I’m going to take you through the process of a graphic novel in a series of posts. This is from my perspective, as a writer and artist who makes fantasy books for middle grade and young adult readers - but hopefully it will be helpful even if you’re interested in making a different kind of book!
I've always lived in a kind of fantasy land, making up stories or scenarios in my head. It has been like this since I was little, mostly as a form of self-comfort. I never really did anything with them, usually letting the stories fade away. I definitely never thought to write them down, for I never had the confidence for that; writing was always the realm of ‘the writers’- mythical beings whose power I did not have.
Recently I got into fanfiction writing— based on one of these stories swirling around in my mind. Not sure what compelled me to finally write, but when I started, I found that I could not stop, and it was an incredibly enjoyable experience. I did not use an outline or formula for this story; I just wrote down what was constantly playing over and over in my head. I ended up writing a 150K word novel- whether or not it is any good is another story 😏
I would like to move out of the realm of fanfiction and perhaps write something of my own someday, when the inspiration strikes and the story starts playing round in my mind. I would like to use a hybrid of the structured method you describe along with my own nutty method of writing.
Thanks for doing this Molly, I am going to learn a lot from you. 😃
to graduate form college I was required to make a thesis, and my friend and I choose to write a biopic film script. we had to make A LOT of research about the character we wanted to write about, of course, but what the teachers really wanted was academic research about the fundamentals of writing for film. we obviously stumbled upon the classic three-act structure, but that led us to discover the Freytag Pyramid, where you have five crucial points instead of three!
so, what I really want to say is that the discovery of another structure felt like permission to break the three acts and bend it to our will. since then, I no longer see stories just as setup | confrontation | resolution, but as different shapes and lines with rising actions, several incidents, falling actions, twists, among other things. your personal breakdown reminded me of this process and the endless possibilities storytelling brings us.
thank you for this class!
PS- I recommend all storytellers to check out the Freytag Pyramid structure, it makes interesting points.
I'm a huge believer in the power of outlines, and I've used them for every manuscript and story I've written. While some people can write without them (Who are these sorcerers??) I can definitely see why they'd be a lot more important in comics. You don't want to discover plot holes or realize the story's not working once you've put in the time and effort of drawing it out. It's very cool to see your outlining process!
Question: when comics artists like yourself reference your editors, is this the stage when you're working with them? ("The stage" being outlining and scriptwriting.) I always wondered how editors work in comics (And clearly had never considered the pre-drawing stage before lol.) because the idea of having someone "edit" during the drawing stage feels like a lot of work.
Honestly, I feel so dumb right now lol. I can't believe I never considered that this stage of writing would also apply to comics/graphic novels. Oof...
Thanks so much. I see, in many bad movies, how rigid focus on structure can lead to a less than satisfying story (I tend to roll my eyes whenever I notice the Dark Night of the Soul - but I buy it if the characters & story have sucked me in). I like the idea of outlining first and then use a structure for parts that could be better or are troublesome.
These lessons are so interesting, and they're giving me motivation to write! Even though I always kept thinking about stories, I've lost the habit of writing just for myself a few years ago, with the start of high school. I read your posts last night, and then I wasn't able to sleep until I had written at least an elevator pitch (if I made any mistakes, I apologize. English isn't my first language)
I struggle a lot with writing the first, let's say, prose outline. I draw a million plot diagrams shoving moments around, all my insecurities about the story get to me much more when it is written in full form. I think it is parallel with the moment when i stop getting horribly uncomfortable trying to elevator pitch the story to new ppl. I guess it's the moment when it starts "materialising"? I have started to be more able to enjoy the process coming up to crossing that threshhold, i used to be horribly uncomfortable with it. Also i tried not to think in 3 act structures with that comic but when i read the finished thing it was, uh, remarkably typical 3 act structure. I guess you can't escape it that easily.
