By Derek Adnams
And thus we arrive at the
last, and what has become my favorite, part of my personal writing process–the Re-Write. Or, as I call it:
The Red Pen Edit
When I began this series in
November, I opened with a great quote from Kurt
Vonnegut about the two kinds of writers: “Swoopers” and “Bashers”...
This seems to be an
appropriate place to begin discussing the re-write process. I’m a “Swooper,” even
when writing the script, based on a carefully planned outline and detailed
story. Sitting at the computer with my notebook (see above) in front of me, the script just sort of pours out. I
know it’s a first draft, so any inconsistencies and mediocrities will be ironed
out with the Red Pen Edit.
Once the draft is done and I
break the ramblings into pages, I print the whole thing out. Some pages will be
fully realized script, and those I will look over for grammatical and
formatting mistakes, ways to improve dialogue, and to ensure that the scene
accomplishes what it is intended to do in the best and most efficient way possible.
Then there are the pages
that only include some vague panel descriptions or a snippet of “cool”
dialogue. Those get almost totally rewritten, or, in some most cases, written
for the first time, with the aforementioned red pen. I like the tactile
experience of using a pen, and it gets me into a different mind space than the
one I’m in while typing.
And red brings back all
sorts of wonderful memories of High School English papers!
Once the Red Pen Edit is
complete, I give it a day to percolate a little bit, then read through my notes
and scribbling, making sure everything makes some sort of sense. Then it’s back
to the computer to type everything out, another form or a re-write as panel
descriptions and dialogue can often change and be enhanced at this stage as
well.
Once it’s all said and done,
or written and done, the script will have gone through five stages:
1. Story –
A brainstorm of all the ideas you
want to include in the comic book, realized in some sort of narrative framework
2. Structure
– Taking that story and working it into The
Three Act Structure and The Hero’s
Journey
3. Break-Down – Taking your structured story and molding it into the format of a
comic book, paying close attention to
page turns and reveals, as well as giving your artistic collaborator room
to create
4. Script –
Where you turn pictures in your head into words on a page, which will then turn
into pictures in an artist’s head and then assemble themselves on a different page
5. Re-Write
– Throwing away about 80% of what you just did and making it better!
Now you’re ready to submit
your masterpiece to the good people at Charlton Neo!
The End
Further Reading (or, Books That Make Me Seem Kinda’
Smart)
Words for Pictures: The Art and
Business of Writing Comics and Graphic Novels by Brian Michael Bendis
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