Rachel Gluckstern is a Reedsy editor who has worked for over ten years within the Batman Group. In this post, she gives her top tips for how to make a comic book, graphic novel, sequential artwork — whatever you like to call it.

Comic books remain a mystery to the general public. Let’s face it. Understanding the relationship between the words and pictures, and how the art elevates the story, isn’t a code immediately cracked for a writer new to the medium.

Writing a comics for the first time can be hugely intimidating, knowing that at heart, it’s a visual product. But like anything else, it all starts with the manuscript. And whether you’re writing a bombastic, superhero blockbuster or a deeply personal, intimate memoir, there are technical details you’ll find handy to remember as you tackle this task.

Are you ready to get started, true believer? Here are 7 foolproof tips to get you started on your comic book.

1. Don't worry about drawing

Whew! Let’s just get that out of the way. You don’t need to draw or even know how to draw in order to write a comic. Although being able to think visually is definitely a plus, what always matters most are the characters, what they do, and why they do it. Just like any other good piece of writing.

2. Learn to collaborate

Before we even talk about what you write for the artist, let’s just talk about collaborating with one. A lot of writers worry that not being able to draw the comic themselves makes them scarily dependent on the artist. There’s a loss of control when you’re not the one drawing the book, and let’s be honest: writers like being in control of their words and world. But unless you’re paying the artist yourself, there’s a certain amount of story actualization you’ll have to give up and trust to another storyteller. In this respect, we can take a page from children's book authors, as anyone who’s written a children’s book is no stranger to the process of having an artist assigned to their work.

So it's best to learn to collaborate. More than that, you have to learn to actually trust your artist to depict your work. There’s a tendency among new comics writers to jam in as many expository captions as possible on top of the art, as if the artist alone can’t possibly convey the writer’s story visually. Unfortunately, this impulse generally creates more of a disconnect between the words and pictures. Count on your artist to draw that room covered in stacks of papers, empty take-out boxes, half-drunk cups of coffee, and your character slumped in world-weary defeat and clutching a whiskey bottle. Instead of repeating those details in your captions or word balloons, spend that time instead on the words that will move the story forward from there.

3. Understand basic terminology

There’s some basic terminology in comics, which you’ll find useful to know when describing what goes where for your artist (and editor). It’s not the end of the world if you don’t memorize them, but they’re pretty helpful when getting your artist/editor/letterer (the person who actually adds the words to the finished art) up to speed.

Let's review them quickly now so that you know what you're talking about when you write your comic.

Maus by Art Spiegelman

A box surrounding words on the page. They’re used primarily for narration, whether it’s a third-person POV or a first-person internal monologue. Sometimes, they’re indicated through their graphic design to be things like text messages, pages from a journal, or electronic voiceovers. They’re also used to identify dates, locations, and to provide transitions between scenes.

Word Balloon

These are the round things with tails pointing to the characters to indicate what they’re saying (see below, left). You can space out multiple balloons and even connect them to break up big blocks of speaking text. Sometimes, people call them “bubbles.” These people are not usually comics professionals.

Thought Balloon

Calvin and Hobbes, by Bill Watterson

These were more commonly used in older comics and have become mostly replaced by the multipurpose caption. Instead of the smooth, round balloon outline, a thought balloon has a bubbled border, like a cloud, and the tail is made up of individual little puffs (above right).

Page

One full page of the drawn comic.

Panel

The Amazing Spider-Man, illustrated by Steve Ditko

The individual frames on the page, showing a specific tableau in each one, are the panels. They summarize all the action in that particular moment.

Borders

These are the lines separating one panel from another. If there’s space between the panels, that space is the “gutter.” A panel without borders is an open panel.

Splash Page

This is a page that’s just one full image, or a page-sized panel if you prefer.

Double-Page Spread

We3, Illustrations by Frank Quitely

This is one image spread across two whole pages. It’s often used for dramatic effect to demonstrate a particularly awesome moment in combat, or to really show off a landscape. It’s a great way to kick off a story or climax it.

