How Do You Write? Part 2

Last week I mentioned that while Pierre is working on a new animation project, that I would be taking over the Wednesday posts for a bit. So, in true Jim Shelley form, I turned my first Wednesday post was a question to the readers of this blog about how do you write?

I got several excellent responses from Caine, Jason Wright, Kevin H and Pierre. Thank you guys for responding!

Today, I’ll give my response to the question - something I’ve been putting off for a while much to the chagrin of the people who originally asked me the question I’m sure. :\

To be honest, I find writing brutally hard. Or rather the beginning of a project.

I’m not talking about the ethereal idea stage, where you mentally bat concepts around in your head - no, that part is easy. And fun.

What I find hard is the process of putting the ideas into a concrete form on paper. For with every word, as you define your character or world, you slowly cut off all the other possibilities you may have been considering. And that’s painful.

To help with this process, I try very hard to have a vision or vibe for my story this helps me wean out ideas that don’t fit.

For instance - with Butterfly - Pierre wanted a vampire for the League of Monsters.

Now Vampire is one of my Manchurian Candidate words, in that my knee jerk reaction is to think of the endless legion of Anne Rice (in the past, and now Laurell K. Hamilton) imitators flooding the market with faux cool vampires in leather jackets and unconvincing angst. I’m sure Twilight is great, but it’s not for me.

So when Pierre asked me to come up with a Vampire character, I was truly at a loss. So what I did, was think back to the last really cool/novel Vampire I had seen in comics. And that character was the 70’s Morbius from Marvel Comics.

Now at this point, I could have just copied Morbius and been done with it, but then the character would just have been a lifeless copy. What I need to do to truly make the character my own was to distill the elements that made Morbius cool to me and combine them with what I thought might be a novel approach to the vampire concept that would fit in the Flashback Universe.

I think by and large, I was successful with this approach as Butterfly is by far my most popular character (based on downloads of her backstory and fan art I receive).

So, to sum up here, for me writing works like this:

1. Think of a tone or vibe you want your story to have.
2. Review a concept you have enjoyed in the past
3. Analyze the elements that made that concept interesting to you
4. Analyze the elements that may need updating or tweaking
5. Use the results of your analysis to guide you as you develop your new idea using the tone or vibe you established in step one.
   

Usually, once you’ve done this, sitting down to actually write is a little easier, but not always. I’ve got some tricks to help with that, which I will share in another column.

Have a great day!

- Jim


NOTE: Today's post is way late because I'm at my In-Laws house and using their internet connection is incredibly unreliable. No idea what Friday will bring.

How Do You Write?

If you've come here today for another one of Pierre's awesome articles on animation, then you may be in for an unpleasant surprise, as this post is from me (Jim) not Pierre.

Where is Pierre? Well, he's on a Top Secret animation gig in Canada. I say Top Secret, because I can't remember if he told me what the assignment was or not. I'm hoping he's keeping a detailed journal about his experience so he can tell us all about it in future blog posts.

The animation gig has a rigorous deadline and he's been really busy, so, I've decided to give him a bit of a break on his Wednesday posts today.

Which brings me to the title of today's posts. Twice in the last two weeks, I have been asked How Do You Write?

At first I was going to just throw together a post on the subject, but both people who sent me the question included their regimen for writing which I found very interesting and helpful.

So it occurred to me that perhaps the better thing to do would be to ask everyone who reads this blog, how do you write/create? What is your process?

If you aren't a creator, I'd like to hear what you look for in writing. After all, what your audience wants in a story is just as important, if not moreso, as what the writer wants in a story. :)

Answers to the question can be as long or short as you wish. I'll post any answers I receive either via email or blog posts here on my blog next Wednesday.

Who is Seth Sherwood?

I introduced readers of this blog to Diego Tripodi about a year ago when I first interviewed many of the creators involved in Flashback Universe, but he's only half of the team on Mister Crimson. Today, I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce everyone to Seth Sherwood, writer and co-creator of Mister Crimson.

Who is Seth Sherwood?

A person that gets very little sleep. I live in Los Angeles. I have a wife and 3 year old son. I have an undergraduate degree in design/photography and a graduate degree in creative writing. I spend my day doing motion graphics, print design and video editing for a media outlet; my nights writing screenplays, comic scripts and novels; and my weekends being an amateur filmmaker.

