Writting Tipz
from a master writter and also ... KAPTARA!!!
Question time!!! Which also means … answer time!!!
Do you have any tips for doing an info dump? Useful scenarios? Do's and don't?
-Elizabeth Jackson Hall
Honestly, just try and make it as natural as possible. It’s always good to have a character in a scene who doesn’t know what the fuck is going on, to act as a reader substitute. Here’s a great example:
GARY: Wh-what the fuck is going ON?!
SLICEMASTER: I see you’ve met the SliceLords. They’re a race of knife people from Canada. Their hands are as sharp as their wits. Interestingly enough, their big weaknesses are guns—bullets, to be exact—and they derive their strength from a good healthy diet and plenty of exercise.
See? Natural!
The other tip is: don’t write to the dummies. It’s one of my standard arguments when writing books for companies. There are rules at these places to lay everything out as clearly as possible. Every location and character is name checked. Every time period is labelled. And, like, those are understandable, but sometimes giving the reader something to put together themselves makes for a better, more interesting, reading experience.
So, a lot of it is in finding that balance between explaining everything and making a work too vague.
Oh! One more tip! Have characters doing something while conversations are taking place! Like, yeah, I’ve had conversations take place in a diner, sure. But even then, someone is pouring sugar into their coffee, waving down waitstaff for a refill, putting money down on the table and walking out. Doing something, yeah? In superhero comics it’s a little easier because you can have Daredevil bouncing off water towers as he explains to Batman that Commissioner Gordon is personally liable for the damage Batman causes because the bat-signal is the trigger to his actions.
Can you believe I’m a writer?! Ha ha!
BOGGLES THE MIND, REALLY
Next!
Hey Chip, I was wondering if you could give any updates on how the Newburn pilot writing process is going? I'm so excited for it because of how much I've been loving the book!
-Patrick Bramble
Thanks! I’m loving the book too!
I wrote a first draft and gave it to my producer who then proceeded to heavily sigh into the phone for two hours as he explained to me that I can’t have Batman in the script and that everything I’m doing is wrong.
But! Then I wrote a different version and he loved it and everyone at the mysterious studio that I can’t name loved it and, yes, they had notes, but the script is good enough that they’re now talking to potential showrunners before I head to a proper new draft.
Which is exciting! But I also recognize that maybe we get a showrunner who comes in and says “I love it but it needs more Batman” and then I’m back to the drawing board again.
I know it’s weird to say, and maybe this will anger everyone out there who desperately wants to break into teevee writing, but for me this is just a fun little experiment that I try not to get too worked up about. The comic is the thing.
I just got coloured pages from Jacob for issue eight and I get far more joy from seeing his linework and colour choices than I do imagining an actor as Newburn.
Am I broken? Maybe!!
YES DEFINITELY
Anyway, keep the questions coming!
And now, for the paid subscribers … KAPTARA! It’s a heavy one this week! The secrets of Kaptara … REVEALED!