Alan Brooks teaches writing for the MFA program at Regis University and Lighthouse Writers Workshop. He is the writer/creator of “The Burning Metronome” and “Anguish Garden” - graphic novels with social commentary. He also hosts a popular comics podcast which focuses on marginalized members of the geek world. He writes The Colorado Sun’s weekly comic, “What’d I Miss?”, as has written comic books for Pop Culture Classroom, Zenescope Entertainment, and more. In addition, Alan is a musician and noted stage host, regularly emceeing celebrated events, like the DINK Awards Show, Arise Music Festival and more.
Mentor Statement
We'll be focused on learning the principals of writing for a visual medium, and at the end, you should emerge with a finished script for the first chapter of your graphic novel, along with the supporting materials you'll need to pitch your book to a publisher. You'll also get to read some dope comics and analyze what tools those writers and artists used to tell their stories.
As much as some folks hate it, I can't tell you how much a solid outlining process has made things flow better for me as a writer. I try to work out the big story moments, dynamics of tension, action, suspense, etc., all at that stage. Then I have a good sense of my direction when I'm doing the actual writing - even if I deviate from it.
We talk, we figure out what kind of story you want to write, and then we work on constructing it. I don't want your work to sound like me, so it's important that we find the strongest methods for bringing your voice forward. Part of how we do that is by examining your strengths and weaknesses as a writer (we all have them), and then reading other stories to see how other authors have overcome similar struggles. You don't need to imitate them, but we can certainly look to their work to inspire our own ideas. Once we have that, we outline the book, and make it happen!
Yo, ultimately, mentorship is a partnership. You and I have the same goal: for you to emerge from the process with writing that you feel proud of. It doesn't matter if we have different tastes - my goal is to learn what kind of story you're trying to write, and guide you to the best execution of that. That means that you'll need to be open to trying some things that you may not have tried before. It also means that we'll be accountable to each other for having good communication, and being honest. If we can do that, we can combine our powers to create the best dynamic for you to create something you love!
