{"id":1308,"date":"2013-12-17T09:19:00","date_gmt":"2013-12-17T17:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comic-con.org\/toucan\/?p=1308"},"modified":"2023-12-18T16:54:04","modified_gmt":"2023-12-19T00:54:04","slug":"devourer-of-words-011-a-comic-writers-gift-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comic-con.org\/toucan\/devourer-of-words-011-a-comic-writers-gift-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Devourer of Words 011: A Comic Writers Gift Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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MARC BERNARDIN’S DEVOURER OF WORDS<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Devourer of Words 011: A Comic Writers Gift Guide<\/h1>\n\n\n
Marc Bernardin<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Toucan<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Marc<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not too late\u2014there are still a few shopping days left before Christmas (and if Hannukah\u2019s your bag, you can just tuck this list away for safe keeping) and if you\u2019re a writer and don\u2019t know what to ask for, or if you\u2019re buying gifts for a writer and don\u2019t know what to get, here are a few ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

None of these books are too expensive but all of them will hit the sweet spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations<\/em><\/strong> by Georges Polti<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

They say there\u2019s nothing new under the Sun and they\u2019re right. Just like there are but so many musical notes, there are but so many stories. Of course, much like with those notes, the true magic comes when you put them together in a way no one ever has before. According to Polti (who is amplifying Aristotle\u2019s statement that there are only three types of stories: man vs. man, man vs. nature, and man vs. self), there are three dozen variations that every tale you\u2019ve ever heard, read or watched fall into. And they are all broken down to their most basic essence\u2014like \u201cdaring enterprise\u201d or \u201crevolt.\u201d This isn\u2019t, in any way, a \u201cHow to Build a Story\u201d guidebook, but it\u2019ll help shake free some mental cobwebs and, possibly, lead you towards storytelling paths you might not naturally think of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way<\/em><\/strong> by Stan Lee and John Buscema<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Because if you\u2019re going to write comics, you should know how they draw comics. You should know what tools are in an artist\u2019s toolbox, the challenges they face in making a story readable and why the things you are asking for are either silly or inspired. Not that this book will actually make you an artist if you aren\u2019t, but it can help you think visually in, perhaps, a way you hadn\u2019t before. Think of it as a Rosetta Stone so you can speak the same language as your artist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Great Thoughts<\/em><\/strong> by George Seldes<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

There will come a time when you\u2019re writing a character that needs to say something momentous, something that\u2014in whatever world he or she lives in\u2014would be remembered by all who hear it. This collection of essays, speeches, fragments of philosophies is full of what those things are in our world. Not that I\u2019m suggesting, in any way, that you should lift words from, say, Churchill or MLK or Oppenheimer and put them in your characters\u2019 mouths, but this\u2019ll help you know what greatness looks like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Writers on Comics Scriptwriting<\/em><\/strong> Vol. 1 and Vol. 2<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

These two volumes, published by Titan around 10 years ago might be out of print, but they\u2019re worth tracking down, as they\u2019ve got extensive interviews with comics scribes like Grant Morrison, Neil Gaiman, Brian K. Vaughan, Mark Waid, Brian Michael Bendis, Ed Brubaker, Greg Rucka, and Warren Ellis\u2014all talking about their approach to putting words on the page. It\u2019s the next best thing to cornering, well, every great writer of the past 20 years at a convention bar and asking them to reveal their secrets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A good notebook and a good pen<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Not \u201cgreat,\u201d mind you, just good. Because great becomes something you fetishize, something you cherish, something you\u2019ll think is only worthy of great ideas. But a writer needs a tool, something to work with. And the best tools aren\u2019t often pretty or glossy. They are functional. They get the job done. They encourage doing more. So find a good Moleskin or a Field Notes book\u2014Warren Ellis is on record recommending them\u2014and a good mechanical pencil or trackball pen \u2026 better, a whole pack of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Happy Holidays!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Marc Bernardin\u2019s Devourer of Words appears the third Tuesday of every month here on<\/em> Toucan!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Written by<\/p>\n\n\n

Marc Bernardin<\/div>\n\n\n

Published<\/p>\n\n\n