A Conversation with Stout Stuart Moore, Writer/Former Helix Editor

Longtime Vertigo and Helix editor and current freelance comics writer and novelist Stuart Moore stopped by the Recondite Pictures lot to give us an insight into the mind of the writer/editor!

Here's what he had to say:

1. Did your experience as an editor help you as a writer? How?

Oh, definitely, yes. As a comics editor, I worked with some of the best writers in the business: Garth Ennis, Grant Morrison, Brian Bendis, Neil Gaiman, a whole lot of others. Each of them works differently, and you pick up different skills, different tricks, by seeing how they do what they do.

Editorial work is also useful for seeing what DOESN'T work. When a writer asks for too many actions in a panel, the artist has to make compromises that usually hurt the story. Also: If you know who the artist is going to be before you write a script -- which sometimes, but not always, happens -- you can tailor the script to his/her strengths.

Follow-up: Can you go into more detail about the tricks you learned from Ennis and others?
 

Some writers, like Garth, are very dialogue-driven. That tends to be my style; the dialogue drives me through most scenes, even if there's heavy action going on all around. Neil Gaiman, Mike Carey, and John Ney Rieber, among others, approach narration like poets. Warren Ellis, among his many skills, is great with monologues -- that's an underused technique in comics, but it can be very effective if used well. Warren is also great at taking just enough real science and mixing it with superhero conventions, so the whole thing appears more plausible than before he came on board. (Joss Whedon, whom I haven't worked with, is also very good at this.)

BLOODY MARY: The two miniseries tell a very complete story -- I don't think Garth has any interest in taking it any further. CYBERELLA: You'd have to ask Howard Chaykin and Don Cameron...I'd be very surprised if DC has any plans.

I think there's always room for good science fiction comics, but for some mysterious reason that genre has always been a hard sell. Even back in the days of EC, the horror books outsold the sci-fi comics by a good measure. One of the mysteries of the universe!

Also: Can you talk about about how LONE came about, your thoughts on the project and if we will ever see more?
 

LONE was a lot of fun. It was part of a Dark Horse company-owned imprint, so I don't have any control over its reappearance. I would love to tackle it again, especially with Jerome Opena back on board -- which is unlikely, because he's currently very very busy being a superstar at Marvel.

Also, can you please discuss THE HELIX imprint? I really loved those books, especially CYBERELLA.

Oh, Helix...DC had wanted a science fiction imprint for a while, and I wanted a change from Vertigo. Commercially, it was always a tricky venture: I avoided the DC sci-fi characters because I didn't think much of them (except Adam Strange, who wasn't available) and a licensed book I wanted to launch with turned out not to be available. I made a thousand mistakes and learned a lot, but we got some interesting books out of it, including MICHAEL MOORCOCK'S MULTIVERSE, which features some of Walter Simonson's best work, I think; and of course TRANSMETROPOLITAN, which went on to a long healthy life under Vertigo.

CYBERELLA started off strong, but there were creative difficulties. In retrospect, I think the pace of it was too slow. I'm also fond of Lucius Shepard's VERMILLION, particularly issue #8, which John Totleben drew.
 

And Bendis is a genius -- he has a technique all his own. I don't advise a prospective writer to mimic him, because it requires an incredible ear to write his kind of heavy back-and-forth, cinematic dialogue. He thinks very carefully about panel flow, where the words will appear on the page and what effect they'll have.

 2. How do you pitch to publishers? Walk us through the different processes of approaching publishers and getting gigs.
 

It can work in any of a thousand different ways. With company-owned characters, you need to have a sharp, clever idea that goes to the heart of a character (Wolverine, Batman, etc.) Then you have to get the attention of the right editor or executive. Editors at the major companies have less hiring authority than they used to, so pitching directly to editors has gotten trickier.

But you also have to remember that these editors have five or six books per month and a pretty full talent roster already. They're always looking for new talent, but you have to prove yourself through some other kind of work before you'll register on their radar. Screenwriting and indy comics are the two most common ways.

