Behind the Curtain.
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

Behind the Curtain is a resource for those wanting to learn more about the craft of writing, and more specifically, comics writing.

We want the information we provide to do all the talking; that and the occasional professional who will stop by and share their experiences. Whether you put any of this information into use, is entirely up to you.

"You start with a general idea of what you want. Beginning with one subject, you read one book to give you more ideas. The first thing you know you are going in all kinds of directions and wonder if it will ever come out right. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't."

- Harrison E. Salibury

We're taking it easy this time with some commandments and questions for you. First off are Robert McKee's Ten Commandments of Writing, followed by some useful questions writers can ask themselves when putting together a story. No, these won't turn you into Shakespeare, but every bit helps.

Robert McKee's Ten Commandments of Writing

I. Thou shalt not take the crisis/climax out of the protagonist's hands. The anti-deux ex machina commandment.

II. Thou shalt not make life easy for the protagonist. Nothing progresses in a story except through conflict.

III. Thou shalt not give exposition for strictly exposition's sake. Dramatize it. Convert exposition to ammunition. Use it to turn the ending of a scene, to further the conflict.

IV. Thou shalt not use false mystery or cheap surprise. Don't conceal anything important that the protagonist KNOWS. Keep us in step with the hero. We know what he/she knows.

V. Thou shalt respect your audience. The anti-hack commandment.

VI. Thou shalt know your world as God knows this one. The pro-research commandment.

VII. Thous shalt not complicate when complexity is better. Don't multiply the complications on one level. Use all three: Intra-personal, Inter-Personal and Extra-Personal.

VIII. Thou shalt seek the end of the line. The negation of the negation, taking characters to the farthest reaches and depth of conflict. Imaginable within the story's own realm of probability.

IX. Thou shalt not write on the nose. Put subtext under every text. Characters rarely directly say what they really feel.

X. Thou shalt rewrite.

Key Questions For Any Writer

1. What event starts my story so the crisis and climax occur?

2. What is the relationship between the inciting incident and the crisis/climax of this story?

3. Does the inciting incident and the way in which it occurs make the crisis/climax eventually necessary?

4. The inciting incident occurs and creates branching probability. Given this, do you feel the ending you've designed absolutely must occur?

5. What event starts the story so that the protagonist must go into action? Even if the action is saying, "I'm not going into action", the protagonist must react to that inciting incident. Even if it is to deny action.

6. What does my protagonist want that comes out of this inciting incident? What drives the protagonist on? What goal must the protagonist accomplish? What has he/she failed to accomplish.

7. What opposition does the character meet? What are the sources of the antagonism? From what levels of reality? Always try to create three-dimensional stories in which conflict is coming from all three levels of reality (Intra-personal, inter-personal, and extra-personal).

8. What opposition equal to if not greater than the protagonist? The protagonist cannot be up against forces which he can easily handle and overwhelm. Do these forces really test him/her as a human being? Do these forces become so powerful and cumulative in their power that they are severely testing the deepest human qualities in this person?

9. As we move toward the ending, do we become more deeply involved? Not staying the same, not losing interest, but more deeply involved.

10. Have we grown to identify with and/or like the protagonist?

11. As we near the ending, do we fell an exhilaration/acceleration of action and reaction?

12. Does the action in the crisis/climax fully express my root idea without the aid of dialogue?

13. Every story is about one idea. How does each scene in the story bring out an aspect of that one idea, positively or negatively?

14. What is the worst possible thing could happen to my character? How could that turn out to be the best possible thing? Or vice versa.

This should keep everyone busy until next time. Hopefully we can get our creator column up and running, in addition to our comic script archive. Until then, here are a few links to keep you going.

Robert McKee's Story Structure.
Check out this famous screenwriting instructor homepage. You can even sign up for one of his classes.

Marc Fleury’s Writing for Comics
A great site. Fleury has some good information on writing.

Dave A. Law's Creating Comics
Another great resource for comics writers and self-publishers.

BritSpeak
Now we can read Hellblazer and understand what the hell they're saying! English as a second language for those who speak English. This site explains British slang and expressions.

Francis Lord hopes to God his feature "Libraria" will be finished by Summer 2000.

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