The home of Comic Writer Jordan Clark and all his comics and musings.
I don't think I can really ever say enough about Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Simply put, he's one of my biggest heroes. Not just because of his incredibly funny, human, simple yet layered writing, but also because of his immense spirit, desire for a better world, and one of a kind outlook on life. And so with that, I leave you with this video of Vonnegut explaining story structure in only the way that he could.
Hey, I’m back! After what can only be accurately described as months, I have returned, and hopefully now that I have more free time, I will be putting stuff up at least once a day. So where were we? Yes, comics, and more specifically writing them. We’ve gone over a few of the beginning steps from coming up with an idea, doing some research to add depth, and coming up with characters. Now it’s time to get into what might be the meatiest, if not grueling part next to the actual plot of your story, and that would be world building.
It can be hard to know where to begin and where to end with world building. You can go way overboard and fill your comic with a whole bunch of unnecessary details that bog down your story and confuse your reader. On the other hand if you don’t include enough, you can end up with a comic that’s frustratingly light on detail and leaves little impression after you put it down. In short, there’s a fine line between too much or too little detail and it can be hard to know which side you’re on sometimes.
With that being said I tend to stick to the philosophy of one Kurt Vonnegut, which is simply, keep it simple. People often confuse simplicity with something being dumbed down or stripped of any real meaning, which is false. Simple just means stripping away all the unnecessary parts and leaving only what’s essential. Tolkien is an amazing writer and his writing on world building is something everyone should read. He also spent more time coming up with the world and inhabitants of Middle Earth than he did actually writing the story, and missed countless deadlines in the process. Tolkien being Tolkien, this was a luxury he could afford. If you’re reading this I’m guessing you (and I) don’t have the same luxury.
So in the interest of simplicity, I’ve devised a method of world building which I find strikes the right balance of detail and necessary story elements. As always, this works for me, but it might not work for you. There’s only one way to find out, and at the very least, you might find something to build your own method on. For me, I’ve broken down world building into two separate parts, which are the tangible and intangible worlds. The tangible meaning everything physical that makes up your world, from geography, to buildings, technology, and people. The intangible is all the things you can’t see that have just as big a role like society, politics, history, and the rules of science/magic. So for part one, we’ll just focus on the tangible world.
Even breaking it down like this, there’s still a lot to cover when it comes to building up a tangible world. There are so many different places you can start, but what I always try to keep in mind is, does this have anything to do with the story? Will the reader need to know or care about this or am I just doing it because it looks cool. There’s no rule against having cool stuff, but it’s important to be aware of when you’re just doing something because you like the idea of it versus something that’s actually important to the comic overall. If something just doesn’t fit, you don’t have to get rid of it entirely, just store it away until you have a place to put it.
The way I tend to go about it is going off of the story and characters I have so far, what are the things I need to bring it all to life. For one, where is the central setting of the story? I’d wager that a majority of Superman stories take place in Metropolis. If your story is going to have a central setting like that, then focus on building the details of that place. Are there any buildings in your story? Probably not if it’s set in a desert or a snowy wasteland, but if it’s a city or a suburb or a forest village than I’d imagine there are. Do a search online (or go down to your local library and crack open a book) for images of different cities, towns, etc. If your story is set in a real place, research that place to get an idea of the architecture and general aesthetic. If it’s a made up place you can still look to real world photos for inspiration, as well as things like storyboards and concept art for movies, and my favorite, models from the 40’s and 50’s for what future cities would look like.
Once you have a general idea of what your central location is going to look like, the next step is to make your location easy to identify as well as see if you can find a way to relate it to you story/characters. Metropolis is home to Superman, the man of tomorrow and a symbol of hope. Often times when you see Metropolis, it’s bright and shiny, and very modern looking. Gotham on the other hand is very dark, with gothic architecture, and often depicted as corrupt. The world of 1984 is sterile and controlled, Fawcett City is bright and cheery. Whatever tone or feeling that’s at the heart of your story, you want to try and find a way to reflect that in your physical world.
Another thing that helps give your world some shape and form is creating landmarks. If I see the Golden Gate Bridge I’m going to assume we’re in the Bay Area somewhere. Statue of Liberty means New York City, and the Eiffel Tower tells me we’re in Paris. If your story doesn’t take place in the real world, than it won’t hurt to come up with some landmarks for your world to help you and the reader create some kind short hand. When you see the Daily Planet globe, you know that the story is taking place in Metropolis. Things like statues, buildings, fountains, anything with a distinct shape, will help make your locale immediately recognizable to the reader. So when your story changes locations, all you have to do is show that landmark and everyone will know where the story is taking place.
