fagoroki asked:

hey justin! can i get some writing tips, perhaps? i'm writing a webcomic based on ii, it's called flightcamp and it's my baby aaa also, since i send a lot of asks i might as well introduce myself! im mav!

justin-chapmanswers answered:

Hello hello Mav! Love seeing your asks here, and I juuuuust so happen to really enjoy writing. Although I don’t have all that much experience in the realm of webcomics, I at least have experience of narrative writing to art.

So much of the writing that inspires me is comes from a place of truth. That is incredibly essential to whatever you’re writing if you want it to stand out. Anyone can write about compelling concepts if they put their mind to it, and that can certainly lead to excellent results, but especially when you have a lot of great characters at your disposal I would highly recommend making sure they each speak with a variation of your voice. Even in the case that you are utilizing II characters, work to find a balance between what feels natural to the character and what feels right to you. For something written by you, those are the most interesting characters in the most interesting conflicts, ones that even loosely tie to your life in premise, purpose, or impact.

Similarly, it can be tough to write to characters that exist in a separate ongoing “canon” but your interpretation reigns supreme. If it works, in your opinion, in the moment, then it is meaningful. If what people consider to be the prime canon changes anything significant that your depiction is dependent on, don’t sweat it and carry on. It’s just as valid.

Journaling is also helpful to sparking insight. Write out your daily events and look back upon them for inspiration. It’s easy to push towards blocking out the bad in life, or at least it is for me, but writing is an excellent tool to turn even the worst of events into something meaningful. Same goes for all means of art. Don’t lose track of anything that triggers emotions. Funneling every little feeling into your work is enough in the way of nutrients to let it blossom.

Trust yourself. Trust your words. There is no perfect way to write, so trust your gut when making decisions. Of course you can ask others for critiques and such as you go along, but you are the final say. These are your stories and they’re great specifically because they’re yours.

Visual storytelling is huuuuge! And comics are a great way to set up for the best visual art has to offer. Write your characters into scenarios that are visually complex and scenarios that allow you to try out something new for yourself and potentially new for readers, as well! Draw both for your own desires and create anything you can that is striking and memorable. So much of writing is setup for action, don’t feel compelled to rely too much on either that or dialogue. Balance is the key.

If you are working with dynamic characters, make sure to have a rough sense of how you want them to grow over the course of your piece. It’s another balance because, of course I’d push for one to think everything out thoroughly (concept construction is one of my favorite parts of the process), but at the same time always leave wiggle-room in case your wonderfully creative mind comes up with something even better in the future. Know where your characters begin, end, and piece together the most compelling ways to drive them towards their objects. Working backwards from a strong endpoint often helps with this. On the other hand, if you are working on a piece that is generally static, this can still apply on an individual chapter basis.

Know what you want to say with your stories. Theming. Messages. One way you can go about impressing people (oooor at least me) is making sure that every scene/segment has direction that gives additional insight on one or more character’s perspective regarding a core theme. Anything as broad as love to as specific as the digital piracy’s impact in a capitalistic society, up to you. But no scene/segment starts where it ends. A character learns, an event occurs, etc. Thematically, this does not need to be direct or even clear upon initial reading, but ‘lil hints sprinkled in go a long way.

Dialogue is amazing! Dialogue can be striking! This may sound obvious, but make sure it’s always fun, impactful, or both. Find the most interesting ways to allow characters to bounce off of each other. Place text on page in creative ways for the eye to follow that make it diverse. Try a one word confict-intro, one word rebuttal, and then come in with the PARAGRAPH SLAMDOWN. But more than anything, don’t drag down your dialogue with anything that feels obligatory. You’re better than standard, you just gotta show it.

Keep the momentum going. Writing is also discipline. Everyone has their own favorite part of the writing process and are bound to lose steam somewhere along the line. Even when you’re stumped, just write. Good or bad. Jump around chronologically, scribble notes on the side, write up a character bio or two, pause to write a character’s love letter to another character. Whatever best helps the mind flowing. Set up a time for yourself to write, have all distractions away, and don’t not write for a moment- even if it’s something you know you’re going to cross out moments later. And start now.

Those are just off the top of my head, but more importantly I am so excited for Flightcamp! Inanimate Insanity is lucky to have such talented people working on interpretations of its universe. You’re going to write wonderfully.