Home: Writing for Comic Books: Chapter Four - The Page Breakdown: Observing People

Chapter Four
The Page Breakdown
(cont'd)

THE PBD

The page breakdown, or PBD, is just what it sounds like: the outline of the story broken down page by page. Some editors will want to see a PBD before they let you go to script. This is particularly true if you are working on a custom comic or a licensed property (in both cases, the publisher doesn't own the property, so representatives of the licensor must approve each step along the way. By approving the PBD, then it is less likely that significant plot changes will have to be made in the actual script, saving the writer and editor from more work).

When writing a PBD, all that is necessary is one, two, or three sentences that explain the key action/events/story developments on the page. It truly is an outline, and you may find you have to make changes when you are writing the actual script--some scenes may require more or less space than you originally thought. That's perfectly acceptable--most editors won't sweat the small stuff as long as your changes don't change the story itself.

In the days before word processors, I used to use 3" x 5" index cards to work out my plot outline. Each card represented one page of my story. I could lay them out on a table and get a sense for the actual shape of the story. By stepping back and taking a long view (never lose sight of your main story by focusing too much on the details), I could often tell if anything was missing or if the story rhythm was off. Were there any scenes that were too long? Did I leave out any important details? I would move things around if necessary to improve the pacing, cut scenes, add scenes--whatever was necessary to make the story work. You can certainly cut and paste with a word processor, but there's nothing better than being able to step back and look at the big picture, especially when you are just starting out. Even today I may do my initial PBD on notebook paper with boxes representing each page so that I can get a better overview of my pacing.

(A side note to aspiring pencilers who may be reading this material--the same advice holds true. Don't judge your storytelling a single page at a time. To get the full impact, lay as may as you can side by side so that you can get a sense of the flow of your artwork. Even in my professional work, I can tell when an artist has looked at his previous pages to make sure that everything comes together the way it should. If you are working at a fever pitch and have to send pages in to the office as quickly as you finish them, then keep photocopies by your drawing table so that you can always look at the work you did previously.)

HOW LONG SHOULD ANY GIVEN SCENE BE?

This is a vexing question, especially for beginners. The bottom line answer to this question is "as long as it needs to be." The trick is developing a sense for how much space any given scene needs to be. Developing an instinct for the length of scenes will come with time and practice.

There are a couple tricks I try to keep in mind when writing for comic books that you may find useful when addressing this question. I generally don't like to change locations more than once on a page (unless I'm creating a montage sequence in order to compress time. Another exception is when showing characters in transit from one location to another. Then the readers assume the movement as the characters pass through multiple settings). Frequent changes of location can become disorienting to the readers as they try to keep track of where the action is happening. Therefore, for the sake of pacing, I try to keep to single location on each page--which means each scene I write tends to be at least one page in duration.

This is less true when I am dealing with stories that are 12 pages or less in length, although the shorter the story, the fewer locations I use in the first place.

Every scene has its own set up and pay off, which usually translates to at least two panels. The bigger the payoff, the more panels of set up it may require and the more panels to deliver the payoff.

The more characters that have to be introduced in a scene, the longer the scene will have to be. The more detailed plot information to be conveyed, the longer the scene will have to be. Content and intent dictate length.

GENERAL PACING

Remember in chapter two the basic story structure I laid out:

Beginning 25% or less of the total length of the story

Middle 65% or more of the total length of the story, depending on beginning and end

End 10% or less of the total length of the story

You can use these basic proportions as you approach your plotting. In your standard 22 page comic book story, this means approximately 5 pages for beginning--the basic introduction of time, place, key characters, and introducing the first complication; 15 pages for rising action to the climax; and 1 or 2 pages for denouement/resolution/wrap up. The basic proportions are sound for stories of 1 to 32 pages. If the story extends beyond 32, then lower the percentages for the beginning and end. It is rare that people will want to wait 12 pages out of 48 for the story to begin or to take 6 pages out of 64 to watch action wind down (unless the repercussions are THAT interesting).

As a general rule of thumb, even in stories that are longer than 32 pages (in a single volume), I try not to spend more than 5 to seven pages to get the story rolling. I try not to use more than 4 pages for denouement.

In thinking out your story, remember that every scene of your main plot should help build to the final climax, and the climax should be the single most dramatic element of your story. (In a serial, your sublpots may not be resolved for many installments. As long as you resolve something in every installment or moved the plot forward significantly, your readers won't feel cheated.) You should try to have a variety of scenes in terms of length and location. Again, try to avoid falling into a cadence. Mix up the length of your scenes--some can be one, two, three, or more pages, followed by one of a different length. Short, staccato scenes can be used to build tension, then break that tension with a longer scene that will give your readers a chance to breath and absorb what they've just learned.

I try to pace my stories so that there is a significant development on every page. Something should be learned by the readers or the characters on every page, or the status quo should change in some way. This gives your story a sense of forward momentum. You want to avoid pages or scenes where the audience learns nothing as they will feel that their time (and, worse yet, their money) has been wasted.

However, this does not mean that every page has to be at a fever pitch. A small character revelation can be just as important (if not more) than a big, dramatic explosion (physical or emotional). It is wise to have a mix of both in order to give the audience that "roller coaster" feel. Every story is built on peaks and valleys--the minor climaxes and resolutions that build to the climax.