by Jim
Jim,
I love the blog, and I read it as much as possible. I’ve always been a writer, it never really mattered what I was writing as long as I was writing. I’ve done lots of journaling and short stories but I really enjoy writimg comic books.
I was curious if you had any tips as I have what I’ve been told are some incredible scripts but I always doubt myself and rewrite and rewrite; it just seems to be my process!
I have one script that’s getting a lot of traffic and noticed amongst some indie publishers and I think there is always room for improvement.
Can you recommend any books, online course in creative writing, or just any tips you may use to better yourself.
I’m almost 40 and I think I knew I was meant to write; it’s part of my corporate job, but I’m just looking for ways to be the very best I can because it looks like one of my most recent scripts is definitely a go. As soon as we finalize a few small details, and one very big one, an artist, lol, i’ll submit my first 12 issues.
It’s not my first published work, but definitely will be the most recognized and get the most exposure, so I want to go back and spend another week or two just cleaning up some dialog and I’m looking for any tips I can get. I read as much as I can and always ask for constructive criticism, so anything you got, please share!
Best Regards,
David Conine
Hi David,
Wow… that’s a pretty huge ask and I have to admit that I’m slightly out of my element when it comes to the process of comic book creation. Though I have danced with the idea a few times myself. If I’d been able to find an artist who would work for… well whatever profit we’d made… Drakin and Soul Siphon would likely have been comics. That said, I pride myself on giving my readers something to work with.
So let’s go through your asks one at a time. So it looks like you’re already halfway home in that writing is part of your job. Honestly, I’ve never really had professional training. I simply had a lot of great ideas and was lucky enough to be surrounded by the right connections and the right experienced people to help me navigate the waters. It’s something I’ve tried to pass on here. Since you have that, you’re off to a good start.
I actually want you to look at a few statements you made:
“I’ve been told are some incredible scripts but I always doubt myself ”
“I’m almost 40 and I think I knew I was meant to write; it’s part of my corporate job”
“It’s not my first published work, but definitely will be the most recognized”
“I have one script that’s getting a lot of traffic and noticed”
One of these statements doesn’t belong with the rest. Can you guess which one? If you said the first one, you’d be right. You’ve got four things pushing you forward and one holding you back. Build your confidence. Especially if you’re already getting traction.
Whenever I get apprehensive about something, I usually just shrug and say, “Hey, the best view of Heaven is on the Highway to Hell.”
Basically what I mean by that is that even if you go on a path that will likely lead to crashing and burning, at least you tried and you gained valuable experience… and probably had a great time doing it.
“I was curious if you had any tips as I have what I’ve been told are some incredible scripts but I always doubt myself and rewrite and rewrite; it just seems to be my process!”
There really isn’t any trick here. In most cases, when a writer gets stuck in this sort of rabbit hole, the only way they break out of it is to move on to another project. The best thing you can do for yourself is to do 6… maybe 7 drafts and then say, “You know what? It may not be perfect, but it’s good enough.”
And if your mind says, “Well no it isn’t.”
You just have to put the pen down and be like, “No it is. That’s it, I’m done with this one.”
It’s not an easy thing to do, but it’s the only way you won’t drive yourself insane. An artist will never be 100% satisfied with his work. NEVER! The trick is to get yourself at least 75% satisfied and be able to be happy with that. Find a way to pull yourself away, distract yourself, whatever.
I know that’s not much to go on, but you’re talking about something that literally all writers, artists, and musicians have suffered through at some point and none of us have found the perfect answer in how to deal with it.
“Can you recommend any books, online course in creative writing, or just any tips you may use to better yourself. “
I can’t really recommend any books on writing. I’m not really an academic in that way. The few books I’ve read with writing advice and techniques… I’ve found to be extremely arbitrary and in most cases, their methods will only work for one or two small groups of people that think a very specific way. So some of my readers may disagree with me, but instructional writing textbooks may not be the way to go.
I also haven’t taken any online courses. That being said, I have gone to several writing workshops/classes at both the local state and community colleges in my area. These are usually fairly priced, or in some cases, free. I’d look into something like that. Though if you’re looking for something a little more online-community, goodreads.com is worth a peak. They have all sorts of resources and message boards to help writers.
As for tips, I’d recommend going back through my blog. I have a whole library of FAQs, writing styles, etc. that should be able to assist. However to give you at least one piece of advice… I’ll give you the one I always wrote.
I remember when looking for interesting books to read… Most everything was disappointing or hard to get through. Then I watched an interview with someone who helped Tolkien write his novels. Tolkien essentially wrote his novels because there was nothing out there that he found interesting. So he wrote stories he’d want to read.
That’s essentially how I do it. I write for myself… people just happen to like what I write. So when writing, write for yourself. Write something you’d enjoy reading over and over. If you write something you really love, your readers will pick up on it. Don’t worry if other people will like it or not. What is the worst thing that can happen? It get’s some bad reviews, one stars, panned off the interwebs, and you go back to the drawing board. That’s all.
“I’m almost 40 and I think I knew I was meant to write; it’s part of my corporate job, but I’m just looking for ways to be the very best I can because it looks like one of my most recent scripts is definitely a go.”
I don’t know that there is much more I can tell you. You seem like you’ve already found your success. I would just say that you need to work on your confidence. Remember, when writing, it’s not you against the world. It’s not you against other writers. It’s simply you against you. How far are you willing to go? How hard are you willing to work? How much will you endure? If you have the stamina, you can do anything.
Just don’t sweat the small details. Let your editors worry about that.
“It’s not my first published work, but definitely will be the most recognized and get the most exposure, so I want to go back and spend another week or two just cleaning up some dialog and I’m looking for any tips I can get. I read as much as I can and always ask for constructive criticism, so anything you got, please share!”
I would say that it’s time to leave it alone. If it’s already a go, then you really shouldn’t have to do much more. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel here. Make sure it goes through editing (Other than you!) and then submit it to whoever has shown interest…
And please let me know when it goes on sale and if I can get an autographed copy ;)!
I do collect comics, as well as rare/unique/autographed/1st editions. So something like this would greatly interest me… especially if anything I did helped you along the way.
Readers, do you have any advice for our new friend here? Let him know in the comments.
David, please feel free to follow up with me if you need any further advice.
Readers,
Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.
jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com
I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.
I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.
Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.
Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:
http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU
Note:
If you have read my books, PLEASE log into Amazon and post a review. I really love to hear everyone’s thoughts and constructive criticisms. Reviews help get my book attention and word of mouth is everything in this business!
Thanks friends!
Catch you on the flip side!
-Jim
James Harringtons Creative Work 
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In a recent v-log (let’s see if the html worked because I can’t edit) I posted a list of good writers to look at on YouTube and a bunch of them work in comics. (One is actually a novelist like James but I think in a different genre). The Lean Into Artcast podcast is also good for writers and artists getting into comics. Here’s the part of list focused on the storytelling side.
Abbie Emmons: (author)
Lucifer Storm: (focuses on comic writing)
Strip Panel Naked: (goes into how the art tells the story, important if you’re working on a comic, since it’s as much about the art as it is the text)
Dr. Crafty: (Mostly for the stories in his main artcast show as an example)
Jerzy Drozd (hosts the Lean Into Artcast)
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