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Writing Graphic Novels/Mangas



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Thu Jun 12, 2014 9:48 pm
WritingWolf says...



So, for awhile I've been considering the idea of writing a graphic novel/manga. So I was wondering if there's anything I should know before I get serious.
I have read two mangas, Maximum Ride and Fruits Basket (I cannot remember the authors' names right now, I'm pretty sure the first one's last name was Patterson and the second one had a Japanese sounding name). Those are the only published ones anyway. There are a few websites I've been on where people have posted mangas that they wrought for the fun of it.
So I have the general idea of what they look like. They seem to be just like a novel, only shown with art and the only actual writing is the dialogue. Is there anything I'm missing that would be important when writing a graphic novel?


Also, I have a few specific questions...

1. How much can be implied to have happened between "frames" (or whatever you're supposed to call the individual pictures)?
Is it sufficient to show Character1 standing on the right side of a room in picture 1, and then show him standing on the left side of the room in picture 2. Or should there be another picture showing him walking between the two positions?
How much detail is needed for the reader to understand what is going on?

2. Does the viewpoint in one picture effect where the viewpoint in the next picture should be? (within the same scene, that is)
Is it okay to have one picture looking at Character1 and a table from the side, and then in the next picture be looking at Character1 from above the table?
How much shift between pictures is okay? Are there any guidelines I could follow concerning this?

3. Is it okay to have blocks of text that talk as if telling a story? To sort of serve as filler (instead of showing the characters taking a train, just say that at so-in-so took a train, and give brief information about the train ride)? Or does that look cheesy and unprofessional?

4. If I were to do this with someone, having me writing and the other person drawing, how much information do I need to give the artist? I know it will probably vary a lot depending on who the artist is, but there has to be a bare minimum. What are some things that an artist would definitely want to know? And are there any things that I might tell the artist that they would probably find annoying?

5. Are there any terms I should know before getting too deep into the world of graphic novels, mangas, and comics?
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Sat Jun 14, 2014 3:26 am
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Rosendorn says...



So I haven't read as much manga as I probably could've, but I'm going to take a stab at this:

1. How much can be implied to have happened between "frames" (or whatever you're supposed to call the individual pictures)?


This is really up to you! In the scenario you described, I'd say it's fine to not show walking. Movement lines exist, and it's pretty natural to assume what happened.

2. Does the viewpoint in one picture effect where the viewpoint in the next picture should be? (within the same scene, that is)


Considering the amount of viewpoint changes in manga I see, not really.

Now, one thing to keep in mind is: viewpoint changes are a lot different. You can strategically place the camera to hide information the readers aren't supposed to know, to focus on something, or to even seamlessly change viewpoint characters. Read Fullmetal Alchemist to see what I'm talking about— the manga uses camera angles really well to hide things from the reader or other characters. A few times it's happened where some characters (or the reader) don't know the information being presented, because the viewpoint changed from following them to following a different character.

3. Is it okay to have blocks of text that talk as if telling a story? To sort of serve as filler (instead of showing the characters taking a train, just say that at so-in-so took a train, and give brief information about the train ride)? Or does that look cheesy and unprofessional?


Cheesy and unprofessional. If something important happens that you feel the need to put it in, then put it in a scene. If nothing important happens, then don't put the scene in period.

4. If I were to do this with someone, having me writing and the other person drawing, how much information do I need to give the artist?


Expect a conversation. As this quote explains, artists have just as much stake in the story as you do. They will have their own ideas to bring to the table, and the story stops being 100% yours. I've worked with an artist (graphic novel idea in the works), and she added a bunch of stuff, little tiny things that were in the art and in her vision of how she saw the scene.

You're going to describe the scene, and they're going to say how they want to draw it, and you'll both be bringing ideas to the table for what's best for the story.

5. Are there any terms I should know before getting too deep into the world of graphic novels, mangas, and comics?


Perspective is a big one. Having a general understanding of the genre, including pacing, tropes, conventions, and paying really close attention to how the pages are set up. Read more mangas and graphic novels. Lots more. Just like writing, you have to read to know your genre for it to be any good. You've only read two, and how many prose novels have you read to learn how to write? Probably a lot more than two.
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Sat Jun 14, 2014 3:42 am
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Cirute says...



