So I just got back from ComicCon this weekend and gave a talk about writing and publishing comics with two other artists. I wanted to talk a little about that and how you go about writing for comics and manga.

First of all, you need a story. That is important and a world that the story takes place in. You may not have it all flushed out but it is good to determine the general direction you want to go in. You can create an outline or jot down some notes about your story to give you a general idea. Like any good story you need a beginning, middle and an end and you should know who your main characters are and their special skills and flaws. Every character needs to have a character flaw even if you are writing a super hero story of someone with incredible powers. Kind of like Superman has his Kryptonite. Once you have your basic story in line, you can either write that out or jump directly into the script writing step.

Your script will need dialogue, narration, camera moves and be able to relay the story in a visual format. If you end up writing your story out before the script, know that dialogue in a story is usually too long for a comic or manga and will need to be shortened to fit the word bubbles in the comic. If you have the entire story written out first you can easily adapt the dialogue to a shorter format that will fit a comic.

What I do for like the grydscaen scifi manga based on the short story A Storm’s Coming, the entire story was written first and then I started drawing. I was also doing a short anime for the story so the dialogue had to be adapted for both manga and anime. For each medium the dialogue is slightly different. If you have any experience with acting or voice acting you will want to use the dialogue as a way to advance the story and have emotion in the words. Voice actors need to play the part of the character and not only say the words but also express themselves in how they voice the characters. Now I took a few acting classes in art school and acting theory and storyboarding so that I was familiar with voice acting and acting in general. There may be some research you want to do into the field to help you in this case.

For graphic noiz manga 2 I was able to write out the entire script before drawing anything. The manga is based on the novellas in the series which there are 5 and I was able to draw character sheets for all the characters. Since I knew graphic noiz was going to be novellas as well as a manga and the manga was the real thing, I needed to tell the story in the novellas in a visual way like a storyboard to help me when I got to drawing the manga. Most times writers hire artists to do the art for their comic. Because I can also illustrate “a little bit” I wanted to do the story and the art myself. Yes, I have limitations as an artist but I am able to work through that and still tell a good story. The manga is a little different than the novellas but the main story about a writer and an artist partnering to create a manga is the same.

When you decide to write for manga and comics you need to take the medium and length into consideration. A novel may be 200 pages so there is exposition which will not fit in a 24 page comic book or might not fit into a 100 page manga like graphic noiz manga 2. This has to be cut and instead of removing it entirely has to be shown in the illustrations. Backgrounds, character design, panel spacing and blocking all help you to tell the story. Normally I try to keep to no more and 6 panels on a page and you always want to lead the reader in a “Z” diagram through the page so at the bottom right corner if doing it western style gives the reader a guide to flip the page and keep reading to the next panel.

You can study comics by famous comic artist like from Marvel and DC and learn more about the craft. My work is manga so it is in black and white but it still requires visual storytelling and colouring in greyscale to make the story what it is. If you hire an artist make sure you have a good rapport with them and a contract. That is key to keep to deadlines and deliverables. There will be a back and forth between the artist and the writer and others if collaborating with a colourist and a letterer. Working with a team can be a good collaborative experience and a writer can sometimes do rough storyboards to help the artists understand their style of telling the story. The artist may take the writer’s storyboards and create their own based on what the writer provides. Interview multiple artists. I use the Connecting Writers and Comic Book artists forum on Facebook or deviantart but there is also Fivrr and Upwork that you can hire artists from to do your projects, as well as agencies and freelancers for hire.

All in all comics and manga is a visual medium. You need to know your characters and story as a writer to be able to tell it in a visual manner. Do your research and learn to write a script that will help the artist know your vision. It can be rewarding working with a team or you can do it by yourself which I do. It is up to you how you want to approach your work. In the end you have a story to tell and you want to get it out there. You can do it with a little dedication and determination. Be passionate about your work and it will pay off in your comics and manga.
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