Why TankLab? (Seth's alias on Zuda)

A million years ago I registered the domain name. It was a play on words of sorts-- a combination of Think Tank and Lab. My original intent was to have a website where I could try out various artistic ideas. I was going to invite friends to participate, and create an online space to experiment with art, design, programming and narrative. But it never happened. When I needed work, it was a resume/portfolio site, but I'd often yank it down as soon as said work was found. Now, it's just a temp page, but in reality holds various files I need to keep online. Videos, script pages, etc. Plus it's my email server. Just to make it easier on my limited memory, most of my online accounts on blogs, message boards and communities are some derivation of "tanklab."

Who are some of your favorite writers - both in comics and not in comics?

For comics, I follow the early Vertigo guys. Gaimen, Morrison, Ennis... Warren Ellis especially. I love his sci-fi approach to pretty much every other genre. For TV, I'd have to give credit to Mathew Weiner and his staff for Mad Men. It's probably the best written TV I've ever seen. For films, I'd have to say Paul Schrader for really pushing the envelope of darkness in mainstream cinema. He wasn't the only one doing it, but he did it consistently for several films. When it comes to books I'm a big fan of William Gibson and Jonathan Letham. Both of them started in sci-fi, but had such a mastery of language that they transcended the genre.

What was the inspiration for Mister Crimson?

Diego's sketchbook! Diego is my brand of crazy. I look at his stuff-- the angels, the demons, the stinky clowns, the naked women, the talking skulls-- It's all so, so much of what i see in my head! He had a sketch of a guy in goggles that really stuck with me. I can't remember the context of it, but I knew he had been wanting to draw some pulp era style heroes.


That idea, combined with my nature to drift toward sci-fi, made me think of a scenario where a pulp hero might be in a futuristic world. It wasn't long before The Shadow, The Spectre, The Phantom, Blade Runner, Metropolis and what not started to pop into our heads and give us ideas.

How did you meet Diego, and how long have you been working with him?

I was looking for an artist to collaborate with via a digital webbing ad. The idea I had cooking was about this Jason/Freddy/Michael Meyers sort of brute. Some immortal thug that goes on killing, but is now trying to make amends for it. He needed a mask, of course, and I have an obsession with luchadores and their head gear. When Diego answered the ad, his sample pages were of a luchadore, in a muscle car, in the desert with zombies in the distance. It was a perfect match. That was a couple years ago and we've worked on various projects since.

Mister Crimson was your second project to successfully be picked for the Zuda contest (the first was Pieces of Eve ) - what do you think of the Zuda process?

Zuda is awesome and annoying at the same time. It's a great way to get some exposure and find fans of your work. Diego and I had gone through a few rejections and were kind of giving up. The feedback to Eden was awesome and really energized us. it was great to know people liked what we were doing. But at the same time, your standing depend on votes-- which is more based on how many on-line friends you have as opposed to your talent. That's not to say any of the winners on Zuda lack talent, but the votes and the comments always seem a little skewed. Mainly, as I said, it's great for exposure.

Do you have any tips for other creators looking to enter the Zuda contest?

Yes. If you're George Lucas, for example, don't give them your Star Wars. Give them your Howard the Duck, or Tucker. You're trading exposure for licensing rights. This isn't a secret, their contracts are very upfront-- but just keep in mind your participation is up to them. It was just announced several Zuda comics would be going to the Cartoon Network. Some of those creators may be involved, others not. It's up to Zuda. If you have a pet project, I don't recommend signing it out of your own hands.


What do you think is future of comics?

I don't think it is straight webcomics OR the current solicit to print to retail model to be honest. A lot of people just don't like reading on the screen, even if that is the future. At the same time though, as with music and film, the ease of acquiring comics online is killing the old standard distribution and retail methods. I see a future where comic companies offer some of a title as a webcomic, with an option to buy a download or print-on-demand version.


As printing technology gets cheaper and better, the print run of a book will be a non-issue to the pros. We're not that far off from a double sided color laser printer being in people's homes. A downloadable, print-ready PDF with the comic in printer spreads could be bought cheap, printed for cheaper, and made at home. Comics on demand.

