for an improved rewrite. People who know the medium of comics can point out specific suggestions about what works and what doesn’t and often can propose solutions to the problem areas. For this reason, this kind of feedback should be sought out.

Want to see the best example of this kind of objective feedback on the web? Check out the Friday column The Proving Grounds over at Project Fan Boy. Started by editor Steven Forbes, who I’ve worked with and would recommend, and recently taken over by writer Calvin Camp, each week writers send in scripts that are evaluated with no punches pulled, and then discussions about the work take place. (Calvin’s accepting scripts for free editing, so take him up on the offer…be a brave one.)

After the feedback – LISTEN! Humans are defensive creatures by nature. Upon hearing criticism of your work, your baby, your instinct will be to come to its defense. DON’T. Don’t try to explain what you were trying to do. Don’t make excuses. Just listen. Remember, the whole reason you are writing is to stir an emotional response in another. So shut the hell up for a minute and listen to the feedback someone is giving you to find out whether or not you honestly achieved that goal.

And when you listen, do so with the understanding that what you are hearing is one person’s opinion. And that their opinion MAY be right. Not that it is right. But that it may be. And because it may be right, rather than defend, ask questions to clarify. Ask things like, what lines didn’t work for you? Would it be funnier/scarier/better if I tried ____? Which character do you think needs the most work? Which scenes go on too long?

Try to distance yourself from your work a bit. Remember, the feedback you get isn’t on YOU. It’s not even on your abilities or promise as a writer. The feedback is on the specific work you placed in front of the reader. That’s it. And at this stage, YOU KNOW your story needs work. Getting feedback is one of the best ways to identify those areas you should focus on improving and to assemble a game plan for a re-write.

NEXT: The Re-Write – Part III – Killing Your Babies

That’s the good news. The bad news? It’s not very good.

But I’m not worried. Why? Because there’s plenty of good in there, it’s just really rough. The positive is that by writing that first draft, I uncovered holes I need to fill, characters I need to flesh out, problems I need to solve, and additional research I need to do. And those are all good things to figure out.

Today I’m going to start a multi-week series on re-writing and share some tips for how to tackle the real work of becoming a writer.

Now, let’s say you’ve finished a first draft, be it for a short story, a single issue, or a full-graphic novel. Whenever you finish a first draft of pretty much anything you write more substantial than a Twitter post (follow me!) or a birthday card, you should do two things:

1. Acknowledge the accomplishment of finishing that first draft. Go ahead, pat yourself on the back. Kudos! Remember 95% of people out there with ideas for stories never make it this far. Far more people think about doing things than actually do them. But not you. You sat your keaster down and wrote that first draft. So go ahead. Feel good about it. You’re doing it!

2. And after you’re done applauding yourself, recognize that regardless of how good you feel about your writing, it still needs work.

Ernest Hemingway once famously quipped, “The first draft of anything is shit.” Now, if Hemingway recognized this in HIS writing, perhaps we too should not be so hasty to call a piece of work done as soon as we type the words “The End.”

Screenwriting expert Robert McKee says the quality writer “wants to destroy his work. Taste and experience tell him that 90 percent of everything he writes, regardless of his genius, is mediocre at best. In his patient search for quality, he must create far more material than he can use, then destroy it.” Sounds harsh. Sounds like a lot of work. Well, yeah, it kind of is. But you’ve made it this far. Often times the difference between a mediocre piece of writing and something great is simply more time and effort put into it.

But where do you start?

First, you need some distance. If you’ve just finished a work of any reasonable length, you’re probably going to be too close to it to view it objectively. So back off for a bit. You need to separate yourself from your writing in order to come back at it with fresh eyes. The length of the work and the amount of time you’ve put into it should determine how long you stay away. A 10-22 page comic script? Put it down for a day or two and try not to think about it. A longer work like a screenplay, graphic novel script, or a novel. You need to put that puppy down for at least a week. When I was writing the Over screenplay, I was getting up a 5:30-6 am every morning and writing for a few hours and then for a few hours again at night. I cranked out the first 93 page draft in about two weeks of writing fury. By the time I finished and proofread, I was WAY too close to the script to view it objectively. So, I let it be for two entire weeks, before getting back into it.

Distance does not equal downtime. Okay, you’re away from your script. Party time? Nope, sorry. You’re a writer now! Writers write. Sure, crack a beer or take a night off to celebrate, but needing distance is not an excuse to stop writing or stop working on your craft. Here are three suggestions for things you can do to be productive in your time away from your first draft.

• Work on the next project. That first draft you just finished isn’t your only story idea is it? For most creative people, I assume the answer is no. This is one of the benefits of having multiple projects in various stages of development going at once. When you need time away from one, you have something else to work on. As soon as I finished the first draft of Over, I took a “break” by plotting out the full story for “Tears of the Dragon.” I think it helped that Tears and Over were entirely different genres. It really felt like a vacation to write. I was also able to give more energy and effort to some of my other comic projects that had taken a back seat while I poured everything I had into the screenplay.

• Read a book on craft. If you’ve just written a novel, screenplay, or comic script, now is the best time to pick up and read a book on the craft of writing and storytelling. After you’ve written something is much better than before. About six years ago, I picked up a copy of The Screenwriter’s Bible by David Trottier. This is a great reference. Read it cover to cover as soon as I got it. And immediately after…I wrote nothing. Nope, despite being a great reference and having mostly everything I’d ever need to know to write a screenplay, it did not inspire me to write one. In fact, it probably intimidated me. I just wasn’t ready.

This likely would have been the case had I picked up McKee’s Story prior to writing my screenplay. I either wouldn’t have gotten through it (boring, inaccessible) or it would have depressed me (How am I ever going to write something that satisfies all of his criteria for a good script?)
However, I came to McKee immediately AFTER writing the first draft of my screenplay. Because of this, as I read the book, I viewed everything he had to say through the prism of my screenplay. As a result, I read it cover to cover in a few days and was fired up for my rewrite afterwards.

• Provide feedback for other writers. This is one of the best ways to develop your critical eye. After finishing a work, you’ll gain a lot by providing feedback to other writers. In fact, this is the whole concept behind the exceptional site TriggerStreet (highly recommended site for giving and getting feedback on your creative works.) When you read other’s work, you’ll have no attachment to the material, which allows total objectivity. But as you’re offering critique, you may find that some of the mistakes that writer has made are similar to the mistakes you make. By seeing the flaws in another’s writing or seeing what they do that works, it can help illuminate a direction forward for your re-write that you might not have seen otherwise.

After finishing the first draft of Over, I read and critiqued 14 feature-length screenplays written by other aspiring writers. Some were pretty good, others not so much. But every single one helped me hone my editorial chops, which in turn helped me rewrite my script.

Alright, so there are a few ideas for you for how to approach finishing that first draft. Again, this is what I do and what works for me. Give it a shot, or feel free to share what works for you. Next week, I’ll continue to discuss the topic of re-writing, and more specifically tackle the subject of asking for and receiving feedback. See you next week!

NEXT: The Re-Write – Part II