How well did you plan out the plot of your comic?

[joannekwan]

It depends on the story really, like for my sit-com-esque series I only planned probably 40% of the way in before starting to draw it. That's because it's a touch more episodic with a meatier plot that develops the later it goes. Like at its core, it's just a girl interacting with demons, but the latter half of the series deals with how they got there in the first place.

For my romance story, it started on a whim, I just really liked these two characters I created so I started posting some pages? After the first two updates I then really buckled down and came up with a general plot that I fully fleshed out after a month, and then gradually filled in dialogue and nitty gritty details after another 3 months.

For my other compact stories, I like having the whole thing written out before starting. Of course the dialogue I write isn't set in stone and could be changed as I'm drawing.

[BubooSenchan]

I love BL, YAOI romance. Really twisted shit. So I put both together and ta taaa: Gloomy Night xd
I put everything that I like to see in comic together like: killings, suicide, hot guys, trauma, a lot of blood, sadness, but also cute things and a lot of psychological stuff.

[ahhvecadoes]

I'm almost at the end of Ch 1 and still haven't finished writing Ch 2, so not very well, lol

I DO have, like Anna said, the basics plotted out and general chapter synopsis written down, but as far as scripts, I do things generally on the fly and add pages where needed to make things flow better.

[jamieprimack]

I'd say I have 65% of my plot figured out, and 30% of it already scripted. That way, I know where I'm going with the story, but still have room to make changes if a good idea comes along. Something I find really helpful is a writing technique called the Snowflake Method, which focuses on taking a few small ideas and expanding each of them until you have a more abstract whole. Here's a link to a website explaining it: Snowflake Method

[fighterxaos]

New Courage major beats are planned. But I give myself a lot of room of how to tackle things page by page.

[p4blowl]

roc vs is a comic that I had long time ago, the characters are all "planned" but you always think of something they would do that u didnt think before, and about the plot... it moves itself sometimes...

[Ambat]

Personally I usually have a pretty solid idea of the end game in mind--maybe not every exact detail, but more or less where the story is going to be heading. It's a lot easier to formulate events leading up to an ending as opposed to just making a chain of scattered, unrelated events. In my opinion, its best to make sure that every event in your story, even the smaller ones, support the main themes of your story--either the direct linear narrative that leads the characters to the climax, or the subplots like character arcs and whatnot.

Nocturne has changed and grown quite a bit plot wise since I started uploading the comic! As I work with the characters and world more, I get more ideas on how to move forward. I definitely started with a skeleton structure compared to what I have now. I think while it's important to have at least some strong foundations in where your story's plot is going, leaving yourself a little room to develop and change the story as you work on your comic and grow stronger as an artist and a storyteller is a luxury that really only webcomic artists get, and we should be taking advantage of it!

[Martlu15]

For my current comic, I have a vague idea and mostly just planning a few episodes ahead. But for my dream comic, I've figured out everything, with some room for changes and additions. I won't be able to work on it for a while now, but it gives me some ideas to work with of my current one.

I would probably just put down ideas on paper or Google Docs on everything from the beginning to the end. You can add things between different events. Come up with some super important things like twists and reveals or just whatever you think will be cool, then fill in the gaps between those... or... something.

[indagold]

My current (newest) comic I started the idea 6 years ago, planned it out for 2 years and somewhat finalized the story after 6-7 months. I still have some tiny bits I need to add or improvise on. And this is a short story. Seriously it takes time.

[Zanreo]

Well, my "plots" are mostly just based around real-life game history and news/events so ¯_(ツ)_/¯

[Chronitis]

You made me think of a follow-up question.

[Chronitis]

Follow up question: How long did it take you guys to make it this far with having your plots planned out to 40% or higher?

[Onestroke]

I recommend you make a beginning and end and make the middle as you go through and try not to get out of hand because you could write yourself into a corner

[Chronitis]

So would starting a story off, somewhat episodic and then getting to the meat of the plot, later on, be a good idea?

[Vanesalisa]

well you think of a story that come in your mind then you write it down the plot once you did you fix it some errors and mistakes

[Onestroke]

That depends on the type of story you have and what it focuses on

[kyupol]

I didnt. It all just came to me like a direct download from somewhere else...

[Chronitis]

@kyupol haha maybe I should update myself and download it aswell

[dan]

I started writing it as a straight up novel actually. Got through to about Chapter 5 of my comic in terms of plot, with the rest of the story loosely planned, before starting to work it into a comic.

[Shanny8]

@DexterityMaxity I'd probably say I'm operating below 50%- but it's a strong "below 50%". Like now- I'm kinda struggling to finish off scripting Ch 2(which I will be starting on soon), but I have a clear idea of what's going down in Ch 3. I have a gist of the main story going on in Ch 4; I most likely will be introducing another element as well coz the main part of Ch 4 is generally the prominent plotline of the whole series. I have an idea of where I'm going with the series for the most part, but it's the "filling in the gaps" that is challenging.