"Two significant responses from the community in particular fueled my motivation to engage youth directly in activities associated with writing and publishing their own books "
At Adelphi Elementary, in the 5th grade, I wrote a poem and in my excitement of my young literary accomplishment I remember enthusiastically sharing this achievement with my classroom teacher. To my surprise, I later discovered the poem I had written was published in the school’s newspaper. And thus began the first phase of my relationship with writing that stuck with me into adulthood. A relationship that would spark creativity and ideas that I would draw from throughout my life. Despite the ubiquitous nature of this relationship, it wasn’t until I published my first book in February 2014, Out of the Darkness: A Journey into the Marvelous Light, that I realized how much writing had been a part of my life growing up as a child. So, at the culmination of publishing my first book, the path leading to the next phase of my relationship with writing began to become clear, and I was intent on following it.
2014 was the same year two of my colleagues and I, from the community in which I served as an educator at Greenbelt Middle School, decided to launch a literacy campaign. The goal of the literacy initiative was to engage students, staff, parents, and the greater community of Greenbelt in activities related to literacy. The response of the community was overwhelmingly supportive, but two significant responses in particular fueled my motivation to engage youth directly in activities associated with writing and publishing their own books while learning about the entrepreneurial skills involving writing, publishing, and book marketing.
The first thing that happened involved meeting Rob Brown, who identifies himself as a book lover and operates his own TV studio interviewing local authors to help them with the marketing and promotion of their published books. Rob agreed to participate in one of my evening literacy showcase events to speak to the youth about his love of literature and why they should celebrate literacy. Rob invited the students in attendance, along with our school community, to submit their own short stories in a book format for him to judge and the winners (first, second, third place) would be announced at a later evening literacy showcase. The students of our school community responded with over 30 submissions and Rob was enthusiastically surprised by the number of students who participated. Little did I know it would be a foreshadowing of the direction my life would take personally and professionally from that point forward.
"The students of our school community responded with over 30 submissions and Rob was enthusiastically surprised by the number of students who participated"
The second thing that happened as a result of launching the literacy initiative included the community of Greenbelt inviting me to launch an after-school book club. The Advisory Committee on Education, or ACE, of Greenbelt, sponsored a book club after school that has been in operation the past 4 years since 2016. It was the first time I had been associated with a group of students who were eager, enthusiastic, and energetic about reading, discussing literature, and participating in writing related activities. It was also the first time in my career I was engaging in activities specific to promoting literacy and it was inspiring to see the genuine authentic reaction from students interested in these types of activities willing to meet after school to read, talk, and write about literature.
In 2017-2018 I invited my book club students to collaborate with me in co-writing and co-illustrating a children’s book involving a character I originally conceived when I was in college. A character that would travel the universe and learn about our solar system by visiting each one and interacting with the life forms they met while they visited. We spent the first semester of that school year identifying the format of how we would write the story and what the content of the story would include.
Tips I Learned for Helping Youth To Write
Tip 1: Provide guidelines to keep everyone focused on the goals and content of the storyline - In any group you may have very creative and imaginative writers who are limitless in their ability to think creatively and come up with a variety of ways to tell a story. Then you have some who are willing to write but need more assistance in developing their ideas in a way that helps them remain confident and comfortable with the process.
Tip 2: Remind the kids of their target audience - Our target audience was elementary age students, but the authors were middle school students with broader life experiences that inspire their creative desires but may not be conducive for a younger audience. At the time of writing this article, the children’s book project is nearing completion of the illustrations that go along with the manuscript that was completed at the end of the 2017-2018 school year. I was greatly impressed and alarmingly encouraged by the commitment and perseverance of the students to finish what they started and the students who have continued with me in ensuring the illustrations were completed. 2021 is the projected release date of my very first children’s book I dreamed of doing when I graduated from college.
As an educator it is extremely rewarding and fulfilling to have students participate with me in this accomplishment while helping some of them unlock their potential and be awakened to their own interests and passion to write, illustrate, and publish books.
My passion to write was now affording me the privileged opportunity to invite a greater number of students to engage in the activity beyond the group I worked with after school in the book club. Upon being named the new writing enrichment teacher, I had the honor of ushering Greenbelt Middle School to its first award-winning participation in a county wide writing program. And currently, the Howard County Arts Council and I are collaborating on developing a creative writing workshop for youth and adults to inspire more youth to write now. It is my sincere passion to instill in youth the understanding they don’t need to wait until they become adults to pursue and practice their love of writing and becoming a published author. I want them to know they can write now. Writing and storytelling are unique ways of developing one’s creative self-expression and is an integral part of how we live.
"A character that would travel the universe and learn about our solar system by visiting each one and interacting with the life forms they met while they visited."
Even if we don’t write ourselves, writing plays a huge role in our lives daily whether we are aware of it or not. From what we view on television and in movies, to the books, newspaper, and online articles we read, including the music we listen to contains the art or skill of writing. Writing is also a healthy outlet for expressing one’s views, thoughts, opinions, or emotions through journaling. Writing is a part of literacy and helps youth perform better academically when they can learn to write proficiently and effectively.
To be able to make use of my passion in inspiring youth and adults alike to write is not something I had imagined or planned, but I’m grateful for the experience.
"If I had to really put a fine point on it, I believe that world building is where many of my story arcs are born."
