Well, it's Kinda Like...
Building a world involves more than a writer conveying plot points to an artist. It is about having a shared frame of references or a shorthand to work through problems that arise in the story. With all the tools of social media available, there are novel ways to construct a shared language (and it goes beyond images). If you can't draw past a stick figure in a game of hangman, here are some suggestions for how to use social media to streamline your process.
Spotify: This Playlist can save your story
Tarantino, The Andersons (Wes and P.T.), Cameron Crowe (grudgingly), they understand that a great soundtrack can turn a movie into a memory. So much can be communicated with music, perhaps even more than a panel description. In the same way that unspoken teenage tension can be resolved in the sweet arc of a well-constructed mixtape, you can now score your entire story...for free. A great soundtrack is as indelible as the images it bolsters, so why not make your own? As I have been working with Michael Lapinski on MEYER, we have used Spotify playlists as a way to express where we want characters to be on their individual journeys. In laying out the story sonically, it becomes very clear if you're doing something new. Spotify listeners, check out my 'Meyer-On the Move' mix to see what I mean. If you're ever stuck on something, always turn to Nancy Sinatra to shake it up a little.Pinterest: Panel work for the artistically challenged
I thought Pinterest was for shopping for Bridal gowns. Well, it is, but it doesn't have to be. What you have is the ability to share EVERYTHING that is inspiring the look of your book. This can be AP photos (check those rights if you are using them) to album covers, and everything in between. So start hunting. Comics are a visual medium and if you can't draw, you're still responsible for shaping the look of the book. Writer, you are no longer a visual vestigial appendage. There are privacy settings so you can keep everything on the hush. In the act of building you will strengthen the rapport with the artist. Do the work.Netflix: Remember that part in...
During an early FEEDING GROUND brainstorming session, Michael, Chris Mangun, and myself had a slumber party in the Catskills. While we did not share sleeping bags, we definitely got close. We immersed ourselves in collective imagery as we tuned up the hive mind. John Carpenter's The Thing became a touchstone in communicating the sense of the landscape being its own monster. Now, working with artists all over the country, it's a little bit more complicated than making another bag of microwave popcorn. Sharing recommendations in a Netflix queue is an excellent way of allowing the artists to understand exactly what you are trying to say. It's easier to show what you are borrowing from than describing it.Many writers will say that if you cannot express what you want on the page, then you have failed. It's simply not true. You are in the communication business and ANY WAY that you can clarify an idea to your creative partner in an efficient manner is storytelling. During Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia Sam Peckinpah lent his now iconic sunglasses to Warren Oates. He wore them throughout the film as they became a lynchpin in his construction of the character (clearly based on the director). Be willing to give completely. The bottomline: it's your responsibility to say what you mean. One of the best thing about comics is their ability to make words unnecessary. Shouldn't the tools to build images be as transcendent?