With original projects, the process is completely different, and so are the markets. Lots of people are willing to publish original books, or you can do it yourself, through Comixology Submit or just your own website. The trouble is that, to put it in vaguely scientific terms, there's very little money in the system. Writers can work on spec on the side, but it takes a lot longer for an artist to do his side of the work. I'm developing three or four original comics projects right now, and the biggest trick is finding enough money to finance the art. I tend to proceed very slowly with those projects, because I don't want to make promises to artists that I can't keep.

 3. What sorts of ideas have the best chances of being approved?
 

A short idea with an easy hook is always going to have the best chance, whether it's original (30 DAYS OF NIGHT: vampires in the Arctic circle) or company-owned (I sold Marvel on a BROOKLYN AVENGERS story last year). But it's always a long shot.

4. How do you deal with editors who say their publishing schedules are full?

Well, first of all, you take them at their word. Say thank you and ask if you can keep in touch. They're probably being honest, but they may be politely trying to say they don't think you're ready yet. Either way, there's no point in arguing.

The thing you have to remember is: This is a crowded entertainment marketplace. You have to prove yourself constantly. You don't have to be as good as the people already working for (say) Marvel; you have to be better, and you have to show them you can deliver both the work and an audience.

My own work in comics waxes and wanes. Lately I've been doing more prose work, some of it Marvel-related for both Marvel and Disney Worldwide, some for other publishers that I can't talk about yet. At a certain point in my life, I decided to be a full-time writer, and that meant charting out a career course for myself. I approach it as an art, but also as a business. It's tricky, but it seems to suit me.

 5. How do you deal with editors who say they can't publish your idea because they recently published a book with similar subject matter?

See previous answer. It's pretty easy to tell if that one's true or just a polite evasion. But either way, there's no benefit in dwelling on it. Just move on.

Also, don't throw out your TRANSFORMERS notes just because a pitch is turned down. You might be able to reuse bits of them for IRON MAN or THE LEGION OF SUPERHEROES, or an original project; or you might get another crack at TRANSFORMERS somewhere down the line.

Follow up on saving rejected pitches: Don't you think those ideas get stale? Isn't it just better to come up with something new?

Oh, I'm not suggesting you reuse pitches wholesale; that's a terrible idea. But if you're doing your job, every pitch will throw off little ideas or supporting characters that might fit somewhere else. I was regular writer of NIGHTWING for three weeks, once, and came up with a whole conspiracy theory and secret quasi-government organization. When the editor and I were both fired from the book, I merged that backstory with another idea in my notes. The result was my original graphic novel SHADRACH STONE.
 

 6. What are three things that every comic book story should accomplish?
 

I'm not big on rules, but let's see: It should be coherent, it should be entertaining, and it should have a point. How's that?

 7. How important is the plot?
 

That depends on the story and (if it's company-owned or licensed) the property. A really clever plot is rare in this industry, and if you can pull one off, you may get noticed. But character really is paramount in comics, so you need to make sure the plot works in tandem with the character.

 8. What comics should people read to get a good taste of your writing?
 

This list changes depending on my mood, but I'm proud of my various WOLVERINE books, including WOLVERINE NOIR with CP Smith (just reissued as part of an omnibus volume, MARVEL NOIR: WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN). I have a very soft spot for WOLVERINE: UNDER THE BOARDWALK, a one-shot I did with Tomm Coker, and CP and I also did a single issue of WOLVERINE called "The Package" (issue #41).

Original work: Definitely SHADRACH STONE and PARA (both from Penny-Farthing Press) and EARTHLIGHT, a nice little Tokyopop book that ran three volumes.

9. What current comics do you follow and why?

The two books I grab as soon as they come out are SAGA and INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK. Brian K. Vaughan drives me crazy -- his work seems so effortless, and it works on so many levels without resorting to contrived narrative tricks. Fiona Staples's art brings it all to life, in exactly the right way. HULK is just very, very clever -- Mark Waid at the top of his game, with gorgeous art by Leinil Yu and Walter Simonson.

