Because comic books are read by a variety of individuals, its a good idea to identify the audience first. The audience can be broken down by kids (ages 12 and younger), teens (ages 18-13), Adults (ages 19 and older).
Before you begin writing, list all your characters on a separate sheet of paper and describe their physical attributes and personalities. The artist will incorporate the physical descriptions into the images of the characters. Through different situations and actions, the personalities of the characters will become apparent. You can also include in this list occupation, background information, and how they relate to the other characters. This information may be helpful in developing the story line.
You can map out the storyline using Inspiration, Kid Inspiration, or a pen and pencil. Remember to keep the story short and simple. It is also important to keep the story lively. Because the comic book is basically a visual story, action and movement need to be part of the storyline. It is important that "the communication must be direct and unequivocal. It must be capable of being read in a second and it must lead onto it succeeding element" (Faust 1971:196-197). Action and conflict keep the story interesting and moving (Edkin, Griep, Busiek). Action is one reason why super-hero comic books are popular.
Setting (the room was sparse except for the desk with the computer), description (the person had blond short hair), sound (fingers snapping, etc.), emotion (the person was happy) are all told through the images. Because so much is revealed through the images, writers need to include this information for the artist in the panel descriptions. Its also a good idea to keep the descriptions short and to the point. This can be accomplished by only adding information that is necessary. If certain details are important to tell the story, include it in the description. It is also good to allow the artist to interpret the description with some give and take (Griep, Fleury)
Details and examples of scripts can be found in Marc Fleury's "Writing for Comics: Formating your Scripts" and Joe Edkins' "Sample Scripts"
Dialogues make up a majority of the storyline. They appear in balloons or bubbles. Usually there should be no more than three balloons in a panel. Short conversations are more interesting than long conversations (Busiek, Pellowski 1995:47). Also the speech balloons also indicate whispering (dotted or broken line), thought (small bubbles leading to the speech balloon), or screaming (pointing balloon). To keep the story moving and active have characters doing something while they are talking with one another or with themselves (internal monologues). There are some comic books in which there is no dialogue. When information can not be said in dialogues, the writer will use captions (boxes located in the corners of the panel). Captions may indicate time, setting change, or mood. For the most part, captions are seen as slowing down the reader (Pellowski 1995: 47). According to Marc Fleury in "Writing for Comics", "design of your pages should be determined by the content of the story." Whether there is dialogue, no words, or just a running narration, the story should determine how it is presented. A good example of writing dialogue can be seen at Marc Fleury's Writing for Comics: All Those Words.
On a sheet of paper, write down what you think will be said in the next panel.
Copy a page from a comic book, preferably one you have not read, and have a friend white out all the words on the copied page. Write in what you think the characters are saying in the speech balloons or bubbles or what is being described in the narrative boxes.
Design Suggestions 2: Art and Illustrating Comic
Books
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Kris McGlaun, Library Media
Specialist
Jackson Creek Middle School
Updated: 08-08-03