Storytelling for Graphic Novels: The Key Ingredients of a Story

I spend as much time writing stories as I do illustrating graphic novels, which means I think a lot about the craft of writing. No matter what type of media you work in, whether comics, animation, film, or novels, storytelling is central to your creation. So, what do you need to tell a successful story?

While you need to practice many aspects of storytelling if you are working on a graphic novel, some are so integral that they can make or break your story. Here are some of the key ingredients of a story that you need to have in place before you begin creating.

Conflict

On the weekend, I went to the park and watched the birds. Then, I went out for sushi dinner.

The above anecdote is technically a story. But is it compelling? If you made a comic out of it, would readers feel engaged?

Not really. Nothing happens. We watch a character (me) do a couple things. Even if we changed the setting to an alien planet and the narrator watched aliens in the park and went out for a meal of alien fish, it’s still boring.

What’s missing is conflict. Nothing is getting in the way of the protagonist’s day. There are no complications.

Conflict is the most important feature of a compelling story. Without conflict, your story is not ready.

Conflict can be world-altering or life-altering. But, conflict can also be the daily greivances and annoyances everyone can relate to.

In my favourite Image comics Saga, by Fiona Staples and Brian K. Vaughan, the conflict includes intergalactic war that the main characters are caught up in, because they’ve fallen in love (and started a family) across the dividing lines of the war (species, values, heritage, etc). That’s HUGE. It literally takes place across multiple planets!

A page from Saga by Brian K Vaughan and illustrated by Fiona Staples

Meanwhile, my favourite middle grade grapic novelists Raina Telgemeier tells more down-to-Earth stories. In Smile, the conflict is the main character’s (Raina’s) need for braces and extensive orthodonitic work. A relatable conflict for many young readers! It’s not world-changing, it’s not even life-or-death for Raina! But it’s a big deal for Raina so it’s a compelling conflict.

A page from Smile by Raina Telgemeier

Motivation

Once you have a conflict in place, you need your main character to take action. Why does the family at the core of Saga continue to run and fight for their lives? Why does Raina get the braces and orthodontic work, despite her fear?

This is where the next pivotal aspect of storytelling comes in: motivation.

Your main character must have a compelling reason to take action in the face of the conflict. And, should they fail to take action, there must be believable consequences.

In the example of Saga above, if Marko and Alana don’t continue to run and fight, they could lose their lives and, more importantly, the life of their newborn daughter. The love of parents is a good motivator!

For Smile, the consequeunces if Raina does not get the necessary orthodontic work is a lifetime of dental issues. Anyone who has had braces (myself included) know this is enough motivation to take action, even if braces are expensive, uncomfortable or a bit scary.

The most important thing is the motivation feels right for your character and is powerful enough to force action to drive the plot forward. Which leades us to the final integral aspect of storytelling in graphic novels…

Character

The cover of Volume One of Saga

The conflict is happening to someone with motivation to act.

Who is that someone?

For almost all types of storytelling, characters are important. They are our vehicles through the story. They witness the events around them, take actions with consequences, interact with the world and each other. But in graphic novels, they are arguably more important, because we visually see them. Less about the character is left up to the reader’s imagination, so you, as creator, have to put in some extra work!

In the face of conflict your character should change. The events they experience, the events they put in motion because of their motivation to act, should resonate for them personally. The story should challenge them, reveal their weaknesses, build their strengths. Even though the reader is likely only getting a snapshot of a paricular time in their life, the character should feel like they have a robust past (and maybe future), making their actions more believable.

The most important question you can ask as you build your story is why this character?

Why is your protagonist the right character to tell this story in this place and time?

The answer should never be one of convenience (they happened to be there when the bad guys showed up) but of personal significance.

Stay tuned for more storytelling posts for graphic novelists coming soon on the blog, and happy writing!