Writing Pictures

What can you learn from looking deeply into the work of another writer?

We hope a lot.

James Kochalka is a very prolific creator of comics and graphic novels. Many of them are for children, some are decidedly adult. They have a fun, cartoony look. Kochalka has made well over fifty graphic novels and he keeps on creating them.

The writer of this book, David Macpherson, was inspired by Kochalka's work. He collected and read many of them and began reflecting on what he can learn from these comic stories. What can David take from Kochalka's work to make his own work better?

This volume is sort of a workbook of writing processes. David took seven Kochalka graphic novels and summarized them and then wrote additional notes about what he can take from these works. What can he learn?

This can be used in several ways. It is a wonderful introduction to the writing of Kochalka. It is a look at how David Macpherson does deep reading on work, even ones that might be seen as disposable, like children's graphic novels. You can take his insights for your own or come up with your own thoughts. Or this can be a blueprint on how you can do an analysis of another writer's work.

Anyway you use it, this is an amusing look into how writers read other people's art.