May 23. So...I have again failed at updating my blog....I have a semi-valid excuse though!
You see, last month was April, as I'm sure you were aware, and April means Script Frenzy!
I mentioned before that I'm writing a graphic novel and that means I have to write my story like a script. I discovered that this has it's pros and cons (like anything does) but I'm okay with that. I didn't switch to graphic novel because I thought it would be easier to write. I knew I wouldn't be able to write everything I saw in my head that way I saw it without making major changes...and I, being the stubborn person that I am, didn't like that. I feel like my story is so exciting and cool (in my own opinion) that it shouldn't have to suffer being watered down just because I can't explain things correctly! A graphic novel was my best option.
I do like graphic novels a lot! There's a really cool one I would recommend. It's called Amulet by Kazu Kibuishi. Apparently it's for kids (I guess that means non-17-year-olds) but I don't care. It's fun and exciting!
I found out something interesting about the term "graphic novel". Apparently a lot of people think it's either a stupid name or an unneeded name for "comic books". They say that comic books and graphic novels are the same thing.
That isn't true at all.
If you're only referring to that fact that they both tell a story with pictures that's the only thing they have in common.
First, let's look at comic books. Most comic books really come from all of the newspaper comic strips or "the funnies" being compiled into large collections for people to read through. Some that you may know are Garfield, Family Circus, For Better Or For Worse, Baby Blues, etc etc.
These are comics. They tells small stories and jokes in a few panels but over all, in their comic book form, they don't tell a story with a constant plot from beginning to end. It's very rare (from what I've seen) that they will actually refer to something they did in a past strip. Comics and comic books are also much less realistic as they are usually based on cartoon like comedy so nothing serious is ever really serious. For example, if someone contracted malaria and was hospitalized this particular arc might go on for a few strips but, ultimately, it will be forgotten because after it's over it is never brought up and it doesn't affect anything that happens in their "future".
Now for the graphic novels. The definition of graphic is "Of or relating to visual art, esp. involving drawing, engraving, or lettering." (Googled this) and the definition of novel is "A fictitious prose narrative of book length, typically representing character and action with some degree of realism." (Googled this too).
Some graphic novels are Amulet (as I mentioned before), the Bone series (another I recommend), Maximum Ride (yes, I know it's also a book series but I really like the graphic novels!), and others. I also put most manga into this category.
Graphic novels are what their combined definitions say they are. They are fictitious prose narratives of book length, typically representing character and action with some degree of realism told with visual art involving, in this case, drawing and lettering. They are also more realistic because they are usually written to be like real life in some way. For example, somebody gets in a car crash and gets a severe injury that causes them to lose an eye. They won't ever get that eye back (unless magic or super-healing is part of the story) and the accident and the injury will have a lasting affect on the character and the story.
Summing it up a little: Comics and comic books have simpler plots (usually only involving a few panels and a punchline), little to no character development, and very little to no reference to anything that has happened previously thus making them less realistic because it seems nothing ever changes from "day" to "day" and anything "serious" has no affect on the plot whatsoever...also there isn't much of a plot to begin with. Graphic novels have complex plots and story arcs that you would expect to find in any novel, there is usually constant characters development, and almost always reference to past events making them more realistic because things are constantly changing in the story and serious things, large and small, have an affect on the plot.
Don't take any of this the wrong way. I'm not saying one is better than the other. I just want to state that there is a difference and it really does matter what you call each of them. When I hear comic book I think of Garfield and the others I listed above. When I hear graphic novel I think of Bone and the others I listed above as well.
I don't see what the big deal is actually...I mean, people call animated movies just that, "animated movies", not cartoons. The two are very different. You can actually apply most of what I said about comic books to cartoons, and graphic novels to animated movies.
Anyway, I tend to prefer graphic novels because I really like in-depth stories and graphic novels are great for that!
And there are some graphic novels and comic books that sort of blur the line between the two.
I think the most obvious would be most of the Marvel (and others like it) comics and graphic novels.
With Marvel (and others) the stories have become rather inconsistent from the originals. Things get added on, taken out, changed entirely. I've read at least three different takes on how Spider-Man got the spider bite, two different takes on how Wolverine started out (both drastically different from each other!), and many other things!
They fit into the category of graphic novel but it bugs me how the story is always different (and the art changes all the time too) so I'm tempted to put them in the comic book category simply because of inconsistency (and the rare occasion that a serious event is forgotten completely). But they have all the criteria for a graphic novel...but they are also, I think anyway, referred to more often as comic books because they were some of the original comic books!
So I guess there are some that can't be sorted into categories. But that's fine. As I said, my point is just to explain why the different names matter.
So anyway, I'm writing a graphic novel, not a comic book, and I'm very excited because I know telling the story visually will be much more intriguing!
Oh, and one last thing...graphic novels are real literature! Reading graphic novels is not lazy reading, nor is writing them lazy writing. They should in no way replace books (especially not the classics!) but they shouldn't be looked on as something less than a real story. A committed writer gets their story out however they can whether it's a novel, graphic novel, a film or even a blog!
Well, I think that's all for now. I'll update again soon! We're going on a vacation to Mackinac Island and I'll have some pictures to share! I actually need to finish packing! Aahh!!! So forgive any typos and/or grammatical errors...I'm writing this in a hurry because I know I'll forget again!
Until next time!
Thank you for reading and God bless you all!
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