Alan Moore wants to build a better world through writing, and he's sharing his wealth of knowledge via a new online course. Maestro
CBR has an exclusive first look at a new trailer for BBC Maestro's Storytelling course, which gives writers the rare opportunity to learn tips of the industry directly from Moore. "Anybody can write," Moore explained. "This is not some divine calling that only settles upon a few special individuals... Books and writing are capable of changing the entire world, of modifying human consciousness."
Moore's Storytelling offers 33 lessons and runs for six hours. The course is divided into six parts -- Origins, Language, Story, Cast and Setting, A Variety of Forms, and Progressive Writing -- and dives into Moore's personal techniques for organizing plot beats, writing specifically for the medium of comics and reading analytically. The full course launches on Mar. 24, and it is currently available for pre-order for $90.
Elsewhere in the trailer, Moore drops several thoughts on what course participants can expect. With regards to worldbuilding, Moore calls it a "god-like experience," where "every interaction is all being created by you." When it comes to characters, Moore says to "treat them as if they are your friends, albeit friends that you regrettably sometimes have to kill." And when it comes to writing comics, asking big questions about licensed characters is vital -- no matter how absurd those questions might sound. "When I was starting the Swamp Thing series, one of the first questions that I asked the comic company [was]... 'Which swamp is he the thing of?'" Moore said.
The Saga of the Swamp Thing marked Moore's major entry into mainstream superhero comics. Once on the edge of cancellation, the book was revitalized in 1984 by Moore's issue #21, which revealed that Swamp Thing was not a transformed version of deceased scientist Alec Holland, as readers following the title had presumed. Rather, the muck-encrusted monster was vegetation that had gained consciousness and assumed the identity of Holland, and later issues in Moore's run would reveal that Swamp Thing was an avatar of the Green, the primordial force of nature in the DC universe.
Moore's transformative evolution of Swamp Thing was only one of several landmark comics that he wrote for DC. Batman: The Killing Joke, Watchmen and V for Vendetta all sprang from Moore's imagination, and he would also work for other companies, penning characters like Miracleman and Spawn.
Aside from superheroes, Moore has written an expansive collection of stories over the course of his 40-year career, ranging from From Hell -- a graphic novel about Jack the Ripper -- to Jerusalem, a 1,266-page prose novel about his hometown of Northampton, England. "You should remember that a writer can change the world," Moore said. "Think of the books that have completely changed human history. See yourself in that light. Because if you are a writer, then you are having an effect upon human history. And the entirety of the human future."
Storytelling is available on March 24 at BBCMaestro. More information is available on BBC Maestro's Storytelling course page.
Source: BBC Maestro