 10. What are your all-time favorite comics and why?

I'm going to leave out a whole lot here, but...Steve Gerber and Gene Colan's HOWARD THE DUCK, Jim Starlin's WARLOCK, Howard Chaykin's AMERICAN FLAGG!, Grant Morrison & Richard Case's DOOM PATROL, Jamie Delano's HELLBLAZER. Of work I edited, Garth Ennis Steve Dillon's collaborations (HELLBLAZER and PREACHER), Brian Bendis & Alex Maleev's DAREDEVIL, Bendis & Michael Gaydos's ALIAS, Joe Lansdale & Tim Truman's JONAH HEX, Warren Ellis & Darick Robertson's TRANSMETROPOLITAN. Dozens of others.

11. What are some good small publishers that hire lesser-known writers for freelance work?

I'd really rather not go into recommendations. It's pretty easy to do research on the net, learn who's good to work with and who's not. My main advice is to not discount a publisher too quickly, just because you may have heard one bad story about them. When you're starting out, it's important to get published, to get your name around. Just go into any deal with your eyes open, and don't talk yourself into believing a deal is better than it is.

12. How can a lesser-known writer make himself irresistible to editors?

See answer #4 above. It's interesting that you put it that way, because "irresistible" really is what it takes. This isn't carpentry or accounting, where you master a certain number of skills and then apply for a job. You have to prove yourself, and then you have to keep proving yourself.

13. How do you give each character a unique voice without it coming off as heavy handed or not unique enough?

There's no quantifiable answer for that. In general, I'd advise using accents sparingly...that can come off as heavy-handed and dated. I read a lot of my dialogue aloud to myself, acting out the different parts, to make sure it sounds natural.

In comics, it's also important to be as concise as you can without losing the feel of a character's voice. You want the panels to bounce along at a decent clip, and you never never never have as much space as you want. It's pretty good training for other media, actually.

14. What projects are you working on?
 

I have new comics projects coming from a couple of major publishers, as well as a very exciting digital-first prose project -- but unfortunately I can't talk about any of that yet. I've just cowritten THE ART OF IRON MAN 3 with Marie Javins; that's in stores now. The paperback edition of my Marvel novel CIVIL WAR came out recently, too.

When I'm not writing, I serve as freelance editor of the Marvel prose novel line. Marie and I also run a comics packaging partnership called Botfriend (www.botfriendproductions.com), which has just finished its first major project, a sci-fi graphic novel called BINARY that should be out soon from Comixology.

I've always written prose, and shortly after I went freelance I wrote two novels for Games Workshop (AMERICAN MEAT, 2005, and REALITY BITES, 2006). That taught me a lot about pacing and character. Prose is more work-intensive than comics because (a) it's a lot of words -- that sounds stupid, but it's true! -- and (b) it's the purest expression of the writer's intent; there's no artist helping to make you look good (or bad). I was a book editor before I worked in comics, and I've always kept up with science fiction in particular, so it wasn't so much a transition as a shift of emphasis. I find prose nerve-wracking to write, because what I write is what the reader is going to see -- if it doesn't work, it's all on me. But that's also what's great about it.

• Civil War: The Marvel Novel

Scott Amundson writes comics for many publishers, including Bluewater Productions, Heroes Fallen Studios and Recondite Pictures.

 

 

A Conversation with Charming Chuck Dixon, Writer of GI Joe Special Missions and Countless Comics Classics

Popular comic book writer Chuck Dixon was nice enough to stop by the Recondite Pictures lot and give us an insight into the mind of the master!

Here’s what he had to say:

ME:  What was the most difficult thing about writing a great comic book for you when you were just starting out? Dialogue? Plot? Pacing? Something else? How did you meet this challenge?


Dixon teams with fellow legend Paul Gulacy
on IDW's current GI Joe series.



CHUCK:  Plot is what separates the men from the boys in fiction (or women from the girls, to be all-inclusive), in my opinion. It all starts there; the, hopefully, unseen foundation for the rest of the stuff and the real heavy lifting. But, if I were being honest, segues give me the most grief. Knowing where a scene should end and how to move to the next one.