A few other things that will help you cultivate your physical world. Transportation is a key part of everyday life. Characters have to get around somehow, so how does it happen your world? A horse and carriage not only clues readers into a possible time period for your story, but how advanced your world is. Same thing with flying cars or teleportation. Cars are almost their own characters in the world of Mad Max, while The Starship Enterprise and The Tardis are at times the entire world characters inhabit. Even if you have a character who can fly, how everyday people get around still helps give some more depth to your world.
Technology is also key in shaping your world. In 1984, the view screens are everywhere, ever vigilant. In 2001: A Space Odyssey, technology grows more and more dangerous to its human counterpart. Even in worlds without smartphones and lasers, technology still plays a part. In westerns, trains and six shooters are the newest technology and play a large role in a lot of stories. Technology is making it possible for you to read this right now. So from weapons to communication to entertainment, think about what role technology will play in your story and in your world.
The final and maybe most important part of your tangible world is the physical people that inhabit it. Again a story like I Am Legend is about the lack of people, while stories like Star Wars feature an abundant amount of races and characters. Once you’ve decided how many people your story will have, it’s time to populate your world accordingly. Again keep in mind some things about your story. If the point is a certain group of people are in power or more prominent, than its fine if that’s mostly all we see. Otherwise be sure to try and come up with a large assortment of persons and creatures to fill your world. From races, to ethnicities, to gender or lack thereof. Star Trek does an amazing job of throwing all kinds of aliens at you so that you’re never just seeing the same ones over and over again. That goes the same for fashion. If it’s a period story than of course try and match the fashion of the times, otherwise try and vary it as much as possible. It makes your world more fun and interesting to look at when you aren’t seeing the same people and clothes over and over again.
Now you might be thinking, well what if my story is taking place in a couple of different places at once? Or maybe it’s an adventure story that sees your characters going on a quest though different worlds. Well, then you’ll just have to go through the process several times. Again just keep in mind how important each place is to the story. If your characters are only going to stop there for a moment, you probably don’t have to put as much work into it as a place you’re going to spend a lot time in. That about wraps it up for the tangible part of things, next time I’ll go through the intangible world and some of the more abstract concepts that go with it. Thanks for reading, and go make some comics!
Hey guys! Big news, I have a new Kickstarter up now for the next two issues of Hive Mind! I figure it's a better way of doing it instead of just trying to fund an issue at a time. So if you read the first two and liked them, or you just want to get caught up on the series, we've got something for you. As always, anything you can give is greatly appreciated, and if you can help us spread the word! Thanks!
Welcome back! So far I've talked about putting together a story and how to come up with ideas, as well as doing research. Today I'm going to talk a bit about characters. How to come up with them and how to make them relatable. Before we get into the nitty gritty, lets start with a basic question. Which do you put more stock in; story/plot or character?
Which is more important? What should you concentrate more on? Like I said, there really isn't a right or wrong answer, it's mostly just preference. But it is helpful to see what side of the debate you fall on, since that will really shape how deeply you develop your characters. Some characters are really just ciphers. Look at a heist movie, or a sitcom. You mostly have the funny one or the crazy one, the serious one, the pretty one, etc. etc. In a story like that, you can just plug in and go, and if the story is good enough, people won't really care.
Now I fall on the side of character over everything. If the characters aren't either relatable, interesting, or straight up despicable, then it's hard for me to get into the story. Why are these people doing these things, and why should I care. It can be hard to keep people coming back month after month for a story about characters who they don't really care about, but we can all name a show that was on for what seemed like a season or two too long, and we stuck it out because we liked hanging with the characters each week.
I'm not saying you have to choose between one or the other, ideally you'll have an interesting story with interesting characters. What I am saying is it can't hurt to build up your characters, because they can enhance your story more so than a story can enhance your characters.
Anyways, once you've given that some thought, you still have to come up with the characters themselves. So here are some tips as well as things to keep in mind as you go on.
Nobody is just one thing. People have many sides, some of which nobody but them know. The happiest person can be harboring extreme sadness, and the calmest person can have a rage building up just under the surface. Your characters, like people, should have many sides, not just one main trait. Just because someone is smart, or funny, or timid, doesn't mean they can't also be stubborn, or anxious, or cool under pressure. Not only does this make your characters more dimensional, it gives the reader something to hook into, and usually makes them more fun to write.
