KMC Writer's Tournament

Attention all would be comic book writers!

A lot of you on KMC think you can write better stories than some of the stuff that is being churned out by either Marvel or DC - I mean, I know you can do better than AvX - so what if we had a contest/tournament to prove it?

The goal is for participants to effectively craft a six issue arc of a comic book character/team. Each month will result in a new issue/chapter to be judged. At the end of the sixth month we will have an “Awards Ceremony” in which the judges of the tournament will determine winners for specific categories.

This thread is to determine interest in the idea and to go over the rules as I currently have them. If you are interested in being a participant or a judge, please say so in the comments. Also, look at rule number 6 and vote accordingly

Just so everyone is aware, this idea was originally JakeTheBanks. He shared the idea with me as a co-organizer and we had planned to open this up to the public in December. He's since disappeared but I still wanted see if this would be something KMC was interested in doing.

Rules will be in the next post.

RULES OF THE COMPETITION

1. The goal of the competition is to complete a six "issue" arc of a comic book character/team in six months. Each month would result in a new issue and by the end of the sixth month we will have a series of judging and peer review. Each issue would be due per an agreed upon deadline, but as shit happens irl, if extensions are needed, we can always make exceptions on a case by case basis.

2. Similar to our tournament drafts, participants pick their character/teams. They then give out their general pitch/proposal of what would be involved in their story arc. You do not have to be extremely specific, just give us a general story line (without ruining the ending!) and what we might expect in terms of tone and genre (horror, action, mystery, adventure).

For examples of what constitutes a pitch/proposal you can look at Mark Waid's examples. These are more specific, but will help you understand the general concept.

[list][*]On the pitch:
http://markwaid.com/writing101/the-thursday-lecture-the-pitch/

[*]And on the proposal:
http://markwaid.com/writing101/the-thursday-lecture-the-proposal-part-one/

http://markwaid.com/writing101/the-thursday-lecture-the-proposal-part-two/[/list]

3. We are open to multiple people having the same central characters, but we do not want every story to be a Batman or Wolverine story. Try to be as diverse and creative as possible.

4. All entries must be based off of existing canon characters/events/elements from established Marvel/DC/Indie stories (including alternate realities). You may create original characters that interact in the story, but they cannot be the main character of the story.

5. Up to two writers can pair up to create their story.

6. Most comics are a between 16-26 pages. I know that can be tough on some people to do month to month. I'd like to have a vote on what participants want most; to either write

[list][*]16-26 pages (full-length issue) or
[*]6-10 pages (as if you are writing a backup issue).[/list]

7. Writing style - must be in film/tv screenwriting style. Comics require panels for artists to convey visuals. Without artists in the tournament, I think it would be simpler to use the script writing style which is very similar. Prose is also out because no comic book writer gets the luxury of having that much detail in their books.

If you do not know how to write a script, here is a simple script that teaches how to write (within a short story setting - if anyone wants a real script based on a popular movie, PM me). No one will be judging you based on having the perfect styling or margins. Just try to get it as similar as you can.

[list][*]How to write a Script:
http://www.oscars.org/awards/nicholl/scriptsample.pdf[/list]

8. Judging will be out of 80 points per issue (10 per section) meaning that a total of 480 points are possible. Judging will be based on the following criteria:

[list][*]Premise/Concept: The idea behind the story, what the arc is about.

[*]Presentation: Spelling, punctuation, grammar, and usage.

[*]Plot: The actions, events, conflicts, and turning points that propel the story forward. How the story unfolds (points for originality/unpredictability)

[*]Pacing: You have 6 issues, make them count. The timing of the action, the unfolding of plot elements, and character development.

[*]Characters: Personalities that are distinctive, compelling, multi-layered, and unpredictable. A protagonist (and antagonist) with clear and active goals.

[*]Dialogue: Voices that are natural, succinct, and unique to each character. Use of language that effectively reveals character and moves the story forward

[*]Theme: The underlying message of the story as revealed through plot and dialogue (ie: There’s no place like home - Wizard of Oz, Love is the Ultimate Magic - Harry Potter, etc)

[*]Style/Tone: Overall quality of the writing. Narrative that is distinct and effectively conveys the mood or feel of the comic.
[/list]

9. All writing will be available to the general public. You agree to be subject to the praise, glory, and honor that comes from that.

10. You agree to conduct at least 2 interviews - with a judge or myself - sometime during the tournament (one towards the beginning and one towards the end)

11. The Awards Ceremony will give awards for:

[list]
[*]Fan Favorite - based on a poll that will be held at the end of the tournament
[*]Most original story
[*]Best Dialogue
[*]Best Plot
[*]Best Theme
[*]Best Characters and Character Development
[*]TOP PRIZE: Best Overall Comic Series[/list]

I'm up for writing, and I'm going to vote for 6-10 pages to make it fair to everyone.