When I write comics and such, I find that changing the viewpoint from frame-to-frame can make the comic more dynamic, as well as giving it good flow. Mangas, on the other hand, tend to over-do this quite a lot, hence the reason I cannot stand them. They're layout is often quite confusing to me, making it hard for the reader to properly understand what is going on. What I would recommend you read is Watchmen and V for Vendetta. Both these graphic novels are drawn and written in a fashion that is easy on the eyes, as well as being hailed as two of the greatest graphic-novels of all time.

Another thing that you want to do is give your comic style. Drawing it with a unique style can better suit the plot and tone of the story. Going back to V for Vendetta, the novel was drawn in an extremely stylized way, which better adds to the novel's dark story. You can even achieve style using only black and white. In the graphic novel Maus, there is a mini-comic halfway through that is extremely dark. To better add to the tone of the comic, the artist made the space in-between the panels black, and drew all the scenes with a jagged, dark look to them.

I hope this helps!
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Wed Jun 25, 2014 12:26 pm
Tenyo says...



Much of this depends on what kind of quality you want. Like with writing, there is a difference between saying things because they sound cool and saying things that matter. The more you think and the more you give things purpose, the better the outcome will be.

1.
In the circumstance of having someone magically jump to the other side of the room I would say you need some kind of indication that they've crossed the room. In films movies get mocked for characters that jump from one place to another in the room, and in novels we generally critique authors whose characters appear in places we're not expecting them to be.

The issue isn't so much them moving across the room, but for it to be clear that they've moved. If a character is standing by the door, then turns on the kettle, I would assume the kettle is by the door, rather than thinking this character has moved.

There are other techniques you can use though, which is why there is never really a yes/no answer to these questions. I once saw a novelist do something very clever, where they drew the full scape of the room across different panels, so that you could see the whole thing laid out, but in each panel the character had moved and was doing something different.

2.
Viewpoint between panels matters as much as putting two sentences together. You can vary them a bit, but it helps for them to be linked together in some way otherwise things won't really fit together. If you're randomly skipping all around a room for no reason it gets confusing, but pictures of talking heads is bland.

Each viewpoint you take will add a different atmosphere and tone to the story. For example, having a broad scope of a room generally makes the speech seem more casual. Zooming in on the character will fill the statement with power and emotion, where zooming in on an inanimate object will depersonalise it.

3.

Agreed with Rosie. I mean, you could put a background picture of a moving train and a caption with it, but blocks of text are a general nono. Every rule has an exception, but I wouldn't recommend playing around with the exceptions until you've mastered all of the alternatives.

4.
For a bare minimum I would say you'll need to give the artist a script, some character bios, and stuff like main concepts and plot summaries. After that it just depends on how much information your artist wants and where they need freedom for their own creativity.

5.
Terms you need to know... Waste paper basket. Eraser. Ohshoot. Whattayalookinat. There's lots of stuff, you just need to study a bit =p A last piece of advice I'll give is that people aren't half as interested about what you're writing in public as what you're drawing, so if you want to sketch out some ideas in a café, library or on the bus, be aware that people will look over your shoulder and see your crummy first drafts.
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Thu Jul 03, 2014 2:25 am
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Blackwood says...



I highly suggest you read alot more than two. The more you read, the more you get used to it. I have hundreds under my belt yet I still struggle to make comics.
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Thu Jul 03, 2014 10:07 pm
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Kale says...



You definitely need to read more than two series, and don't limit yourself to just manga. Maximum Ride isn't that great from a pacing and art standpoint, and while Fruits Basket is a classic, there's not as much action, so the pacing is slower than most stories.

If you want to see action portrayed well, Fullmetal Alchemist is great for multiple reasons, including what Rosey mentioned. Arakawa also is notable for giving each and every character unique faces, which is quite uncommon in graphic novels. Fairy Tail, being a shonen series, is filled with tons of crazy action sequences, but they're well-done and easy to follow.

An example of what not to do when depicting action scenes can be found in Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles, by CLAMP. The final fight scene is so confusing because the paneling jumped around so much.

I'd also strongly recommend reading Unsounded by Ashley Cope because it's a beautifully-paced and nuanced graphic novel. The amount of thought and detail that goes into every aspect of the environments and the characters is incredible.

And here's a list of some useful articles:
Camera Angles
Lettering
Tips on Paneling
Tips on designing Fight Scenes (though the basic principles apply to all sorts of action sequences)
Sound Effects
Important things to know before you ask an artist to draw your comic
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Fri Jul 04, 2014 12:13 am
WritingWolf says...



