Converting a novel to a comic script

[Bluecube]

I've written a few books (here if you're interested http://www.amazon.co.uk/C.-Craig-R.-McNeil/e/B004G75LYI) that I'm pretty sure would transfer nicely into a graphical format. I'm pondering over converting the stories into script format but to put it bluntly I don't know where to start. I've no experience in writing scripts of any type so I suspect that I'm plunging straight into the deep end with a lead brick tied to each leg... Does anyone have any advice or pointers on how to progress with such a conversion? My thoughts are that the dialogue and descriptions are there so it's a matter of pulling them out into script format and editing as required - on the ball or too simplistic?

TIA for any help.

[Emperor]

My main advice would be to write some comics and get familiar with the medium. If you have any short story with a twist ideas then bung them over to the FutureQuake chappies. Once you see your work on the page it really helps you get a feel for what works, plus they'll give you useful feedback if you are doing something wrong.

The key in the adaptation is to let the art do its job, so show don't describe. You'll find it is still too wordy so try and cut that right back to the essence - try and keep the dialogue down to 25-30 words a panel and don't have too many people talking at once (folks like Bendis can get away with this because they know their craft and can make it work - it is usually just a newcomer's fatal mistake). Also keep an eye on the ends of page, they can be important for pacing or changing scenes or dropping in a mini-cliffhanger.

[Richmond Clements]

As the Emperor says, writing a few comic strips will give you an idea of how different the two mediums are to write for.
Comics are mainly visual (which seems an obvious thing to say, but if you read enough US comics and see how many of them are pages of talking heads, you'd wonder if the writers actually realise this...), so I'd perhaps think about what visual hooks there are in your books and work our either way from them.

Comics are clever in that you can tell two or three different strands of story in one panel- the image can be telling one thing, the dialogue or captions another and the juxtaposition between the two a third.

And yes- short dialogue balloons and captions.

[Emperor]

Looking over your work I see you have a book of short stories set in the same fictional universe as your trilogy. I've not read them but they'd seem ideal for converting as you can probably talk an artist into drawing a short story on a back-end deal but it is trickier to convince them to commit to a trilogy of graphic novels I'd still suggest starting off with a few short Future Shock-style stories to get your eye in.

Comics are mainly visual (which seems an obvious thing to say, but if you read enough US comics and see how many of them are pages of talking heads, you'd wonder if the writers actually realise this...), so I'd perhaps think about what visual hooks there are in your books and work our either way from them.

Comics are clever in that you can tell two or three different strands of story in one panel- the image can be telling one thing, the dialogue or captions another and the juxtaposition between the two a third.

This is a good one - if your story involves two people sitting in a room talking then it'd be unwise to show that (again Bendis can get away with it, well it still turns some people off, but assume you can't until you know what you are doing) so show what they are talking about, or use their dialogue in captions as a counter-point to show some kind more dynamic scenes.

Comics also force you to look at the pacing of your work, panel after panel of a villain monologuing is a turn off, so tighten it up.