Novel vs. Comic: FIGHT!
One thing I’ve noticed recently, as I’ve picked up working on my novel again, is the relative difficulty I seem to have in writing normal prose and writing a comic script.
Theoretically, they’re very similar. You need to work out the plot, how the characters fit into and affect that, and how the characters relate to and interact with each other. You need to fit the whole thing into a timeline, and you need to distribute that timeline across the entirety of the story so as to ensure that the reader feels neither rushed nor held back.
Beyond that, the experience (for me) is radically different. I can easily execute a comic script from plot notes; It’s relatively straightforward for me to envision the scene in my head and work out exactly what actions I need the actors to do, how they should converse and what they need to say. I really struggle to do the same for a novel, and I’m really not sure why.
I think fundamentally it’s down to the key differences between the two media; In comics, I can specify what things in the story LOOK like, directly and without faffing around. In a novel, I feel that perhaps I need to expound the appearance, texture, meaning of objects that should otherwise be described once and left. I feel uneasy with whatever level of detail I assign to the setting, and I’m always acutely aware of how artifical the dialogue is.
Perhaps, as with all things, it’s simply down to experience; I’ve written several comic scripts now, and so am very comfortable in employing them as an artist medium. The written novel is still something I have yet to complete, and so is something that I require substantial amounts of practice in; Perhaps I just need to continue hammering it and getting critiques on it? Or, as I have previously considered, perhaps I should compose it as a comic-style script first, and rework it into a written narrative?
Thoughts, anybody?
M.
I think you should do it as a comic strip.
I’ve tried envisioning it as a comic… And I can see it all! I can build, I can develop, I can let the plot unfurl! Why is it so much easier to do for a comic script than as a novel? The comic version lets me show the detective’s neurosis so much better, it lets me describe and construct the city so much more organically, it lets me see the flow of the plot. Hell, it’s even enriched the story by pointing out to me where I need a background event to flesh out the world. Why is it so different? Is it just because I have more practice in comics writing?
These are questions I would answer if I weren’t beholden to my dayjob 😛
Well, I’m a fanfiction writer, and you’re damn lucky you have drawing ability. When I write, I try my best to describe as much as possible, but I try to keep it short as well so people wouldn’t be bored of it. Each fanfiction I write I feel I sorta failed since people prefer comics over reading paragraphs of stories. If you’re a good writer, do a novel. If you’re a good comic artist (which I think you are), draw it as a comic.
Thanks for the compliments! The key to success (well, whatever analogue of success that Elf Blood has) is perserverence and constant learning and adaptation; Looking back at the first year or so of Elf Blood, it’s hard to believe that anyone read it at all. But I sought advice, and I can safely say it was the traumatic advice that helped the most 😛 (thanks, Sonia Leong!)
The trouble with me drawing comics is that I’ve got several projects ongoing and lined up, which I can keep up with. The benefit of writing the novel was that I didn’t require much in the way of equipment, and I could do it during whatever spare time I had (usually lunchtime at work). I think what I’ll be doing is to do the novel in comic script format and submitting it to publishers to see if it can get picked up, or if anyone is willing to cast a more professional eye over it for me. If it gets picked up, hopefully they can assign an artist to the project so that I don’t have to do something risky like drop to part-time or drop the dayjob altogether.
These are, of course, mere goals at the moment; There is much work to be done in the runup!