So for example, in my comic Kane Maverick, the title character Kane is the prototypical Pulp hero. He's handsome, strong, smart, etc. But as the comic goes on, we'll find that he's also insecure, immature, and not really considerate of other people. Underneath all the posturing and bravado, he's really just a man-child. He's got a bit of complexity to him, and is definitely more flawed than he appears.
Which leads me to my next point. How do we give characters dimension? You give them flaws. Vanity, self-doubt, jealousy, stubbornness. All these things can be shortcomings which make characters more human, and more tangible. One of the big complaints people always have about Superman is that he's too perfect. He's got all these powers, he's a big boy scout, handsome, on and on and on. People can't relate to him because he's so unlike us. Which (cue rant) is kind of the point. The writers who get that use all that power to isolate him, to show no matter how much he tries, he'll never be that which he aspires to most, and that's human. That's his flaw or his source of tragedy. He has to be more in order to inspire us to be more, and so he has to remain separate, never to get what he most desires, which is to fit in.
That's a great segue to this, give your character a goal. A purpose. What is it that drives them to do what they do? It doesn't have to be something as big saving the world, but they should have something that fuels their actions. Monk wanted to figure out who murdered his wife, Rodney Dangerfield just wanted some respect, Fox Mulder and Rhust Cole where driven by their egos and desire for the truth. You don't even have to use your characters desire in the story. A lot of writers (and actors) have secrets that only they and their character know and that helps when it comes to determining whether or not they would turn left or right at a particular fork in the road. It's about giving the character some direction instead of having them be stagnant.
Kane has a drive to be great, but also to help people. It helps if people see him be great, while he helps people. He also has a nagging curiosity. He can't keep his nose out of other peoples business, he just has to know the answer to all the questions, which usually helps drive the story forward.
Last couple of points before this gets too long. Don't get too attached to a particular character because they have a habit of taking on a life of their own and changing as the story goes on. It's better to just hold on and enjoy the ride, they might end up taking you and your story to some very interesting places.
No ones going to sue you for doing a Spider-Man like character, but no one is going to praise you for doing a Spider-Man like character. Unless you plan on doing some kind of meta-tongue in cheek-examination of comic characters kind of story, people are just going to see a character that looks/acts like a more familiar character and most likely move on. So if someone asks you what your character is like and you say "well he's kind of like Batman" maybe you should think about it just a bit more.
As far as character design is concerned, it depends on your role. Writers (like me) have input for sure, and can toss ideas the artist, but the artist is the one who ultimately decides what a character is going to look. So be sure to give your artist any and all photo references and be ready to make some compromises.
If you're struggling to come up with a name for your character, as I usually am, there's plenty of places to go for inspiration. You can find a number of name generators on line, as well as baby name websites. If you want to add more symbolism to the names, look up the meanings of names. My go to is pro sport websites. They have all the player names and as Key and Peele can attest, plenty of interesting names to choose from. So just mix and match.
I'd like to end with a note on diversity. Nothing is worse in my book than having diversity for diversities sake. Don't just throw in a minority, female, LGBT, handicapped, etc. character into your story just to fit some kind of quota. Every character in your story should have a purpose and add to the overall world and texture of your story. A perfect example of this is Gotham Central, which had an extremely diverse cast, but none of it felt forced or like a character was there because they needed another "black guy" or a "lady cop." Another great comic is Ms. Marvel, about a Pakistani, Muslim, teenager from New Jersey who gets super-powers, with a heavy emphasis on teenager. Her religion, gender, and race are a part of her story, but they aren't her whole story. Ms. Marvel is really about the bumps and pains of growing up and finding yourself, which is something everyone can relate to.
If you're worried about not being able to portray a character correctly, keep this in mind. Gay is not a personality trait. Black does nothing to describe a character. If I asked you to tell me about Jake and you either said "well he's black" or "you know, he's gay" that wouldn't tell me anything relevant about them, and sounds pretty racist/homophobic. Gender, race, religion, sexual orientation and the like are part of the make up of a person, but they don't make a person. There are some wonderful and amazing people who are transgender or Muslim and some terrible, awful people who also are transgender and Muslim. Bottom line is people are people. All these things definitely play into how they see the world and how people perceive them, but none of these traits singularly define them. So instead of writing another gay best friend or girlfriend who only gets kidnapped, just write an interesting character who is also a woman or a minority.
