i write mine as a book, then transfer it over from that into a comic script format - first plotline, then panel by panel with thumbnails. it helps get the plot clear for me.
Think there was a forum topic similar to this not long back.
I love foreshadowing. Problem with that is you need a pretty good script so as not to lose yourself in all the to and fro, or accidentally creating a plot hole that someone will call you out on. So I need quite a solid plot.
Problem is with each scene I draw, I usually think of something new or better. And sometimes that forces me to review my entire story. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. The ideas are sharper and clearer for the most part. It's just time consuming and scary when you're trying to hit those publishing dates.
The thing that worked for me is first write the characters biography, first thing is having clear his/her origin and his/her goal, once that is defined the biography comes nice. The character's biography helps a lot to write the story of the comic, is the start point of everything. Then I write a sinopsis of every chapter and later I write the script of every chapter.
So, originally I was only scripting a couple of pages ahead just because I'd been sick of sitting on my Plans To Make A Comic for so long; if I waited until all the setup was done I would never be ready, so I figured I'd just pull the trigger and go for it. For awhile I was scripting, pencilling and inking a page in the same week.
While I dont regret doing this just to get myself started on this project, it made a lot of the early pages3 feel rushed or slapdash to me, coupled with frequent delays when unexpected challenges in the art turned up. I've since changed over to writing detailed scripts, ideally multiple storylines in advance with notations for recommended panel breakdowns, which I think has yielded significantly2 better results.
Character biographies and setting bibles have also been a godsend, just because it can be hard to remember all the details and mechanisms you've put together to make a coherent story. Dont be scared to just stockpile scraps of writing or ideas that you know you want to include, but aren't sure where yet. It's all valuable.
Oof just imagining writing long form for comics is making me dizzy. I love writing and write short stories in my spare time... but writing your comic out as a story before making a script seems like a lot of extra work if it's for your eyes only. I'd be sad to basically lose the writing to the art. Like anything clever or beautiful you write in the descriptive text would be lost when you drew it out. Not to mention it'd be a major time-suck in a process that's already really time consuming.
I usually outline and then jump into writing the script. But I never start drawing until I have the script finalized.
I never do long form. The only long form I do is a list of notes for setting, character building etc.
As someone who wants to become a comic writer, primarily, I've been working hard to write out full scripts and working from those. It's said that Alan Moore's strength was that he was able to approach scripts as a writer and art as an artist, and he kept the two worlds separate. This meant 100% artistic integrity in both realms. I think that is super important.
I used to draw thumbnails and add dialogue post-thumbnailing, but the storytelling would be very clumsy at times. I find that with a script, I can get the full breadth of action and dialogue in the way it should be envisioned, without having to worry about art, yet.
The first thing I usually write down when I have an idea is the premise, "so and so is this many years old, they live here, and want this, but … and so forth."
And this sometimes turns into a rough outline of the whole story.
But often I'll just start rolling it as a film in my mind and begin scripting.
I do long form... but not like a typical story. It's kinda like a weird mixture of a scripts, bullet points and descriptions. It's messy but it works for me.
I find it's too much work do a script because it has a specific format and I cannot for the life of me visualize the scene in a script.
I write a short put complete sinopsis of the whole plot, with the main points very clear. Then I write the chapter and a small description of what happens, divided by page with dialogs and a description of what's going on on each panel. Then I do a sketch of each page til the one I have written, usually 5-9. That way I can progress on the drawing but also on the story without leaving the other behind.
Each of my chapters is a separate short story, but I made sure I had all the ideas before I started making storyboards for the first one. I didn't need it, but I felt more comfortable knowing that from then on, I can change some aspects of the stories, but the general idea is there.
I wrote the general concept of the story, perfected the characters in the meantime, then build a scenario with the dialogues around that, and THEN, went to drawing.
Not sure if I can help, as I am only good with writing fan fiction novels or stories for others >.>
But, I always start with the idea I have in my mind and from that point on work further, as an example: Characters > Bio > Location > Event > Script > Wing it > The End.
So it usually comes out like this (as a in the middle part):
''Miranda, suddenly stood still in the middle of the streets, looking around her and seeing not a single living person wherever her eyes were looking towards... and with a deep sigh she said to herself''
Miranda: Sigh... Maybe I am cursed to be forever alone.. If only my family did not-
And that's about it. I often create fan fiction/stories in this kind of way (not story wise xD). But, I do always keep on re-reading/editing, with every single sentence I add, in order to check if it works.
If it is for something, as in multiple chapters (Long Run), I tend to write the first chapter in the form of a long essay and the further I go before finalizing I keep adding more and more thumbnails for the next one in order to keep track on the progress and continuation of the plot.
Not sure If I was helpful, sorry!
Personally I do a mixture of thumb nailing and scripts. If it's mostly an action scene those are the ones I thumb nail it helps me move the story forward without getting caught up in how to describe each part of the fight. If it involves character development that is the stuff I script. I also force my younger brother to read the parts with me to make sure that it actually sounds like two real human people talking (it's too easy to make everybody sound like the same person) lol.
For me I write long form for trying to figure out where i'm going with things and then eventually fix dialogue/actions for the comic version!
I don't write like... as though I were writing a novel. But I do write long-form descriptions of things that I imagine happening. If there's a scene I have in my head that I'm pondering, or insight on a particular character dynamic, or a rough idea of how I want the story to go, it'll usually get written/typed out as though I were just describing it to someone, because that's the fastest and easiest way for me to get ideas onto paper/digital paper while keeping my impressions of mood and such.
So essentially, I might write "As she explores, she gets a bad feeling and, uncertain, begins to investigate the ruins."
I would NOT write "She frowned as she looked up at the crumbling structure before her. Something about it made her feel as though--" etc etc, because that is too much extra work for me.
The step after that is consolidating my ideas into bullet points to make an outline for the chapter, like @AnnaLandin and @stnmaren, and then the stage after that is writing it as an actual (very rough/loose) script.
yeah! i usually write it all up like a book first then with some hocus pocus i magically transform it into a script. its kinda easier for me to get my thoughts down that way. its hard to be creative going straight to script...
Everyone has their own methods that it's interesting. I'm one of those "strange" creators who don't write in script format and write in long form and then proceed in doing thumbnails after that. It gives me lots of room to adjust if I suddenly thought of something.
I do both haha. I write the script form with major plotlines and work on the rough draft of the comic. Then on my spare time, I write the episode like a book. The good thing about writing it like a book is it gives you some thoughts about smaller details and nice quotes that I can use when working on the final draft.
I always write a script. Even if I'm doing like a one-page bonus comic. It's well worth it as it lets me mull over many details of story, pacing, dialogue etc before I start drawing so I don't have to spend time on that later.That doesn't necessarily mean that the final page is an exact relplication of the script. But I believe it's always the better for it.
2 months later
Actually I write in a more loose “screenplay” style first as well too .As a tips I use https://essmart.org/art-essay/3After have what I think is 25 pages with my beginning, middle and where I want the story to end for that issue, I go back in and begin breaking it down by pages and panels. I try to find those “cliffhanger moments” for page breaks and figure out what pieces of dialogue belong in the same panel so each panel is mini-story, each page is a small story and each issue is a complete story.