 

ME:  What is the most challenging thing about writing a great comic book as a seasoned professional? How do you meet this challenge?

CHUCK:  Well, I don’t go into it planning for it to be ‘great.’ I just tell the story that’s in my head and hope it entertains someone other than me. If it turns out ‘great’ then that’s a plus. But if it diverts someone for fifteen minutes or more I’m happy. If they liked it enough to read it again I’m ecstatic.

ME:  Do you ever abandon a story that isn't working? 

CHUCK:  Rarely. I subscribe to what I call the Kirby Principle; there’s no idea so ridiculous that it can’t be made to work. I might drop a story only to re-visit it later on.

 

ME:  Do you write Marvel-style or full script? Do you try different formats for different stories or artists? 

CHUCK:  Full script. The last time I wrote plot-dialogue was for Joe Kubert. I don’t think anyone at Marvel actually uses the Marvel method any more.

ME:  Brian M. Bendis is always talking about writing a script to the particular strengths of the story's artist. Do you change your story for each artist? Is it really that big of a deal? 

CHUCK:  It is. But I don’t like to think of it as writing to an artist’s strengths. I think of it more like not missing an opportunity. I have a GI Joe Special Missions arc out right now with art by Paul Gulacy. He is SO good at water effects and undersea stuff that I included a lot of those kind of scenes. I also have Baroness wearing as a little as possible as often as possible. You want to take full advantage of all your artist’s talents while also giving him material he’ll enjoy working on.

ME:  Who are the main comics writers you look to for inspiration and why?

Frank Robbins comics are among Dixon's favorites.

CHUCK:  Archie Goodwin first and foremost. Archie never wrote a word when a picture would do. He perfectly balanced the needs of the medium for words and images. Stan Lee, of course. And Frank Robbins. And I’ve been looking for the work of Hank Chapman recently. He wrote lots of stuff for DC and Atlas in the 50s. Punchy war stories.

ME:  Who are the main writers in any field you look to for inspiration and why? 

CHUCK:  Edgar Rice Burroughs and Donald E. Westlake may not seem like they have much in common but they were the first authors that I really responded to a big way. In recent years I’ve been reading a lot of P.G. Wodehouse. It’s been helpful and intimidating as I write more and more prose in addition to comics. The man was a master of the perfect sentence as well as concealing the bones of his plot under action and character.

ME:  Besides just writing, are there repetitive exercises that comics writers can do to strengthen their skills?

CHUCK:  Walking? Bowling? I’m not sure I can lecture any other writer on exercise. I do recommend reading criticism. Whether you agree with the reviewer or not it can be instructive. I read the Wall Street Journal and never agree with their movie reviewer. But I learn a lot from reading his criticisms. I even read the theater reviews even though I’ll never see those plays.

ME:  You have a very fun-to-read writing style. I especially enjoyed your Marvel Knights series! How did you develop that style?

CHUCK:  It’s basically letting the pictures tell the story and only have as much dialogue and as many captions as you need to inform the reader. I also like to keep things moving but not by simply advancing the plot rapidly. I aim to have each scene serve two purposes. It might be an action scene but it also tells you something about the hero.

ME:  What are the important things to know in order to properly pace a good comics story?

CHUCK:  Start with something engaging. Action, a mystery, a big dramatic moment. Whatever. Kirby used to open Fantastic Four stories cold with maybe Johnny and Ben chasing a dinosaur through the Baxter Building. It got things going as well as introducing the characters and their environment. From there you just keep up that level of engagement to keep the reader turning pages. I feel I’ve failed if a reader can put down one of my comics halfway through.

ME:  What are your regular sources for story research?

CHUCK:  Well, the Internet has made me lazy like everyone else. But trust me, the sum total of human knowledge is NOT on the Web. I have a huge book collection and turn to it often.

ME:  How long does it take you to write a 22-page issue? Can you take me through the process?

CHUCK:  I start on Page One, Panel One (or more typically Splash) and go from there with a vague idea of where I’m going and the plot synopsis I gave my editor. While I usually stick to the spirit of the synopsis, it’s not cast in stone. I think of the best stuff while scripting. If I have to write “this happens then this happens then this guy comes in and…” my brain wanders. But when scripting I’m laser-focused and can see the structure of the story and sense when a surprise or new element is called for.