One guideline that's helped me a ton when outlining is that the structure of "intro > rising action > climax > denouement" works on every level, from the whole plot to each act to each individual chapter/scene
I've always lived in a kind of fantasy land, making up stories or scenarios in my head. It has been like this since I was little, mostly as a form of self-comfort. I never really did anything with them, usually letting the stories fade away. I definitely never thought to write them down, for I never had the confidence for that; writing was always the realm of ‘the writers’- mythical beings whose power I did not have.
Recently I got into fanfiction writing— based on one of these stories swirling around in my mind. Not sure what compelled me to finally write, but when I started, I found that I could not stop, and it was an incredibly enjoyable experience. I did not use an outline or formula for this story; I just wrote down what was constantly playing over and over in my head. I ended up writing a 150K word novel- whether or not it is any good is another story 😏
I would like to move out of the realm of fanfiction and perhaps write something of my own someday, when the inspiration strikes and the story starts playing round in my mind. I would like to use a hybrid of the structured method you describe along with my own nutty method of writing.
Thanks for doing this Molly, I am going to learn a lot from you. 😃
As a queer kid this book really inspired me 🏳️🌈❤️
to graduate form college I was required to make a thesis, and my friend and I choose to write a biopic film script. we had to make A LOT of research about the character we wanted to write about, of course, but what the teachers really wanted was academic research about the fundamentals of writing for film. we obviously stumbled upon the classic three-act structure, but that led us to discover the Freytag Pyramid, where you have five crucial points instead of three!
so, what I really want to say is that the discovery of another structure felt like permission to break the three acts and bend it to our will. since then, I no longer see stories just as setup | confrontation | resolution, but as different shapes and lines with rising actions, several incidents, falling actions, twists, among other things. your personal breakdown reminded me of this process and the endless possibilities storytelling brings us.
thank you for this class!
PS- I recommend all storytellers to check out the Freytag Pyramid structure, it makes interesting points.
I'm a huge believer in the power of outlines, and I've used them for every manuscript and story I've written. While some people can write without them (Who are these sorcerers??) I can definitely see why they'd be a lot more important in comics. You don't want to discover plot holes or realize the story's not working once you've put in the time and effort of drawing it out. It's very cool to see your outlining process!
Question: when comics artists like yourself reference your editors, is this the stage when you're working with them? ("The stage" being outlining and scriptwriting.) I always wondered how editors work in comics (And clearly had never considered the pre-drawing stage before lol.) because the idea of having someone "edit" during the drawing stage feels like a lot of work.
Honestly, I feel so dumb right now lol. I can't believe I never considered that this stage of writing would also apply to comics/graphic novels. Oof...
This is incredibly helpful! Thank you!
Thanks so much. I see, in many bad movies, how rigid focus on structure can lead to a less than satisfying story (I tend to roll my eyes whenever I notice the Dark Night of the Soul - but I buy it if the characters & story have sucked me in). I like the idea of outlining first and then use a structure for parts that could be better or are troublesome.
These lessons are so interesting, and they're giving me motivation to write! Even though I always kept thinking about stories, I've lost the habit of writing just for myself a few years ago, with the start of high school. I read your posts last night, and then I wasn't able to sleep until I had written at least an elevator pitch (if I made any mistakes, I apologize. English isn't my first language)
I struggle a lot with writing the first, let's say, prose outline. I draw a million plot diagrams shoving moments around, all my insecurities about the story get to me much more when it is written in full form. I think it is parallel with the moment when i stop getting horribly uncomfortable trying to elevator pitch the story to new ppl. I guess it's the moment when it starts "materialising"? I have started to be more able to enjoy the process coming up to crossing that threshhold, i used to be horribly uncomfortable with it. Also i tried not to think in 3 act structures with that comic but when i read the finished thing it was, uh, remarkably typical 3 act structure. I guess you can't escape it that easily.
One guideline that's helped me a ton when outlining is that the structure of "intro > rising action > climax > denouement" works on every level, from the whole plot to each act to each individual chapter/scene