“Tiny Update” is a weekly free newsletter that keeps you up to date on the latest news, comic book projects and merchandise offerings from James Tynion IV and Tiny Onion Studios.
I’d check out the plays of Martin Mcdonagh for dialogue. Check out Pillow man and Behanding in Spokane to start. Also Michael Frayn’s Noises Off is great.
oh man, for contemporary playwrights i'd say check out: Jackie Sibbles Drury (Especially 'We are Proud to Present...' and 'Fairview', DEFINITELY 'The Wolves' by Sarah DeLappe, and good ole Annie Baker (I like 'John')
Read Tom Stoppard, Sarah Ruhl, Lauren Gunderson, and Christopher Durang. Differing greatly in style and substance, all write brilliant dialogue that rolls and sings and zaps as needed, both spoken and in print.
Welcome home! Glad to hear that you enjoyed yourself on your trip.
I am very impressed that someone like you who is seeing so much success and acclaim in your career is still interested in growth and improvement. You could just sit back and ride the wave of your talent and success but instead you look at things like your dialogue and challenge yourself to be even better. That is true dedication to yourself and your art and proves that you’re in it for more than just the paycheck. Well done, sir. If I would suggest any playwrights I would second the suggestions already made for Tom Stoppard and Martin McDonagh as well as suggesting people like Branden Jacobs Jenkins (“Gloria”) and Tracey Letts (“August: Osage County”).
On a separate note, the Facebook groups that I’m in have been abuzz with posts about the books you sent out for the Onion Club “Day One” bonus. I have not received mine yet (scheduled to come today) but I am BLOWN AWAY with the generosity you’ve shown! There were some highly sought after books (including a SiKtC #1 ALA - WHAT?!!!) that you could have very easily kept for your own financial gain but, instead, you gave them away! Thank you so much! I regret to inform you, however, that there is a vocal group that didn’t get one of these “top tier” books and were unfairly regretting their subscription. If you come across any of this negative feedback, please ignore it! I understand people being disappointed that they didn’t get something as nice as someone else but every book you’ve sent out has been rare (as promised) and it is only childish entitlement which is causing people to complain.
I hope that you and yours have a very happy Thanksgiving!
I mean, personally I like going back to the roots as far as dialogue - listening to people talk haha. I'd recommend watching podcasts and looking for speech patterns, and if you find a public figure whose cadence you like, diving deeper into their speaking. I have a few people whose voice I'm waiting to use in a project myself.
Good to have you back man. That Erica pop is awesome. I would be ok with adding that to my ridiculous collection as well. Also my 🧅♣️ house of slaughter arrived and it is glorious. Sticking it in mylar asap. I think I've always been attracted to super hero genre partially because of the possibilities but mainly because of the world they live in and the fact that there are explanations for things vs the world we live in that despite the "science" it doesn't seem to have many answers to the large questions, or at least ones I am confident to believe in. I think there is room for a super hero in our world and wonder what that would look like if each person painted their thoughts of one without taking from existing characters. Maybe we can have yours in the future. As far as movies and such. I always found the weirder the better. I find myself impressed to see the odd corners of people's minds brought to life. Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving and I am excited for what else is in store. 🧅♣️
welcome back ! really interesting thoughts on comics dialogue; i think it's true what you say about the focus being on the visual in comics rather than the literary oftentimes. obvi Gaiman stands out as the gold standard for poetic comics dialogue.
i'll be picking up both your titles this week, which is very exciting!
quick q - have only had my pull list active for a few months so am not sure... do comics tend to take a break over December?? totally cool if they do, as im away from my LCS for that month, just thought i'd check! xx
Welcome back James!! It’s awesome to hear that you had such an awesome time on your trip! It’s interesting to hear you say you feel your dialog is messy. I find it to be written and structured very well. You do an amazing job at capturing your character’s personalities and emotions perfectly. I get captivated by your writing style and find myself wanting more and more.
I’d check out the plays of Martin Mcdonagh for dialogue. Check out Pillow man and Behanding in Spokane to start. Also Michael Frayn’s Noises Off is great.
oh man, for contemporary playwrights i'd say check out: Jackie Sibbles Drury (Especially 'We are Proud to Present...' and 'Fairview', DEFINITELY 'The Wolves' by Sarah DeLappe, and good ole Annie Baker (I like 'John')
We need you to come up North 🇨🇦 in 2022. Also can’t wait to get my Onion club book!
