Search results
People also ask
What makes a good superhero story?
What are some examples of superheroes in comic books?
Are superhero novels a good genre?
Should we be able to connect with superheroes?
3. Wild Cards by George R.R. Martin. Before A Game of Thrones, there was Fever Dream, and before Fever Dream there was Wild Cards. Wild Cards is an experiment in fiction writing where George invited a bunch of his friends to write in a world ravaged by a super-power granting plague.
- Forget About The Hero’S Journey
- Make The Superhero Story Vicarious
- Make Superheroes Relatable
- Make The Hero Someone You Root and Cheer For
- Make The Superhero A Reflection of Their World
- Never Subvert The Superhero’S Moral Code
- Make The Superhero The Solution to His Own Problem
- More Tips?
The hero’s journey is one of those holdovers from literature that has caused more damage to the superhero genre than any other trope I could imagine. Literature, just like any other genre, has its own rules. Unfortunately for many writers, they are taught to believe that literary rules apply across the board. And, if those rules are ignored, then i...
Let’s face it, superheroes are escapist literature. Nothing wrong with that, despite what the creative writing professors would have you believe. People do in fact read for entertainment. One way they are entertained is by getting thrills doing things that they’re normally not able to do. Whether this is swinging between skyscrapers on a slender sp...
Peter Parker is a teenager. Bruce Wayne is a man dealing with the loss of his parents. Clark Kent is an immigrant, and a small-town boy dealing with the big city. Wonder Woman dreams of the world beyond Paradise Island. All of these heroes have endured in no small part because readers see something reflected of themselves in those characters. Super...
The rise of antiheroes in the 1960s in cinema took a little bit longer to come into the comic book world. Now, this may have had to do with the Comics Code Authority which mandated certain treatments of heroes and comic book content, or it may just have been a reflection of the changing comic book marketplace with the rise of the dedicated comic bo...
They say that Superman is Metropolis, and Batman is Gotham. Both of these heroes fit perfectly into their cities. You can’t switch these characters around and have the stories remain entertaining. The cognitive dissonance readers would feel from having the cosmic Boy Scout of Superman dealing with the machinations of Gotham’s super villains would o...
Every character has a moral code. It may not necessarily be a good moral code but it is still there. It’s that moral code that helps define the character to the readers, and done right, can give the readers the opportunity to root for that character. Although it’s considered trendy nowadays in comic book writing to try to subvert that moral code by...
Back in the bad old days of the 1970s and 1980s, television writers would sometimes write themselves into a corner and so they would have to come up with solutions in a real hurry. If they were writing superhero stories, the solution was to give the superhero a brand-new power. If they were writing science fiction, then the solution was to come up ...
Well, that’s seven tips to start with for writing good superhero stories. There are many, many more. Let me know what you think in the comments below.
- Always remember what you love about superhero stories. For me, this was the cornerstone. The whole time I was writing my book, I kept checking in with myself: does this feel like one of my favorite superhero stories?
- Try to make your book feel as visual as you can. I admit, this one I’m a bit biased on. The Private Life of Jane Maxwell is about a comic book artist, and one of the conceits of the book is that she literally “sees” her world by breaking it down into how she’d plan out her comic book spreads.
- Don’t be afraid of the cheese. There are obviously a lot of different ways to tell a superhero story, and sometimes you want to subvert the tropes.
- Superheroes are larger than life, and your story should be, too. Similar to the last point, a superhero story is usually going to be much more intense and grand than anything grounded in realism.
- Decide what kind of story you’re telling. Because the world of graphic novels is as varied as any other novel, the first thing you’ll need to do is narrow down what kind of graphic novel you’re writing.
- Settle on your visual style. Odds are good that all your favorite graphic novels have unique visual styles that drew you to them in the first place.
- Look for your artist early. There’s no getting around it: graphic novels are a visual medium. This also means that for many of us, it’s a collaborative craft like filmmaking, where the writer creates the screenplay while the illustrator is the director, editor, costumer, props master, stunt coordinator, and sound effects designer (BIFF!
- Get your first draft down. There are a few ways you can approach the drafting process with graphic novels. Editor Beth Scorzato encourages writers to first focus on their strengths
Feb 7, 2023 · 1. Start with a book idea you love. 2. Research by reading genre-prominent books. 3. Outline the story. 4. Write the opening sentence. 5. Write the first draft. 6. Set a schedule with achievable goals. 7. Find a good writing space. 8. Pick a "distraction-free" writing software. 9. Finish your draft. 10. Edit the manuscript. 11.
1. Brainstorm story ideas for your chosen comic book format. First, brainstorm ideas for the story you want to tell through your comic book. What is your main theme? What problem or conflict do you want to introduce and solve? Are you leaning towards Marvel-type superhero stories, or manga, or maybe a graphic novel? 2. Work with a great team.
Apr 16, 2022 · 1. Focus your ideas into a hook that pops. 2. Choose the format your story needs (or the one it deserves) 3. Draft a punchy script, not a novel with pictures. 4. Team up or go solo for the artwork. 5. Drop Issue #1 like it’s hot. 1. Focus your ideas into a hook that pops.
