How to think of a one-shot idea to represent a series I want to make?

[JoshRaed]

I am currently working on a bunch of drawings, and once I've drawn enough stuff like that, I'm going to make a one-shot comic based on a horror comic series I want to make later, then once I've made a one-shot or two, I'll make a proper full length comic.

But I can't think of anything that would work for the purpose of a one-shot.

I want to have a working one-shot script by the time I'm ready to start drawing it, so I don't have to stall for that process when I get to it.

What do you think I should do?

(Also i’ve dedicated this story to doing the exact opposite of every single point of the Harmon wheel when I do make it)

[Todoyama]

Hey, I recommend you just start thinking about it like a short story, short stories are not easy to make. I would recommend just start with one long story and think about it, what would have a start, and an end in one chapter.

[Lensing]

Here is a story, taken from your horror story that you uploaded some months ago:

1 Lisa is living a routine life with her parents, feeling content but seeking something to break the monotony.

2 Lisa becomes fascinated by the idea of having her own lighter after seeing a friend's. She desires the independence and intrigue associated with it.

3 Lisa approaches her father, asking for a lighter. It's an unfamiliar situation for her as she rarely makes such requests.

4 Her father, understanding her curiosity, gives her a lighter. Lisa now has to adapt to the responsibility that comes with having something potentially dangerous.

5 Lisa successfully conceals the lighter from her mother, achieving her initial goal. She revels in the newfound sense of control and secrecy.

6 Lisa realizes that she has to lie to her mother to keep the secret hidden. The lie puts a strain on her relationship with her mother, creating an emotional toll she hadn't anticipated.

7 The lie becomes a burden, and Lisa decides to come clean to her mother. This confession brings her back to the familiar situation, but with a changed perspective on honesty and the consequences of her actions.

8 Through this experience, Lisa undergoes personal growth. She learns the value of honesty, the consequences of hiding the truth, and the impact of her choices on relationships. The incident becomes a turning point, and Lisa emerges changed, with a deeper understanding of responsibility and the complexities of desire.

[JoshRaed]

I actually looked into rewriting a horror short to contain characters from my horror comic, just to get a sense of what a self-contained short story with them could even be. I’m still not sure what they’d even do in this story, or what good ideas I could have with them that work off of none of their pre-existing characterization or lore and making everything require explanation.

Like imagine there’s never been batman before and you have to make an episode to represent batman TAS but also that’s going to be the one episode of the show and stand by itself.

[JoshRaed]

Did you ever show this to me before? The wheel I mean?

[KevinReijnders]

Very certain Harmon's story circle was mentioned to you in one of your multiple threads. Probably the one about story structure. I also recall you claiming to be familiar with it already.

[Lensing]

I did some times
You can do this and similar structures with every story
Dan Harmon does this with every Rick and Morty episode

[smokesalty]

Honestly, my advice is to just plan to make 10 pages. One shots can be kind of long. Just make 10 pages, and try things out. It won't be too big of a commitment, and it'll make working on it low stress.

Make 10 pages that's a snippet of a larger story you want to work on. Just a short scene Just have something small happen. For example, a character arguing with their parent and coming to a comprise. It doesn't have to be complicated.

I actually did this before making my big comic. My test comic was kinda bad (in my eyes) but it helped me work out a lot about my style. It's still up on tapas for me to look back on. (https://tapas.io/series/discontinued-Vigilante-My-Love/info)

Again, just focus on learning and getting something finished. It doesn't have to be perfect. Just have something to show.

[JoshRaed]

I haven’t seen that many episodes but i’ve never seen an episode of this show where it happens. Who in rick potion number 9 got what they wanted but paid a heavy price for it? Morty wanted a girlfriend and got to be the only survivor of his dying planet, still not having a girlfriend.

Also I don’t think this can work for horror. Like if a movie ends with the protagonist being dragged off to their death, that’s not the character getting what they wanted or returning to the familiar world.

[Lensing]

It works for all kind of story, especially horror stories.

Are you kidding? Of course you don´t take every word of the story circle literally.
Replace the "paid a heavy price for it" with the resolution you have in mind.
Come on Josh...

I even showed you with your own story:
The "heavy price"
6 Lisa realizes that she has to lie to her mother to keep the secret hidden. The lie puts a strain on her relationship with her mother, creating an emotional toll she hadn't anticipated.

