#41: The Danger of the New Idea
This past year, I've been corresponding with writer Justin Martin, advising him as he gets his first project, LightWeightz off the ground. In a recent exchange, Justin asked me the following:
I have an idea for another comic book series that I'm really excited about. I'm just trying to figure out if I should begin moving on that idea now while Lightweightz is still getting off the ground, or if I should put the new idea on the backburner for a while until LightWeightz is more further developed. I'm leaning towards the former, but I'm not 100% sure yet. Any thoughts on working on multiple projects at once?
Given my current project load, which includes writing and drawing my own webcomic, collaborating on a few others, this column, and several other comic projects in various stages of development, not to mention a number of projects as a full-time game designer, I suppose I'm a good person to ask for advice on this subject. Given all the projects I'm trying to juggle, my advice might surprise you.
It's not shocking to hear that Justin is coming up with ideas for new comics as he works on LightWeightz. Creativity begets more creativity, and very rarely do new ideas constrain themselves to the project at hand. While new ideas are incredible, they can also be dangerous. Often in the midst of working on a project, you'll get a flash of brilliance for something else to work on. And suddenly the new idea becomes more appealing than the current comic you're working on. And for good reason...new ideas have all the promise and none of the frustrations/challenges associated with the EXECUTION of the current idea you're working on.
But don't kid yourself. They will eventually. They all do.
In the book, Making Ideas Happen (strongly recommended) Scott Belsky writes, "New ideas offer a quick return to the high energy and excitement zone, but they also cause us to lose focus. As the new star rises, our execution efforts for the original idea start to fall off. The end result? A plateau filled with the skeletons of abandoned ideas."
It's not what you start that counts...it's what you finish. Every creator needs to find out his or her projects threshold. My advice to new creators like Justin is to strongly avoid the temptation of new ideas if they will in any way slow down your progress on getting that first book finished.
I don't love the term "aspiring" that gets tossed onto professions. "Aspiring" writer, "aspiring" artist, etc. In my book, as long as you're actually doing the work of that profession, you're not an aspiring anything. I don't consider any of the indy guys I meet at conventions "aspiring" creators...they're doing it! Once you've finished that first comic and get it out into the world, the "aspiring" label doesn't fit. To shed the "aspiring" label and become a real deal comic creator, however, you need to actually make that comic. And that requires relentlessly executing your ideas from beginning to end...even if there's something else you're tempted to work on.
I've been talking to a number of new writers lately who are putting in a ton of work on their comic scripts. They are three or four issues into their scripts, without a single page drawn. Personally, I think the approach of scripting out full issues is overly ambitious for new writers. The hard truth is that most writer's first comics aren't going to be very good. No matter how long you take on the script or how much prep work you do, the first few books are gonna have problems. (Lot's of them.) So get ';em done, get ';em shipped, and get on to the next one. The only way you get better at this is by doing it.
I'm a big fan of the comic short. Even if you have an idea for a massive ongoing series, start small. Write a short 5 page prologue or teaser, and get it made. Pick one or two characters and just do a small glimpse into the world you hope to create. Use it as a zero issue or a preview story.
As comics fans, we tend to think in terms of the issue, which is essentially just a publishing format. But very few first time comics writers produce comics that are anything close to publishable. I suggest creators get shorter pieces done BEFORE worrying about things like issues. Use these shorts to practice comic storytelling and practice working with artists. Use them to get feedback. Find out what works with them and what doesn't. Think of the short as something akin to the demo tape in music- something to share, get feedback on, and build momentum for a project BEFORE you release the album.
Only you know the number of projects you can manage effectively. Until you've got a book out with your name on it, I'd err on the side of less. But one thing I would suggest is that every creator maintain a backburner. Have someplace where you store those great new ideas when they come to you. Capture those ideas, get them out of your head and into a place where you know you can return later when it's their turn to get your attention.
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Tyler James is a comics creator residing in Newburyport, Massachusetts. He writes and draws Over , a romantic comedy online graphic novel updating every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He also writes Tears of the Dragon , an epic fantasy webcomic, and EPIC , a new superteen comic debuting at the Baltimore Comic Con. His work has been featured at Zuda Comics, and includes Interrogation Control Element , a political action thriller, and Super Seed , the story of the world's first super powered fertility clinic. When not making comics, Tyler works as a game designer and content producer for a software company.
Contact Tyler directly at tylerjamescomics@gmail.com, keep up with him at his blog , or follow him on Twitter .
Attention Readers: If you enjoy this column, you might be interested in checking out The ComixStreet Recap . It's a new series I've begun where I share and comment on interesting topics, resources, and events relevant to comic creators. The column is bi-weekly, and posts on Thursdays.
Previous Columns
1: Big Goals
2: Resolutions
3: The Great Idea
4: Research Part I
5: Research Part II
6: The Killer Pitch Part I - The High Concept
7: The Killer Pitch Part II - The Synopsis
8: Pay Your Artists
9: Zuda Comics- A Tale of Five Submissions
10: Creating Great Characters Part I (Or Why Wolverine is Everywhere)
11: Creating Great Characters Part II (Or Why Wolverine is Everywhere)
12: Structurally Sound- The Beginning
13: Your Reputation
14: Structurally Sound- The Middle
15: Structurally Sound - The End
16: Your First Con
17: Beat It
18: Memorable Scenes
19: Mailbag
20: Comics Dialogue - Part I
21: Comics Dialogue - Part II
22: Baltimore Comic Con - Part I
23: Baltimore Comic Con - Part II
24: Is It Worth It?
25: The Re-Write Part I
26: The Re-Write Part II
27: The Re-Write Part III
28: Taking Initiative
29: Setting the Table for a New Year of Creating Comics
30: Ready to Script
31: An Artist Ready Script
32: Going All In
33: The Dip and Being the Best in the World
34: Patience Pep Talk
35: Tools You Should Be Using: Viddler
36: Zuda Says No More Competitions
37: Business Mailbag
38: 30 Characters Challenge Post-Script
#39: Google Wave - 5 Uses for Comic Creators
#40: What May Be Holding You Back, and What Definitely Isn't
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