Personally, I love going to my shop and browsing. I love the smell of ink on a new book. I love a story that's formatted for an online read in the middle of my workday. These things are great, but I think time and technology will supersede them both.

What comics/web comics do you currently enjoy?

I go through a lot of phases. As a kid I was a DC fan. As a teenager it was Marvel. In my college days, it was all indy stuff like Love & Rockets and 8 Ball along with the early Vertigo stuff. These days I'm split. I'm loving Vertigo's renaissance of going back to off-beat dark stuff. For superheroes, I'm a dedicated X-Men fan. Image puts out a great variety of genres that are fun. Walking Dead and Invincible of course-- and anything Jimmy V puts out via Shadowline.

Got a favorite underappreciated comic story/arc?

I don't know if it is under appreciated, but I want to say Desolation Jones. Despite being a Wildstorm book it never had a huge amount of lauding it deserves. It's pretty much my favorite work in all of comicdom. Great story telling, great art-- some funny, some scary, some ugly, some pretty. A little sci-fi, a little noir-- it's really perfect in my eyes, even with its brutal ending.

Current trend in comics you hate right now?

Decompression is getting tired-- unless it is balanced with periods of action. EVENT comics are tiring. DC I can't even follow with their Crises and Countdowns. I have no clue what is going on. Their books are almost indecipherable. I love what Marvel is doing, but they need to stop hopping from event to event and let their stories breath a little. I miss done-in-ones. Crimson is sort of my response to that-- it's very old school with it's narrative. Staccato and fast paced.

Got a site or other project you would like to mention?

Not YET. I've got some things cooking that are potentially big, but I'm superstitious and don't want to mention them until I've signed papers and gotten paid!

Thank you Seth!

Why do People make Indy Comics?

Before going straight into today's post, I'd like to take a second to direct everyone to Zuda where you can go to vote for Seth and Diego's comic:

Pieces of Eden
Writer/Artist: Seth Sherwood/Diego Tripodi
Summary: A serial killer has been stalking women and his latest victim, Eden, has somehow survived. In surviving, Eden absorbed little pieces of each the other victims’ personalities. With this quiet menagerie of voices in her mind, Eden sets out for revenge.


For those of you who don't remember, Diego drew the great Trex BackStory, and I'm especially pleased to see his fantastic artistic abilities recognized by someone other than just me. (I know I'm a forward thinking guy, but I can't be THAT far ahead of the rest of the pack, can I? :D )

end of plug...

Okay, here's my question of the day for everyone who reads this blog. (And please, if you don't want to answer in the comments section, feel free to email me directly with your answer...)

Do you want to write/draw your own comic, and if so, why?

I think I've mentioned the number of emails I get with people wanting to write/create characters for the Flashback Universe, and often I respond to these by asking the emailers why don't they create their own comic/cbr? One of the things I never ask is why do you want to create your own comic anyway?

In some ways I think this is one of those questions you should answer long before you start writing/drawing your first comic. I can think of 3 main ones:

1) To get chicks! (Because chicks love comic book writers/artists!)
2) To make lots of money! Because we all know what a goldmine Indy comics are.
3) Because it's just so damn easy...

So, if you don't mind, tell me why you want to write/draw your own comic.

Creator Profiles: Jason Wright

If you are a comics fan, then you've probably seen that one quiet guy in the comics shop, who never says much, but is always very friendly whenever you see them. Jason is that type of guy. I think I first met Jason at the Comics Club where we were going to discuss the Kree Skrull war by Roy Thomas. We got talked to Roy Thomas via phone that evening, and he had a ton of great stories for us!

After the meeting several of us went to Ruby Tuesdays for coffee and cheese cake. Jason sat across from me at that little soiree, and I don't think he actually said 3 sentences the entire time. I figured he was either shy, or was too worn out by the awesome Roy Thomas phone interview to really contribute to the after club meeting. This really didn't strike as that odd because I once knew a really shy guy who only talked when he was talking to his CB radio.

Well, over the past year, Jason and I have passed each other at the Comics Club meetings, or at HeroesCon, but to be honest, he was way low on my radar of people to consider ask to submit a Flashback story. I wasn't even sure he even knew what Flashback Universe was.

