Comic Book Progress

Tips for Writers

9 years since ‘I want to push you in the grass’
9 years since 'I want to push you in the grass'9 years ago today I met Amanda, my wife, for the first time… a lot has happened since those care free days! On our first date, one of the turning points from casual date to something more was when I proclaimed to her, “I want to push you in the grass!” Why did I say that? Well, she was being ornery, so I returned the favor. Happy 9th, old girlfriend!

Big decisions, contracts, and congrats?
Big decisions, contracts, and congrats?So, as usual, not naming names, but if you know me, you may know what I’m talking about… Got a contract offer on one of my books, so I’m staring at pages of contracts, signing, and sending in… Very daunting prospect, you know? Finding the “right” home for a book has several factors including rights distribution, creative control, terms, what kinds of books does the publisher typically put out, how much market presence do they have, etc…  In regards to the project in question, I feel like I’ve found the “right” place for it… I’m excited, but it’s the first time I

Wearing multiple hats
Wearing multiple hatsI was thinking this morning about the various hats we wear in life… In this case, though, the various hats happened to be all of the different projects we find ourselves involved in and actually switching between them. Depending on the given day, I play the role of husband, employee, project manager, writer, web developer, graphic designer, marketer, etc… In the realm of writing, depending on how I’m feeling, I could be working on any number of projects, juggling to keep the various storylines separated, characters voices set, narration style and, most importantly, who am I working with on them. The easiest is actually the last…

Writing the Erik Way – World Building
Writing the Erik Way - World BuildingPhase 2 – World Building World Building seems to be an often missed step in the world of comic books. People assume at times that just because a book is set in the modern world or in a fantasy world or a “hero” world that you can rely on certain conventions and just run with it. Doesn’t work that way, though! In order to be a story full of rich characters, environments, and situations, you really need to go through every step in the creation process. World building isn’t just creating a land mass and populating it. It is more about setting the parameters of your world. Where does the story take place

Writing the Erik way – Idea Phase
Writing the Erik way - Idea PhaseI’ve actually been writing since I was about six years old, so I’ve got 28 years of experience under my belt ranging from short stories to my ever delayed novel (got to finish that at some point). My most recent love for writing is comics, which I’ve been reading for over 25 years, but, believe it or not, my first comic book scripts are less than a year old! The idea of telling a story doesn’t change, though, regardless of the medium. What changes is the syntax (format) and how you set up a scene. I’m going to start, though, on things that apply no matter what kind of story you’re telling and what format.