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1 - Writing Tips

Writing for comics is a bit different than writing Alt-Text. Your job is to recreate the comic experience: a visual storytelling medium. This means that your work may be more creative than the standard description you would write for Alt-text.

If you want to learn more about the art of writing comics you should check out Comics and Sequential Art: Principles and Practices by the legendary cartoonist, Will Eisner, as well as Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art, by Scott McCloud. They will help you understand the Visual Language of Sequential Art, and it can help you in your own work. There are also endless resources online, and remember your co-writers and editors are here to help you. We are all learning together.

The following is a growing list of tips to help you write and edit. This list will be edited and amended as we learn more about the process.

1.1 General Tips

  • Don’t editorialize, interpret, or analyze the material. You are trying to recreate what is seen in the panel, not your opinion of what is seen.
    • The describer’s intention should always be to state what they see, not their interpretation of what they see. (National Disability Authority)
  • Be clear and concise.
  • Use third-person narrative style to show neutrality and noninterference.
  • Be Objective. You do not want to put your opinions of what is happening into the description, just what is literally in the panel. The reader should have the freedom for their own interpretation given all the necessary details.
  • DON’T CENSOR. This goes with being objective. If you are uncomfortable describing a scene, whether it is violent, sexual, or something else that you feel you cannot objectively describe, ask another PA to describe this scene for you.
  • Use active verbs in the present tense. This is very important to keeping the flow of the narration moving.
    • Two good resources to help out if needed:
      • Grammar Girl: Active vs Passive Voice
      • Owl: Purdue University Active Voice
  • Keep tone of your writing the same as the tone of the comic
  • You don’t have to describe all the details, but describe what is necessary for the narration. It is a balancing act.
    • First think about the story; What is in the panel that is important to the story?
    • Then think about what you personally see. Remember a perceptually disabled person wants to ‘see’ this too.
  • Be clear on action, place, and time so the reader does not become disorientated. Reading aloud can help with this.
  • Do not give too much information, which can create an information overload. A good rule to follow is: Does this help with the narration of the story?
  • Choose words that are succinct, vivid, and imaginative to convey visual images. Think about getting as much content into as few words as possible, as describers convey visual information that is either inaccessible or only partially accessible to a segment of the population.
  • A great practice is to read your descriptions aloud to yourself or another. How do they flow when heard versus read?
  • Only describe the details of a scene or character if it is a new scene or something important to the story has changed within the scene or to the character’s appearance.
    • i.e. The character is watching a house burn down to ash. The scene has changed and that change is important to the story, so describe it.
  • Sometimes in comics you will notice a detail that has already been established is emphasized again for the narrative. If this is the case you can mention it again, but in less detail.
  • Check spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Sometimes it is acceptable to break traditional grammar rules for brevity and clarity. However, it is important to be consistent in this practice.
  • Readers with visual impairments want to have an authentic “comic book experience”, that matches as closely as possible the experience of a sighted reader. Creating a Described Comic Book/Assisted Reader that meets this expectation is our goal.
  • This type of writing develops with practice. Remember:
    • the details you describe should serve the narrative, and
    • Keep your writing active
  • Also remember you have an editor to help you, so don’t worry about getting it perfect the first time.
  • Don’t be afraid to ask for help! Fresh eyes can really help with this type of writing. It may take more than one draft to get it right, and it gets easier with time.
  • You got this.
public/nnels/comics/cbd_writingtips.1533602665.txt.gz · Last modified: 2018/08/06 17:44 by rachel.osolen