Well one day I get an e-mail from Jason asking if he can submit a Kondorr story. As fortune would have it, Chris Sims had *just* requested to write a Kondorr story a few days prior, with a very impassioned story pitch, so I had to tell Jason no. Sort of.

What I ended up doing was telling Jason that I *really* needed a GodSpeed story, and that since I've already established *some* sort of relationship between the two characters, why not have Kondorr in the GodSpeed story?

And then, I promptly forgot about Jason's request (I get a LOT of e-mails from people requesting to write for Flashback Universe. Usually I assign the requester an Action Item, and see how they do with that. If don't think about it until I get the response to the Action Item.)

Well, a few days later, Jason sends me what is probably the single best story pitch I've ever gotten! It was short and sweet (ALWAYS a plus with pitches) but most of all, it was CHARACTER driven. Jason had come up with a beautiful plot that involved both Kondorr and GodSpeed and played off of their personalities in a perfect way. I wasted no time in giving Jason the green light on his script.

Since then, Jason has been hard at work hammering out the plot details (which have been quite interesting.) He's also come up with some great new characters for the Flashback Universe that I'm sure everyone will enjoy! Just goes to show those quiet guys can really surprise you!

Here are Jason's answers to the Creator Survey:

What Flashback Universe comic did you work on, or are you currently scheduled to work on?

Godspeed (guest starring Kondorr the Killer)

Do you have a blog or portfolio site:

http://comicshelf.blogspot.com/

What comics from the 70's did you like when you were growing up?

I didn't really get into comics until about six years ago, so I missed a lotof great stuff growing up. I'm working on reading back through some 70'sand 80's stuff and I'm finding that I enjoy Roger Stern's writing on theAvengers.What writers/artists do you think you are most influenced by?Kurt Busiek, Roger Stern, Marv Wolfman, Chuck Dixon, Peter David

Current trend in comics you hate now?

More than anything right now, I hate the over-the-top gore and 'mature themes' in a lot of modern books. It seems that there are a lot of attempts to 'shock' the reader with an extreme level of violence. I know that those things aren't what I look for in a superhero book and I don't think they're necessary to tell a great story.

Current trend in comics you like now?I love backup stories and anthology books.

Aside from getting new talent achance to get some work in, you get to read some stories without too muchdecompression. You also see the bigger publishers take more of a chance ona small backup or anthology story than you do in a full-sized book.

Creator Profiles: Chad Bowers

Chad Bowers is one of those guys who just seems to be at the center of everything. Right now he's not only working on a Prometheus story (guest starring Amanita) but he's also lettering a Paladin story and Chris Sims' Creature/WildCard story.

At the same time, he is also working with Phil Looney on a project for Zuda and more Danger Ace stories with Jerry Hinds and Chris Nye. On top of all that, he is the coordinator of Comics Club. He's pretty much the axis that the Columbia Comic Scene revolves around at the moment. :D

What's interesting about Chad is that he's like many other comics fans who, while they enjoy comics that are coming out now, he is very passionate about comics from all eras. And not just superhero comics either, but a wide range of independent comics. At comics club, he's pushed hard to expose what is primarily a group of hardcore Marvel/DC guys to read such things as Blankets, Bone, The Filth and My Faith in Frankie. I think when people read his Prometheus story, they'll see how Chad's varied tastes have really brought a nice dimension to the Flashback Universe!

Chad's Answers to my Creator Survey:

What Flashback Universe comic did you work on, or are you currently scheduled to work on?

Well, there're a couple of things, but right now, I'm finishing up a Prometheus story called "Double Date, Double Doom". Also, I recently started helping out with some lettering stuff, and that's been a blast.

Do you have a link to a blog/portfolio you would like me to include?

Yeah, there's http://thatchadblog.wordpress.com/ , (which I haven't been updated in weeks).

What comics from the 70's did you like when you were growing up?

I was born in '79, so any 70s reading that got done was through reprints like Marvel Tales, or from back issues I picked up on the cheap at flea markets. I made sure to always look for issues of Captain America, Defenders, Avengers, Thor, etc... anything by "the Steves" - Ditko, Gerber, Engelhart. Those are the books and writers that really got me fired up as a kid.

But as an "adult", I've managed to pick up every Essential that Marvel's produced... yes, even Essential Godzilla. And I've been devouring those, doing my best to make up for being born a decade too late.

