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Dave Kopperman Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 27 December 2004 Location: United States Posts: 3353
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Posted: 10 May 2024 at 2:24am | IP Logged | 1
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Rather than going right to an editor, you may instead want to attend a creative writing* class - not so much for teacher advice but for the feedback of a group, which I always found useful.
*maybe a screenwriting or playwriting workshop would be more aligned with writing for comics, since plot and theme aside, a well-written comic is more like those forms than any prose medium.
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Neil Lindholm Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 12 January 2005 Location: China Posts: 4944
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Posted: 12 May 2024 at 7:56pm | IP Logged | 2
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Grammarly might be useful.
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David Miller Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004 Posts: 3093
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Posted: 13 May 2024 at 2:09am | IP Logged | 3
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Joe: I've done some freelance editing for spec novels like yours, and I haz opinions.
1) Take maximum advantage of your current momentum to write as much as you can. Don't hold anything back, surprise yourself, forget about plot holes, follow wild tangents, and don't stress consistency or style. If you can keep the momentum going all the way until you type THE END even better. The more you can add to your manuscript at this stage, the more material you'll have to shape (and eventually probably cut).
2) I specifically came here to recommend taking a creative writing class, but Dave Kopperman beat me to it, so I second his advice: take a creative writing class, specifically a novel workshop. The book doesn't have to be finished, but such classes love when somebody shows up with a substantial manuscript, even if some chapters are in the INSERT WORDS HERE phase.
As Dave Kopperman said, it's not so much for advice from the teacher as from the group. Although to be honest, a lot of the group feedback will useless and mostly about where they read somebody else using your idea first. Which is important, since you have to get over stuff like that. I'm kidding (mostly). There will usually be valuable feedback, and even valuable feedback that you still end up rejecting. You might also find providing feedback to others can help identify issues and clarify solutions in your own work. And it can be fun. I took a novel workshop more than a decade ago, and I'm still friends with everyone including the teacher. When my classmate's book was released last year, she told me I gave her the idea for the ending, which was one of the nicest compliments I have ever been paid.
3) Hire that editor. You'll eventually need several synopses of increasing length and detail, which the editor can help you with, but I suspect most editors will prefer to know what they're dealing with before they commit to editing for you.
I have also worked as a comics editor, and it is a hugely different beast than editing prose. Writing a comic or graphic novel is a lot different than writing a novel, and whether one is cartooning or writing for another to illustrate makes a difference as well.
Since it sounds like you're making good progress just writing, I'd recommend sticking to that for the time being, because it's working for you, and its effort that you can control and complete on its own terms entirely by yourself without engaging an artist. Trying to write for multiple formats simultaneously will slow you down and dilute your efforts. A comic book version could be an entirely separate project.
Edited by David Miller on 13 May 2024 at 4:49am
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Joe Smith Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 29 August 2004 Location: United States Posts: 6667
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Posted: 13 May 2024 at 2:48pm | IP Logged | 4
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Thanks all for the great feedback. I found an editor who is also a published author. Seems to understand where my head is at, so I’m just going to barrell on through and finish. He did recommend the notecard/corkboard system to keep my scenes in order and in my face just so I don’t feel like I’m forgetting something. He’s glad I have an ending, and was surprised at how many twists I have along the way with red herrings etc. I wanted to tell him who my favorite comic book author is and then maybe he’d see who inspired me!
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David Miller Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004 Posts: 3093
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Posted: 14 May 2024 at 3:57am | IP Logged | 5
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It sounds like you're having a blast.
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Petter Myhr Ness Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 02 July 2009 Location: Norway Posts: 3906
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Posted: 14 May 2024 at 7:25am | IP Logged | 6
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Speaking as a published writer, the advice from Dave and David are sound.
Don't bring an editor in too early - you want to stay in creative mode as long as possible. Once you start processing advice from editors, you move into editing mode. Which is useful when it's at the right time. I recommend finishing a draft - you'll have much more fun, and it'll also make the editor's job easier - and yours when you do revisions.
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Joe Smith Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 29 August 2004 Location: United States Posts: 6667
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Posted: 14 May 2024 at 4:22pm | IP Logged | 7
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I found the dialogue part to be intimidating.
“Why?”, she said, “because it has all of the quotation marks and commas?”
“That, and getting the right momentum on the page.”, he answered. His pencil came up to his temple as if he were accessing data he’d stored. “As an art-based life form since birth, I’m seeing a paragraph that’s not aesthetically pleasing and will want to “sculpt” it! Is that crazy?”
“Yes. I think it might be.” She finished her Fresca in one gulp and got up from her seat. Neatly pushing the chair in to the table, she reached into her purse and put on her driving gloves. “Please, don’t call me until it’s perfect. There’s only so much I can do for you.”
He watched her walk away and thought, “Man….I hate the look of that last paragraph.”
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Joe Smith Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 29 August 2004 Location: United States Posts: 6667
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Posted: 19 July 2024 at 11:13pm | IP Logged | 8
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Yesterday I finished the first draft of my book. Four and a half months of the most fun I’ve had since writing songs in the late 90’s/Early 2000’s. Over 200-something pages are now in a big ol’’binder ready for the red pen. Taking a break for a week before that starts. Thanks to all on the thread that gave me advice. It was all helpful. 💪
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David Miller Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004 Posts: 3093
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Posted: 19 July 2024 at 11:42pm | IP Logged | 9
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Awesome!
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Joe Smith Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 29 August 2004 Location: United States Posts: 6667
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Posted: 27 September 2024 at 12:17am | IP Logged | 10
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Tonight I finished the final round of edits, culminating in the third draft. It was difficult finding the time to do such delicate scalpel work. I was as pleased with the ending as I was shocked at how bad the first few chapters ‘read’.
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