So that's it for now. I could write a ton more on character (and I definitely will) but I think this is a good place to start. Try and give a little thought to all of these things, and if all else fails, you can always base a character on a real life person. Either someone famous like Einstein or your mom, both can be a source of inspiration. Next time we'll talk about world building, until then work on your characters, and keep writing!
So if anyone is reading this (always hard to tell), I kind of fell off the posting wagon for a bit, mostly because I've been busy working on a number of projects, new and old. So I figured it would probably be a good idea to run down what exactly I'm working on at the moment.
First and foremost Hive Mind #1 is out now! I have digital copies available in the store and I'll have a limited amount of physical copies ready in the next few days. Hive Mind #2 is in the works at the moment too, and that should be out sometime in late April/early May.
Next up is Kane Maverick which is about a pulp hero in the vein of Doc Savage who gets pulled into our world, along with his arch nemesis. Now he's faced with all sorts of challenges he can't punch or blast away from bad landlords,and blind dates to gentrification and street harassment. That should be out sometime in late April/May as well.
Then there's the webcomic I do with JJ Hernandez called Rewrite, which is about a top FBI agent who gets paired up with the governments latest secret weapon, a shapeshifting android. I don't have to sell it much more than that, right? You can find that on the Rewrite tab.
Finally I'm excited to start working on my first graphic novel titled Duality. It explores the the split (or merging depending on your view point) of the physical world and digital world as we spend more and more of our lives on computers/tablets/smartphones and the internet at large. It should be coming out in September (fingers crossed).
I'll be posting updates about all of these projects coming up, so be on the look out for all this stuff on this site and hopefully in a store in near you.
I'm going to be tabling my first convention! That's right you can see me, behind a table, at a convention. This convention to be exact. It's the Smudge! Expo on March 14th in Arlington, VA. So if you're in the area, come on down and say hi, as well as check out all the other awesome creators and programming. Did I mention it's free? I'll be posting some of the stuff I'll have for sale as we get closer but expect comics and some prints/posters. I'll see you there!
Books, books, books! Buy/borrow them, read them, love them! Here's a list of books related to comic writing/creating specifically that you should get your hands on.
1.) Understanding Comics/Making Comics by Scott McCloud
2.) Word for Pictures by Brian Michael Bendis
3.) Comics and Sequential Art/Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative by Will Eisner
4.) Come In Alone by Warren Ellis
5.) Writers on Comics Scriptwriting Vol. 1 and 2 by Mark Salisbury, Andrew Kardon, and Tom Root.
6.) Panel One by Kurt Busiek and Neil Gaiman
Welcome back! That is if you're returning, if not then just welcome. This is part two of an ∞ part series where I talk about how I go about writing comics, in hopes that it might help you out with your own writing/answer any questions/help you kill five minutes of your time. Last time I did a post about ideas, where they come from, and how to come up with some if you get stuck. This time I'm going to talk about the next step after the inspiration hits you.
Like I said last time, I get a lot of ideas, some good and some bad. Once I get a good one, the next thing that pops into my head is "you know nothing John Snow." My comic Hive Mind is a good example. I wanted to do a book that gave zombies a somewhat plausible origin and the ability to communicate with a sort of hive mind like bees and ants. The first thing that came to mind was nanotechnology and stem cells, two things I only had very base knowledge of. And thus began the journey into the wormhole of internet research.
First things first, I love the internet. In theory it provides the building blocks of an even playing field for all. Once you log on, there is nothing you can't find out about with a little persistence, all the information is at your finger tips (and if you want to keep it that way, read this). The downside from a research standpoint though, is that there is sooooo much information, and not all of it is factual. So let's break down some do's and don'ts of researching for your comic, and how to get the most out of your time and effort.
1.) Do use wikipedia; Don't make it your one stop shop.
Wikipedia is a great thing full of wonderful information that is mostly accurate. Mostly is the key word. Wikipedia isn't a bad place to start if you just want some background info on a topic you're using in your book. From superhero origins to theoretical physics, you can find pretty much whatever you want to know, but always be sure to double check it somewhere else. There are usually websites dedicated to the kinds of things you want to know, made and operated by people who know about them. I found a lot of good information at the NIH website as well as other government sites and science journals. Basically if you're going to use Wiki just make sure to double check any facts that you have doubts about or better yet, everything just to be safe.
2.) Do a Google/Bing search; Don't stop after the second page of results.