Russ Manning Tarzan comics are some of Dixon's favorites.

The beginnings are easiest and I can usually get the first eight pages laid down in about five hours with dialogue. Then it’s chipping away until it’s done. Lots of walking away and thinking about or NOT thinking about it. But I can do a script easy in one week. Three days if pressed. The Simpsons, though, takes me two weeks. Funny is more work.

ME:  What is your favorite thing about writing?

CHUCK:  Not having to be at a job. You know, a J-O-B. I work hard but it’s at my own pace doing something I love. Even when I worked at CrossGen, which was an office job, I used to stroll in when I wanted to but would often be there until late into the night. There wasn’t much they could say because I was always at least three months ahead on all four of my titles.

Me:  What are the most important aspects of writing for a lesser-known writer to develop?

CHUCK:  Being alone. When you write you’re by yourself even if you’re in a room full of people. Get used to that. Whatever it is that made you an observer and a chronicler is your gift. Learn to enjoy that time and you will succeed.

ME:   How do you come up with something that connects emotionally with the reader in each issue?

CHUCK:  Something they might recognize in themselves. The hero with a moment of doubt. The villain in a moment of weakness. A good plan coming to pieces as events unfold. That’s what brings a story to life.

There’s a moment in Hitchcock’s Rear Window where the murderer is trying to make a deal to escape justice. He’s pathetic and pleading in that moment, his back to the all and the only way out is to make a deal or kill again. When the choice is clear he becomes a monster again. In that one scene, we can’t even see the actor’s face, he becomes ourselves; trapped and desperate and not sure what to do next. Those few seconds make that movie the classic that it is.

ME:  Purely as a fan, what are some of your favorite comics currently and of all time?

CHUCK:  Deepest apologies to my peers, but I don’t really read anything contemporary. Probably because they don’t comp comics like they used to and I never set foot in a comic book store.

Winterworld offers a great
introduction to Dixon's writing.

Of all time? Ditko on Spidey. Jack on FF. Russ Heath’s work on SGT Rock in the early 70s. Pure comic book heaven. Early Creepy and Eerie. Russ Manning’s Tarzan both in the comics and the strips. Frank Robbins on anything; either his Johnny Hazard strip or his work at DC and Marvel.

ME: What are a few stories that new readers should search out in the back issue bins to start digging into your comics work?

CHUCK: Winterworld by me and Jorge Zaffino. Detective Comics Annual #7 where Batman becomes a pirate. My work on Punisher. And a LOT of issues of Savage Sword of Conan in the mid-eighties.

ME: What projects do you having coming up? 

CHUCK: I’m almost done writing my fifth SEAL Team 6 novel. They’re available only on Kindle for now. I’m currently on GI Joe Special Missions for IDW and doing quite a bit of work on Spongebob Squarepants for Bongo. There’s a new paperback collection of Robin/Batgirl Year One coming soon. And I have a few things I can’t talk about yet.

Scott Amundson writes comics for many publishers, including Bluewater Productions, Heroes Fallen Studios and Recondite Pictures.

A Conversation with Kind Chris Ryall, Chief Creative Officer/Editor-in-Chief at IDW Publishing

LOCKE & KEY is a Lovecraftian horror story written
by Stephen King's son and popular novelist Joe Hill.

Chris Ryall, Chief Creative Officer/Editor-in-Chief at IDW Publishing, was nice enough to stop by the Recondite Pictures lot and give us some insight into the mind of the editor!

Here's what he had to say:

ME:  Many of our readers are comic book writers. What do you look for when hiring a new writer? A strong fan base? New ideas? Stories that appeal to people interested in current trends? Good dialogue? Structure?

