16th March 2010 / Musings
Without a doubt, one of the most common questions I get asked by fans and aspiring writers (like SF and music, in comics these groups have a massive overlap) is “How do you turn an idea into a story?”
It’s a fair question, and something that most of the traditional “How to write” texts take a very conceptual approach to, talking about inspiration and commitment and imagination.
All of which is necessary, of course, but it doesn’t tell you anything about the practical, day-to-day, nuts-and-bolts process of taming wild ideas into stories. And, I know from my own experience, that’s what people really want to know.
Now, a disclaimer: this isn’t some set of immutable laws. My own process has changed considerably over the years, and will probably continue to do so. And even then, what works for me may not work for anyone else. I don’t know if anyone else will find this useful, or interesting.
What I do know is that I’ve personally learnt things by trying out methods other writers have mentioned. So you never know.
Here it is, then: my writing process, in far more detail than you expected. Enjoy.
11th March 2010 / Musings
Wow, almost a month since the last entry. I did warn you I’d be keeping my head down at the start of the year.
Periods like this are very frustrating — a lack of updates, and not much currently on sale, tends to make people think you’re not working very hard. The truth is entirely the opposite, because publishing works on lead times — often months, and sometimes years, ahead of a work’s release date. Which wouldn’t be so bad, except that much of the time I’m not even allowed to talk about what I’m working on.
(And I don’t mean “Not allowed because I’d get frowned at”; more like “Not allowed because I’d get sued into oblivion”.)
So this is me, checking in, to say that I’m sorry for the radio silence, but I’m working very hard indeed and hope to tell you all about some of the very exciting stuff (hey, allow me some professional pride) I’m writing soon. When is soon? Soon enough, promise.
In the meantime, you should all check out the TRON LEGACY trailer, because hot damn.
24th December 2009 / Musings
So. That was 2009, then.
This year has been one of stop-start motion for me, with a fairly relaxed summer sandwiched between two bursts of manic activity.
I spent nearly all of January and February writing the script for DEAD SPACE: EXTRACTION, which of course I wasn’t allowed to talk about. If you think that seems like a long time to spend writing a videogame, you clearly haven’t played it.
Unfortunately, the schedule of work and voice recording (VO) sessions for the game meant I had to pull out of attending NYCC. This was doubly frustrating, because I couldn’t explain why I was unable to attend; then, immediately after the con finished, the organisers announced the next one wouldn’t be until fall 2010. Grrr.
When I could snatch a spare moment, I was also working on the second half of WOLVERINE: PRODIGAL SON, Vol 2.
In March, I was finally allowed to announced my work for EXTRACTION, at the same time as I was actually down in London attending the VO sessions. Also simultaneously, the New York Times finally introduced bestseller lists for graphic novels, and to my pleasant surprise, THE COURTYARD was on the inaugural list. I then finished the second volume of WOLVERINE: PRODIGAL SON, and to top off a generally good month I was interviewed on Kerrang! Radio, which put a big smile on this old metalhead’s face.
April saw the launch of WOLVERINE: PRODIGAL SON Vol 1, a London press event for EXTRACTION, and the purchase of a shiny new Mac. Behind the scenes, I was writing WASTELAND and the DEAD SPACE: EXTRACTION one-shot comic.
May was pretty quiet. I wrote some more WASTELAND and composed a new song, the eight-minute Carpenter-esque epic Inelisia, for the book’s original soundtrack. I suddenly realised that the next few months were going to be pretty quiet, and I was determined to use that time for something I hadn’t had chance to do while beavering away on all the DEAD SPACE stuff…
…So June found me commencing work on THE COLDEST CITY, a book I’d been meaning to write ever since my stint on QUEEN & COUNTRY. I also allowed Oni to use the first few pages of it for their semi-regular talent search, and digital comics solution Longbox was announced to the world. Finally, I produced a scriptbook, to be sold as a con exclusive.
THE COLDEST CITY kept me busy throughout July, apart from the usual pilgrimage to San Diego at the end of the month. I spent most of the con promoting WASTELAND; the full colour issue #25 was released earlier in the month, and the first Apocalyptic Edition hardcover premiered at the show in a limited edition.
August was blazing hot here in Blighty, and I matched the heat with a furious run through the last stretch of THE COLDEST CITY. The 180pp Zero Draft clocked in at twenty-six working days, in between bouts of writing WASTELAND, which is undoubtedly some kind of record for me.
In September, the graphic novel of SKELETON KEY went on sale at last, as did the DEAD SPACE: EXTRACTION one-shot, and then the game itself later in the month. Behind the scenes, it was all a bit quiet as I spent most of the time revising THE COLDEST CITY and catching up on odd bits and bobs that had built up during summer…
…Which was just as well, because suddenly in October it all got rather busy again when my old friend Andy Diggle asked me to co-write an issue of DARK REIGN: HAWKEYE, and an arc of DAREDEVIL. We spent a large chunk of MCM Expo discussing our plans, all the while being careful to stay out of Rich Johnston’s earshot — sorry, Rich.
