Beginning a Graphic Memoir

On our drive to Austin and back, I found myself jotting down ideas for a graphic memoir. My list is over three pages long. And I’m sure more scenes will come to me as I begin to work.

I want to jump into the drawings. I really, really want to experiment with some computer drawing. To do this, I’ll be borrowing a Dell 2-in-1 laptop. I want to borrow it now. I want to jump into the drawings.

But I have to admit that I have a tendency to jump into something and then realize I’m just not ready to write. I need to noodle it over. I need to get to know my characters. I need a plan.

This time around, I know my characters. Hello, me! But I’m also fortunate that I took a graphic novel writing class with Melanie Faith. One of our textbooks was The Art of the Graphic Memoir by Tom Hart. The rough steps that Hart recommends are these:

1. Make a list of events. Hart specified that you should list more events or scenes than you think you will need. Honestly, I don’t know how many I will need. But I’m lucky. Although the number of items I add to the list per day has slowed, I’m still making additions. My list is three full pages long.

2. Expand on the various items in your list. Look at each one as a scene and brainstorm all that you can remember about that scene. Fill in sensory perceptions. Add in who said and did what. Get as specific as you can.

3. Draw. (I want to jump to this step). And even when you begin drawing, you shouldn’t start with final art. You should block things in with rough sketches. Once you know how you will illustrate each scene, you can decide which scene you want to include. Then you start refining them.

I

want

to

draw.

I want to play with that laptop. It should surprise no one that I have a Friday deadline. So I’m in the brutal rewrite phase. Each chapter has about 650 words but is limited to 500. I’m not having much trouble with the reading level but working in the explanations my readers need while also cutting words is tough. I’m revising two chapters a day.

But what I want to do is draw.

–SueBE