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thetrivyadeabhb2
Jun '24

I want to make a comic/manga/graphic novel story (comic story itself) that is worth reading. And I also want to make this story something that I want to tell with storytelling and share it with my friends. I also get into the situation where: If I don’t get what I want for my story, or if I don’t get good enough advice for the question I’m asking for, then I get upset and get into a situation where I must know everything right away and right now from other people! And I must ask that same question but let them give a specific paragraph long answer. And while I do want that, I don’t want it to be crazy specific, because it would be too detailed. So, how can I write a story outline (a basic plot diagram)? And how can I write a script? As in writing a script, once I’m done brainstorming my ideas and putting them together after I write the plot/outline itself…? How can make my story have several degrees of connection to something I know and make it a story I can tell? How can make my story, a story worth reading with others?
I do want to make comics and stories. I just don’t know how to make one and make it something I enjoy instead of making my story stuck and forced ideas, and make it lack meaning and pacing?

I’m a beginner at writing a story, though I did write a chapter for a webnovel workshop. when I was little I made comics, but they were tossed and disposed of in the garbage (where my family throws almost anything away) in my old home, so when we moved I knew it’s gone because I threw it away. So while I did like my stories my tastes of stories I used to like changed over time, and I changed overtime too in the past. I used to like horror, but now I think it’s too scary, so I enjoy comedy and lighthearted stuff, with darker moments at times too, but never to a point of a horror movie.
When I was little, the first comics I made were more about drawings rather than comics, then as a kid I made slice of life comics, about a rabbit saving the day, or a person (with friends) doing things like watching tv and talking about stuff. And my comic from middle school or high school (summer school program) was originally about a girl with a calligraphy brush who can draw almost anything. Common to these comics I made as a kid, they all have cliffhangers or ended abruptly, and never continued to another chapter of a comic.
The story, comic layout, and drawings in the panels, were not well drawn or thought of, and ended up looking wonky. But those story ideas made its way through my mind, even though they were thrown away in the garbage. And the idea changed overtime as well as my tastes.
They were all traditionally made, prior to the second time I got my own tablet for drawing on my previous latest birthday.

So how can I write a story, I want to have fun writing my stories for myself before thinking of an audience? What can I do? How can I write a good story? Any tips, tricks, and advice? Please?

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    Jun '24

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    Jun '24
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Leyelle
Jun '24

Well, this is a pretty general idea, so it's really hard to narrow it down into a blanket statement, of how that can be done, but if you want to write a good, character driven narrative, than the best way to do that, that I know, is to make sure you know your characters well.

Take the time to get to know your character. Where are they from, what was their childhood like, what is their personality like and how do they interact with the world around them. Little nuances like their interests, things they dislike, things they are afraid of, and things like this, help the character to feel realer, and the more complex your character becomes, the more areas of their identity you'll have to explore, which can be captivating for both you and your audience to get to see and experience.

DiegoPalacios
Jun '24
1

It's not a question that can be answered in one single sentence, but that doesn't mean it will take too long to be able to start and don't want to overwhelm you with too many variables, so i will try to keep the first steps as simple as possible.

1-Each genre has a goal. Comedy tries to make people laugh, horror tries to scare people, romance wants to make people root for 2 characters to be together and so on. If you achieve the goal of your genre, or mix of genres, you are in a solid start.

2- Each story has a beginning, a middle part and an end. Most folks seem to struggle with the middle part because of how broad that topic is. There are many methods to structure a story, their difference often comes in what comes in the middle. Which one is better will vary from person to person and sometimes from project to project. Here's a structure that is easily applicable to many stories:

3- For your characters to work, they need to have at least one of these 3 things: be likable, relatable or interesting. Some may have more than one of course.

4-Just do it!, start making stories, learn from your mistakes and what you did right. You don't choose which story will be your magnum opus, the public does, so have fun.

kyupol
Jun '24

I personally won't overthink it. I let my mind take the back seat and just let it "flow". Don't know how else to describe what I do...

Wishing you the best of luck.

LostKelpRegular
Jun '24

Well, whats a story that you want to tell? If you want to tell it then it's worth telling. How you write it is a matter of practice but it's worth making an outline of the beginning and end. The middle can be a bit squiggly and you can work it out as you go.

Broadly you should have at the beginning
1. Some characters you like, or are at least invested in or a setting/plot premise that interests you. You don't need all of these, just 1 will do.
2. A message you want to send or theme you want to explore. The characters, setting and plot should tie into this theme or message. You can (and will) have multiple themes or messages, but usually the main one is what will be resolved or communicated by the end of your story.

Choosing a theme first can help you unify the characters. Let's say the theme is betrayal, this theme lends better to character or plot centric stories rather than interesting settings. One main character has trust issues due to being betrayed, where another is openly trusting despite being betrayed often. Perhaps this less trusting character is in poverty and this big betrayal left them stuck, dependant on the whims of the wealthy and the more openly trusting character is rich, so the fallout of being betrayed doesn't really hurt them (materially at least). This brings a lot of other themes into the soup: class and wealth, privilege. It makes the resolution more interesting. Should the untrusting character learn to trust even though it may hurt them? Should the trusting character become less trusting? Maybe the untrusting character will learn to betray the trusting character to become financially stable. Leaving the trusting character a mess. Should you compromise your principles to gain security and freedom?

I made that up in like 10 minutes. And you can do this with basically any theme: environmentalism, bugs, the horrors of war, fart jokes. What's an angle that interests you? How does this thing interact with other things to become meaningful?

Anyway the above idea is now trademarked by me and I'm naming the trusting character Blueberry and the untrusting character 57.