CHRIS:  For the most part, especially for licensed properties, we tend to hire established writers who have shown an ability to handle other peoples' properties. We often need to provide a creator's bonafides to licensors when establishing a creative plan, so that's why we typically go that route. It's hard to hand over a licensed title to someone who hasn't proven themselves in other areas. We've done it at times but it's not all that common. So for the most part, we look for an established writer who has the right voice for whatever that property is.

ME:  What sort of stories does IDW look for from lesser-known writers?

CHRIS:  We have a solid slate of creator-owned projects on our schedule now, and those are a mix of established creators and new creative teams who have a strong point of view and unique way of presenting their story.

ME:  How does a lesser-known writer get a job writing a fill-in, back-up story or licensed title?

IDW has enjoyed great success with the GI JOE
comics they've published over the last few years.

CHRIS:  We don't really do fill-ins or back-ups. So it can be hard--if someone is looking to break in, doing so on a big licensed title is likely not the best way to go, since like I say, those projects tend to necessitate having established talent run them. Better to develop some kind of a track record, whether it just be self-published comics, smaller-press publishers or other such routes. The Internet does offer many good alternatives to people now, which is great. It might be hard for an editor to get free to read a script or even a proposal, but it's easier to read comic pages, and the means to create those are easier now than ever before.

Comics is very much a bottom-up form of entertainment--like most forms of entertainment, come to think of it. So getting any kind of track record and building some good word of mouth is a much better way to get noticed than sending a blind submission in and hoping for the best.

ME:  What advice can you give to writers who want to become more effective at their craft?

CHRIS:  Just write all the time. And actively work to get a comic done on your own, even if it's just with a friend or new artist and is something you put up on your own site or spread across social media. If you look at the success stories at Marvel, DC, IDW and beyond, many of those creators did their own thing, often for years, before being noticed and tapped to write a bigger title. Brian Bendis is probably the best example of this--he self-published for years before working for Image and then finally Marvel.

BORN AGAIN is a classic Frank Miller story.

I always want writers who get told "no" to prove wrong whoever told them that.

I know it's a hard, frustrating at times business, and it's not the kind of thing where someone who's only moderately interested in writing comics should try to break in at a high level. But if you love comics, you'll find a way to make them and then find a way to get them read and work your way up from there.

ME:  Do these writers need artists attached or does IDW put together the creative teams?

CHRIS:  For creator-owned books, often creative teams will approach us. It's not vital, though. And even less so for licensed books. I'm all for trying to pair a writer with an artist they like or who suits the story but it's not essential that they do it themselves.

ME:  What are some of your favorite comics as a pure fan?

CHRIS:  I'm a fan of writers much more than books that look pretty with not much beyond the pictures. I grew up on guys like Frank Miller, Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, and those books they did in the '80s and '90s still resonate. My favorite all-time comic story is one I'm very happy we were able to do as an Artist's Edition -- Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli's Daredevil "Born Again" story.

ME:  What IDW comics are coming up that people who have never tried your comics should check out?

The new TMNT Nickelodeon cartoon will soon get an IDW
companion series. Pick up the Free introductory issue on May 4!

CHRIS:  I think Locke & Key is a great comic for people who've never read comics. And beyond that, other new creator-owned books we're doing like Wild Blue Yonder, Half Past Danger, and hopefully my own The Colonized are easily accessible and fun and hit on subjects that people who've never read comics can respond to.

ME:  What comics has IDW published in the past that new readers should seek out to get the best idea of what IDW offers?

CHRIS:  Again on the creator-owned front, Locke & Key is among the best things we've ever done, and is one of the best comics being published today (or any day), I think. Licensed-wise, our Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Judge Dredd revivals are accessible and action-packed for fans of superhero-like (but no capes) comics. And Darwyn Cooke's Parker graphic novels are likewise just brilliant. But there are so many--and I can't really pick favorites among my "kids," so hopefully any one title that someone tries will encourage them to check out other things we've done.


Scott Amundson writes comics for many publishers, including Bluewater Productions, Heroes Fallen and Recondite Pictures.

Write Backwards

Writing can be challenging for some people. Of course, everyone knows the people of whom I speak. It is blatantly obvious. These are the people who do not write. If a person does not write, they will never be good at writing. Writing requires daily practice for a person to become skilled at using the craft to express the self in the most effective way possible.

