FIRST: You need an idea. Preferably a good one. An idea for a story, without the rest of the story attached to it, is called a spring-board. A springboard can usually be summed up in a couple of sentences, and usually contains the theme of your story (your stories should have themes, y'know). A typical springboard:

"Hey Jim, what say we have Firelord go on a rampage across the city, with Spidey desperately holding on for dear life while he desperately searches for someone like the Avengers or the FF to fight the guy for him. This way we can do a responsibility thing, in which Spidey is forced to accept the fact that even though he's grossly under-matched he is the only hope the city's got. Y'know, great power-great responsibility. That sorta thing."

You get a springboard to me either by poking your head in the door (if you've got access to the place), or by calling me up, or by writing it down and sending it in. If you talk it to me, it shouldn't take more than 72.6 seconds to tell me. If you write it down, no more than a paragraph. If you can't sum up your story within those limits, chances are you haven't got a great story. And we only print great stories.

THEN: If I don't like it, go back to square one. If I like it, I'll give you a go-ahead to flesh out the story. Write down your plot (see style guide) on a legal pad or something with JUST THE GENERAL STRUCTURE AND A FEW SPECIFICS. Then call me up and we'll talk. If I like your plot THEN and ONLY THEN type up the completed plot according to my style guide. If you drop off a complete, unsolicited plot for me to read I can promise you it will take me six months to a year to get to it. Honest, I'm reallll busy in here.

Three Questions Your average springboard session lasts about ten minutes. If you mail something in, it takes even less time for me to read your springboard. In either case, you already have one strike against you:

I'm less interested in your story than you are.

In order to make me interested, I suggest you skip the in-depth discussion of the sociological implications and/or political statement Potato Man's cyber-emphlatic nose hairs represent in today's changing economy, and instead concentrate your opening volley on answering these three questions:

(1) What is your story about? What change or changes in your main characters and/or their status quo are effected by your story? Let's say your story is about a man who kicks his son in the head.

(2) What is your story really about? What's the theme? What does your story say? Let's say the man is Captain America and his son is Bucky. Let's say the reason he kicks him is the Red Skull has implanted an explosive charge in Bucky's jockstrap, and only Cap's Jockstrap Disarming Steel Toed Boot (when placed behind Bucky's left ear) can save the boy's life. Then what your story is really about is loving someone enough to do what you have to do.

(3) What's the conflict? Your major character(s) should have a personal conflict. A choice between two or more predicaments of equal consequence. The rock and the hard place. The struggle between principles and ideals. If Cap kicks Bucky, Bucky gets brain damage. If Cap doesn't, Bucky gets dead. What will he do? What will he do?!?

It would be a good idea to be prepared to answer these three questions, each with a concise, single sentence . If you have trouble doing that, chances are you don't have a good grasp on your story. And, if you don't know what your story is, how can you tell me ?

After all, I'm not even interested...



WHY LARRY HAMA'S MY PAL: SEEING IS BELIEVING

Besides merely advancing your plot, each scene in your story should present some personal point of view or philosophy, while furthering the characterizations and— if possible— teaching us something we may not have known. You must also do this within a minimum amount of space.

Each scene wherein a character or characters appear for the first time should contain a "bit"; a sequence of actions designed to bring your characters onstage. By the end of your scene, we should know everything we need to know about these characters for them to function within the context of your plot or theme. Thought balloons or dialog wherein a character blathers on about himself usually doesn't cut it. It's much more effective to create a situation wherein your characters can all demonstrate their individual traits and points of view, while not necessarily distracting our attention from the plot.

The attached scene, from G.I. JOE #26, is a great example of doing it right. Writer/Artist Larry Hama establishes the situation, brings his characters individually onstage, injects humor, social commentary, philosophy, and his personal point of view on such issues as growing up in poverty, crime (check the headline on Snake Eyes' paper), and gun control, while telling us everything we need to know about an old man whose name we don't even know yet. And, all of this is done to further Snake Eyes' characterization. Snake Eyes, who does not talk and has no thought balloons ever-usually has his character developed and defined by those around him. This is a Snake Eyes scene. We are here to meet and learn about him and his point of view. We also know a lot more about a .45 automatic than we did three pages ago.

And Larry did all this in three pages. With only one caption. And no thought balloons. So please don't tell me it can't be done.

  Pencilling: May I Have This Dance...?