Are there any first time comic script writers? I am so struggling with this! I've written one and a bit pages in an hour and a half! Just figuring out the layout/formatting, how the panels should be placed on the page (I am so not used to doing this), and worrying about how it will look! It's so difficult to progress with the story!

Please tell me it will get better?

Anyone else having these difficulties?

also a first time comic script writer. I think from what I've seen posted, most of us are :-)

Don't sweat that you have a page and a half on day 1. To stay on track for the 100 pages, you need 3 1/3 pages per day. You're well ahead of some of us (shuffle feet, stare at ground) so don't worry! It will get better. It's a whole nother format than writing prose, it's like trying to drive a stick shift with no previous training. It'll get better and with practice, faster.

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Nano 2007: If Wishes Were Horses (winnah!)
Script Frenzy 2008: IWWH, the GN. OMGWTFBBQ.

I think I'm writing a little differently from your method. I've got a little notebook (a pricey minimalist thing from Muji's, exclusively for Frenzy...because I totally believe in rewarding myself before I begin) where I write my dialogue. Maybe a little bit of action, but every spoken line and caption goes down with character initials to keep them straight. Then I divide those into panels (or cells) and then figure out how many of those should go on a page. I draw thumbnails of the pages with the cell layout so I know how many to declare in the script and how to describe them. If I get really neurotic, I draw out where the caption boxes should go.

I've found that Frenzy and Nano are built more around figuring out what your working style is to produce great quantities of work in little time. So if just plunging in head first works for you, great! If being a control freak like me works, also great.

You say it's slow going right now, so why not mix it up? It's day one.

Also, how much of a script are you putting down? Are you writing for your artist or for every single detail? Some people write down incredible detailed control freak scripts. Warren Ellis had this anecdote about how someone in the business once ended up with a panel description of "We see the back of his head. He faces away from us, smiling ironically."

Anyway, if your script is action oriented, you could take the philosophy of the old Marvel scripts while doing the modern movie-style format. Write the action parts first and put in the dialogue when you break into panels. Or you could go like mine, but I'd caution to always label the lines before you get too far or you get three pages of nothing but one liners, and no idea what the heck's going on. Editing that will be fun.

Of course it'll get better! This is day one. Play around and see what's the most fun or productive or coherent. Out of curiosity, what is your style so far?

I'm not worrying too much about the page layout right now, as I'm mainly concerned about the story. Of course what I have so far is mostly dialogue that I'm hoping isn't too infodumpy. The only separations I'm using are treating what I plan for each page as a scene. Since I'm planning on turning the script into a webcomic I figure this works well for me.

One thing you can do is write out the day's pages without worrying about the layout and then add in layout notes once you have enough story for the day's 3.33 pages. Doing it this way will help you get the basics down and adding in layout notes will add to the size of your script.

Same here! It took me from 12 to 2 last night (or this morning? and I was sort of doing other things as well, so...) to get the two pages I have done. I'm working on the third right now, and I think it gets easier as you go along. Having to decide about things like panels makes it harder, which is why we can get away with one script page per page of comic/graphic novel/manga. But I'm still having fun! Are you? That's all that matters =].

I'm a first time comic script writer... pretty much. I started writing for a naruto fancomic last month. I've actually fallen into the habit of writing pretty easily. I like the format, because I think in pictures and scenes and it lets me get the images out quickly, and trust that my so far non existant artist will carry it to fruition. I wrote up a quick character sheet to keep them straight.

I think my script may be a little control freaky- cept that I'm only writing down what You (actually, I use the royal We) will be seeing as the reader. Yeah... And I'm not being sepecific about the panel layout, just about the number of panels... hehe.

Thank you! I was kind of thinking if I don't get my 3 and a third pages done each day that I won't get it done! I guess as I get faster (with practice) it will be easier to do more in less time.

I'm not writing too much detail at the moment, only about 3 - 4 lines of description per panel so far. I've just been trying to picture the pages in my mind so far, and then type them out. I don't have thre dialogue planned out as yet, I have a plot of sorts (it's a little rough), I have a much better idea of how I'm going to do the next bit a few pages after the beginning, so that's probably another reason I'm struggling so much at the beginning.

I might try writing out the dialogue and the action, and then break it into panels, that might help me better - thanks Colddaye! I'll see how that works for me! I've looked at finished scripts, for example of how to format it, but they don't show you how they get to that stage. It doesn't show you how they scribbled out notes, or jotted down ideas, or the dialogue first. they won't have typed the script perfect exactly as it appears in the final draft first time - I guess I'm a bit of a fool assuming they do!
Think I'm trying to get it too perfect in my head and write it straight out perfect! I'm not getting too far that way!

Shllybkwrm - I can't believe you were working on it from 12am! I know that's when you're allowed to start working on it, but weren't you a little tired? I was all tucked up in bed then! lol!

I didn't have that much fun earlier when writing it, think I was stressing a bit too much, but I will make sure I relax and have more fun with it next time I sit down to write!

___________
Green Raven

Follow your passion whatever it is,
If you don't do what you love, you'll never get to where you want to be!

ScriptFrenzy 2008: Azrael

I just uploaded the first part of my script I wrote, so you can see exactly what I wrote when you click on my name to the left of this post!

Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated!

___________
Green Raven

Follow your passion whatever it is,
If you don't do what you love, you'll never get to where you want to be!

ScriptFrenzy 2008: Azrael

I have four pages done so far, but man is it tough. Now I'm starting to jump around and break my the graphic novel into 'scenes', much like a movie. It seems to be working because I'm starting to get a lot more on the page and establish the story as a whole. I'll add in more details later.

I've being drawing a webcomic for a while now, but this is my first time trying to write a script out BEFORE I draw it.

I am used to a 4 panel strip-style comic. For this, I'm thinking more graphic novel, multiple pages.

Right now I'm writing the script like it was a movie with out camera directions. I like the idea of going over it afterwards to break it into pages/panels.

Susan

This is my first time writing a script for a graphic novels. I've done screenplays and stage plays before. I've done four pages today. ::pats self on back::

(As far as I can tell, there's no place to input our page count yet?)
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Myriad

NaNoWriMo 2007: Won with Lobbied
Scriptfrenzy 2008: These Dreams (Graphic-Novel Script)