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.
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.
I do something kind of weird.
First I write out the issues in a literary, short-story format. It helps me get a feel of atmosphere, mood, and world-building. Then, once I've made all the edits and am satisfied with how the story goes, I write a script, mostly to condense the dialogue in easier-to digest chunks. What could be perfectly fine in a short story, might be a bit long-winded in a comic.
I simply can't write scripts at all. It's weird maybe but I make my comics from idea's that pop right from my head. So each idea is a new comic divied into 4 panels.
I typically right up the plot idea first in a very basic form and begin to build up. Second phase iis making the chapters in summarized form with no dialogue but a basic idea of what the characters talk about. The last phase is making a fully scripted story with all dialogue and detail. From there I put in ticks between words where I like to start the panel featuring what I wrote. It's such a long a process but it's worth it.
I'm do my comics all by my lonesome, so I just skip the scripts. I generally know where the story is headed and what scenes are important, so I just skip the whole scripting process. It would just be an extra job on what is already something pretty full on. Also with being ambiguous to where I take the script and story, it keeps the creative process fun for myself too. I think I'd do scripts if I was thinking of going pro but it's not a biggie for me. Hmm, here's an illustration of how I work...
abit of both but i usually make comic from stories i wrote so more of story/script first.
but I do edit, add, remove stuffs to speed up or slow down the story when needed.
if it's stripes then i usually like to try drawing out what I picture first...
I start with the concept. What is the main idea.
Then I start thinking about the plot. Where does it start, where does it end, what happens inbetween?
After I got the plot down I start dividing it into chapters, I write down what I want to happen in the entire chapter, and devide those into smaller parts. In the beginning I only wrote a few keywords. But now that I'm further I often write the entire scripts instead of just the summary. That makes it a bit easier to know whether it would or would not fit in 7 pages.
And then I start sketching/ thumb-nailing. I often change a lot from what I've already written down, often rewrite what I already have too.
Sometimes I have random ideas of entire scenes too, I just write them down and try to fit them in the story. I have only 2 chapters written down so far, chapter 3 I have the main line and from there it is a blur till the end. But I don't know how long I want my story to be yet...