Sound Effects

The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller

These are the words on the page indicating sounds. You probably know them best as the colorful “POW!” and “BANG!” incorporated into most headlines about comics, but they’re used for all sounds, from the honking of a cab to the dripping of a faucet. It’s fun to come up with your own onomatopoeia when thinking of the sounds everything might make.

4. Choose a format that works for you

Now we get to the actual fun part: how to write the comic book itself. Just like there are many ways to write a book, there’s no one correct approach when it comes to writing a comic book. However, here are a couple of popular formats.

Write a full script

A full script is where you break down each page panel by panel, detailing everything happening in each panel, and with every line of dialogue spelled out. This way, the artist theoretically has the clearest blueprint of how you’re visualizing the story and characters.

This is the most common format currently used by writers in the industry, and if your editor also can’t draw, it can also help him or her visualize it too. New writers can sometimes use a little help to figure out the pacing of visual storytelling. Too many panels on a page can slow the action down. Same with too much dialogue.

A full script is a strong foundation for the writer and can feel like the most complete work.

Draft a plot

This method simply describes what’s happening on each page overall and lets the artist choose how to break the action and visual storytelling down into individual panels.

For someone unfamiliar with comics writing, this method can be easier to adapt at first. Sometimes, dialogue is included to give a stronger sense of the emotions at play. Sometimes, the dialogue is added after the art is drawn — whichever the writer prefers.

Both styles of writing are completely valid ways to collaborate with your artist. It’s all about figuring out what allows you to best communicate your story in its raw stage.

Bonus tips

Here are a couple pieces of advice that will help you get off to a running start in writing your own script.

Dialogue works best when it’s economical.

Twitter’s 140-character limit is an excellent template for your word balloons when you’re getting started. A general guideline is to keep the dialogue to about 10-12 lines per page, including captions and word balloons together. It’s tempting to cram in as many words as possible, but allowing the art to shine through will also let your story shine too.

Keep the actions in each panel simple

A very common error when detailing the action in panels is to include someone doing multiple actions in one panel. The character can’t take a drink and then pull out his gun to aim at his foe. If you want the character to be holding a bottle up to his lips with one hand and aiming a gun with his other hand, that’s easy enough to draw. Otherwise, the actions will take up more than one panel. This is where the plot method can be helpful, because the artist can summarize the actions appropriately as s/he decides how to break the pages down.

Dial back on captions where possible

Not everyone endorses this point, but overusing captions for internal monologue or especially for third-person narration tends to remove the readers from the story more than immerse them. Essentially, the more you rely on captions, the more you’re telling, not showing. If your character is fighting for her life, having too much internal commentary on the action can rob the situation of its urgency and danger. The more the characters speak outwards to each other, the more you’re drawing your readers into this world.

Sandman, Illustration by Shawn McManus, Colors by Daniel Vozzo

"Yeah, but Neil Gaiman uses a lot of internal dialogue and captions!" If you’re Neil Gaiman, what the heck do you need my help for?

The techniques specific to comics can seem intimidating at first, but it’s really just about adapting yourself to another format which allows you to communicate best with your artist. I said that earlier, but it bears repeating. Some artists love the full detailed script, some love the freedom of a looser plot. Generally, though, the artist is eager to work with you and make you happy. When you get stuck, asking your artist “What would you like to draw?” can lead to extremely rewarding input. It’s unpredictable, but it’s gratifying to literally see your story come to life within the thin pages of an issue. Don’t let costumes or drawing ability or mere uncertainty get in your way from creating the richest characters and plot possible. That’s the life you’re going to breathe into the work. The rest is just how to communicate with your collaborator.

Excelsior!

Do you want to write a comic book and are looking for an artist or an editor? Check this page for our best illustrators, and this one for our top developmental editors!

Have you ever thought of writing a comic book? Would you add any tips to the ones above? Let us know your thoughts, or any questions you might have for Rachel, in the comments below!