Comments on: 7 Keys to Writing for Webcomics

By: Strip News | ArtPatient.com

Strip News | ArtPatient.com — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:23:14 +0000

[...] Marooned artist Tom Dell’Aringa has 7 Keys to Writing For Webcomics. [...]

By: Palace in the Sky Fantasy Adventure Webcomic Gateway Dragons Swords Magic Myth and Legend

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 01:31:03 +0000

[...] couple of webcomic tutorials, so I wrote an article on writing for webcomics. The article titled “7 Keys to Writing for Webcomics” can be read on my blog. [...]

By: Tom

Tom — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 11:05:24 +0000

Because I just wrote them this week! And now you know.

By: Bengo

Bengo — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 03:55:24 +0000

Why didn’t you tell me about these articles? I would have linked them months ago. PsychedelicTreehouse.com is only, like, the biggest webcomic how-to site I know of. Well, I sup-pose it depends how you count, but still… this is what the visitors there want to read.

By: Tom

Tom — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 23:37:36 +0000

Welcome Daniel, I’m glad it can help. Genre specific tips – all I can say is this. If you are going to write sci-fi, then you need to be a fan and be familiar with it. It helps to know what the conventions are so you know when to break them or to twist them, or to use them to your advantage. Always do your best to know your subject.

By: Daniel Senpai

Daniel Senpai — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 23:24:05 +0000

Tom I would just like to thank you in advance for your comic advice, it was like it was written for me. I have read online comics for a while and I would like to dabble in the art myself. One of those comics in fact had a link to here. My comic idea, like yours, takes place in space and I was wondering if you had any related tips.

By: Tom

Tom — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 11:35:45 +0000

There’s a lot of theory on that, but generally I have an idea of what the strip is going to be. I then think about what can be funny with that situation. So I do essentially get the basic idea and then write the joke first, because you really need to know where you’re going to write effectively. Once you know where you’re going you can craft a good strip.

So I have that basic idea, then I think on the joke – which may change the basic idea or at least the details about how I get there. So you really write back to front – find out where you’re going and then go ahead and get there.

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 08:41:02 +0000

Nice set of steps. Most of them are quite similar to the steps necessary for writing a regular story, steps 2, 3, 5, 6, 7. They are a bit customized for the comic format though of course.

Do you usually come up with a punch line first that you want to build a comic around or do you come up with a general idea/scenario and then build a punch line into it?

By: bachterman

bachterman — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 20:27:31 +0000

i’m gonna post a short essay tomorrow about good blogging.

By: Tom

Tom — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 17:29:16 +0000

Thanks Brock, and right on to writing something unexpected. I’ve had my brain lead me in strange directions a couple times and it’s always been a good experience. You need to know where your characters are coming from, but you need to be able to put them somewhere you didn’t expect. Then, if you know enough about them, you can write about how they respond to this unexpected situation and you can get some really good stuff.