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chadpratch
08-21-2006, 07:57 PM
Hi Again

I don’t know if you remember me but I was the annoying Canadian asking you all these questions about your influences and motivations on writing and what an inspiring writer can do to help work on some developing skills. I took your advise and read some of your writing reference books. I just finished “Story” By Robert Mckee and Denny O Neil’s “The DC Guide to Writing Comics. After reading O’Neil’s stuff you really get a sense of how comics are done. “The Hook”“The McGuffin”Probably one of his best points“There is no one absolute, inarguable unimpeachably right way to do anything.” Robert Mckee had some very interesting incites on writing as well. I have to say some times Mr. Mckee would really confuse me with how he explained things but after reading it over again man does he really make allot of sense. “Limitation is a vital stimulus to creativity.” I still haven’t bought any Alan Moore yet. But so fare I have allot of story ideas written down and slowly but Shirley I’ll be plugin them through. Whether or not my stuff ever get published I really don’t care for now. It’s just been fun for me with the writing process.
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One thing that really intrigues me about your writing is the way you handle death. Allot of writers if handed the task of killing off a character will do just that kill off a character. For example I have been reading the Annihilation series (due in part by more interest in the character of Thanos)
and Giffen just killed Morg a former Herald of Galactus. I’m fine with the killing of the character but I’m not fine with the way he killed him. It was like a three sentence blink in a 1inch by 1inch panel. You are the first writer I have seen which will dedicate a whole comic to a supporting characters passing.

I do have a couple questions for you:
How do you go about creating names for characters?
Also do you write character sketches for you comics?


I just would like to say Thanks for the references Tony. Hope to read more of your stuff.

Tony Bedard
08-22-2006, 01:17 PM
O'Neil's stuff is probably better when you're first starting out -- nailing down that 3-act structure. He cribbed it from Sid Field (his "Screenplay" is also required reading).

But McKee is the gift that keeps on giving. The more you write, the more you'll get out of Story. In fact, I ordered it on CD so I can listen to it whenever I drive anywhere.

I don't usually do character sketches, but I probably ought to.

As for names, I sometimes use people I knew in high school, I sometimes use names of people I knew back in Puerto Rico (especially for space aliens), and sometimes I do the Dickensian thing where a name has some meaning imbedded into it. Cassie Starkweather, from ROUTE 666, was named Cassandra after the ancient Greek fortune teller and Starkweather after Charles Starkweather, the 1950s spree killer.