I’m supposed to be jumping on a Zoom imminently, so this will have to be a quick one, I’m afraid, but I’m endeavoring to get better at getting this newsletter out every Friday.
This week has been dedicated to scripting Star Wars: Revelations and revising the outline for PROJECT MARBLE.
Shouldn’t I also be working on the screenplay for the PROJECT ENCORE adaptation? Why, yes I should. What I shouldn’t be doing is publishing a newsletter that lets my bosses track which of their projects I am or am not working on in any given week.
Just kidding.
None of them subscribe to this newsletter.
So, a quick story. The script for Star Wars: Revelations has been a ton of fun to work on. (I mean, it’s Star Wars.) But it’s also been incredibly challenging because of all the things it needs to do in 40 pages, namely tell one consistent story that flashes forward to events that won’t be published until 2023 and, in some cases, haven’t even been written or drawn yet
.And as I’ve been working, I’ve been nagged by the feeling that something is missing; something the story needs to tie everything together.
And then this morning, while on the rowing machine, it hit me. A total — shall we say — revelation.
This lightning strike of inspiration is incredibly exciting. It’s one of those things that all writers wait for and cherish in the rare moments they actually happen.
Nevertheless, I’d been writing with the intention of delivering the script today so the editors will have it for the weekend. And I got very, very close. Specifically, I dialogued all the pages in question and managed to fully script six out of eight. Fortunately, Marvel’s been kind enough to give me the weekend to finish and polish the script. (Thank you, Danny!)
Lemme back up and chat process for a second. I write comics the same way I do everything else: I have the story (mostly) worked out ahead of time and writing is a matter of playing the story in my head like a movie and writing down what I see. With comics specifically, however, I’ll sometimes — not always, but often — write out just the dialogue with a general sense of how that dialogue will break into panels, action, and “camera” angles. Then I’ll go back and add all that detail. It’s a weird process, admittedly, but it works for me provided that I’m doing that “break down detail” while “the story” is still playing in my head.
I’m tempted to apologize for the digression, but some folks have told me that they like the process parts of this newsletter. Blame them.
I semi-lied when I said that this week was dedicated to Revelations and PROJECT MARBLE. I mean, it has been, but I also snuck in enough work on PROJECT EVERGREEN to send the pitch off to my reps.
Today, I also attended one of our virtual crew meetings for PROJECT ARTERY. God, I wish I could talk about this one. We watched down the [REDACTED] first act and it’s the strongest [REDACTED] I’ve ever seen. The world building is off the charts. I can’t wait for folks to see it.
Well, I’ve got to be running along to that Zoom. See you next week.
Be good to each other.
Best,
Marc
Encino, CA
8.26.22
So many projects I’m looking forward to checking out when they’re completed and released!