What writers/artists do you think you are most influenced by?

I already mentioned "the Steves".
Obviously, Stan and Jack.

Hmmm, who else? Roy Thomas, (TV's) Gerry Conway, Arnold Drake, Doug Moench, David Anthony Craft, Walt Simonson, John Byrne, Marv Wolfman, Roger Stern, Dan Jurgens, Grant Morrison, Mark Waid, Kurt Busiek. And newer guys, like Dan Slott, Ed Brubaker, Dwayne McDuffie, Matt Fraction, Jeff Parker...

And I'm sure there's someone I'm leaving out.

Current trend in comics you hate now?

Just one? I guess I'd say stories that start and don't have endings already in place. I know it's nothing new, but it's never seemed more obvious to me as a reader.

One more thing: high-profile creators coming on books and, either, taking forever to finish or not finishing at all.

Current trend in comics you like now?

Reprints, reprints, reprints!
And the slow, but long overdue migration away from decompressed storytelling.

Creator Profiles: Dr. K!

Andy Kunka, alias the Amazing Dr. K, is a exceptionally talented individual that I was introduced to by Chris Sims at HeroesCon 2007. Though we spoke just briefly at the convention, I was completely sold on Dr. K when I discovered he had had a letter published in a bronze age JLA comic. I *think* it was this one...

Just for the record:

Letter published in a Bronze Age comic = Qualified to be a writer for Flashback Universe

Since that meeting I've have exchanged several emails with Dr. K about the state of the comics industry. His commentary on DC's Countdown and their Showcase reprint initiative have been right on the money. *

When he posts on other peoples blogs, I'm alway enjoy his commentary, and sort of wished he had his own blog, because I figured it would totally rock, as the kids say.

So you can imagine how happy I was when he started doctor-k100.blogspot.com My initial instincts have been rewarded with great reading on a myriad of topics all near and dear to my heart. I'm currently pushing him to do one of his great movie breakdowns for his blog of Planet of the Apes! :)

The Doc's Answers to my Flashback Survey:

What Flashback Universe comic did you work on, or are you currently scheduled to work on?
I'm currently working on a Cyclotron story.

Do you have a link to a blog/portfolio you would like me to include?

doctor-k100.blogspot.com

What comics from the 70's did you like when you were growing up?
Batman, Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes, Justice League of America, Master of Kung Fu, Avengers, Micronauts

What writers/artists do you think you are most influenced by?
Steve Englehart, Steve Gerber, Marv Wolfman, Denny O'Neil, Bill Mantlo, Doug Moench

Current trend in comics you hate now?
Endless crossovers

Current trend in comics you like now?
The incredible diversity of choices available.

Thank you Andy! I look forward to seeing what you can do with Cyclotron!
- JS


*For the record about CountDown and the DC Showcases: I, Jim Shelley, think CountDown is gonna end up being a big disappointment - moneywise - for DC. And I think DC is going to either kill their Showcase reprints or slow them down to a trickle. Ditto their Archives. This, I think, has something to do with some new budget tightening being done by their parent company Time Warner. :(

Creator Profiles: Chris Sims

The first time I officially met Chris Sims, he was welcoming everyone who walked into Heroes and Dragons with a resounding, "Are You Ready For OMAC?!"

And while I think this should be the welcome anthem of EVERY comic shop owner, Chris was saying this with such an earnest determination, that I wondered if maybe, just MAYBE, he knew something I didn't.

Later, after checking CNN's website, I was pretty sure Chris just really, really liked OMAC.

Anyway, in the coming months, I came to realize that Chris Sims pretty much loves comics more than anybody I've ever met in my life. And I don't mean just the joy of reading his weekly comics, but comics in all shapes, sizes and types. It doesn't matter if its some rare gem from Bob Haney and Jim Aparo or Jeff Smith's Bone or David Petersen's Mouse Guard - if it's good, odds are Chris has raved about it on his blog: http://www.the-isb.com/.

Which brings us to another aspect of Chris that has really surprised me. When he started up his blog, a lot of us guys who knew him thought it would be the perfect outlet for his unique brand of enthusiastic comics talk.

