{"id":1915,"date":"2018-11-20T09:44:00","date_gmt":"2018-11-20T17:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comic-con.org\/toucan\/?p=1915"},"modified":"2023-12-21T09:45:24","modified_gmt":"2023-12-21T17:45:24","slug":"devourer-of-words-59-finding-the-voice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comic-con.org\/toucan\/devourer-of-words-59-finding-the-voice\/","title":{"rendered":"Devourer of Words 59: Finding the Voice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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MARC BERNARDIN’S DEVOURER OF WORDS<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Devourer of Words 59: Finding the Voice<\/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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Unless you\u2019re a novelist, who gets to write purely for yourself, it is likely that at some point you will have to write for \u201csomeone.\u201d And that someone could be many things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re writing comics, that could mean writing a character that has a specific voice. Peter Parker always needs to sound like Peter Parker. Of course, there\u2019s a way to put your own mustard on it\u2014especially if you\u2019re going to be writing Spidey for a good long while and have the chance to subtly push the character into a place that feels more like \u201cyou.\u201d But, as I\u2019m sure your editors will tell you, if you want to fundamentally change who Peter Parker is \u2026 no. Go create your own character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re in TV\u2014unless you\u2019re running your own show\u2014you will have to learn to mimic the showrunner\u2019s voice. How does she turn a phrase? How does he like to end scenes, with resolution or on a cliffhanger? How funny do they like to be? Because, one way or another, the script will be the way they want it\u2014the value you add is by making it as easy as possible to get it there. You\u2019re going to get rewritten; how long that rewriting takes will determine whether or not they hire you back for the next season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re in movies, it\u2019s possible that you\u2019ll write and sell something original. But that\u2019s harder than ever these days, given Hollywood\u2019s unslakable hunger for IP to adapt. Odds are, you\u2019ll end up writing an adaptation or a sequel or a reboot or a preboot of something that already exists. And the producers will have in their heads what that needs to look like and sound like. (You can\u2019t write a Transformers movie without giant robots punching each other and then turning into a Vespa or whatever.) And even if you do sell that original screenplay, it won\u2019t get made until a director signs on\u2014and that director will have his or her own ideas that you need to get on board with or get replaced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So how do you succeed in pretending to be someone else? There are really only two silver bullets:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Read. Or watch.<\/h6>\n\n\n\n

If you get lucky enough to get hired to write Batman, you better read or have read a whole boatload of Batman. Know what makes that character tick. Understand the different incarnations. Get a sense of where the outer limits are, then find a place within that territory you can feel comfortable working in. If you get hired on the writing staff of Stranger Things<\/em>, you\u2019d better watch all of Stranger Things<\/em>\u2014and all of the things Stranger Things<\/em> was inspired by. Become fluent in the language of the property. Know what you don\u2019t know, then rectify that with study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Abandon your ego.<\/h6>\n\n\n\n

You are either working in service of a person or a character. It isn\u2019t about you. It\u2019s about doing right by them. You might come up with a new way to skin a particular cat. \u201cWhat if, on this episode of 24<\/em>, Jack Bauer was stuck in a McDonald\u2019s drive-thru for 45 minutes, then had to go to the bathroom?\u201d Would that be kinda fun to watch? Maybe? Is that 24<\/em>? No. Your brilliance will be rewarded\u2014so long as it\u2019s the brilliance your bosses are asking for. Do your best to make the product with your name on it as good as you can. But at some point, it won\u2019t be exactly what you set out to write. That\u2019s the process. The thing to remember is \u2026 that\u2019s what the money\u2019s for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Set yourself up for success and know when to let go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Marc Bernardin\u2019s Devourer of Words appears the second Tuesday of every month here on <\/em>Toucan and will return in January.<\/em><\/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