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Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2004 12:09 pm Post subject: So, You Have An Idea
Since this is the first post in this forum I thought I would say hello.
Hello.
Lets jump right in. You have this nice render that you made and you have this idea for a story to go along with it. But you are stuck on how to proceed.
How do I go about getting started? How should I develop the plot? What about the ending?
This is the place to ask those questions. As some already know, I dabble a bit in the written word. If you have any questions I will be glad to give you a hand. If I don't have an answer, I will try to find someone who does.
It does not matter if you think the questions are silly or dumb. Everybody has to start somewhere. Eventually, as you gain experience, you will develop your own style. The important thing is to try. Just know that help is available.
Hope to be hearing from You soon.
Greek _________________ I am a romantic, a seeker of beauty.
Even from souls corners most despairing,
Beauty none the less.
-Sunheart-
Joined: Jan 10, 2004 Posts: 107 Location: Atlanta, GA
Posted: Wed Apr 28, 2004 5:45 pm Post subject:
I hope this will be used for plotting in general.. i mean, not only written stories have plots.. comics do as well! and while's there's already a forum for comics, I think it would be nice if some of the story development and similar topics for comics could be included also here.
But if you think that this should go only in the comics forum, please voice your mind. _________________ **************
sandmarine.com
**************
Posted: Wed Apr 28, 2004 6:00 pm Post subject: Re: So, You Have An Idea
Hello sandmarine.
Like your work over at R'otica.
I cannot see why there should be any restictions. A story is a story, no matter what form. Comics are just as valid as any other form. My offer stands. Ulitmately it is up to the mods and admins, but I see no conflicts. _________________ I am a romantic, a seeker of beauty.
Even from souls corners most despairing,
Beauty none the less.
-Sunheart-
Hey, I'm a writer (published) and a comic creator and I don't favour one over the other...
As for the plot... I guess I always have the ending in mind. But first come the characters, they rule the plot. If I have a strong personlaity in the cast, he or she will drive the events forward. Usually it's the villains that make the plot spin and are responsible for most plot turns.
But the ending is very important, I believe. From the very begining. Once You've established who lives, who dies, who ends up with whom and where... It's Your job to make it that way.
I like to work with music on, sometimes a tune comes up and I see a scene - then I have to figure out how to put that scene into the plot.
With my Wind Weaver it was the same: i know exactly how it is going to end and thought some minor things change during the process of creation, the ending is still valid (as it was 3 years ago).
Happy creating to all of You! _________________ ----
battle not with monsters
lest ye become a monster
and if you gaze into the abyss
the abyss gazes into you
Joined: Jan 10, 2004 Posts: 107 Location: Atlanta, GA
Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2004 8:38 am Post subject:
Well, my creating process is completely different: I always get the concept, create the characters, and then I let the characters take me to the end of that story.
But maybe this is the reason why sometimes I've had a ton of unfinished stories... becuse at some point the characters stall or I really feel the story is going nowhere.
Ultimately, for one of my comics I really wanted to develop further, I ended up writing a 10 page plot for the series, from beginning to end and the beginning of a new series based on the end of that one...
then i met my friend Ariah here and started to work on a new universe together (hope that doesn't sound too weird), so some of her stories and mine would have a common ground. After that, I've had to modify my original plot, but not that much, so, it's kind of a new approach to plot developing on itself. _________________ **************
sandmarine.com
**************
Posted: Sat May 01, 2004 6:48 am Post subject: Re: So, You Have An Idea
To me, the ending is most important. It is what I am trying to express, the point I am trying to make. I then decide which genre it will be set in, and who the characters will be. I try to name them in a way that will evoke a certain trait to them that the reader can identify with.
Next comes the starting point. I usually outline how the story will proceed from there, including any misdirection and subtleties of action and/or dialogue.
Then I proceed to write it, going from point A to Point B to point C etc. Well, that is how I do it any way. I agree that it is usually good to have an outside opinion. (Objective view,constructive critisicm) _________________ I am a romantic, a seeker of beauty.
Even from souls corners most despairing,
Beauty none the less.
-Sunheart-
Joined: Jun 10, 2002 Posts: 786 Location: Ontario, Canada
Posted: Sat May 01, 2004 10:02 am Post subject: Re: So, You Have An Idea
Generally, when I write I feel the most important thing to keep in mind is the theme -- just what am I trying to say with the story? It doesn't matter what the beginning, middle and end of your story are like, if you don't have a theme you're carrying through the whole process, the end result will be directionless and uninteresting. Every good story says something other than "hey, look -- a story." _________________ Jim Harnock - ODS
www.OrcaDesignStudios.com
Joined: Jan 10, 2004 Posts: 107 Location: Atlanta, GA
Posted: Mon May 03, 2004 8:20 pm Post subject:
I agree with orca... in the end, the theme is the driving force to me... I guess I never worry abut the end because I want to be a reader and a writer at the same time. I know that sounds a bit weird, but I don't think I'd enjoy my writing as much if I already knew the ending of it all.
This is good and bad at the same time... I remember when i was 13 writing my first novel (I had stopped making comics to finally just write), and the most enjoyable part was to see the characters coming to life and completely changing the direction i wanted them to go to... and that's the vibe I still wanna keep nowadays.
I returned to making comics because I prefer all the features the medium has to offer, so i guess that's why I took the "future" part in the story Ariah and me are working on... I already know the beginning and middle parts of my plot, but the end is a complete uncertainty, and I like that, because even me will be intrigued with it until the very end.
I'm not looking into becoming a professional comic artist, I just wanna have a good time while doing it.
Oh, and I love the way Ariah adds 3 more cents than the regular 2... that shows she even puts more effort into it than anyone _________________ **************
sandmarine.com
**************
Posted: Sat May 15, 2004 2:54 am Post subject: Re: So, You Have An Idea
Cool thread!
I'll usually get a mental image of a single scene and build a story around that scene.
I'm used to writing stories for text only, but not for a comic book presentation. I'd love to hear tips about comic layout writing.
When a writer writes a story specifically for a comic, how does she do it?
I'm thinking along the lines of Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee's "Hush" Batman series. When Loeb presents the script to Lee is it only text like a short story or does it also contain the panel breakdown and general description of action like a screenplay?
When you all are creating a comic, do you make an outline or do you go with an idea and let it direct you?
Well, as I'm my own script writer, penciler and inker;) or to be exact: computer graphic...
It usually goes like this:
1)idea of a scene. In images. I have quite a powerful imagination and can actually see a lot in front of my mind's eyes.
2)a. I draw the layout on paper and add where speech bubles should be OR:
2)b. I have the page layout in my head and go for it as fast as i can.
Usually the second one, but for the tough scenes, like fighting, I try to draw out the layout to see if it's clear.
I don't write a detailed script, never did. _________________ ----
battle not with monsters
lest ye become a monster
and if you gaze into the abyss
the abyss gazes into you
Posted: Mon May 31, 2004 1:04 pm Post subject: Re: So, You Have An Idea
Interesting to see different points of view on this.
I never have a clue where my story is going when I start writing it. I usually have a middle of some description and my first job is to get there from the beginning; and when I do, I generally have some idea of how it's going to end.
I'm published in both comic and short story medium and I don't have a preference to be honest, I put just as much work into one as I do the other.
In writing comics, even though I can now do my own graphics, I still write my script first and I write a full script which is a panel by panel description (including viewing angles) with full dialogue and SFX(if any). I feel it's important to get the story locked down before I start fiddling with the images. _________________ If a thing is worth doing, it's worth overdoing.
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