How do you plan/map our your comic/novel?

[Freemints30]

How I plan?

Persis, very, very Persis.

My comic had its script 100% written by the time I started drawing. Yes I have all 6 volumes (7 chapters with 25 pages per each chapter) written and scripted. Planned for all.

My novel I'm going like this

I have 3 arcs

I fully plan out one arc at a time (mind maps then chapter by chapter summary) and finally I write.

Once I'm done with one arc I would plan out the next.

I'm currently writing my second arc

I'm planner to my very core cus my thoughts are too spacy and cluttered.

[Ordinaryaverageguy]

Not that I have a lot of experience to talk about, but I'm kinda like you. I start planning it out after it starts to get a bit long. I keep a character list, and a chronological order of episode/chapter titles with a short summary of each, to try to keep from writing a chapter that contradicts something earlier.

[HippieGhost]

I'm with therosesword here. I'm a pantser too. I have a vague idea of where each of my stories is going, maybe a few key events, but I feel like part of the fun in writing is finding out what happens when it does. That said it's got its pitfall too.

[cherrystark]

I am a pantser. I am constantly jotting down story ideas and making up different scenarios for my characters to be in. My plotlines are character-driven. My biggest piece of advice for writing characters is to write people not placeholders. I've noticed in some stuff that I've read lately where characters basically check boxes: "plain" MC (check), mysterious broody love interest (check), wacky BFF (check). You get the picture.

It's totally fine to have an idea of who you want your characters to be and where you want them to end up. The key is to give them something that makes them feel fundamentally human. You can have your tough as nails female MC who is great at spitting one-liners, but let her be in a healthy relationship and if children fit into the plot, let her be a mom. I know women like this IRL and they can be fiercely loyal and amazing friends. "Composites" of people have proven to me, to be much easier to write and easier to introduce facts about that help move the plot along.

[summer_coefficient]

What the hell is a "plan"?

[therosesword]

I think my neighbors on the first floor just heard me laugh, I'm on the third. Thank you.

[HippieGhost]

This is a big one for me. I joke that my characters write themselves, but they do. Usually when I first introduce a character, I have an idea of what they do or maybe a personality trait or two, but sometimes all I've got is a line that needs to be said and the character pops into existence. Arin from The Shopkeeper is a good example. I had the scenario and a vague idea of what he would deal with, but all of their lines were reactive. I didn't even plan them to be nonbinary until I started writing their pronouns.

[therosesword]

The key is to give them something that makes them feel fundamentally human.

Totally agree. And all of that is shown in the quiet moments, when you think everything is going fine and there's no massive pounding the story forward. All the little nuances show up there. In my stories now where the MC has multiple lives he says "tell me" to a wife from a former life, when he knows there's something important going on. And now, three lifetimes later, with a new wife he simply says "Tell me" cementing the fact that he remains constant in his caring for them no matter how much his lives change around him, his core self is the same.

It's those little things that really touch the readers.

[amortelito]

I didn't have any experience with webcomics when I came to Tapas, I planned a short adventure to test the waters. I had a general script, nothing too rigid and I'm so glad I didn't plan the whole series because my expectations and the format were way different than I imagined. I had to adapt everything after learning and getting feedback from the readers and artists.

Now I work with a very lose idea of the dialogue but I have a very clear idea of the events that have to happen in every episode so that the story makes sense. Some events are non-negotiable unmovable but others might change a bit. I have flexibility and freedom mostly because I know my characters and story by heart and I can play with both. But If I had to collab with another person I would have to write everything down.

[cherrystark]

I totally get it. In super early drafts, I imagined my characters Nick and Robin ending up together. That idea died in rewrites of part 1. They are brother and sister 100%. If they "end up together" in the end, it's most likely going to be as siblings/roommates.

[CJYoung]

I will agree that a lot of things I do are unplanned. Pretty much each book I start happened when I sat down to write something, anything. I even add in characters or plot points on the fly.

But I tend to plan out after a while. I guess it's what helps me stay focused. Although, I don't always use what I write out. I'm flexible. If it doesn't fit when I get there, I toss it and come up with something new.

Like my newest series, which I'm hoping can be published with Tapas soon (not currently available on my profile, basically), is also like that. I plan out my chapters, like the main feel or important scenes I want, but it may or may not change when I sit down to look at that part of the story.

[HippieGhost]

I have the opposite problem. In my collabs that I use for practice, my pirate-captain keeps flirting with another main character that's supposed to have an unrequited crush on her. Instead HE'S the one going tsundere on her and she's just laughing about it.

[CJYoung]

I find script writing both easier and more complicated lol. (you mean comic scripts, right?? or, movie scripts?) Because in novel writing I tend to make plots more intricate, while a comic is able to show a reader more instead of having to explain everything like you would for a book.

Yet, I find myself planning out the plot even MORE for a comic. Lolololol. Like, you can convey more in shorter amount of time, but it has to be more perfect too, so the scenes don't confuse people.

[cherrystark]

Sounds like it's an interesting character dynamic. Who knows where it will eventually lead!

[CJYoung]

Yeah, I agree. I'm way more interested in character driver stories, rather than plot based. Mostly because when I myself am reading, I don't care as much about what's going on as I do about how it's affecting the characters or what they're thinking about it.

When books get too plotty I actually tend to skim past the boring parts a bit xD

[HippieGhost]

Oh I can tell she's gonna Dom the hell out of him but I have no control over when and that's becoming very clear.

[therosesword]

I've written plays, most of my work has been audio drama, done a little film and tv, no comics) If I'm writing for hire from someone else's outline I can do that or their general idea, I can do that too. But usually I pants all the way.

There really isn't a wrong way to write.

The way that works for you is the right way. I'll keep reference notes so I don't screw up later and not resolve something, but that's not a plan or an outline. On the other hand, my all time favorite short story is The Lady or the Tiger. I love ambiguous endings.

[CJYoung]

Yeah, of course. It's whatever works best for a person at the time. I've worked with Tapas for almost four years now, and I'm pretty sure I approached each book I wrote differently. Even my newest one is being done different than the rest of my stuff.

Not sure if the story is what needs the change, or if it's because I've changed as a writer over the years xD

[HGohwell]

I generally pants my way through a short(ish) (ok not short at all) draft novel that I bash into shape with a sledge hammer and a lot of merciless cutting afterwards and then call that a rough script for my comic (and then try really hard not to ignore it when I get hit with a new better sparkly idea). As for that draft novel it tends to be done in a sorta roleplay kinda way (I have been known to rp them with friends to get things down). It's more there's characters and this is the world and here's an inciting incident or goal, figure out the rest in the process.

[cherrystark]

When books get too plotty I actually tend to skim past the boring parts a bit xD

My issue with plot-driven stories is that they get too predictable. I can't count the number of romantic dramas where about 3/4 of the way through the storyline the female MC gets kidnapped and the male MC comes to rescue her and their big resolution of issues happens in a hospital room. I can see this coming every time. This is also why, no matter your writing style, you should let the story develop naturally. Yes, you may have to rework your plot but knowing when to hop on the freeway to Story Town and when to take the scene routes to Story Town is INCREDIBLY important.