We were lucky to catch up with Regine Sawyer recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Regine thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
I learned how to write comics by researching the craft online and finding old comic book scripts with different templates. I also read as many books as I could on comic book writing and sequential storytelling. My background is in writing prose, poetry, and playwriting, so the art of writing comics was a new medium for me, but very familiar. Learning how to write comics was a trial and error-process for me, so I can’t imagine how I could’ve learned faster. However, what helped a lot was writing them and then getting feedback from colleagues- especially from artists since artists are the ones who have to read the script and translate it into art. The most essential skill in writing comics is knowing when to stop writing or when to let the artist have room to put their spin on the story.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I had many technical resources for my craft but I truly wish at I met more Women of Color when I started writing comics. There is so much more to this industry, in terms of navigating it, that a person wouldn’t know unless someone tells them or if they experience it. The fact that I am a Black Woman has effected every part of my career. It would’ve been great to have a Black Woman as my mentor when I first started working in the industry.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
I’m pivoting as I’m doing this interview right now. Currently, I’m on a partial hiatus from the industry. I’m prioritizing my mental and physical health over everything. I’ve been doing a bit of traveling and it really has reset my nervous system and I want to keep that progress. There is work that I’m doing, but I’m mindful of the projects that I accept. WinC International, (Women in Comics Collective International), is the organization that I founded back in 2012, is always on my list of priorities. We have events coming up this year, WinC Creative Conference on June 29th, and more happening in 2025.
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