Thank you guys, your comments are most helpful. :)
I know I need to read more before I get serious about it. I just have a hard time finding graphic novels to read (my parents can be kind of picky about content sometimes, normally they're fine but manga has a bad reputation so they are a lot more careful with that kind of thing). I have heard a lot of great things about Fullmetal Alchemist, but alas, I am not allowed to read it.
I will look into the other @Kyllorac mentioned.

It would be greatly appreciated if I could get some more recommendations on good mangas/graphic novels. The more I have to look into the more likely it is I will actually be able to read one of them. :)


Also, I have another question. What about when you want something done in first person? There are several instances in Fruits Basket where the images are accompanied by text that is the character's thoughts. Is that a good way of doing it? Or are there other techniques for getting the feel of first person?
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Fri Jul 04, 2014 1:44 am
rawrafied says...



I actually do write graphic novels and mangas. First thing to note: they are not the same thing. Manga is a type of graphic novel. A graphic novel is a novel length book done with images. I agree with Kyllorac about reading more than just two. My best advice, to put yourself against other comicists, is approach comics as you do novels. Your writing ability will put you above those with only art abilities. As for your questions:

1. This depends on your style and the scene. Sometimes you need to put a detail of them walking to show time passing. Other times, it's tedious and often skipped by readers. Also, are you planning on publishing this novel or posting it online? A webnovel and a published one are also meant to be treated as you would treat a serialization of a novel.

2. Viewpoints, with art in general, is a big deal. How we view the scene could determine how we interpret it. Again, it depends on the scene to determine which would be appropriate.

3. Again, it depends (I know, I'm being repetitive). Usually, it's a rule to not have a block of text in comics because you should be able to convey this by your art. However, if you have a monologuing character and it's important to hear how he describes the scene, then that's fine.

4. I actually had a partnership once where I drew the art for some who wrote the story. It really depends on the artist. An artist will usually get annoyed if you limit their freedoms, ask them to do something too difficult, or rush them with time. If you're not paying your artist, you better be planning to be doing a lot of butt kissing if they're decent in art. But, if you're a good enough writer and have proven yourself enough down the line, it could be the other way around too. Usually an artist needs to know your character's personality and then they can figure out the rest from your script. Also, as Rosey Unicorn mentioned, if you're not paying an artist, you're gonna have to be open to their opinion.

5. I mentioned one before. It depends on what kind of comics you're interested in. If you're doing mangas set in Japan, you should probably learn some japanese phrases like Kawaii, onii-chan, and suffixes. Though, keep in mind, you can do a manga without it being Japanese based.

6. So long as you don't show things that the character narrating shouldn't know about, it's technically first person. If you're talking about inner thoughts, any text not in a speech bubble is considered inner dialogue. Such as between panels, in boxes, the cloud, etc. Sfx are the only exception to this.

Recommendations: Ghost World by Daniel Clowes is a good non-manga. Sakura Gari by Yuu Watase is one of my favorite mangas (But it's a soft-core Yaoi, so that may not bode well with the rents xD) but it's one of the few well-written mangas I know and the one that got me over my distaste for Yaois. If you decide do webcomics, here are some of my favorites:

-Prague Race A non-manga. This is complete safe to read. It's a little dark but it's like Tim Burton dark.
-Teahouse Another Yaoi. But just look at pages 1-3 (they're safe). The artwork and characters are PHENOMENAL. The colorist and lineartist are both professionals that have worked for marvel and are doing this part time.
-Phoenix Requiem Another safe comic. This I've actually ran into more people who have read before. A fantasy novel that's somewhat historical fiction-ish. Beautiful art, great story. She also collaborated with a writer on a great short story called Dreamless.
-Dream Scar Another safe comic. Great characters and art. It's a fantasy story about a girl who's a Dhampire in a modern setting.
-Strays Another safe comic with great characters and story. A fantasy story about people that are half animal.

Hope this helped. ^_^
  





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Fri Jul 04, 2014 1:53 am
WritingWolf says...



Thanks for all the suggestions Rawrafied! I'll definitely look into them :D
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Thu Jul 17, 2014 9:31 pm
Stori says...



I'd advise you to look at Bionicle as an example of badly-written characters.

In all seriousness, those comics had the exact same characters, given a different name, each time. The water Toa was the only female protagonist; the air Toa was the comic-relief character; and so forth.

They aren't graphic novels, but I hope you see what I mean.
  








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