Chapter 1 Page 3
Graphic Novel Dialog
By Peter
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about graphic novel dialog. I write the script for Coiled, and then Amanda follows it, but not to the letter. If you look at the first page of chapter 1, you’ll see Joshua walking down the stairs, thinking “Stupid breaker…” My script actually said, “It’s that stupid breaker again.” Amanda shortened it, and I was rather stunned to realize where I had written five words, only two words were completely sufficient to communicate everything.
The more words you have in a graphic novel, the less space you have for art. Too many words break up the flow and strain the eyes. To do it right, I need to find the smallest number of words to bring out what my characters need to say and think. The trick will be to make the those short phrases and sentences sound natural.