WRITING THE DARNED THING!
I write in full script method. It closely resembles a movie script, but instead of fades it has "Page One: Panel One, Panel Two....." etc. There's another method of working, which I personally hate but some pro's prefer it, and that's the Marvel Method or plot method. Where you break down the book into a plot (I've heard of a book where it was like two sentences long) and then give that plot to the artist to break down into the story you read. Stan Lee back in the day wrote most of his stuff this way, which is why it's widely called Marvel Method now. But I digress.
Do I skip the plot part entirely? No I don't. In fact I do write out a loose plot. No one sees this but me. It resembles a loose list of plot points that I want to cover in the series. Nothing more, nothing less. "This guy does this which leads to this and this then this happens" to put it in a run on sentence. It's a shorthand map for me to refer to when I'm working on the script, and often times things change as the script takes form.
For Legacy, since I've been working on this story in one way or another for over a decade, I already have the loose plot in my head. It was very simple for me to sit down and start the scripting process. A few notes at the top for my editor, so he doesn't get lost and then it was straight into the script. (My editor on this project is close friend and professional writer Don Smith Jr.) So, here's the first page of script, re-edited to make it work in this post.
(START SCRIPT)
Page One:
Panel One: A young Jason Talbot, eyes wide with fear. Sitting in a chair in what seems to be an office. Next to him in a car seat is his baby brother, asleep and sucking on a nook.
Caption #1: “The Past.”
Social Worker: (OP) “You can be assured, Mr Talbot, that we will attempt to place your children in the best homes possible.”
Social Worker: (OP) “It’s a very brave thing that you’ve done, giving them up for adoption. I wish that more parents would do so if they felt unable to raise them well.”
Panel Two: Jason Talbot stands over his children, looking down. He’s mostly in silhouette here. It’s not time to see what he looks like, just time to establish the fear that Jason feels and how he views this memory.
Jason: “We going home now Daddy?”
Father: “No Jason. We’re not.”
Panel Three: Jason walking away down the hallway.
Father: “Someday you’ll understand why I done this.”
Panel Four: Jason standing up, reaching towards the reader. An adult has him in a gentle hold, holding him from following the man that was his father.
Jason: (LOUD) “DADDY! NO!!!”
(END SCRIPT)
As you can see, it's a quick description of what's happening in the panel, and you could take this and film it like in a normal movie script. But I need to make a couple notes here:
#1) I write more sparsely for myself than I would for another artist.
#2) I adjust things in the script as I draw them. What may be written down may not be what the final panel looks like, depending on how things go.
As I progress on my story, the characters begin to take on a life of their own (so to speak). If you've ever written anything, then as you're writing you begin to feel the story come alive in your sub-conscious, you know what I'm talking about. There's nothing supernatural or evil about it (That's for the few ultra legalistic Christians that read my blog). It's just that your mind has internalized both the plot and the way the characters act. Totally normal for a creative to experience.
For me, Legacy started that about midway through Issue #2. I really started to feel that I knew and understood the characters, and was very happy with where the plotline was going. Then when I began on Issue #3, I began to slog down a bit having to work things together consciously instead of just letting things flow. Introducing a new character (or two) throughout the first few issues will do that to you, yet I know when I finally get moving on Issue #4 that it'll start moving quickly again.
Scripting is a process I enjoy. This is a part of the process I can do very quickly if it's for myself. If it's for someone else (like another project I'm working on) It takes a bit longer. Especially if you have space constraints. (Say a six pager you need to write and enough content in your mind for a full issue.)
As I'm able to, I'll revisit this particular part of the discussion. As for now, I'm getting a late start on some digital inks I should get done.
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