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Dave Kopperman
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 27 December 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 3168
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| Posted: 10 May 2024 at 2:24am | IP Logged | 1
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Rather than going right to an editor, you may instead want to attend a creative writing* class - not so much for teacher advice but for the feedback of a group, which I always found useful.
*maybe a screenwriting or playwriting workshop would be more aligned with writing for comics, since plot and theme aside, a well-written comic is more like those forms than any prose medium.
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Neil Lindholm
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 12 January 2005
Location: China
Posts: 4941
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| Posted: 12 May 2024 at 7:56pm | IP Logged | 2
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Grammarly might be useful.
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David Miller
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004
Posts: 3017
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| Posted: 13 May 2024 at 2:09am | IP Logged | 3
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Joe: I've done some freelance editing for spec novels like yours, and I haz opinions.
1) Take maximum advantage of your current momentum to write as much as you can. Don't hold anything back, surprise yourself, forget about plot holes, follow wild tangents, and don't stress consistency or style. If you can keep the momentum going all the way until you type THE END even better. The more you can add to your manuscript at this stage, the more material you'll have to shape (and eventually probably cut).
2) I specifically came here to recommend taking a creative writing class, but Dave Kopperman beat me to it, so I second his advice: take a creative writing class, specifically a novel workshop. The book doesn't have to be finished, but such classes love when somebody shows up with a substantial manuscript, even if some chapters are in the INSERT WORDS HERE phase.
As Dave Kopperman said, it's not so much for advice from the teacher as from the group. Although to be honest, a lot of the group feedback will useless and mostly about where they read somebody else using your idea first. Which is important, since you have to get over stuff like that. I'm kidding (mostly). There will usually be valuable feedback, and even valuable feedback that you still end up rejecting. You might also find providing feedback to others can help identify issues and clarify solutions in your own work. And it can be fun. I took a novel workshop more than a decade ago, and I'm still friends with everyone including the teacher. When my classmate's book was released last year, she told me I gave her the idea for the ending, which was one of the nicest compliments I have ever been paid.
3) Hire that editor. You'll eventually need several synopses of increasing length and detail, which the editor can help you with, but I suspect most editors will prefer to know what they're dealing with before they commit to editing for you.
I have also worked as a comics editor, and it is a hugely different beast than editing prose. Writing a comic or graphic novel is a lot different than writing a novel, and whether one is cartooning or writing for another to illustrate makes a difference as well.
Since it sounds like you're making good progress just writing, I'd recommend sticking to that for the time being, because it's working for you, and its effort that you can control and complete on its own terms entirely by yourself without engaging an artist. Trying to write for multiple formats simultaneously will slow you down and dilute your efforts. A comic book version could be an entirely separate project.
Edited by David Miller on 13 May 2024 at 4:49am
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Joe Smith
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 29 August 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 6623
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| Posted: 13 May 2024 at 2:48pm | IP Logged | 4
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Thanks all for the great feedback.
I found an editor who is also a published author. Seems to understand
where my head is at, so I’m just going to barrell on through and finish.
He did recommend the notecard/corkboard system to keep my scenes in
order and in my face just so I don’t feel like I’m forgetting something. He’s
glad I have an ending, and was surprised at how many twists I have along
the way with red herrings etc. I wanted to tell him who my favorite comic
book author is and then maybe he’d see who inspired me!
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David Miller
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004
Posts: 3017
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| Posted: 14 May 2024 at 3:57am | IP Logged | 5
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It sounds like you're having a blast.
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Petter Myhr Ness
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 02 July 2009
Location: Norway
Posts: 3837
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| Posted: 14 May 2024 at 7:25am | IP Logged | 6
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Speaking as a published writer, the advice from Dave and David are sound.
Don't bring an editor in too early - you want to stay in creative mode as long as possible. Once you start processing advice from editors, you move into editing mode. Which is useful when it's at the right time. I recommend finishing a draft - you'll have much more fun, and it'll also make the editor's job easier - and yours when you do revisions.
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Joe Smith
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 29 August 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 6623
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| Posted: 14 May 2024 at 4:22pm | IP Logged | 7
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I found the dialogue part to be intimidating.
“Why?”, she said, “because it has all of the quotation marks and commas?”
“That, and getting the right momentum on the page.”, he answered. His
pencil came up to his temple as if he were accessing data he’d stored. “As
an art-based life form since birth, I’m seeing a paragraph that’s not
aesthetically pleasing and will want to “sculpt” it! Is that crazy?”
“Yes. I think it might be.” She finished her Fresca in one gulp and got up
from her seat. Neatly pushing the chair in to the table, she reached into her
purse and put on her driving gloves. “Please, don’t call me until it’s perfect.
There’s only so much I can do for you.”
He watched her walk away and thought, “Man….I hate the look of that last
paragraph.”
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