So November was dedicated almost exclusively to those two books, although I did find time to pitch for another videogame. Watch this space, and all that. The other big news was the formal announcement of THE COLDEST CITY as an Oni Press book, and I attended Thought Bubble, which was awesome as always.
And now here we are in December, where I’ve been doing yet more work on WASTELAND and DAREDEVIL, and have another couple of Sooper Seekrit gigs on the go. I need to hit the ground running in January, so don’t be too surprised to see more surprise announcements… in between long periods of silence as I get my nose firmly ensconced in the grindstone.
Happy holidays, everyone. Let’s do it all again in 2010.
9th November 2009 / Musings / Coldest City
Twenty years ago today, the Berlin Wall fell.
Those of us old enough to remember it, especially Europeans, will never forget that historic night. The Cold War had been going on for decades, since long before I was born, and the idea that it would ever end was almost inconceivable.
Even Gorbachev’s initiatives of glasnost and perestroika, while helping thaw East-West relations to a degree, never seemed likely to end the Cold War (much less bring about the end of communist Russia). By 1989, the Cold War had been underway for forty-four years.
Throughout that time, Berlin — and the Berlin Wall itself — grew in significance to become a symbol of the entire East-West geopolitical divide. Unlike the metaphorical Iron Curtain, the Berlin Wall was literally a wall, and thus an easy shorthand for political discussion of the times.
When the East Germans finally broke through and celebrated into the night, we all hoped it would usher in a new age of freedom and brotherhood. Sadly, we weren’t so successful at that. Nevertheless, the fall of the Berlin Wall will always be remembered as a testament to the power of public will, and a moment nobody who witnessed it will ever forget.
…All of which is preamble to say that today, I’m officially announcing THE COLDEST CITY, which I’ve so far only mentioned here in passing.
THE COLDEST CITY is a Cold War spy thriller, set in Berlin during the last days before the Wall came down. More John Le Carré than James Bond, it’s a down-to-earth espionage story that revels in the paranoia and mistrust boiling over at the epicentre of the Cold War. Here’s a synopsis:
November 1989. Communism is collapsing, and soon the Berlin Wall will be torn down by both the East and West.
But before that happens there is one last situation for MI6, Britain’s intelligence services, to resolve. Two weeks ago, an undercover MI6 officer was killed in Berlin. He was carrying information from a source in the East — a list that allegedly contains the name of every espionage agent working in Berlin, on all sides.
No list was found on his body.
MI6 sent in Lorraine Broughton, an experienced spy with no pre-existing ties to Berlin, to root out the list. But she walked into a powderkeg of social unrest, counter-espionage, defections gone bad and secret assassinations. Then, on the night the Wall came down, her superior — MI6’s chief officer in Berlin — was shot and killed in the street.
Now Lorraine has returned, to tell her story. And nothing is quite what it seems
Illustrated by Sam Hart (JUDGE DREDD, STARSHIP TROOPERS) and Published in 2010 by Oni Press, THE COLDEST CITY will be a digest-sized hardback that sits very comfortably next to your Le Carré and Deighton novels (insert winking smiley here).
There’ll be a full press release soon, but I wanted to get the news out on this momentous anniversary. So, all shilling aside, let’s take a moment to remember that even the most powerful government can’t deny the will of the people… providing that will is strong enough.
[Addendum: The full press release is now online.]
29th October 2009 / Wolverine / Movies / Appearances / Musings
26th August 2009 / Wasteland / Musings
It was my birthday yesterday. I spent it working, as is often the case, but I’m off to Paris next weekend, so that’ll do me. Briefly, then:
WASTELAND: THE APOCALYPTIC EDITION, Vol I is en route from the printers. The Oni web site had it scheduled for arrival in stores today, but with hardcovers (which are printed outside the US) these dates are only ever an estimate, especially as the books have to clear customs. But it’s definitely on the way, and of course I’ll announce it the moment we know when it will reach stores.
I finished the script for WASTELAND #29 this week, and we sent WASTELAND #26 to press, so expect that in stores soon. Issue #29 is all about Dexus, and he’s always fun to write.
I’m also very close to finishing the ‘Zero Draft’ of cold war spy thriller THE COLDEST CITY, which I’ve mentioned before.
Allow me to explain what a ‘Zero Draft’ is.
The first stage of any story is the outline. I tend to lengthier outlines than some writers, but it’s inevitable that things will change as I write, no matter how detailed the outline is.
The next stage is writing basic dialogue and blocking out major scene directions; this often consists of rough, on-the-nose speech and just an indication of where the scene takes place. It’s the writing equivalent of a guide vocal, if you will. If something major happens, like a character shooting someone, I include that. But if it’s a talking heads scene, with no real need for detailed action description, I just write the dialogue.
