#20: Comics Dialogue - Part 1
This
week in Creating Comics! I'm back with another article on writing
process. Today, I tackle writing dialogue in comics. In fact, this one is a
two-parter. I've got six tips for writing strong dialogue- you'll get three
this week, and have to tune in next week for the three more. Alright, let's get
going!
I'm going to come right out and say it at the top, because it deserves to be said: Writing great dialogue is extremely difficult. Sure, there are your David Mamets and Quentin Tarrantinos in film, and Brian Bendises in comics. These are writers incredibly gifted at putting words in their characters' mouths. And while these masters of their respective crafts should certainly be studied, imitate them at your own peril. For there is a second statement that needs to be said: Writing bad dialogue is very easy. Hell, after Pulp Fiction came out, every new writer on the block was writing scenes with tough characters waxing poetic and riffing on pop culture...and it was ugly, ugly stuff. Likewise, a disciple of Bendis runs the risk of writing nothing but a talking heads book, which isn't something I'd recommend an aspiring creator do.
I'll even be so bold as to recommend you NOT strive to write "great" dialogue when you're first starting out. Setting the dialogue bar at great will probably have you cursing at your screen, getting very little writing done. For now, good is good enough. The great thing about comics is that with strong art and an engaging storyline, your dialogue only needs to be serviceable for people to enjoy your work.
So I'm going to give you a number of tips that may help you write good dialogue. What do I mean by good? I mean you'll write dialogue that at worst doesn't hurt your story and at best helps it a great deal. And you want to know the best part? If you write good dialogue long enough and consistently enough...well, that's a great thing, a thing very few aspiring writers are capable of. And pretty soon, guess what word they're going to start using to describe your dialogue? (Stumped? Ask Tony the Tiger.)
Tip #1: Dialogue has a function!
Your job as a writer for visual media is not to put words in characters' mouths just for the sake of filling in those word balloons. Every piece of dialogue you script should have a function. What function? Well, here's a primer from screenwriter Syd Field. What follows are all the functions dialogue can and should have in your scripts.
Dialogue should...
...Move the story forward.
...Communicate facts and information to the reader.
...Reveal character.
...Establish character relationships.
...Make your characters real, natural, and spontaneous.
...Reveal the conflicts of the story and characters.
...Reveal the emotional states of your characters.
...Comment on the action.
...Foreshadow future action or events.
That's the list. Stick
to it. Often times, good dialogue will perform several of those functions at
once. Here's a page from my comic CounterTERROR that I feel
qualifies as "good" dialogue. (Genius? Certainly not. But solid? I think so.)
How many functions does the dialogue on this page satisfy?
1.) Moves the story forward- The previous scene was 15 minutes earlier and ended with a National Counterterrorism director contacting the New York FBI SWAT team. Now we've jumped ahead in time, and the dialogue establishes that the team is assembled and ready to move.
2.) Communicates facts and information to the reader- Here we find out a little more about their target, that he's a wanted terrorist.
3.) Reveals character- Montoya in particular. She's got a sprained left hand, but is still cocky and ready to roll. That bravado will come to play throughout the story.
4.) Establish character relationships- The easy way Montoya and Dexter Mason interact suggests closeness. This is a cohesive team. Also, Rivera texting McCullough, who is actually the story's main protagonist, introduces that character as a missing part of the team.
5.) Foreshadow future action or events- I needed to call out the brace on Montoya's left hand through dialogue, because I'm not sure it would have been noticed in the art. This is important, because that brace is going to save her life shortly.
So you see, I didn't just fill in word balloons. All the dialogue on this page serves one or more functions. Not bad, huh?
Tip #2: Don't write dialogue until your story is finished
What? What do you mean, Ty? How the hell am I supposed to finish my story if I don't write dialogue? Just hear me out. On this point, I have the great Alfred Hitchcock to back me up. Hitchcock once said, "When the screenplay has been written, and the dialogue added, we're ready to shoot." When writing for visual mediums like film and comics, nailing the imagery should be your primary task. Filling in those word balloons should be a secondary concern.