Now it´s your time to do the work and not the time for further questions

[JoshRaed]

So what even is the story wheel if all the pieces can be replaced? What can I learn from it if it allows for me to write anything at all with no regard for it’s rules? Why is it a wheel if it’s possible for the character to never return to the familiar?

I have never been confused as to how to construct a story without this thing and I’ve never felt like I benefited from seeing it. Why do I keep being sent this image.

How hypothetically is this wheel supposed to help me? What bad thing could happen to my story if I didn’t? Especially in this context where I already have plenty of story ideas that are structured properly, just none I think work for what i’m trying to make.

Also i’ve seen more than a few short films that follow literally none of the steps.

[Lensing]

You will understand it when you used it and tried it with already existing stories.
Take for example Star Wars Episode IV or Harry Potter or any other story.
I can fill out the story wheel with the main story and with every single character
in the story from Luke over Leia to Han over Darth Vader.
It helps you to have a structure and structure is important for everything.

You will never understand it when you don´t use it and keep thinking about new
things to ask

[JoshRaed]

Rec 2006

1) It does start in a familiar space. This is mostly because that’s what stories do.

2-3) main character has no story-spanning goal until after entering the unfamiliar situation.

4) The main character is no more prepared for what happens at the end than she was at any point before this.

5-6) Every goal she expresses a desire for is something she fails to accomplish. No good things happen to her the whole story. She doesn’t pay a heavy price for this thing because she never got it.

7) she never returns to the familiar, she dies in a place she’s never seen before, even over the course of the movie.

8) The story doesn’t have any traditional character development moment for her. She’s dead, the end. She probably would have been changed had she lived. But she didn’t.

[JoshRaed]

(post withdrawn by author, will be automatically deleted in 24 hours unless flagged)

[2DLenzy]

I love this! Saved it to analyze my story arcs later.

This reminds me of the Hero's Journey, but I like the cyclical/patterned feel to it.
Made me kinda laugh too cause my character, having gone through his first "cycle" hasn't really changed much, or at least on the surface. Might irritate the audience a little, but that's the aim and fun of the character, least for the first major arc. He's gonna change later, but not before some trauma.

Also, not to add to the pile, but @JoshRaed, I think his wheel suggestion was based on your hero/protag actually surviving/overcoming the horror encounter, whatever that would be for your story.

If a tragic ending is your idea, maybe look up some tragic short stories where the hero is left unfulfilled or even dies? The circle would be different, broken even (breaks at the end, cause there's no fulfillments) but have a beginning, middle and ending to it. Keep it short, it's only a test story, and you don't have to worry so much over how it unfolds. The real horror is making others care about your characters, and then ripping them apart. Just do a few pages, 10 or 20, and put it out there, see how people react.

Everyone's gonna overthink and question things, it's the current disease of our generations. But you gotta put something out there first. I'm begging you to stop with the over-thinking/analyzing. I used to do it too, but I've changed since I started publishing, and not caring over every little thing in my story is rewarding and confidence-boosting. Just write the dang thing and put it out there. Don't waste any more time on here than you need.

(Probably should split this post, but I'm not gonna worry over it. Sorry, Lensing! Just ignore it XD)

[JoshRaed]

I think asking people to help me have an idea was a mistake honestly. Like of course no one is telling me how to do that because how could they?

[KevinReijnders]

Dan Harmon's story circle is based on the same theory of the Hero's journey afterall, but applied for episodic television. You can even see the 3 act structure in it. The 1st 2 slices being Act 1 (thesis), the next 4 slices represent Act 2 (anti-thesis) and the final 2 are Act 3 (synthesis).
In fact, I would go as far as to say that all methods of story structure end up boiling down to the very same core concept.

[Lensing]

Yeah, it pretty much works for every story when you have a main character with a goal,
it is a helpful tool when you know how to use it

[JoshRaed]

Wait... so there is a way to use it? What do you use it for specifically? Because as far as I can see it's just a worse version of three-act structure. It had less detail and more hard rules.

I can say that every story I've ever seen or written has had the moment where the main character is hit with the unfamiliar, then the later moment where they choose to do something about it. But I've seen more stories where the main characters just straight up fail at everything than ones where they succeed but suffer the consequences. Nor have I written a story with that in it.

[Kelheor]

Why don't you go and read about it and decide if it's of any use for you? It's a tool. You may use it or you may not, it's up to you.