Warning: I do not recommend getting so caught up in world building that it becomes a project unto itself. This is only part of the process and should be treated as such. Speaking from experience, it is possible to become so obsessed with backstory that you never begin writing a story.
I’ve been asked where my story ideas come from, and there isn’t just one concrete answer to that. If I had to really put a fine point on it, I believe that world building is where many of my story arcs are born. In fact, knowing the world in which your characters exist is just as important as defining the people themselves.
When I started writing The Sunstroms, I knew up front that I wanted to tell a story about a superhero family, and I wanted that family to have a definite science fiction flavor that reminded me of some of the cartoons and comics I grew up with. But after the characters were named, drawn, and fleshed out, they needed an interesting narrative.
Author Gene E Willoughby II's Sunstrom's Work
Most of the ideas for that particular novel came from my notebooks. Now, before I go any further, I must admit that I have something of an addiction to composition books, and I own quite a few of them. All of these books contain pieces of what I call my “secret worlds”. If I remember it correctly, this started when I was in college working various retail jobs. I would always have a notebook with me, and when customer traffic was slow or I was on break, I’d be jotting down my ideas about new characters, locations, and super powers. Even now, I continue this practice at home while I’m watching the Lakers or replaying a favorite movie of mine.
As you are thinking about the world you plan to write about, ask yourself a series of questions. Is this world like ours? Are there any differences? For example, if you watch a show such as Power, the hyper-charged crime world is depicted as nearly identical to ours with few deviations. Conversely, the movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have some important similarities, but the fact that super beings are possible in that world changes everything.
"I must admit that I have something of an addiction to composition books, and I own quite a few of them. All of these books contain pieces of what I call my 'secret worlds'."
If your universe is vastly different, then there are other aspects you should consider. What does religion look like? What about governments? Who or what group is in charge? How does the economy work? Is there special technology or magic present in your world? If so, how do those things work? What are the rules or laws? Are there any super abilities in your world and what are their strengths and weaknesses? How do everyday people earn a living? What is the state of their environment? When I am constructing an outline I end up pulling material concerning backstories, locations, and organizations from these notes, and my stories tend to evolve from these ideas.
This is part 2 in a series of articles on the topic of comic book development. Find all articles in the series linked below:
"For me, creating characters is all about the heart."
So, you’re ready to turn that awesome idea you’ve been developing into a comic book or graphic novel. Speaking from experience, there is nothing quite like getting a shiny new copy of your book and flipping through the finished pages. The good news is that today’s technology has made publishing your own work easier than ever. One thing that has not changed is the process of creating a story with a beginning, middle, and end that also carries emotional weight with overarching themes. Over the course of the next few installments of Workstation 101, I will be sharing my workflow for making comics as well as process and sketchbook pages.
Character Creation
For me, creating characters is all about heart. What makes a person tick? What kinds of baggage do people carry around with them on a daily basis? Those are the wrinkles that make characters so interesting to read about. The books and movies we love are all about people. Yes, we enjoy large- scale battles, duels, and hyperkinetic chases, but when all is said and done, we are drawn to those stories because we fall in love with and care about the characters.
Sometimes, it begins with some art. Maybe I’ve got an interesting looking character in my sketchbook that I think would be perfect for one of my stories. Perhaps, there’s a name or ability that I can’t stop thinking about. Regardless, I keep an extensive list of questions that must be answered for each of my creations, which normally results in four to five notebook pages per character. It doesn’t matter if she’s a hero, villain, supervisor, comedic sidekick, or sniveling henchman. I have to know this fictional person intimately even if there are bits and pieces of this information that never explicitly show up in a story.
What is the character’s favorite food? How does she like to dress? What’s her best childhood memory? Her worst? What are her religious beliefs, aspirations, and fears? Who are her parents and what is the nature of her relationship with them? You need to dig into every aspect of your character’s existence, including things such as her occupation, education level and skills. The goal here is to make this person as real as possible so that when you place them in situations and conversations with other characters, you’re able to write believable dialogue and logical reactions.
Keep in mind that if you are writing comics, you will be collaborating with an artist unless you are drawing your own books. Part of your job as a comic book writer is to make sure that your artist has adequate descriptions in order to execute your vision. Of course, there should be enough of a partnership that the artist is able to flex creatively on the page. After I’ve figured out who the character is, I start working out their physical description. This includes features such as height, weight, skin tone, hairstyle, scars, tattoos, and style of dress. If you’re working in the superhero genre, make sure you are clear in your description of the character’s costume or uniform. It will definitely make your artist’s job easier.
Since I am an artist and I design my own characters, let’s talk about visuals for a moment. I prefer to create what are known as turnarounds for each character that will appear in my books, so I am able to draw them from any angle the story requires. I also do some headshots and busts just to study a character’s emotions and expressions.
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Character headshots by Gene E. Willoughby, II
Creating characters has always been my favorite part of the story process. I spent most of my free time as a kid doing this and probably frustrated more than a couple of teachers as I was discovering my love of creating comics. Even now when I’m daydreaming, I’m most likely thinking up new ideas for a hero or villain. There’s a unique rush that comes from taking the reigns off the imagination and letting it flood the page until it coalesces into the bits and pieces that will fit best into the story you want to tell. So, go ahead, grab that notebook and start building your world along with the wonderfully interesting people who live in it.
This is part 2 in a series of articles on the topic of comic book development. Find all articles in the series linked below:
