Avoid over‑explaining panels

A March 2026 craft post by graphic novelist Debasmita Dasgupta told creators to stop explaining every panel in words and let the art carry more of the story. (writersandartists.co.uk) Dasgupta published the advice in a Writers & Artists article dated March 17, 2026 and edited March 24, 2026. In the section on mixing words and pictures, she wrote that “a common mistake is over-explaining” and said dialogue can “breathe” when the art already shows the action clearly. (writersandartists.co.uk) She framed the rule as part of panel construction, not just line editing. Her examples moved from a written explanation like a character feeling nervous to visual cues such as scene-setting wide shots, close-ups for emotion, and silent panels for impact. (writersandartists.co.uk) That advice lands as graphic novels keep gaining ground with young readers in the United Kingdom. The National Literacy Trust said 40.3% of children and teenagers ages 8 to 18 read comics or graphic novels at least once a month in 2023, based on responses from 64,066 young people. (literacytrust.org.uk) The same report said comics readers were more likely to enjoy reading in their free time and more likely to read daily than non-readers of the format. Scholastic UK, citing that research in December 2025, said 59% of children who read graphic novels for fun enjoyed reading for pleasure, compared with 33% of children who did not read them. (literacytrust.org.uk, scholastic.co.uk) Publishers have been tracking the commercial side of that rise as well. The Bookseller reported in September 2025 that the UK children’s comic strip fiction and graphic novels category reached a record £20.2 million in 2024 and was running 29.4% ahead in 2025 at that point. (thebookseller.com) Dasgupta’s own background helps explain why the advice is getting attention among working creators and beginners. Alice Williams Literary says she completed a master’s degree in children’s book illustration and graphic novels at Middlesex University in 2023, published her debut graphic novel *Nadya* with Scholastic India in 2019, and now lives in Windsor in the UK. (alicewilliamsliterary.co.uk) Writers & Artists has also been promoting Dasgupta as a teacher on panel structure, pacing, and storyboarding through a 2026 masterclass on making a graphic novel. The result is that her note about not captioning every beat is being presented less as a slogan than as a practical page-making rule: if a drawing already does the job, the script can step back. (writersandartists.co.uk, writersandartists.co.uk) The point of the advice is simple and old-fashioned at once: comics are built panel by panel, and silence is one of the tools. Dasgupta’s version gives creators a clear test for each page — keep the words that add something, and cut the ones the picture already said. (writersandartists.co.uk)