Ahhhh Google. Google's our friend right, it always knows the answers to all of our questions. But Google and other search engines run on an algorithm and it isn't necessarily built to give you the most informative results. Basically what this means is sometimes that top few results of your search aren't going to give you what you're looking for. You might have to word your search a bit differently or even (Dun Dun Dun) go a few pages deeper to find the information you need. I know for me, if I don't find what I'm looking for after a page or two, I just do a new a search, but I've found that sometimes if you take the time to go a bit deeper, you'll find it. This isn't always the case, since you'll find diminishing returns sometimes the farther you go, but sometimes the hunt for that precious bit of information takes a bit more patience than we normally give to things like funny cat pictures and Twitter wars.
3.) Do bookmark things; Don't forget to make a bookmark folder.
So you've found a great site that has all the info you're looking for, and later you want to reference it again, but you can't remember the name of the site or how you got there. That's what bookmarks are for, just save it in your browser and boom! instant access. But again, if you're like me, you bookmark a LOT of stuff, and sometimes the way it gets saved isn't The life cycle of a horse, or That thing you wanted to know about drug lords in Colombia, but rather Craig's page, or monkeytime.tumblr.blahblahblah. That's why it's a good idea to make a folder called comic research and place all of your bookmarks in there. If you have multiple projects make multiple clearly labeled folders so you don't confuse one project with another. Trust me, time flies when you're writing and researching, especially on a deadline, and the last thing you want is to waste half an hour trying to track down something you could have saved and found instantly.
4.) Remember books?
This is less of a do and don't and more of just a reminder that books exist, as do libraries. Not all the information in the world is stored online, and it may never be. There are millions of books out there and it would take a long time to log all the that information, thus the importance of going out and finding a physical (or digital) book. One of the best things about books (besides everything) is that 95% of the time, especially when dealing with scientific/historical/general non-fiction topics, they're extremely accurate sources of information. Nothing is more embarrassing for an author and a publishing company than to be exposed as liars or printing false information. It happens sometimes, especially in autobiographies/biographies but most of the time if it's in a book, you can trust it (wouldn't hurt to double check them too though just to be safe). Libraries also house lots of old newspapers. magazines, and journals that you can be extremely helpful. And the best thing about libraries is they're really friendly (in person) and also with each other. So if you can't find what you're looking for at your local library, you can see if you can request it from another library, and most often they can send it to your local one in a few days. Case in point, get a library card, make friends with your local librarians and stick your head in a book every now and then.
5.) Do research your topic; Don't just research your topic.
This is the trickiest part of the research stage, deciding when you're done. It's a scary stage to move past for me, because often times I feel like I just don't know enough. There's one more piece I need to put the whole thing together, and then another, and another. No one expects you to be an expert on the the things you're writing about (unless it's a non-fiction comic which in that case you better be), so don't feel like you have to know it all. Once I knew that nanotechnology and stem cells could theoretically (key word there) be used to do what I had envisioned, that was pretty much enough. Of course I did some more research just to learn a bit more, but I eventually had to get to the part where I wrote a comic book and not a dissertation. The same was true about actually writing comics. I did a ton of research, watched interviews, read advice columns like this, read books, did exercises and went to workshops. All of it helped me, but it wasn't until I realized I had done a lot of researching and not a lot of actual writing that the best way to actually learn is to do. It's the same with researching for a story, you'll find that you only use about a fraction of the things you research in your work (unless you're Warren Ellis) because at the end of the day, it's fiction, and you create the rules.
So that was a long one, but I hope it proves helpful to those out there trying to hammer down the basics of the story they want to create. Just remember, research can prove invaluable and not just for your story. Research the comic industry as a whole, the people who helped and continue to help shape it, if someone has already done or is doing a story like yours, what kind of books aren't out there that you think should be. All of that is great, but don't let it stop you from doing whats most important, and that's actually writing. Next time I'll talk a bit about character building, but for now get your research on!
Got two hours? Then watch and learn as Peter David (writer of classics such as The Incredible Hulk, X-Factor, and Spectacular Spider-Man) as he gives a seminar on the ins and outs, ups and downs, and all other directions involved in comic book writing.
Sara Ryan is smarter than me. She's written several graphic novels, including Bad Houses , and also has this handy blog up where among other things, she writes about writing.
A while back she did a series of blogs where she talked to different artists about the things they hate seeing in a script. Artists are your friends. They make you look good, often better than you are, case in point make them happy, not mad. So check this out and make sure this stuff isn't in your script before you send it off.
