How far do you plan ahead for your series?

[teasidesketches]

Like the title says, I'm curious how many people plan ahead for their comics/novels--and if so, how much?

For me, I'm a pretty meticulous planner and one of the least spontaneous people ever. I already have a script written for the first 12 chapters, and I thumbnail the next chapter while I work on one (so, I'll thumbnail chapter 3 while I make pages for chapter 2). I'd love to be able to create on a whim, but it just never works for me and I know my work suffers greatly if I don't go through at least a couple drafts of everything.

Does anyone else prepare things like that? If so, how do you think it helps you? If not, how do you think it benefits you to create as you go?

[dawgofdawgness]

I write out the plot stuff for beginning and end, the rest is just brain fart.

[Darkstrong]

I write script 4-10 pages ahead. Once I commit something to paper it is 99% set in stone, do I prefer to think the material over and think on details as long as I can. But I have the whole plot planned up to the very end.

[Rodimus13]

I have at least one month of scripts done at any given moment the are not being worked on. I have about a month of completed comic buffer. And We ahh eta overall plan for the comic figured out already- which is about a 3 year story line we think.

[vothnthorvaldson]

Mine is a long form comic in two parts.
The first part, everything is planned, although there will be changes, I'm sure.
Second part has only a basic outline.

I used to have dialogue written for the next 3-4 chapters, and thumbnails done too, but I'm in the process of altering my story's structure, so that will have to be partially redone.

For me, it's important to know where I'm going, so having at least a basic outline up to the end. However, I like being able to add/remove things on the way, so I can't imagine having a very rigid frame for more than 1 or 2 chapters ahead.

[JeanGuillet]

I have the entire script done, and I do thumbnails for 9-13 episodes in advance, about 150 frames, basically one scene of the script. I build my background sets to last multiple episodes and render out the backgrounds during my digital layout & pencils phase. Everything from there is a mad scramble of digital ink.

[Iris-Grimoire]

For the art, I'm usually 10-15 pages ahead on thumbnails, 3ish on sketches. As for script...

looks at the 40 page text file
looks back at the camera

(and that's because I stop writing script until the scene notes are perfect)

All in all, I have a file for general notes for the story beats and what I want in each scene, character profiles and infodump, notes about the lore, THEN script, THEN the art. I like to be really organized and it feels fulfilling to either add to all text files or remove from all of them and see if it still works matched up against the different versions.

[phoenixrenaissance]

I try to keep thumbnails a whole chapter ahead. Scripting is pretty spontaneous so I've got random bits of story planned for way further ahead.
I usually only change up thumbnails slightly when it comes time to work on the page but I have trashed a chapter here and there when it didn't feel like it was working.

[rmdooley]

I've got the ending all planned out

It is everything in between that keeps changing!

[kaetana]

Similar to @vothnthorvaldson, I'm doing a long form so I have a loose outline for the whole thing and the closer stuff more strictly planned out so I'm free to make adjustments as needed. I like knowing the core events that will happen, but being able to tailor my writing based on where the characters are at in their development that moment - which I won't always exactly know until I get closer to that point in the story. My first act/season/whatever you wanna call it I have a more detailed outline with all major plot points for each story arc in it, and then I will write the script for each entire story arc (which is usually around three chapters) as I'm finishing drawing the previous one. Art-wise I don't tend to plan far ahead at all; I thumbnail just as part of doing my batches, so 4-6 pages ahead at a time with that.

[mariusthered]

my current book of blunderland (book 2) is written in full and will take about two years to complete

[DiegoPalacios]

now for the serious answer: Most key events/twists are planned years ahead, other elemets like dialogue and the delivery of a scene are worked on the spot and checked as much as i consider neccesary.

[Kittosaurus]

I generally write a chapter at a time and then spend the next month or two drawing that before I rinse and repeat.
*However I will spontaneously add/remove lines or sometimes entire scenes while thumb-nailing...

I have a general archives document where I have a basic outline of some plot points I would like to hit/ a general idea of where I would like to go. As well as a nunch of random lore that may or may not ever be relevant.

I am trying to be more organized as I go into the second book and have a general outline of each chapter before I start.. but we'll see how that goes!

[BlueWorldComics]

I don't start planning ahead until I've built momentum. If you read my comic right now, you might be able to spot the sense of improvisation. As the story builds and the characters start getting fleshed out, I now have the tools necessary to plan ahead. Right now I have vague plot outlines for up to 6 years of story.

[mrtoontastic]

Sometimes, its all based on the idea of what I want for my series, and the kind of insanity I can shoot in.

Other times, and I kinda learned this from Chris Seavor of "Conker's Bad Fur Day", where I have the ending (or big climax) of a story, or series first, then the beginning comes right after. Sometimes, what happens in between are logged in a google doc, while other times are ideas that are off-the-cuff dreams, but slowly form into something bigger once I start working on it.

Then I draw the title card for almost every new story I make.

[FedoraSpooky]

I basically have the main outline of my story done, as well as a basic idea of what needs to happen in what arc! XD I also have some major foreshadowing details planned, but for the most part, page to page, I improvise with jokes and stuff to keep thing interesting for me too.

I often have two or three pages roughly planned in advance. I used to write a script, but I rarely ever kept to it completely as far as dialogue goes. Scripts were kind of a first pass, and then the second and final version would be the page itself.

[irene_addler]

I have the entire thing planned out, and certain scenes written out completely!!...Or I would have it entirely planned out, but I keep having ideas and keep going back and changing it...so now I have to figure out an ending again lol

[teasidesketches]

I know what you mean! I try to plan ahead as much as possible, but I know that things will inevitably change here and there. I keep myself flexible to things not staying set in stone knowing that I'll change my mind about things.
I have a general idea where I want things to go and what plot points I want to hit on, but a lot of the smaller details are still in flux.

[Rhonder]

For my current comic, since it's not too too long (it's looking to wrap up around page 65~70 atm) I wrote out and edited the whole plot ahead of time, then thumbnailed/story boarded the whole thing, and then have been doing the pages 1-3 at a time as I get to them. A lot of subtle changes/decisions still happen on the fly tho. Especially dialogue: I had done a once over in the storyboard with literally no editing, so I'm often rewording or writing things to be better as I go xD Also as I've learned more about paneling and page composition, whole pages have been merged together, or stolen panels from the previous/next page, for example.

I've been sloooooooowly working on a long form story and I think my strategy there will still be to work out the whole plot first, but then probably storyboard and work chapter by chapter.

[djwaglmuffin]

hahaha...

I've been working on mine for over a decade...must've retooled it at least a dozen times.

For me, I'll plan it, scrap it, start over. It never ends!!!