Why not write all the panels in full? Because things change. I might get halfway through, then come up with a great idea that necessitates altering scenes in the first half. I might get to the end, only to realise I need to set something up halfway through. Whole characters and scenes can appear, disappear or be changed wholesale. But if you start making those changes immediately, before finishing the rest of the script, more often than not you’ll get bogged down, lose momentum, and never finish. Instead, I just make a note about what I want to change and press on.
So the Zero Draft allows me to get the skeleton of the script finished. It’s much easier to look at a story and see what needs revising once the whole thing is in place, even if you know a lot of it will change.
And a big advantage of this method is speed; in the Zero Draft stage, I can power through twenty pages in a good day. Of course, it’s a complete mess, and not fit for anyone but me to read. It wouldn’t even make sense to most people. But it gives me a whole story to look at and start revising… which is the next stage, followed by writing all the panels out in full, then polishing and polishing again until the first true draft is ready.
Anyway. Happy birthday to me; have an amusing Internet site to celebrate.
22nd June 2009 / Musings
So you may know that I’ve spoken before about digital comics piracy, and the need for an iTunes-like solution if we’re to avoid the same fate as the music industry.
What you don’t know is that for the past year or so I’ve been advising the makers of Longbox, a digital comics reader and store that intends to be that solution.
Rantz Hoseley, comics creator/editor and Quicksilver Software head honcho, unveiled Longbox at Heroes Con this past weekend. Comic Book Resources has a lengthy write-up, and iFanboy has also weighed in with a thoughtful piece.
For the record, my part in the process was small, I wasn’t paid, and I have no financial or legal involvement whatsoever with Quicksilver Software. But I sincerely believe this is the way of the future, and I’m heartened that someone is finally taking it seriously.
20th June 2009 / Musings
This year’s Oni Press talent search is now underway. If you’re an artist trying to break in to comics, you should know that this is for real; the previous iteration in 2006 led directly to both Joe Infurnari and Mike Holmes getting their start in the industry.
Once again, I’ve contributed a sample script — this time it’s the first five pages of COLD CITY, an espionage thriller I’m currently writing. I make no promises that drawing my script will get you a job on the finished book, of course! On the other hand, it was Joe Infurnari’s excellent rendering of my script last time around that led to him drawing a WASTELAND interlude issue, so you never know.
Just so there’s no confusion, you should know that I, and the other contributing writers, are not the judges here. That’s entirely the domain of Oni’s editorial staff. We just provide the scripts for you to draw. With that in mind, it’s pointless me trying to give any advice, or tell you how to “succeed” at this. Just do what you do, and do it well.
That said, there is one way I can guarantee you won’t succeed, and that’s by ignoring the rules. Don’t try to be a smartass and ignore them, thinking that your talent will get you through regardless. It won’t. Talent and the ability to follow submission guidelines, on the other hand, will get you far.
Good luck!
8th March 2009 / Alan Moore / Musings
I’ve been working away for a few days, but returned to find that the New York Times has finally started to produce a bestseller list for graphic novels.
This in itself is a very good thing, but I was even more pleased to see that the new colour edition of THE COURTYARD is at #7 on the softcover list. Nice!
13th February 2009 / Wasteland / Wolverine / Musings
So apart from my Superbowl musings, I’ve been quiet the past few weeks. Why? A simple combination of lots of work, not attending NYCC (but wishing I could have, as by all accounts it was pretty great), and not having anything on sale just yet (WASTELAND #24 is delayed slightly, should be out in a week or two).
So what’s all this work? Well, WASTELAND #26 for one thing. That may sound perilously close, but painting (yes, painting) #25 in full colour is going to keep Chris busy for a while, and the rest of the arc will be much easier for me than this opening issue (no, it’s not another Sand-Eater issue! You’ll understand when you see it).
I’m also into the second half of WOLVERINE Vol. 2, which I’m told was well-anticipated by the NYCC crowd. I’m glad to hear it, obviously, but there’s one thing I want to make clear. According to the most comprehensive report of the Del Rey panel I’ve yet seen, WOLVERINE was touted as “featur[ing] a young, untamed Logan before he got claws.”
Now, I have no idea if that’s a direct quote from somebody at Del Rey, or the reporter paraphrasing and/or assuming, but, uh, it’s not true. He has his claws popped right there on the cover, for goodness’ sake. One thing that I’ve seen mentioned is true, however; this isn’t the Wolverine you know, and requires absolutely no knowledge of Marvel characters or continuity to enjoy. I promise.
Finally, I’m working on a couple of Super Seekrit things, as is so often the case. One of them is taking up a great deal of time; the other is a pitch for a series that, if it sells, will take up a great deal of time in the future. Fun!
And I leave you with this blow-by-blow account of that Steelers drive. Awesome.
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