So I'm no good at coming up with titles of things, so this will probably change over time. Anyways welcome to the first part of what will be a series of advice/tips on writing comics and just writing in general. Granted I have no idea what I'm doing, but then again neither does anyone else. There's no key or short cut to being a writer. There's no one book or piece of advice that you can read that will suddenly unlock your inner (insert favorite writer here). But by reading those books and seeing how other people's processes work, you can start to piece together your own methods and find what works for you.
What works for you.
That's key, because what works for Neil Gaiman may not work for you. Our brains are all different. Some people are more visual, some more abstract. The only way to figure it out is to try out different things until you find something that makes writing an enjoyable experience or for some people at least a bearable one.
With that said, let's get into where every story starts, and that's with an idea.
For me, I usually get my ideas due to my inability to concentrate on things for a long period of time (I think there's a name for that). This means I usually just start to daydream and bam! My mind starts making connections and a story starts to form. Are they good ideas? Of course not, a lot of it is just non-sense that comes and goes. But sometimes there's something good in there. A good practice is to make a folder on your computer and write down any idea you think might lead to something. Every once in a while come back and look at it, and if something just seems crazy or dumb, delete it.
But what if you don't have the gift of ADD or are just having a hard time coming up with something? There's a conception out there that ideas have to somehow be original. Not true. We've been telling the same stories for a long, long time now. The trick is finding a way to tweak them to make them seem more original than they really are. The story of an alien sent from his planet to ours (or another one) and becoming it's protector is a pretty well worn one (Superman). But what about the story of a human kid going to an alien planet, and then coming back home only to find that he and the world he remembered had changed drastically? That's a bit of a different story, and that's how you separate yours from the myriad of other stories that are just Superman clones in disguise (Death of Superman pun not intended) (or you know what, sure, very much intended).
Hive Mind was me basically looking at the zombie genre, which is definitely over saturated at the moment, and saying what could I do to make this different. I settled on making them smarter/able to learn because I found this more frightening than just dead bodies shambling around. What if they could plan, communicate, trick us? Kane Maverick was me looking at a genre I love in pulp comics/adventures and digging just below the surface to see what was there. What if beneath all the square jawed handsomeness and scientific know-how was an emotionally and social stunted, insecure man-child? What if underneath the mustache twirling and evil plans was a guy who really preferred creating to destroying? Sometimes it just takes taking a well worn idea and pushing it slightly to the left to make it appear brand new.
Another tip is to pull things from your real life. Did your friend just tell you about this crazy mountain climbing trip where they got stuck in a cave for three days? That's a story. Find a trunk full of love letters your grandparents wrote in the attic? That's a story. There's plenty of ideas to be mined from ancient mythology and folklore ( Amazon has plenty of Folklore books for free on Kindle). Comb through local newspapers, and you'll often find bizarre or amazing true stories that can easily be used as inspiration for your own. Again, there's no such thing as cheating when it comes to story telling. The best writers have stolen and stolen brazenly. As long as you don't literally copy and paste someone else's work and claim it for your own (like this idiot) or change a few names and think no one will notice you'll be fine.
Closing this out, watch lots of movies, read lots of comics and books, go to museums, sit in the park and people watch. You never know where an idea will come from and which ones will be good or bad. We all know how long it took J.K. Rowling to convince someone to publish Harry Potter, so never get too down on an idea. Sometimes you have bad ones, and guess what, no one will ever know because you can always let them go. Just make sure the idea you settle on is one that speaks to you, since you know you will eventually have to write about it. Scott Snyder often writes about his own fears. It's a way for him to face them and overcome them, at least in the story. Maybe you have your own fears that could be used as inspiration, or maybe it's dreams, or anxieties. Whatever it is, writing can be your way of tapping into them and taking control.
Once you've settled on an idea, there's still a ways to go before you put pen to paper (fingers to keyboard?) For me those steps usually include research, character building, and world building. I'll touch on that first one next time, until then, go out into the world and find something you want to write about.
So here's this. I have a few ideas for things I want to do with this site, so we'll see which ideas work, and which ones don't. For now this is where you can buy my comics like Hive Mind and the upcoming Kane Maverick as well as any other comics I come up with. I'll also post links to my webcomic Rewrite. In the coming days I'll also start posting blogs about how I go about writing comics for those interested, as well as links to resources, recommended books and films, and advice from those far more qualified to give it than me. I'm also considering doing breakdowns of specific runs, panels, pages, arcs, etc. and maybe not reviews per say, but thoughts on books and graphic novels.
Besides that probably just pictures of cats. Mine specifically. Also just general ramblings, so check it out and feel free to leave comments good or bad.