This is the eighth edition of The Voice In Your Head Is Mine. The date is June 29th, 2020. If you're receiving this email and have no idea what's going on, well, fuck. I guess I blew it. Or maybe you blew it. Either way, you're here and this is Zac Thompson's weekly newsletter.
It’s the early morning on Monday. For the most part, I was able to keep my head down all of last week and make some real headway on few projects. This week is all about keeping that momentum. I’m quickly reaching the point where the rest of my year is mapped out for me. This is good. But it means I’ve got to make progress every week in order to keep my head above water.
It Takes The Time It Takes
I’ve been thinking a lot about pacing as it relates to comics. There is a conventional wisdom that things should be exciting and fast paced all the time in order to keep a reader entertained. I personally believe this is because of the over abundance of “action movies” permeating every aspect of pop culture. Easy reading/watching where almost everything fits into a conventional three act structure. Everything boils down to moving fast, punching hard, and talking as little as possible.
But, perhaps there is a better way. A way to find a balance. Slowing down is a skill. Knowing how and when to do it is something that can’t really be taught. It’s something that must be felt. Sounds stupid, right?
Well, let’s unpack that. As a storyteller, there may be times where you feel like you far too much to do in a single scene. Or you have three small scenes you need to communicate in rapid order in service of moving the story forward. An alternative, that I try to practise as much as possible is collapsing scenes into one another. Looking at what each small scene is trying to achieve and looking at the story from a macro perspective.
Let’s say you’ve got three scenes.
A - Your Protagonist decides he wants something to eat.
B - He searches the house for something delicious. To no avail. He calls for delivery.
C - His delivery arrives. The person at the door is someone they used to sleep with. It’s awkward.
Now, this is obviously very broad. But it’s key to understanding the context of what I’m talking about. First of all, it’s super easy to collapse A and B into one scene without really losing anything. In fact, you can probably nix scene A all together and begin B on the search, filling in the context as you go. But what’s important here?
Is your character a serial dater? If so, scene C is the thing that actually challenges this character in a way that’s related to the plot. Or are they terrible with money, in which case B is probably the more lucrative scene to explore. I suppose what I’m trying to say. Is consider what’s best for your character rather than your plot. Your character is, and always will be, more important than your plot. Service them first.
A quiet moment from Undone By Blood #4. Art by Sami Kivela and Jason Wordie.
I think about the phrase “it takes the time it takes” all the time. For me, it means that there are things I’m unwilling to budge on. I want my stories to have a deliberate pace that slowly winds around you like a coiling snake. Tension takes time to build. And without tension, action offers no relief. If I begin at breakneck pace, I’ve got nowhere to go but faster. Readers will get lost and inevitably stop caring without those slower more humanizing moments.
We live in a culture that equates slow with bad. This is wrong and bad. Don’t be fooled by that trap. A slower pace is often more engaging and engrossing. Those who are not willing to stick it out during the slower moments are probably not engaging with the story on a meaningful level. So y’know - fuck ‘em.
Finally, I think it’s also key to look at genre when talking about pacing. If you’re firmly entrenching your story within a well worn genre then a lot of this pacing work is done for you. Take a look at your favorite examples from that arena you’re playing in. Westerns, for example, deal in many long silent moments. There’s a power in understanding what your genre does well and how to emulate that.
Also, plan to do less with your stories. Less plot per issue. I promise it’ll help.
Angel & Spike
Starting in September, with issue #14, Hayden Sherman and myself are taking over the Angel & Spike series at BOOM! studios. I’m a lifelong Buffy fan and a longtime Hayden Sherman fan. I can’t believe we’re working together, Hayden’s one of the most talented artists in the industry and I feel so damn lucky that we’re collaborating. And I’ve long been on the record that ANGEL is the superior series. So I couldn’t be more excited about this opportunity. We’ve been afforded the chance to tell a longer story with this book and we’ve got big things planned.
Hayden’s incredible designs for Spike & Angel.
Angel is a story about a vampire with a soul seeking redemption. But for me, it’s also an incredible story for this moment in 2020. The original series was this insane private eye show/rumination on the problems inherent to capitalism and the corporate state. We’re going to take those themes and blast them into the modern world. I do hope you’ll join us.
Some of Your Pain Is Mine
This week’s playlist. Right here. Right now.
Tiny Scabs
I finished The Last of Us II. I believe it is legitimately a masterpiece. There are many valid criticisms online but as a sequel to the original - it’s perfect. A story about how one act of vengeance can be contagious. But an act of empathy can be just as infectious. It’s a difficult game to talk about without going into detail, but I sincerely marveled at the sheer bravery in some of the storytelling decisions. It forces you to engage in some horrific things, only to show you the disastrous consequences of those choices. It has more to say about cycles of violence than any other piece of modern media.
If you’ve got an hour and half to spare, I highly recommend watching the documentary “13th”, which is now streaming on Netflix. It’s an incredibly comprehensive breakdown on the 13th amendment in America and how slavery didn’t really go away… it just evolved.
You should also check out the first episode of I’ll Be Gone In The Dark which aired last night. A true-crime docu-series following Michelle McNamara as she looks for The Golden State Killer: a rapist and murderer who had fifty victims, but up until a few years ago – no one ever heard of them. If you don’t know how the story ends, for the love of God, don’t look it up.
See Ya
Another week begins. Give yourself small manageable goals to meet. Reward yourself when you hit those goals. Get outside and soak in some sunshine. Disconnect from social media for at least one day a week. Your brain will thank you.
Take care of one another.
Z