I'm planning on making a new series and I'm currently in whatever stage of development that features planning out the story plot line.
My question is: how much should I plan ahead?
Should I have major plot points planned out and fill in the gaps while I draw the story, or should I have the next few updates planned before drawing, or should I have every detail of the story planned out in advance?
Jan '17
Feb '17
I think you have to plot everything from start to the end.
In my series I wrote down the whole story, chapter by chapter. The one is near to be published is completely written down, dialogues and scenery included, the chapters after it is written only as a rough text, but I know from now everything that is happening, final included.
You really don't HAVE to plan out every single piece of story or every plot line if you have a good memory of key elements, or have written down some of the key plot points. My comic is usually written chapter to chapter in a Notepad++ file with a Gmod Lua Language, so I can use color co-ordination without the tediousness of MS word. And it works for the story because even though I have key plot points in my head, when I write them down I can easily change it without it having an effect on the rest of the story.
Like in the chapter I just finished writing, originally something that happens at the end of the chapter wasn't going to be revealed until much later down the line, but because of how I ended it, it felt appropriate to reveal it now and have the protagonist be in awe while he's adjusting to his new found environment. (It also makes for a very happy end to the chapter)
So all in all it's really up to preference, if you have an easier time just writing everything down then go with that, if you have an easier time writing as you go then do that. Or you could use the middle ground road and make an outline of all of the key plot points and things you want to happen during certain arcs/parts of the story, then any change you make should be easier to control.
the more you plan, the easier itll be. definitely know your ending and how youre getting there, at the least. id recommend writing out the plot at least in a first bulletpoint draft at this stage, like
- MC goes to the store
- the store is closed
- mc waits for store to open
- aliens attack
- mc reveals that theyre a superhero through a quick change, not realising that mc2 saw them
- etc etc
even if you dont write out your detailed dialogue plan until you reach a chapter, if you have this its sooo much easier. that being said, it also makes it harder to incorporate ideas youve suddenly had and love. however, you can do that if you write the whole story before you begin. its a lot of work and time, but its worth it.
That really depends on you. If you find it easier to plan out things to the point of knowing every line of dialogue, then do that; if you find it easier to just have a vague idea of what happens and determine the details later, do that.
I usually get a general concept of what I want to do, invent a beginning and some kind of resolution, then find a few points in between that I want to illustrate. Everything else comes later. But there are plenty of people who prefer a stricter, more regimented and detailed scripting approach.
It's most important to find what works for you, rather than trying to force yourself into someone else's style and approach. Try experimenting with a few things and see what ends up working for you. Don't feel bad or weird if your style is different from how you expect or how people you know work. Most all creative people work at least a little differently.
There isn't really any "should" when it comes to webcomics and writing. As others have said, it's all gonna be about finding what works for you! Some people find that writing every detail makes them totally lose interest, or that writing every detail is a waste of time because things will inevitably change along the way. Some people find that inventing as they go makes them frustrated or stressed, and that a lack of planning makes the story come together clumsily.
For some folks, it's gonna be something in between!
For me, I find leaving some gaps to be filled in later helps me (a) not spend forever on planning and (b) be able to change things as I go. If I start out the story just knowing "In chapter 6, they meet the wizard," and as I'm telling the story I realise that there are a lot of things in the current chapters that would probably add some conflict in chapter 6, I have room to explore how those things will affect and change the wizard-meeting. If I had every detail written out in advance, it would require a lot more re-writing every time I thought of a better way to do something.
Since this is my first story comic, revisions like that happen a lot!
But when I don't plan ahead at all, or only in the loosest of terms, I find I start running into problems with story elements that take time to set up. If I know "okay, when we meet the wizard in chapter 6, we have to understand how magic works by the time we get there," then I can start finding ways to show how magic works between now and chapter 6, and make sure that my exposition is smooth and natural. If I don't plan ahead for that stuff and figure I'll just put things in whenever they feel natural, then I find myself going, "okay, next chapter they meet the wizard and... rats, I gotta explain all this magic stuff" and it's much harder to fit it in without a big infodump.
And nothing says you have to stick with the same method if it ain't workin for you anymore. If you start out not planning very much, and find it's stressful, you can pause, sit down and plan the next chapter, and see if that goes better. Or, if not planning is working just fine, but next chapter is very complicated and you feel like you'll do better if that one has more planning -- that's fine too! It doesn't hurt to try stuff. : )
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