This sounds incredibly interesting. I'll tentatively throw my hat into the ring to write, but only if it is the 6-10 page option.

huh, what a day to lurk the vs forum...

That's four people who have voted for the 6-10 page option (two being judges I recruited earlier). Unless people start objecting - which I doubt they will - I think that will be the page range. For comparison, Geoff Johns SHAZAM back ups were around 8-10 pages each.

For participants we currently have:
PR
Oliver North

For judges I have:
Galan
Newjak
Badabing

I'd love to have between 4-7 writer's involved. If you can think of anyone who might want to participate, PM them about this.

it might be the early Friday night drinking talking, but big ups Blair, this is a really cool idea

That does raise an interesting question. It'll be hard to do a sprawling arc with only 6-10 pages, so maybe I'll rethink the stories I had in mind...

60 pages isn't much, I agree, especially if you want to tell a story with pictures :/

I just wouldn't have the time to put into 20 pages 🙁

We could always make the range 8-15 pages. Middle ground for those who want shorter stories and those wanting just a little bit more room to write.

8-15 could work too.

I'm fairly sure I could hit 8 in a month (2 per week) at a minimum...

just to clarify... I'm a terrible artist, but what if I think a visual is the best way to convey a point? I mean, art is as much a part of comics as is the story, and I'm the first person (seriously, look it up) who will complain about splash pages, but what if the point I want to prove is visual more than verbal? it seems like the set up is biased toward dialogue? (really just curious, not a critique at all)

The best thing that I've found is to just use the prose sections. Comics are a visual medium, and while the dialogue has to be good, so does the image you're trying to convey.

If you want to get a picture in to people's heads, just be as vivid as you can be.

ms paint

😂

🙂 I'm totally cool with MS paint, I guess I just mean, if I want to waste a page trying to describe something visually (especially given my lack of cpu artistic talent), can I do that, or am I stuck with describing based on movie-esque script style?

i used it in...2-3 tournaments, and maybe 5 matches

If you really want to use a visual, go for it. I just thought it would be infinitely easier to do a writing competition without visuals - and you can be quite compelling even in just a script format.

This was also to prove that you could do the job of a comic book writer to the rest of KMC. I wouldn't be opposed to having images be a side thing - as in you write the issue you want (8-15 pages) and then have images to go with it showing how it would look in an actual comic (ie: this would be the image[s] for page 7).

No one should feel forced to do that if they don't want to, but I do understand your concern O.N. Like I said, do it if you want, but the judges won't give you any extra points for doing so - just make sure it helps your story in some way.

this sounds interesting. i'd consider writing something but tbh the format is not one i like at all. the script format works well for movies and live stuff because it can be translated later to INCLUDE the visual component. in this case, i think the script format would greatly limit the ability to convey what will REMAIN a purely literary creation. a standard, novel style would allow a great deal more freedom, and likely be a lot easier to judge and read. as well, it would have the benefit of being able to convey more information in a shorter amount of time. a 30 pg comic could likely be written in a novel format in....for SURE less than 10 pages. the script format, to me, seems to be simply a contest of who can write better dialogue. if a novel style is available, i'd be in, otherwise i'll pass. cool idea, regardless.

A novel format would make the entire concept of proving you can write a better comic like script than current comic book writers completely null and void. These guys don't have the advantage of writing in a novel style and having all the benefits that come from that. Yes, they can supplement that with images, but that's something we can't accomplish in this scenario unless we have some artists who want to take on the challenge with the writers.

Also, I have to disagree with the concept that scripts only become a dialogue contest - I've read a ton of scripts that draw me in because of who writes them, with the dialogue not even being part of it. You are making the assumption that you can't put your own voice into the writing or that they are somehow unappealing and bland. Good writing is good writing.

If anyone wants to see a movie script, just PM me. I have a decent amount.

cool. i disagree with you though but not for the reasons you may think. novels aren't written in script form BECAUSE they remain purely literary. like these stories will. scripts are written with the INTENT of having a visual component--and most comics (once one has become a pro or semi-pro) are written in CONJUNCTION with an artist who helps with the visual ideas. since these stories will not have either an artist to help formulate the visuals, or any hope of becoming real comics or movies, the script is very limiting in the sense that the author can't create visuals in a traditional sense. i've read (and even helped edit) a few scripts as well, and can say with all honesty that while some have been good, a good script can't equal a good book, imho. why? because a script is an unrealized creation. once the script becomes what it is SUPPOSED to be (a movie/play) well, that's a different story altogether. and if good writing is indeed good writing, then the format shouldn't really matter.

anywho, good luck with the idea. 👆