{"id":1805,"date":"2016-02-16T12:53:00","date_gmt":"2016-02-16T20:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comic-con.org\/toucan\/?p=1805"},"modified":"2023-12-20T12:55:00","modified_gmt":"2023-12-20T20:55:00","slug":"devourer-of-words-035-the-commitments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comic-con.org\/toucan\/devourer-of-words-035-the-commitments\/","title":{"rendered":"Devourer of Words 035: The Commitments"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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MARC BERNARDIN’S DEVOURER OF WORDS<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Devourer of Words 035: The Commitments<\/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

There are going to be a score (and then a score more) of thinking pieces about Deadpool<\/em> and what its success means. (In case you missed it, Deadpool<\/em> grossed $150 million over the Presidents Day holiday weekend, pulling down more in it\u2019s opening than any other R-Rated movie\u2014and every other X-Men movie.) In the halls of every studio, someone will be wondering how they can \u201cDeadpool\u201d whatever superhero film they\u2019re currently cooking. Every writers\u2019 agent will be asking their clients if they have a Deadpool<\/em> idea lying around. And all of them will be missing the point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The thing that made Deadpool<\/em> work\u2014and the thing that audiences have responded to, even if they\u2019re not entirely able to recognize and verbalize it\u2014is commitment. Deadpool <\/em>is committed to being exactly what it should be. The filmmakers decided early on that THIS would be the movie they wanted to make, even though the prevailing market wisdom would say that superhero movies should be PG-13. They should play to as broad an audience as possible. Kids will be going, so don\u2019t go nuts. And definitely don\u2019t SHOW nuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what does this mean for you, the comic book writer? Well, to me, it means that while building the next story you write, make sure that it\u2019s the most IT it can be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commit to the thing you\u2019re writing 100%. If you\u2019re writing a romance, making it the most romantic. If you\u2019re writing a western, I should be able to feel the dust in my mouth. If it\u2019s a horror book, scare the fluids out of me. Half-measures do no one any good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But note that I\u2019m NOT saying that if you\u2019re writing a romance, you should also try and make it a vile and profane romance, because the kids love the Deadpool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In most cases, chasing what\u2019s popular leads to wasted time and abject madness. For one, the sheer amount of time it takes to produce anything\u2014even something as quickfire as a webcomic\u2014combined with the inherent fickleness of popularity means that you\u2019ll have missed whatever trend you were trying to capitalize on. And even if you do manage to land on the tail end of a trend, you\u2019ll never enjoy the benefits\u2014financial, emotional\u2014that come with being the first through the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All too often\u2014and sometimes, with good reason\u2014we worry about what kind of stories readers want. Or, more precisely, what kind of stories publishers will buy to then sell to those readers. And that\u2019s fine. This is the business we\u2019ve chosen and the marketplace is the Vengeful God that needs to be sated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since you can\u2019t predict what\u2019s going to be popular\u2014unless you can, in which case, you need to let me borrow the keys to your time-traveling roadster\u2014the only recourse is to do the best work you can with something you believe in. To truly commit and make whatever you\u2019re doing the most IT it can be.<\/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