On Writing

I maybe a book snob but I can appreciate the ability to write well. My old friend Pete once told me (or at least this is what I remember him telling me) of a journalism or some other writing class he was taking in college one year.

I don't recall if this was the first day of class, but the classroom was on the ground floor and apparently the professor entered class through a window. Then he proceeded to discuss some bumper stickers he'd seen and engaged the whole class in this discussion. Finally, some uptight person asked what bumper stickers had to do with the class they were in. Of course, the professor said "everything" because bumper stickers had to say so much with so little...concise writing at its best.

Now, Pete's story might really be an Urban Myth but....

I think good comic books are the same. You've got limited space for narrative and dialogue so you need to be as concise and effective as possible.

I recently came across a film making blog where the writer is taking his comic and converting it to a script. His comic did much with just pictures but he made effective use of the limited space of his text. Comparing his comic to his script is interesting to see what goes into the process. And he's open to feedback....