Ram Venkatesan, the author of critically acclaimed graphic novels like Black Mumba, Aghori and Brigands is conducting an exclusive workshop on scripting comic books.
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“I do not believe that writing can be taught but what can be taught is writing for a medium. Each medium has its peculiarities, limitations and advantages, which one needs to learn,” says Ram Venkatesan, the author of critically acclaimed graphic novels like Black Mumba, Aghori and Brigands. This Thursday, he will conduct a workshop on scripting comic books. The workshop has been organised by literary magazine Helter Skelter.
A panel from Black Mumba
It is these differences that Venkatesan is going to discuss at the workshop. “The novel can come in any size. One can write a 1,000-word novel, but one does not have that kind of freedom when writing a comic book as that would mean an incredible amount of investment from the publishers,” he explains.
Ram Venkatesan
Another difference from writing a novel, he points out, is that the artist should be able to draw what the writer wants to convey. “One needs to learn to write for the artist,” he says. He also points out that unlike other visual mediums, the fact that there is no movement of images is something that the writer needs to keep in mind.
But, the medium, he says, has advantages for the writer as well. “In one scene in my book Black Mumba, I have depicted a parallel conversation going on, on either side of a glass that separates the interrogation room. In other mediums like cinema, one can only follow one conversation at a time,” he says.
When asked if a single workshop is able to do much for a writer, he says that in this session, he will primarily point out things new writers do wrong, which can be corrected with a little bit of feedback. But, he does add that this does not mean the more senior writers will have nothing to take away from this. In fact, a part of the workshop Writing for the Art, Writing with the Art, deals with those who are in an advanced stage of writing.
Venkatesan agrees that there has been an increase in interest in the graphic novel format over the last few years, but urges aspiring writers to not limit themselves to a format. “When you learn to write a graphic novel, you learn one medium but writers should not limit themselves to just that.
A graphic novelist can write a film or novel, too, and that should never be beyond the scope of aspiration,” he says.
On: October 27
At: Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters, Unit 20-22, Dr E Moses Road, Shakti Mills Lane, Worli.
Log on to: www.instamojo.com/helterskelter/helter-skelter-workshop-writing-graphic-nove/
Cost: Rs 1,500
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