Without Fear

“Keep asking questions until the pattern becomes clear.”

–PAX AMERICANA, Frank Quitely + Grant Morrison

This is how you break story. I constantly scribble questions to myself in my notebooks to help me work out character motivations, structural problems, and overall ideas of what should happen next in a story – or what has to happen before to allow that next thing to happen.

Don’t just imagine what can happen, ask yourself why something should happen. Ask what someone would feel in a situation. This will bring truth to the page. At certain points, ask yourself ‘Why?’ five times and see where you answers lead you. It’s fun.
Also, PAX AMERICANA is pretty damn amazing. Process and craft lessons all night long as you reread the goodness.
Have a great weekend of creating on the page, in your mind, and whatever you want. I’m off to break this story down for the eyes of an editor. Like preparing some zany sushi meal for a shark, I feel I gotta lay it out perfect, make it all pretty, but all they want is something that makes them voraciously want to gorge.

I hope we meet in the middle.