Any writers here?

[Brynneth N Colvin]

Most comics sites tend to focus on the artists (and rightly so, artists are wonderful people and comics would not happen without them). Many artists also write their own scripts, but I'm wondering if there's anyone else about here, like me, who writes and doesn't do any of the drawing?

[Dale Lazarov]

I'm a writer but I also edit the comics :)

[Brynneth N Colvin]

I take it that's more about ediing the text rather than going through comics and coming up with things like 'the man on page seven has uneven facial features, fix this!' ?

[Dale Lazarov]

Short answer: Nope. I edit the layouts. the line work and/or inks, and the colors -- it's a collaboration with the artist.

Long answer: First, I pitch the story idea to the artist to see if it connects with them. Once I get their OK, I write what they call in comics a "full script" which breaks the story down into pages and the pages into panels. Artists are free to interpret the script and add to or subtract panels from the pages which works perfectly if the artist is true to the feel of the story and keeps the story, character and sexual choreography beats in the script.

I basically write transcripts for silent gay erotic comics I imagine in my head. First, I write a description of the protagonists so the artists can send me character designs based on them. Then, I write a script that details, page by page, the flow of the story, the character interactions, the sexual choreography, etc. I only write down what needs to be on the page and don't spend a lot of time with incidental details. Since my gay erotic comics lack captions and dialogue, I write stories that work visually.

Then the rest of it is editorial work. The artists send me character designs and I give them feedback and/or corrections if needed. Then they send me layouts of the pages to see if the storytelling, body language and the design of the page is clear. Then I see either pages in process of pencils and/or inks to give more specific notes on the expressiveness and anatomy of the rendered illustration. Most changes I ask for are minor as I work with very talented illustrators who really get what a comic is and does and also know how to show hypermasculine carnality with inner sweetness through sequential art.

[Brynneth N Colvin]

Ooh, that sounds rather fun. Are there any links? I can think of a few people who might well be really into that as a possibilitiy. (When I'm not doing comics, I write erotica).

[Dale Lazarov]

NSFW Flickr page here :) -- http://www.flickr.com/photos/34851443@N06/sets/