Writing exercises are helpful for people who want to increase the effectiveness of their writing. A writing exercise should challenge the writer to think about stories in a different way. Some writers may say that everything they write is a writing exercise because each projects attempts to accomplish something new. This is a great way of looking at things. One of the best exercises for new writers is to write a story backwards. Each scene should lead to the next, even though they are being written in the reverse order. Connecting these scenes so they can be read backwards or forwards is an excellent test of how solid the story is structured.

There have been many different stories that have been told backwards. One of the most fondly-remembered of these stories is an episode of the SEINFELD television comedy series. The most recent is issue #7 of DC Comics' YOUNG JUSTICE series. These are both extraordinary examples of backwards stories. However, another way to read backwards stories is to read stories that are told linearly from the last scene to the first. A couple of comic book series to try this on are X-STATIX and Waid and Kitson's LEGION OF SUPERHEROES. The issues of these series are so well-constructed that they can be read backwards just as easily as they can be read linearly.

If a story is not able to be read backwards, there is a problem. By training one's self to read stories from the back to the front, one is able to become much more adept at spotting story problems and plot-holes. This is an invaluable skill for a storyteller and can make editing much easier and more productive. Writing backwards is a fun and useful skill for any writer.

Once this tool has been mastered, there is nothing that can stop its master. Any story can be told clearly and concisely. Writing backwards illuminates the center of the story and allows the writer to see what is working and what needs to be cut. The tightest scripts are those that have been polished front to back and back to front.


Scott Amundson writes comics for many publishers, including Bluewater Productions, Heroes Fallen and Recondite Pictures.

Make it Personal: How to Make Your Writing Compelling

Anyone can write a story.  The trick is to write something compelling.  How do you write a compelling story?  You find emotional hooks, interesting emotional conflicts for the characters to resolve.

Characters are much easier to write compellingly when they are relatable to the writer.  If the writer doesn't know the characters intimately, there's no telling what mistakes he will make.  Just the thought of these mistakes is enough to stress the writer and lock him up.  One of the simplest ways to make a character relatable and compelling is to give it issues to resolve that the writer needs to resolve for himself.

Writing a story is a great way to work through emotional issues.  The great part about this is that stories where the writer is working through an issue are usually the most compelling to read.  This is because an issue that is important enough for a writer to work through in his work is probably something that other people need to work through and they will be interested in reading and finding out how the issue is resolved.

The greatest stories hold emotional truths at their cores.  The more personal the writer's problem, the more relatable.  No matter how strange and embarrassing the issue may seem, there are sure to be other human beings who can relate to it.  In fact, these people will be glad to see that they are not weird for having their feelings.  Merely knowing this will help these people immensely.

Resolving personal emotional issues in stories could easily be regarded as a selfish act.  In fact, it is actually the most generous thing that a writer can do.  It benefits the writer, the readers, and most importantly, the story.


Scott Amundson writes comics for many publishers, including Bluewater Productions, Heroes Fallen and Recondite Pictures.

Say Something: Why Message Matters in Entertainment

The only stories worth enjoying are those where the authors have something to say.  However, an author who is being paid for his stories may fall into the position of writing a story that has nothing at all to say.  Is this, in the words of the great Albert Brooks, totally legal?

The great writer Paul Jenkins told me that, early on in his career, he wrote a couple of stories where he had nothing to say.  I asked if he regretted writing them, and he answered that he did.  He told me he would never again write a story with nothing to say, even if he had no other option and desperately needed the money.

It's easy to tell when a story has nothing to say.  Those are the really bad ones.  People can criticize plot holes or stupid characters.  The only real way to fail at telling a story is to have nothing to say.  Many stories that have nothing to say make money and reach many people.  Although one may be paid handsomely for one of these stories, the writer is doing himself great harm.  The only thing a writer has is the quality of his work.  By churning out a story with nothing to say, he loses everything.

Say something.  Say anything.  Just don't be boring.


