NOTES: Words for Pictures (2014)
- WRITE HONESTLY - Write what you would like to buy
- PITCH DOC - CDA/MECH/PROT(s)/KPTS/STS or “concept”
- STORY OUTLINE - PROG(s)/DSR(s)/Cut Scenes
The function of your script is to communciate clear story, images, and characters to… THE ARTIST"
| INFORM | INSPIRE | ENTERTAIN |
|---|---|---|
| Brevity | Imagery | STORY!!! |
| Complete story - where is it going? Give artist heads up so they can foreshadow | Key Visuals | |
| Character motivations - tell the artist so they can SHOW IT | Variety | |
| Context - let them KNOW, so they don’t guess | world building | |
| character interactions | ||
| visual sense, camera angles |
🛑 DON’T
- Too many people in one panel doing too many things
- Too many events/actions (a panel is ONE action, it’s one shot in one moment in time)
- Flowery prose
- Redundant/too many word balloons
- Too much art direction
- PROP MANAGEMENT - don’t have it show up pages later without mentioning EARLIER. e.g. don’t tell the artist your character has a sword on page 12 when they’re obviously carrying it since page one.
🟢 DO
- Break story together. It’s a COLLABORATION
☠️ NEVER
- Write predictable script that bores artist
- Not collborating
- Boring story
- Overly detailed description
- String along your collaborators on your creator-owned projects
“[Writers] worry so much about the plot that they lose sight of the CHARACTERS. They lose sight of WHY they are telling the story. They don’t let the characters speak… let the characters SURPRISE you. Let them take you somewhere you’re not prepared to go. Let the characters make you cry or laugh or let them scare you.”
“It isn’t just about writing every day. It’s about knowing WHAT you’re going to write every day. A lot of time, if you know WHY you’re writing what you’re writing, finding your way from point A to point B will come more easily as a result.”