Welcome back to NYC! Got my Onion Club signed issue in the mail the other day, Jenny Frison's stunning variant of DoT #1. Thanks so much!
Just wanted to say I just got my Tiny Onion House of Slaughter Covers and they look amazing! Thank you James and team <3
Read Tom Stoppard, Sarah Ruhl, Lauren Gunderson, and Christopher Durang. Differing greatly in style and substance, all write brilliant dialogue that rolls and sings and zaps as needed, both spoken and in print.
I did not recieve a Day-1 Founders Tier storage locker book and I'm bummed out.
My favorite dialogue writer would have to be Douglas Adams. Also Gregory Maguire's After Alice comes to mind along with Pipsqueak by Brian M. Wiprud.
Welcome home! Glad to hear that you enjoyed yourself on your trip.
I am very impressed that someone like you who is seeing so much success and acclaim in your career is still interested in growth and improvement. You could just sit back and ride the wave of your talent and success but instead you look at things like your dialogue and challenge yourself to be even better. That is true dedication to yourself and your art and proves that you’re in it for more than just the paycheck. Well done, sir. If I would suggest any playwrights I would second the suggestions already made for Tom Stoppard and Martin McDonagh as well as suggesting people like Branden Jacobs Jenkins (“Gloria”) and Tracey Letts (“August: Osage County”).
On a separate note, the Facebook groups that I’m in have been abuzz with posts about the books you sent out for the Onion Club “Day One” bonus. I have not received mine yet (scheduled to come today) but I am BLOWN AWAY with the generosity you’ve shown! There were some highly sought after books (including a SiKtC #1 ALA - WHAT?!!!) that you could have very easily kept for your own financial gain but, instead, you gave them away! Thank you so much! I regret to inform you, however, that there is a vocal group that didn’t get one of these “top tier” books and were unfairly regretting their subscription. If you come across any of this negative feedback, please ignore it! I understand people being disappointed that they didn’t get something as nice as someone else but every book you’ve sent out has been rare (as promised) and it is only childish entitlement which is causing people to complain.
I hope that you and yours have a very happy Thanksgiving!
I mean, personally I like going back to the roots as far as dialogue - listening to people talk haha. I'd recommend watching podcasts and looking for speech patterns, and if you find a public figure whose cadence you like, diving deeper into their speaking. I have a few people whose voice I'm waiting to use in a project myself.
I am lobbying for James to make it out to DC for AwesomeCon!
Good to have you back man. That Erica pop is awesome. I would be ok with adding that to my ridiculous collection as well. Also my 🧅♣️ house of slaughter arrived and it is glorious. Sticking it in mylar asap. I think I've always been attracted to super hero genre partially because of the possibilities but mainly because of the world they live in and the fact that there are explanations for things vs the world we live in that despite the "science" it doesn't seem to have many answers to the large questions, or at least ones I am confident to believe in. I think there is room for a super hero in our world and wonder what that would look like if each person painted their thoughts of one without taking from existing characters. Maybe we can have yours in the future. As far as movies and such. I always found the weirder the better. I find myself impressed to see the odd corners of people's minds brought to life. Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving and I am excited for what else is in store. 🧅♣️
welcome back ! really interesting thoughts on comics dialogue; i think it's true what you say about the focus being on the visual in comics rather than the literary oftentimes. obvi Gaiman stands out as the gold standard for poetic comics dialogue.
i'll be picking up both your titles this week, which is very exciting!
quick q - have only had my pull list active for a few months so am not sure... do comics tend to take a break over December?? totally cool if they do, as im away from my LCS for that month, just thought i'd check! xx
Welcome back James! Can't wait for House of Slaughter #2.
And, hope you come to Brazil in 2022!
Welcome back James!! It’s awesome to hear that you had such an awesome time on your trip! It’s interesting to hear you say you feel your dialog is messy. I find it to be written and structured very well. You do an amazing job at capturing your character’s personalities and emotions perfectly. I get captivated by your writing style and find myself wanting more and more.