Little did we know just how successful he would become with that blog! And while a large part of it is owed to his natural wit and enthusiasm, you can't discount how much hard work he puts into it. It's very easy to make a blog. It's much, much harder to make content for it on a regular basis. After more than a thousand clicks on the publish button, Chris's efforts have made him one of the leaders of comics blogoverse.

Chris was also one of the first bloggers to support the Flashback Universe, so many of you reading this may already know all about him.

What you probably DIDN'T know is that he's written his own Flashback Universe comic coming out soon starring the Creature and WildCard! Check out this awesome cover by Jerry Hinds!

We'll keep you posted on this comics progress. :)

Here are Chris' answers to my Creator Survey:

What Flashback Universe comic did you work on, or are you currently scheduled to work on?

Wildcard and the Creature in "SO FALLS THE WORLD!"

Do you have a link to a blog/portfolio you would like me to include?

Of course: http://www.the-isb.com/

What comics from the 70's did you like when you were growing up?

Denny O'Neil, Neal Adams, Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers on Batman, Bill Mantlo on... well, on just about everything Marvel published.

What writers/artists do you think you are most influenced by?

For Flashback comics, it's definitely Bill Mantlo.

Current trend in comics you hate now?

Unskillful decompression. Even when writing for the trades, there's no reason whatsoever to have a boring single issue.

Current trend in comics you like now?

Well, Iron Fist is in two comics every month, and even though one of 'em isn't any good, that's GOT to be a step in the right direction!

Creator Profiles: Richard Bensam

Short and to the point: Richard Bensam is a freaking amazing writer. I'll explain why, but first let me tell you how we *met.*

Richard came to my attention when he was the very first blogger to write about Flashback Universe where he eloquently explained the importance of digital comics much better than I ever could have.

Shortly after that, Chris Sims (I think it was Chris) mentioned he was going to write a Flashback Universe story, whereupon Richard e-mailed me asking he I was accepting submissions.

Now, I get a LOT of people asking this and my standard reply is to give the requester some busy work to see if they really are going to do the work or are just blowing hot air. I think I told Richard to come up with a Fantom Force story. I just off handely mentioned the connection between Doc Nomad and Nick Flint as a way of explaing the Doc Fantom/Nick Flint relationship.
Well, I don't think 7 days passed before Richard e-mailed me a completed story synopsis with full character breakdowns of all of the Fearless Five AND Fantom Force. Simply Amazing. To this day, no one has beaten that turn around time.

Not only was he quick in his delivery, but the story was top notch. He found a nice way to introduce all the characters and the relationship between the two teams. His dialogue was witty and natural. His action scenes flowed nicely. Really, it was everything you could ever want in a comic story, and it's gotten some nice comments ever since it was posted.

Currently, Richard and I are kicking around a cosmic hero he created called Asterion, who was originally inspired by the Silver Age Captain Mar-Vell, but has since grown into something much different. I'll keep you posted on his development. :)

In the meantime, here are Richard's responses to my Creator Survey:

What Flashback Universe comic did you work on, or are you currently scheduled to work on?
The debut stories of both the Fantom Force and Doc Nomad and the Fearless Five, and more to come...


Do you have a link to a blog/portfolio you would like me to include?

http://estoreal.blogspot.com/

What comics from the 70's did you like when you were growing up?

I was always very keen on team books like the Legion of Super-Heroes, the Avengers, the Defenders, the JLA, and the X-Men. Something about the heroes being together to interact and provide support for one another always appealed to me.

What writers/artists do you think you are most influenced by?

Jack Kirby influences my real life on a daily basis, but in comics writing I feel most influenced by Steve Englehart and Steve Gerber.

Current trend in comics you hate now?

Where do I start? The anti-fun policy among certain creators and editors. The belief that only nihilism and misogyny are "realistic" and that this supposed "realism" should be the goal of all comic books. The industry closing out potential new readers in favor of holding onto an ever-dwindling base of comic shop customers. Artists who swipe all their character drawings from porn mags. Everything overrendered with computer coloring to look photorealistic but instead becoming dreary and lifeless. I could go on and on.

Current trend in comics you like now?

People who fight the above trends! Seeing work from artists like Darwyn Cooke, Mike Allred, Paul Grist, and Colleen Coover enter the mainstream. New forms of distribution and free comics.