Alan Moore's Writing for Comics
{{Short description|1985 essay and 2003 book}}
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{{Infobox book
| name = Alan Moore's Writing for Comics
| image = Alan Moore Writing for Comics coverjpg.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| caption = Cover of the book
| author = Alan Moore
| illustrator = Jacen Burrows
| cover_artist = Juan Jose Ryp
| country = United States
| language = English
| genre = Non-fiction
| publisher = Avatar Press
| release_date = 2003
| media_type = Paperback
| pages = 48
| isbn =
| dewey =
| congress =
| oclc =
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
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Alan Moore's Writing for Comics is a 48-page paperback book published in 2003 by Avatar Press. The volume reprints a 1985 essay by Alan Moore on how to successfully write comics that originally appeared in the British magazine Fantasy Advertiser in four chapters, running from issue #92, August 1985, to issue #95, February 1986.
The book consists of the four chapters from the original essay along with a new essay written by Moore in 2003 reflecting on his earlier advice. The illustrations are by Jacen Burrows and the cover is by Juan Jose Ryp.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbr.com/avatar-to-release-alan-moores-writing-for-comics/|title=Avatar to Release Alan Moore's 'Writing for Comics'|date=26 March 2003}}
Chapters
The first four chapters are a beginner's guide about writing, storytelling and plotting a comic book script. The final chapter, however, was written in 2003; it aims to provide a writing for comics course and advises the writer "never to get stuck in one writing style, always be open to try new things".{{citation needed|date=March 2020}} These chapters are:
- Chapter 1 – The Basic Idea: Thinking About Comics: this focuses on the idea behind the whole work of art, and what the writer intends to express in his or her work.
- Chapter 2 – Reaching The Reader: Structure, Pacing, Story Telling: this examines what is going on in the reader's mind and gives tips on how to keep the reader focused on the comic book.
- Chapter 3 – World Building: Place and Personality: the text suggests to possible comic book writers that they examine real-life characters, people they know throughout their life, in order to create realistic fictional characters. This chapter also gives hints about how to create a detailed universe, even if it means that the writer starts by creating economic structures.
- Chapter 4 – The Details: Plot and Script: this chapter aims to demolish the misunderstanding of the importance of plot. Moore delineates plot not as a list of things happening but more like a concept of time, contributing to the other elements of the art.
- Final Part – Afterwords: this subsequent addition to the original essay sums up and is a confession of all the wrong things Alan Moore told the readers eighteen years earlier in the first four chapters about how they could become a good writer. Moore suggests that writers who have already started their career should "simply try new and hard things they didn't think they could manage"{{citation needed|date=March 2020}} in order to become a better writer.
References
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External links
- [http://www.comicsbulletin.com/reviews/105843665318923.htm Review] at Comics Bulletin
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20100823010109/http://www.thepoc.net/thepoc-features/pinoy-pop/reviews/8675-swim-in-the-undesirable-alan-moores-writing-for-comics.html Review] at Philippine Online Chronicles
{{Alan Moore}}
Category:2003 non-fiction books
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