How to write a manga script: template and example

This template uses five parts.

• Page number. The artist plans the page turn with it.
• Panel number. Panels are numbered in reading order.
• Shot and action. How close the view is, and the one thing that happens.
• Dialogue. The name of the speaker, then the words.
• Captions and sound effects. Narration and sounds, each on its own line.

A script is not a storyboard. The rough storyboard is called a "name" in Japan, and it is drawn. Many writers do both: the script first, then the name.

This is one page of four panels. It opens a short story about a lighthouse keeper.

PAGE 1 (4 panels)

PANEL 1
Shot: wide
Action: A harbor at night, in the rain. Across the water, the lighthouse is dark.
CAPTION: The lamp had never gone out before.

PANEL 2
Shot: medium
Action: MARA, in a teal raincoat, stands at the top of the harbor steps.
MARA: It went out at midnight.

PANEL 3
Shot: close
Action: IVO's hands set a heavy toolbox down on the wet stone.
SFX: THUNK

PANEL 4
Shot: medium, from behind both
Action: Mara and Ivo look at the dark lighthouse.
IVO: Then we row.

Each panel has one action. Panel 3 shows only hands and a toolbox, because a close view of a small thing slows the page down before the last line.

Copy this text into any editor. It is plain text, so it works everywhere.

TITLE:
CHAPTER:
CAST AND FIXED DETAILS:

PAGE 1 — scene goal:

PANEL 1
Shot:
Visible action:
SPEAKER: Dialogue
CAPTION:
SFX:

PANEL 2
Shot:
Visible action:
SPEAKER: Dialogue
CAPTION:
SFX:

PANEL 3
Shot:
Visible action:
SPEAKER: Dialogue
CAPTION:
SFX:

PANEL 4
Shot:
Visible action:
SPEAKER: Dialogue
CAPTION:
SFX:

CONTINUITY:
QUESTIONS FOR THE ARTIST:

Want editable pages and panels? Use the free manga script builder. Export its project file to keep editing later.

1. Choose one drawable moment. A door opening and a person sitting happen at different times. Split them when both moments matter.
2. Test the panel count. Four to six is one starting point, not a requirement. Sketch the page to see where each beat belongs.
3. Test speech in its bubble. Font, language and print size change what fits. Use the dialogue-fit preview before reducing the lettering.
4. Describe each character once, in full. Give the hair, the clothes and one detail that never changes. Keep those decisions in a character continuity sheet.
5. Plan the page turn. A question can encourage a turn. A quiet transition can also serve the scene.
6. Write what the reader sees. "He is sad" cannot be drawn. "He looks at the empty chair" can.

Before: “Mara is worried, runs down the steps, climbs into the boat and asks why the light went out.”

After: Panel 1: Mara grips the rail and stares at the dark tower. Panel 2: she steps into the boat. MARA: “Why did the light go out?”

The revision separates time and gives worry a visible gesture. It also removes words that repeat the picture. Check the final rhythm in a blank panel layout.

A prose manuscript tells the story. A panel script selects what readers see. A storyboard tests those selections visually. These are different stages, and none guarantees finished artwork.

Plan the page count first. A weekly chapter often has about 18 to 22 pages. That does not imply a fixed number of panels. Read how many pages a manga chapter has for other formats.

If your story is prose, the manga length estimator estimates a planning range from its word count. It does not adapt the story into a finished script.

About Konyomi: Konyomi will read a story in prose and plan the pages itself. You will not need a script for it. A script still helps when you work with a human artist.