So you have had enough of corporate America and want to make a change? Good for you! We can help. All you need to do is follow our step-by-step guide, and before you know it, you will have a portfolio of commissioned work to show potential clients. Let’s get to it.
Decide Which Cartoon Character To Focus On
The first step is to decide which one of the many famous cartoon characters you want to write for. Of course, this is something you have already thought of, and it’s great! Now is the time to put your talents to work, so take some time to think of all the characters you love and find reasons why they would be a good fit for your writing style. Of course, you don’t need to write for just one character. You can write for a team of superheroes, or you can experiment with a crazy inventor who happens to be a character you designed yourself. The possibilities are endless!
Take A Class
Luckily for you, we are professionals who believe in supporting creative individuals, and taking a class or two will certainly help you find your feet. Most importantly, it will give you something to focus on besides just finding a job. If you are looking for online classes, there are many options, including free ones, so you can find the one that best suits your schedule. Don’t forget about adult education either. Many community colleges offer degrees in creative writing, so be sure to check out your local education department to see what classes they offer.
Research The Character
After you have decided which specific cartoon character you will write for, the next step is to do some research. Make sure you learn as much as you can about them. This will not only help you with your story and make it more interesting, but it will allow you to quote the character correctly when you are writing (and hopefully prove that you know what you are talking about). Most importantly, make sure you research the kind of stories that the character is typically involved in. This will help you determine how the character would react in certain situations, as well as give you a good idea of what kinds of stories you should avoid touching upon. For example, does the character like to play it cool and collected, or does he prefer to rush in and save the day? It’s better to find out early on, so that you don’t end up with writer’s block and have to rush into rewriting the whole thing.
Get Inspired
Now that you know more about your character, it’s time to get inspired. Before you start writing, take some time to think of situations that you can use as the basis for your story (these could be things that happened in real life, or things you have seen in movies or on TV shows). Once you have a few situations in mind, you can start writing, but don’t worry; you don’t need to rush. Take your time, and only write what you feel is good enough to be published. We know it can be difficult to find the inspiration to write, but we also know that you will eventually get there.
Format Your Paper
We mentioned above that it’s important to learn how to write correctly. One of the things that can help you do that is proper paper formatting. All too often, people write on their smartphones or personal digital assistants (PDAs) using no capital letters, no spaces between words, and no punctuation. This makes the overall reading experience less than engaging. Let’s assume that you are writing for a TV show (we have all experienced those horrible typos on social media, right?). When you format your paper using small letters, spaces, and a punctuation mark, it will make the overall reading experience much more enjoyable. If the producer of the show decides to run your episode, they will have a much better experience if everything is formatted correctly. This goes for newspapers as well (believe it or not, most people still read The New York Times, and it shows). You can also use a tool such as Grammarly to help you find mistakes (as well as give you suggestions on how to improve your writing style).
Find Your Voice
In the same way you would not want to imitate the vocal acrobatics of a different singer, you do not want to imitate the writing styles of others. Instead, find your own voice, the one that makes you unique, and use it to write. You are a unique individual with a unique perspective, and the only way to make your writing stand out is through your own voice. Whether you are a sarcastic, funny writer who happens to love old cartoons, or an engineer who just enjoys playing around with words, find your unique voice and use it to write. You will find that your writing will have a certain sparkle that makes everything much more enjoyable for the reader.
So there you have it! A step-by-step guide to getting a job writing for cartoon characters. Of course, this is not meant to be an exact science. It is meant to give you a good idea of where to start, and what to expect. We have had people get the jobs they loved just by following this guide, and we have also had people tell us that it was not enough to get them the job, but rather, it was the little details such as formatting that helped make their piece stand out. If you need encouragement, keep in mind that writing is subjective, and there are many stories out there that are just as good as yours. If you put in the time, effort, and practice, you will find that writing for cartoon characters is a lot of fun, and you will be able to use your talents to make a difference.