Essays, talks, and tips about Antony’s process, writing for videogames, using Scrivener, appearing on podcasts, and more. Plus comic script samples and templates
Antony regularly gives talks and interviews (both in person and online) about writing, productivity, his career, and more. To book him for your event, use the Contact page.
Process, Productivity, and Writing Tips
This article from 2007 is the original precursor to the Organised Writer book, which is a much more detailed and comprehensive productivity guide for writers of all kinds.
It's not unusual for me to be writing four or five different projects at once, with more on the horizon. Keeping track of each job's progress, and organising my time so I can give them the attention they need, is an administrative minefield.
One way I've made this process easier is by implementing a productivity system. These are common for executives and office workers, but not so much for writers. So a lot of people asked how it worked, and in mid-2007 I wrote this piece to explain and illustrate.
I expected a few dozen friends and colleagues to read it. But to my surprise, it was enormously popular. In the first year after its publication, it racked up half a million views; and it remains popular, consistently ranking as the most-visited page on this site each month. Clearly, there are more disorganised writers out there than I realised!
My Process: From Scribbles to Script »
One of the most frequently-asked questions I get from aspiring writers is, “How do you turn an idea into a story?”
Every writer is different, and what works for me won't necessarily work for anyone else. Also, I'm sorry to inform you there are no ‘tricks’ or shortcuts involved; just a lot of hard work.
Nevertheless, this is my process. It's the result of many years spent experimenting with different methods, until finally settling on how I work today. I hope there's something in here you find useful.
The clue is in the title; this piece outlines the fundamental questions all writers should ask themselves when planning and writing a scene. It then reviews the critically-lauded ‘diner scene’ from the movie Heat, and examines how it answers those same questions.
Originally written for the staff writers of a project on which I was a consultant, I've removed the project-specific elements, and revised what remains so the advice is now universally applicable to any script.
In 2015, the final issue of my post-apocalyptic sci-fi epic WASTELAND was released, after nine continuous years of publication. What should have felt like a triumph instead felt like an elegy for my career, which I seriously thought might be over.
Thankfully, that turned out not to be the case. I wrote this piece to encourage others who may find themselves at the same crossroads and filled with doubt. You're not alone, and you never know what's around the corner.
You've probably heard of NaNoWriMo, the annual event where amateur writers pledge to complete a 50,000-word novel in one month. It has many supporters . . . and many critics.
I'm one of the supporters; and, while musing on a quotation of mine that refuses to die, I finally put my finger on why.
This piece, written and published ahead of NaNoWriMo 2013, explains my reasoning as a way to counter the critics, and encourage those taking part.
In July 2020 the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain hosted a week-long series of daily online panels focused on game narrative. I took part in a couple, including one on worldbuilding for games (there's a link to the recording on YouTube in this article).
During the panel, the live audience asked questions using a Q&A function . . . a lot of questions, too many to answer in the time we had. So afterwards, I took the Q&A transcript, pulled out some of the remaining questions, and wrote answers in this post.
Whether you're an experienced games writer; someone just starting out in the industry; or looking to move from another field to games, I hope you find it useful.
In November 2022 the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain kicked off a new series of events on games writing by interviewing me about the ups and downs of working in the industry. Attendees called it ‘educational’ and ‘inspirational’; there's a link to the recording on YouTube in this article.
Once again, though, there were simply too many questions to answer in the time we had, so I asked the Guild for a transcript and answered the remaining questions in this post.
Lecture videos
How to Run (and Survive) a Writers’ Room »
A lecture from the Game Developers Conference in 2022. It was delivered remotely, but live (complete with Q&A) to conference attendees, and is now available on the GDC YouTube channel for all. Giving talks remotely is an odd experience, and it's particularly difficult to connect with an unseen audience! Thankfully this one was popular and well received.
Writers' rooms have been a staple of TV production for more than half a century, but they're relatively new to game development. In this lecture I explain how to recruit and run a successful writers' room, why it's more than just a writing team . . . and why you should use one if you don't already.
It's of course aimed at those who work in game narrative, either as writers or managers, but many people in other fields have told me the advice about team leadership and communication is universally helpful.
You can also download a PDF of the slides for your own reference.
My first ever lecture at Game Developers Conference, delivered in 2010. I wanted to help other game writers and narrative designers understand the skills comic writers bring to games, and outline what they could learn from those techniques.
Comics to Consoles was voted best talk of that year's Narrative Summit; third best of the entire conference; and GDC selected it to be a showcase lecture. I've since delivered it to game studios and other conferences all over the world, often tailoring it to focus on a specific area of interest. It's also popular with those interested in the writing process, whether or not they work in games.
A talk I gave at Matt Sheret's 1000 Words event at Thought Bubble in 2012. The event brought together creators from comics and other media to talk about what, how, and why we do what we do.
Each piece was just 10-15 minutes (i.e. approximately 1000 words), so there was only time to make a single, bold point. My Massive Ego is a confessional piece about the battle between ego and humility that resides within every creator.
How-To
I'm a big fan of Scrivener, the all-in-one writing application that kickstarted a wave of modern writing applications. I was the first pro comics writer to use it, and even helped the developer create the comics template now included in every copy of the app.
But it's complicated. Or rather, it looks complicated, and so most people give up before they finish the tutorial. Assuming they even watch the tutorial. Which they totally should.
This piece attempts to tackle that problem by demonstrating, step-by-step, how I use Scrivener to write comics.
Have you ever wished you could appear on podcasts without sounding like you're standing in the bathroom talking into a tin can? Then this guide is for you.
Plenty of online resources will teach you how to make your own podcast – but they don't teach you how to be a good guest on someone else's show. This is a particular problem for creators, who might regularly be interviewed on podcasts or call-in shows, but have neither the time nor inclination to become audio experts.
When I created Unjustly Maligned, I knew many of my guests would not be regular podcasters. For some it was their first ever appearance on a podcast. So I made a guide to help them set up, sound good, and record their own audio. Then other podcast hosts began asking if they could show it to their guests, too. Eventually demand was so great I rewrote the whole thing to be show-agnostic, and made it freely available to all.
A small collection of my comic scripts, from early works to later books, including Wasteland, Julius, Shadowland: Blood on the Streets, and Umbral.
For aspiring artists, there's a ‘dummy’ script written specifically to help you draw sample submission pages.
This page also contains links and downloads to comic script templates that I use and recommend.
Other Essays & Non-Fiction
Read more of Antony’s essays and articles, on writing and other subjects, in the non-fiction work section.