Think about it. If you were given a comic book with all the words removed, could you still follow the story? In most cases, sure. And if asked, you could probably add in words of your own and tell a halfway decent story yourself. How many movies can you follow with the sound turned off? Sure, they're not nearly as compelling, but you can still follow the action. You know who the good guy is, and often, you can figure out what he wants and what's standing in his way...all without hearing the dialogue. Even David Mamet, reknowned wordsmith though he may be, recognized this- "The story is being carried by the shots. Basically, the perfect movie doesn't have any dialogue."
That said, please don't go out and write a dialogue-free script. It's been done before to strong effect, but probably not where you want to start out. However, definitely do consider the point that the imagery and action in your story should be mapped out and strong before you need be concerned with dialogue. Robert McKee suggests, "The wise writer puts off writing dialogue for as long as possible, because the premature writing of dialogue chokes creativity." If you fall in love with bits of dialogue before you've had time to fall in love with your characters, or even know what happens to them in the story, this can hinder organic developments in the writing. Forcing words into your still developing characters' mouths will stunt their growth. So the general rule is to figure out your story and your story people before you start making them talk.
Tip #3: It's okay if it sucks...at first.
When you first get rolling on the writing of your scripts, your dialogue probably isn't going to be very good. No, this statement isn't meant to discourage. Quite the opposite, in fact. I'm giving you permission to stink it up for a while. See, during the first few pages of your script, you're still getting to know your characters, and it's going to take a while before you fully get a handle on how they speak and act. And that's perfectly fine. Your first crack at dialogue will likely be uneven and cliché-ridden, and will be difficult to plow through.
But plow through you must. Just keep writing. What you want to do when writing your first draft is steadfastly move your story forward. Again, you want to do this regardless of the verbal diarrhea spilling from your characters' lips. If you have to toss in awful catch phrases like, "Lock and load!" to convey confidence and ready for action, throw it in and keep going. (But good God remember to revise it later!) Trust that writing dialogue will get easier, not harder, as you continue to write and become more familiar with the characters you've created.
As I mentioned in my article on Memorable Scenes, content follows context. Sometimes writing the actual content of the dialogue (what is said, the words actually spoken) are difficult to craft, and risk holding up the writing. So, you know what? Just fill in something, anything that speaks to the context (the purpose of the scene, the story moving impact of the conversation) and continue. As long as the context is strong and that story beat important, the story will stay solid. You can always go back and fix the dialogue in a later rewrite. In fact, I've found that no matter how many drafts of a script I write, my final script and dialogue edit always comes at the lettering stage. There's just something about the physical act of placing words on the page that will clue you into what's working and what isn't in your dialogue.
Hope these three tips help you when putting words into your story people's mouths. I'll be back next week with more dialogue tips. If any Comic Related readers will be attending the Baltimore Comic-Con this coming weekend (Oct. 10-11) please stop by Table 31 in Artist's Alley and say hi.
NEXT:
Comics Dialogue- Part II
Tyler James is a comics creator residing in Newburyport, Massachusetts. He writes and draws Over, a romantic comedy online graphic novel updating every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He also writes Tears of the Dragon, an epic fantasy webcomic, drawn by Koko Amboro and colored by Paul Little. His work has been featured at Zuda Comics, and includes Interrogation Control Element, a political action thriller, and Super Seed, the story of the world's first super powered fertility clinic. When not making comics, Tyler works as a game designer and content producer for a software company.
Tyler James is a comics creator residing in Newburyport, Massachusetts. He writes and draws Over, a romantic comedy online graphic novel updating every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He also writesTears of the Dragon, an epic fantasy webcomic that updates on Thurdays. His work has been featured on Zuda Comics, and includes Interrogation Control Element, a political action thriller, and Super Seed, the story of the world's first super powered fertility clinic. When not making comics, Tyler works as a game designer and content producer for a software company..
Contact Tyler directly at
tylerjamescomics@gmail.com, keep up with him at his blog, or follow him on Twitter.
Previous Columns
1: Big Goals
2: Resolutions
3: The Great Idea
4: Research Part I
5: Research Part II
6: The Killer Pitch Part I - The High Concept
7: The Killer Pitch Part II - The Synopsis
8: Pay Your Artists
9: Zuda Comics - A Tale of Five Submissions
10: Creating Great Characters Part I (Or Why Wolverine is Everywhere)
11: Creating Great Characters Part II (Or Why Wolverine is Everywhere)
12: Structurally Sound- The Beginning
14: Structurally Sound- The Middle
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