How do you draft and refine your story?

[unicornfield]

I recently started drafting a script for a comic with a story and I'm aiming for a length of 20 chapters or so. It'll be my first narrative-based comic so I want it to be a reasonable length that I could finish within reason. When I was about 60% done with my first draft, I realised it would be very long, so I decided to cut down the story, change parts of the story, fix plot holes etc. I don't mind spending more time on the drafting stage if it means it'll be easier at the drawing stage.

How many drafts do you go through before your final story?
Is there a way to make this process easier?

[IdiotWithPencil]

I went through 3 drafts for my current WIP, it's about 9-10 chapters

The way I made it easier for myself was actually in pre-production, I boiled down my story into a simple phrase of no more than 10 words, then a check list of what I wanted in the story (plot points, scenes, character interaction etc) after that I placed the list in a time line, what goes where in the story, then I started with characters and their personalities.

With that out of the way I started the 1st draft with the idea of "just get it done" don't care about characters don't care about if it makes sense just finish the bloody thing.

then I gave it to somebody to read and get feed back. <--- most important part

next with the feedback and a weeks worth of fighting I got back to drafting. First do not, I repeat, DO NOT edit the first draft, rewrite it from scratch with the first draft as a reference if anything. Second I work on making the plot make sense and flesh out more the character and that they follow the plot more sensibly, I think how would they act to get to this point or how can I make it so that their actions make sense.

after that taste of hell I gave it again to somebody(same person for me but it can be adiffrent person if you want) for feed back <----VERY important

then for the final draft I enter into cutting fat and trying to cut down the page count (250 to 200) mostly just cutting depending on the scene, Rules for cutting if it's important leave it, if it's cool leave it, if it's funny leave it. Try your best for the story to have 0 flat scenes, each scene/panel should have a purpose even if the purpose is just set dressing for exposition try to make it so that each moment the reader learns something new or has something to look at.

after that final piece of writing hell it's off to thumbing each and every page =P

hope this helps and happy writing.

[k5rakitan]

I write in a paper notebook and edit a lot before I release a new chapter. I'm releasing a chapter a day right now because this is a new platform to me, but once I get caught up, it will go back to my regular schedule of releasing a chapter every 8 days.

[Darlynne]

My pipeline basically consists of writing down a couple of short sentences of what the next chapter will be about and taking detailed notes of any important events that need specific precision in the final execution. This process takes me anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour depending on the complexity of the chapter and how many details I want exact to the outline.

After that, I move onto storyboarding and start drafting how the panels will look, the spacing between them, what the dialogue will be, and where the bubbles will be located. This is the most time-consuming portion for me, as getting the dialogue to flow correctly from one plot-point to the next requires a bit more work. For me, this process takes anywhere from 4-7 days since most of it is spent brainstorming how to formulate the dialogue & how to wrap up the chapter nicely. I will admit, my storyboards are a bit more detailed than most so this process is basically just me drawing what the chapter will more or less look like in its final render—just without color, typesetting, or polished lineart.

Once I'm happy with the rough draft, I'll begin the lineart, which only takes 1-2 days because of how detailed my storyboards are. It's basically just me tracing my previous sketches so it's super straightforward.

Once all the preparation is done, it's all just gruntwork to get the chapter fulled rendered and polished. This includes coloring, shading, special textures, typesetting/typography, & exporting it in a format for (web) publishing.

This is basically my method for completing a series chapter to chapter, with knowing what the end goal of the entire series is in my notes/head. It's not by any means the most efficient way of tackling a large (40-50 panel) chapter, but it's the method that has worked the best for my scatter-brained type of thinking. I really enjoy having the creative freedom in my stories, so I like to keep my outline short and simple, taking note of the really important points I need to address.

[thedude3445]

I try to make as many outline drafts as possible so that the macro level stuff is really solid, then after completing the first draft I have a better understanding of the story flow and any changes that may have come up due to stuff like, underestimating the size of chapters or not outlining a subplot as well.

I usually do something like, three outline drafts, then three novel drafts, for anything novel-length, though sometimes only one edited draft for web serial stuff.

[Ardelvion]

How many drafts do you go through before your final story?

Usually 2-3 drafts until my comic strip has 10-11 panels and until the story still makes sense.

Is there a way to make this process easier?

This one's my way and it's up to you if you wanna use it or not.

I have a notebook where I draw small ugly thumbnails and notes on each side of the thumbnail. Actually, scratch "notes". Make them "scribbles" instead since they're also ugly.

At this stage, I come up with more or less than 20 comic panels and this happens a lot. There'll be situations where I have to change the whole story, cut out some panels, edit some panels, or cut out characters just so I can try to finish a 10-11 panel story within 1-2 weeks. Yes, I'm that damn slow thanks to anatomy.

[unicornfield]

At this stage, I come up with more or less than 20 comic panels and this happens a lot. There'll be situations where I have to change the whole story, cut out some panels, edit some panels, or cut out characters just so I can try to finish a 10-11 panel story within 1-2 weeks. Yes, I'm that damn slow thanks to anatomy.

We all have to start somewhere. I'm sure you'll improve over time

By changing the story, do you mean the story within the 10-11 panel story or the overarching story?

[Ardelvion]

We all have to start somewhere. I'm sure you'll improve over time

By changing the story, do you mean the story within the 10-11 panel story or the overarching story?

The story is within 10-11 panels. I'm actually working on webcomic strips with different stories. Hehe.