If you remember my last post on Wattpad Block Party, it's about comics.

I posted my own comic that I made myself in webtoon.

So it's only fitting that this year, my post is going to be about MAKING COMICS.

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1: WHY COMIC?

Comic, especially webcomic, is very ubiquitous nowadays! If you're a writer and you're trying to make fast money, you should be on the lookout on every opportunity that you can get. In my case, I had to find a job that I can do remotely before I got married. My husband is taking me to his hometown and I'm sure his family won't let me work under some company like I did before (don't be alarmed! It's just the standard practice in East Asia, especially with wealthier family. My husband comes from a well-off family who run their own business.)

One of the option is obviously selling your books, but amazon sometimes sucks ball and you have to be careful about the indie publishers who are offering to publish your book but doesn't help you with the marketing.

Another option is turning your work into games, but from my experience, it can be tough to get some creative freedom on it.

So, I turn to comics. I've actually been writing comic for the last one and a half year. It's been an up and down journey, especially since it's a totally new area for me. But now, having finished two titles and starting my third and fourth one, I'm getting more confident in my ability to adapt comics from novels.

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Anyway, here's a bit of my first comic to refresh your memory:

It's the comic version of my book, The Quirky Tale of April Hale. Over the last few months, it's grown quite a lot, having more than 400.000 reads with only 12 chapters. But that's not only thing that grew...

After I published The Quirky Tale of April Hale, I started to really work as a comic writer.

Another one that I published is in Tapas, called The God of Pain's Groom

It's the comic from my LGBT/Fantasy novel in Tapas (you can find it in the premium section, under the BL -boys love- category). This time, I don't draw the comic myself and I worked together with an illustrator to make it, but the story still comes from me.

And let me tell you one secret:

Just because you've written a complete book, doesn't mean that your work for the comic is done.

Adapting a book into comic, or any other medium is hard. That's because in books, you can have a person's train of thoughts narrating your story. For example, here's an excerpt in The God of Pain's Groom chapter three:

(WARNING: BOYS KISSING AHEAD)

'Khaol's warm hand still rests on the curve of my neck, his fingers trailing my jaw. And then, all of a sudden, he forms a grip under my chin and tips my head up.

When I meet his golden eyes, I draw a sharp breath.

Khaol, you flawless fuck.

His eyes bore torment that look so endless it captivates me. How can somebody contain so much pain? He stares at me, his fingers still clamp around my chin, and then, his mouth parts a bit.

"I do."

Before I can even reach, he pushes down and kiss me full on the mouth.'

Here's how it transforms into comics:

(By the way, can we take a moment just to admire how talented the illustrator is?)

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2: THE PROCESS AND THE MINDSET—

It's the same, but it's also different. I have to discount most of the narrator's thoughts and substitute it to be body language.

Now, the first thing you have to do to make your own comic (and not really suck at it), is to GET TO KNOW YOUR CHARACTERS.

I know that when you write, most of the time you think about what your characters must be thinking.

But when you're writing a script for the comic (in my case, I write BOTH THE SCRIPT AND THEN DRAW A STORYBOARD), think in pictures. Like movie scenes. Don't just write the thoughts; describe how they act. All the time. You can have the most artful narration, but people search for comics when they want to see actions being played out.

Don't be afraid to have multiple panels to describe one motion!

The previous kiss scene is thematic, and that's why I don't mind spending more than five panels just BEFORE the kiss, to create more tension and heighten anticipation.

ALSO BE FLEXIBLE, especially if you're working with other people.

Of course, as a writer, you care and love your babies a lot. Especially if you relate so hard to your characters. But when you're turning into another medium, you have to share the custody of your babies. Your illustrators also need to connect with the characters, and one of the best ways to do it is to let them put some modifications on the characters.

Yes, it can be painful to hear, but bear with me about this. If your work is ever being turned into movies/series, you will also experience the same thing. No characters will be 100% the same as they are in the original novel. There are a lot of different type of artists and they all have their own way to depict the story.

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Pictured above: another comic that I made in Indonesian comic publisher, Love has Fangs

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3 - PROCESS AND OPPORTUNITIES

First of all, be prepared to learn new things, such as writing a script or drawing a storyboard. My storyboard looks like shit, too, but at least I describe every details in the panels and also communicate with the illustrator a lot to let her know what I'm trying to achieve with my poor drawings.

You can always look for illustrators everywhere! A lot of comic illustrators lurk in TWITTER or webtoon discover. You might not believe this, but a lot of crazy good illustrators are also looking for crazy good story writers! If you find someone who has great images but feel like they need more help in the story area, you can try to strike up a conversation with them.

I don't know about now, but before, webtoon used to have this pattern pledge, where they will give you up to $1000 per month for every 2 chapters that you publish (Which is why I started making comic at the first place). If you have lots of follower, making your own individual pattern is also a viable way to make money with comics. I usually divide the payment 40-60 with my illustrator. I get the 40%.

Tapas is also a great place to put your comics! If you have a great novel there, you can also ask them if they think it's good enough for a comic adaptation. They will help you with the process of looking for illustrators and connecting you with them.

More often than not, you need to guide your illustrators. Give them LOTS OF REFERENCES. Give them pictures that inspire you, so that both of you are in the same wavelength. When you don't know how to draw the pictures on your storyboard, just look for photographs or other drawings, and then paste them into your storyboard. It's not copying, since it's only the process: you're only trying to convey what you can't draw.

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4 BONUS

Maid for hire is getting adapted into a comic, too!

Check this out —

Since it's going to be published in Indonesia, there will be LOTS of changes. The pacing, the story, the characters, the DIALOGUE have changed a lot. Maybe over 70% of it. I even change the name of the main character from Alex to Alec. The bare backbone of the story is essentially the same, but I try to make it more accessible to my readers in Indonesia.

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Here's the famous 'Alec's Ass' scene:

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"I'm going to take shower," he announced.

I sighed in relief. "Okay."

He was strangely quiet after that. But I could feel some the voices of his movement. The voices of something... fishy. The voices of clothes... being taken off.

And that was when I realized it.

"Put this on the laundry for me, will you?" he said.

Color rushed to my face, and my breathing became frantic once again. I never considered myself a prude, and I knew I didn't blush easily. But Alec knew where to push my buttons.

He stripped in the same freaking room with me.

(don't look, don't look, don't look)

He freaking stripped.

He really did.

I knew that there was a bathroom attached to his bedroom (seemed that the Rich felt that it was pivotal to have a bathroom exclusive to themshelves), and by law, he had every right to strip down in his own room.

(don't look, don't look, don't look)

But did he really need to do that?

I heard his feet already taking steps, and once again, I shuddered. I had never been in the same room with a naked boy before. Hell, even I never walked around naked in my room before! Thankfully, I heard the sound of the bathroom door glide.

(don't look, don't look, don't-)

Freaking hell, I turned around just before the bathroom door glided close.

Holy mother of.... ass.

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Comic form:

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