Writing a manga script.

So let's say you already have a story in mind. Characters, power systems, plot points, etc., all fleshed out, and now all is left to do is write it down. While you can start with character descriptions or power system explaining, what would be more suggested is to start with the plot instead. Don't explain a character's personality; rather, let their personality be told by the way they react to the obstacles that the story gives them. Instead of saying, 'This character gets angry quickly,' just show that they get angry at the smallest thing instead. Real people don't have a personality description along with them; instead, their personalities differ from person to person based on people’s opinions.

If you have a beginning to your story, then great, you already figured out the hardest part. Start from there and build your way up. But if you don't, then what I would suggest you do to find that start is to focus on a tension part of your story, that gives just about enough information (don’t overdo this part) and start from there. Like it could be a quick fight scene, or a future scene, or a strong confession, just about enough to get your readers interested quickly. But don't keep that tension for too long. Slowly release the tension in the next scene, for example, from a fight scene to drinking a cup of tea as a reward. It is important to keep the readers’ attention, and even though you might not have a chaotic scene at first, you can also start calm and then build your way up. Like a walk in the park, and suddenly being hit by a car. What truly keeps readers engaged isn't adrenaline or very important scenes; it is actually the change in emotions. Something uniform will bore the readers, just like listening to the same song over and over again; instead, try and play with the scenes and what vibes they each give off. From chaotic to calm, or calm to chaotic, it doesn't matter; both create tension while reading.

When writing a scene out, we tend to overexplain things, and sometimes that is great. If the character is observing something in detail and thinking about something else, then overexplaining can be done cautiously as a means to show that character's personality. However, that is what would be the case for novels, but not for manga scripts. Novels give this freedom to the words and descriptions. They can go in and out of a character's mind, and even inanimate objects, it is wild. But when writing a manga script, you have to be mindful; most things won't make it to the illustrated scene. If you say, 'Fred then had the incredible idea of going to a café, and once he sipped his warm coffee, his whole perception changed after that moment; everything seemed different. The warmth was radiating from his fingers to the brain' (I just made that up in the go, don't judge), but you see, most of the stuff here can be felt, but barely visualized. Or perhaps they can be drawn, but it will probably be a waste of time trying to get every detail of that scene right. When writing the script, think more of being the composer for that one scene. Understand the limitations of a single illustration. You can't show more than one action, for example, blinking, because blinking is in fact two actions; one is closing the eyes, and the other is opening them.

Be prepared for most of the filler words to get cut out when drawing the manga. If you want to show your character happy, you can draw them happy. But if you want to show the whole thought process of what a character thinks when taking a sip of coffee… then make that sip of coffee VERY important to the plot. The amount of detail you put in a scene should be proportionate to the importance of the plot. What I would suggest you take your time with is the character's emotions. A fight scene can be important, but if they're having a fist fight all they're gonna do is throw hands at each other. But when it comes to characters’ emotions you need to slow down. You have to give out the most you can. If they’re feeling down, give them space, show them slowly feeling sadder and sadder. Make it as real as you can, because if there's one thing your reader is gonna love is your characters, and making them as real as you can will play a huge role.

I did a lot of yapping, but I hope you get what I am getting at. I don't usually write down everything; instead, I tend to sketch straight into a paper while thinking that scene.

Like this:

This is what works for me at least, because I tend to also get rid of the storyboard phase as well. It is also good because you can quickly put down exactly what you have in mind. Just make sure to read it over and over so you can notice small mistakes.

Keep creating!