Here\u2019s another insanely useful thing when writing: a cast list.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve seen these before, right? Probably when reading Shakespeare. In Romeo and Juliet, the cast list includes entries like:<\/p>\n
Now, even if you\u2019ve never read Romeo and Juliet<\/em>, and never heard the story\u2014which means you\u2019ve apparently lived on a remote island all your life, but never mind that now\u2014you already have some idea how this is going to go. Two houses that hate each other, a young man from one house, a young woman from the other\u2014you can practically see the romantic tension brewing. The cast list sets up the key relationships, and then the play just allows them to develop narratively.<\/p>\n But that doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re going to want to have your cast list on the front page of your graphic novel. Not usually. A few books like the Justice League of America<\/em> or The Legion of Super-Heroes<\/em> can get away with that, but that\u2019s because both of those are team books and so they want the reader to know which members of the team are actually involved in each issue.<\/p>\n But normally the cast list isn\u2019t for your readers. It\u2019s for you<\/em>.<\/p>\n Why? Three reasons. First, it keeps you from forgetting who a character \nOh, right.<\/p>\n \nThe second reason to use a cast list is because it helps you plan. You \nThe third use is for your artist. A few years back I was working on a \nSo you can see why you should have a cast list. It\u2019s a simple enough \nAnd here\u2019s the most important part\u2014remember to update it. If it\u2019s \nTrust me, you’ll be glad you did.<\/p>\n Remember: you can follow all the NaGraNoWriMo posts here<\/a>!<\/em><\/p>\n Jump to comments (1) <\/a><\/p>\n
\nis. If you\u2019ve only got two or three characters in your story, that\u2019s not
\n going to be a problem. But if you\u2019ve got a large cast, it can get tough
\n to keep everyone straight. Was it Joe who was the plumber who witnessed
\n that shooting, or was that Al? Or was Al the banker who first noticed
\nthe discrepancies in the dead man\u2019s account\u2014or was that Maria? Hang on,
\nmaybe Maria was the waitress who had served the killer coffee and
\nnoticed his gun\u2014but no, I could have sworn that was Denise. Darn! If
\nonly I had a cast list, so I could keep it all clear!<\/p>\n
\ncan see at a glance that Romeo and Juliet are going to encounter each
\nother, and that Mercutio and Benvolio\u2019s friendship with Romeo will be
\nimportant\u2014but there\u2019s also a difference between his two friends because
\none is his cousin but the other is instead related to the prince. Hm. By
\n jotting down a little about the character on the cast list, you can
\nstart to see where each person will intersect with others, and that can
\nhelp you develop your plot.<\/p>\n
\ncomic book called the Fire of Youth. I had an artist already lined up,
\nand we\u2019d discussed the premise. Then I wrote up a cast list and sent it
\nto him. But in addition to a character\u2019s name and occupation or
\nactivity, I included a brief physical description. My artist used those
\nto create character sketches for each cast member. He sent them to me,
\nwe discussed them, he refined a few, and now he had character templates.
\n He referred to those when drawing the characters, so that each of them
\nremained consistent. It was amazingly helpful for both of us.<\/p>\n
\nthing to do. Sit down and make a list of everyone in your comic. Include
\n their full name, even if that name hasn\u2019t been mentioned yet\u2014don\u2019t
\nworry about that so much with incidental figures like the night watchman
\n we only see in passing and never hear speak, but definitely list names
\nfor anyone significant. Then write down what they do, and how they\u2019re
\nconnected to others: one person\u2019s wife, another\u2019s daughter, another\u2019s
\nboss, etc. Then include a brief description: tall, short, slender, dark,
\n attractive, sleazy, and so on. The description doesn\u2019t have to be
\nstrictly physical, either\u2014\u201csleazy\u201d is more a feeling than a particular
\nappearance, but it\u2019ll give you the character\u2019s key personality trait
\nanyway, and gives your artist somewhere to start as well. You can
\norganize your cast list in order of appearance, in order of importance,
\nor alphabetically. Just so long as you have an order to it.<\/p>\n
\nrevealed that one character is another\u2019s illegitimate son, add that to
\nthe cast list (if you didn\u2019t have it there already). If one character
\ngets fired, alter his entry so that he\u2019s now someone else\u2019s former
\nemployee or former boss. You want the cast list completely up-to-date so
\n that you can refer back to it as a way of making sure your story is on
\ntrack as well.<\/p>\n