What are your strong and weak areas?

[Caleb Goodson]

Greetings, all!

I think a little friendly discussion amongst the creative is in order,so I am putting a topic out here. What are your strong areas as a creator? What are your weak areas?

My strong areas lie in character development and the fight scene (Especially the latter). My weak areas tend to be in the characterization of female characters (I find myself constantly having to talk to women in order to get an idea as to what a female character would do in a given situation, as opposed to male one.).

So, any other thoughts?

[Greg Carter]

My strongest area is probably dialog. People say it's very conversation and real. It bugs some people who want it to read like a novel though. POWERS was the first comic I read where people didn't use complete sentences, talked all over each other, and made it like real conversation instead of like literature. That was a big influence. But then so is Buffy the Vampire Slayer, both the TV series and the comic books.

Weak area, probably that I try to use too many "quick cuts". That works great on video and film, but in comics... not so much. It's too choppy. I script as though it were a film or TV show. I can see it running in my head.

[Caleb Goodson]

I find sometimes that something that sounds great in my head often looks very bad on paper. Fortunately, that is why God gave us the delete key!

[Greg Carter]

I find myself shouting "Re-write" a lot. Odd, since I don't work in a 1940's newspaper room.

[Caleb Goodson]

Greg, could you give an example as to how your "quick cuts" become a problem?

[Greg Carter]

For instance, right now I have scenes running concurrently in three different locations and I always want to hit one for a page of conversation, cut to another for a related bit but with other characters, then cut away again. It makes it hard to get the gist of any particular scene because it's chopped up.

Or in a particular scene, I'll want to leave out some interstitial panels. Just show what is the most important panels. But that also ruins the flow.

If I'm trying to get across a particular beat, then it's okay. But I tend to raise the tempo that way far too often. I'm learning to linger in scenes and enjoy them. Let the characters show themselves a bit more.

[Caleb Goodson]

Yeah, all the different plotlines can get away from you. I have lots of characters, and sometimes I have a hard time figureing out exactly which character I want to focus on for a particular story.

[Sean Taylor]

I'm actually the opposite, Caleb. I've often been told that my readers are surprised to find that I'm male after reading my female characters (which I consider the ultimate compliment as a writer, of course), but fights scenes drive me nuts. So often I just want to write "it's a four page fight scene, have fun with it" in my scripts instead of actually pacing out the fight for dramatic value.

I'm also fond of idle chit chat among characters a la Tarantino. The stuff that doesn't exactly forward the plot, but definitely forwards the story, if you know what I mean.

[Greg Carter]

I loves writing the fighty. It helps that Elliot is do good at drawing fight scenes. I like a bit of quick ultra-violence and move on. The main characters are seasoned fighters and they don't mess around. I'm loosening up on that though. I'm going to start having more fun with it.

[Sean Taylor]

I like both quick fights and long-drawn out matches. I just like when I'm working with an artist who I can split the workload on for writing the damn fight scenes. Martheus Wade, who is a member here (even though he's technically from TN, but has family here and visits a lot, so he's family anyway, heh) is a fantastic fight scene artist, but then again he's also a martial artist and uses his friends for the poses and knows what punch or kick or defense naturally follows a move. Great stuff he does though.

[Caleb Goodson]

Oh, I agree. Idle chatter is an excellent way to reveal a character's attributes.

Ah, my friend, you do not know what you are missing in planning a fight scene. Every living creature fights differently, based on physical traits and mental traits. No two fighting styles will be the same, and the way a creature engages in combat says something about his, her, or its personality.

[Sean Taylor]

It works out, but it's a lot more work for me. It takes as long to really pace a good fight scene as it does to pace a script for me. It all pays off (for example, I love the big showdown in Gene Simmons Dominatrix #6), but it doesn't come easily to me.

I like to try to think of a fun to draw setting for the fight scenes too. Like the mannequin factory in Dom #6, and a men's public rest room in the new Dom arc coming out soon.

[Caleb Goodson]

Public restroom for a fight scene, huh? That could lead to some great scenes involving various bathroom apparati as makeshift weapons.