FORMAT
My storyline is pretty well nailed down, but I still have some room to fidget with the story format.
It seems like most indie books and scripts are written for 22 pages of story. The book then has a few more pages added by the publisher for advertising and the front/back covers.
Since this is my first endeavor, I'm not gonna stray too far from what appears to be the standard. But....
...here's what I was thinking for the layout:
I just have so many stories to tell in the frame of the main story, and I want to be able to drop out of the main story line and throw in some backstory, or shift character perspectives. (I could also shift the pages to 12/8, 14/6, etc - it all depends).
This approach isn't new or anything. Ever watch Lost on ABC? Every episode has vignette flashbacks throughout the story that reinforces the featured character's motivations throughout the episode.
And Jay Faerber did a similar (and might I add, brilliant) approach by making Noble Causes only like 15 pages, and then adding a shorter mini-story at the end that fleshed out some characters.
Here's what he said in a Comic Foundry interview:
I really like Bax. But if I get desperate I can hire her to do the important 10-15 page stories and slot in some other artist to do some alternate stories. Might be cost effective, and keep the book looking fresh.
[***oh yeah, and the 'story extras' will be 'found items', diagrams, journal entries, film equipment demos - things that are related to the story, but deserve their own little spotlight.]
It seems like most indie books and scripts are written for 22 pages of story. The book then has a few more pages added by the publisher for advertising and the front/back covers.
Since this is my first endeavor, I'm not gonna stray too far from what appears to be the standard. But....
...here's what I was thinking for the layout:
10 pages - story 1
10 pages - story 2
2 pages - story extras***
------------------------
22 pages total
I just have so many stories to tell in the frame of the main story, and I want to be able to drop out of the main story line and throw in some backstory, or shift character perspectives. (I could also shift the pages to 12/8, 14/6, etc - it all depends).
This approach isn't new or anything. Ever watch Lost on ABC? Every episode has vignette flashbacks throughout the story that reinforces the featured character's motivations throughout the episode.
And Jay Faerber did a similar (and might I add, brilliant) approach by making Noble Causes only like 15 pages, and then adding a shorter mini-story at the end that fleshed out some characters.
Here's what he said in a Comic Foundry interview:
"The why is money. It all came down to money. When youre publishing without the financial backing of a big company, every dollar counts. The most time-consuming part of the project is having the pages drawn, so we initially used the split format (having 15 pages of one story, and 8 pages of another) to make it easier on the regular artist (whod only have to draw 15 pages a month, instead of 22)."
I really like Bax. But if I get desperate I can hire her to do the important 10-15 page stories and slot in some other artist to do some alternate stories. Might be cost effective, and keep the book looking fresh.
[***oh yeah, and the 'story extras' will be 'found items', diagrams, journal entries, film equipment demos - things that are related to the story, but deserve their own little spotlight.]
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