Scott Amundson writes comics for many publishers, including Bluewater Productions, Heroes Fallen and Recondite Pictures.

Hearing Voices: How Strong Characters Create Conflict

Voice plays an important part in writing. When a creator finds his distinctive voice, his writing is ready. Once a writer finds his voice, he has the market cornered. He controls all the supply of his unique voice. If there is a demand for it, he can name his price. That's basic economics. That's all well and good, but there are other voices that are almost as important as the writer's voice and sometimes they can come into competition with it.

A story will not work if the writer does not imbue each character with a distinct voice. It is easy to see when a writer drops the ball in this area. Many works from Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith, and Brian Bendis are exemplify what happens when the writer's voice overwhelms his stories. These situations are not only extremely annoying.  They can also take the audience right out of the story; diverting their focus from the characters and placing it squarely on the writer's ciphers. This is one writing mistake that can easily sap all the fun out of a story.

Creating distinct voices for each character makes the writer's job infinitely easier. The heart of a good story is conflict. Characters with strong differing viewpoints create conflict just by being in the same room. Read a book like X-STATIX and ask yourself if that book would be half as entertaining if everyone on the team spoke with the same voice. Of course not! The conflict between the members of the X-STATIX was one of the main factors in making it the best comic book series of the last decade.

Give every character a unique voice, and the story will write itself!


Scott Amundson writes comics for many publishers, including Bluewater Productions, Heroes Fallen and Recondite Pictures.

Comics Kingdom Coming

The comic book industry constantly changes and evolves. It's seen its share of massive booms and incredible busts. Now, Disney and Warner Brothers are trying to guide its course. Will they be successful or are they steering the ship into the maw of a hungering seabeast?

With all of the feature film success being enjoyed by both of these companies with this summer's blockbuster releases of THE AVENGERS and THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, they have each taken the reins of their publishing arms with more confidence than we've seen in years. Marvel's big event focuses on their main movie franchises, the X-Men and The Avengers. Fresh off their Warner-mandated corporate reorganization and rebranding, DC Entertainment is following suit by centering their summer event on one of their big films from recent years.

The focus on movie properties may attract new readers from the world of film, but the comic book industry has yet to see any evidence of that happening. Most months, nothing sells more than 100,000 copies. It's obvious to everyone except those running Marvel and DC that older readers are finally reaching their breaking points, after building up incredible tolerances to the marketing antics of the big two, and getting tired of reading the same Spider-Man storylines and leaving in droves.

My prediction is that this vicious circle will continue and lead to an industry in its most dire of straights. Marvel and DC will continue to lose readers and push movie properties in efforts to get them back until they no longer have enough readers to stay profitable.

From the ashes, a new crop of independent creations will rise to dominance. The beginnings of this can be seen by going on Twitter. It seems everyone has his or her own web comic creation. And, many of them are very popular, but still completely foreign to the vast majority of the regular comics readership.

Most people who read web comics are women who have never read a traditional print comic book, but plan their whole year around dressing up in cosplay gear and going to Dragon Con. These are the mythological "new readers", whose tales have turned many a comic book editor into a raving lunatic in the eyes of his comic's readership over recent years. The Bigfoot does exist, but can she be captured?

If there's one thing we know about The Bigfoot, it's that she's reclusive.  Catching her would take masterful skill and unbridled patience.  The same virtues are required for capturing this antisocial audience of web comics readers and getting its number to purchase the traditionally-accepted periodical comic book. In order to accomplish this, it will take great effort from the big the major players in the marketplace.

Marvel and DC will need to change their publishing line-ups drastically to have any chance at actually appealing to the readers of web comics. Superheroes, at least in their current forms, will have to be shelved in favor of importing the ideas from the web into comic book form.

This importation of web ideas will lead to something very exciting that should have happened a very long time ago. Mainstream comics will foster completely new concepts. Each comic will be its own world. Each story will be a unique creation. The magic of comics will be unburdened to illuminate 1,000 new genres, and a new golden age will dawn.


Scott Amundson writes comics for many publishers, including Bluewater Productions, Heroes Fallen and Recondite Pictures.