Screenwriter David Goyer discusses his attraction to darker themes and conflicted characters in The Dialogue: Learning from the Masters, a DVD I recently picked up given I really enjoyed his work on films such as Blade and the very creepy Dark City.

While this series seems to be aimed at more novice writers, there are still some notable tidbits, especially if you’re planning on writing a comic book adaptation:

“You have to be very careful about what you choose to change and not change. The (films in this genre that haven’t been) successful veer away too much from the source material,” says Goyer, who adds that one can get away with a lot more by adapting lesser-known properties, such as Blade.

The writer of this summer’s Batman sequel, The Dark Knight, also talks about his experiences working on a number of blockbusters (Batman Begins), as well as a some of the more forgettable projects (Death Warrant, Demonic Toys) he took on to break into this business early on in his career.

He also discusses the importance of creating your own discipline (when it comes to finding a fixed time to write), the advantages of cannibalizing your own unproduced work for inclusion into a current project, and the need to outline:

“The few times I’ve tried to dive in I’ve become hopelessly lost around page 40 and just fall into despair. I usually write a 30-page outline.”