Story Arcs or One-Shot Stories?

ToxicRamen 2016-09-10 02:20:47 UTC #1

When writing out stories for your comics, do you use one shot stories or do you have long story arcs? For some reason I like the idea of writing one shots stories because I find it easier to do one-shot stories with some continuity than trying to layout a long story arc because I have no idea how exactly the story arc will end.

MidZM 2016-09-10 02:50:25 UTC #2

My Comic is read and stylized like a manga and anime fusion, and because I like story lines I write it as story arcs rather then one shots, I do find story arcs to be a bit more appealing when making something of that caliber but I have MANY stories that I think of on a daily basis that are one shots. Though I would probably not draw them with small exceptions here and there sometime in the future. However there is an exception in my own comic where there will be story lines completely based around the one shot concept, but it will be much later down the line.

When I think of getting into a series I don't like the idea of just one single story line that most likely won't fit into another one, I like reading a whole story that connects into it'self much like Fairy Tail or Attack on Titan.

J.Lovelace 2016-09-10 03:12:54 UTC #3

I always start with a simple, short story.
And then add one more plot... and then another... and more characters...
And by the end of the week it SOMEHOW turns to a series with 200 chapters, 100 characters and 2 sequels and one prequel.
LOL
Well that was an extreme example, but it did happen. It happens a lot with me.

AnnaLandin 2016-09-10 05:15:56 UTC #4

I do both for different comics.

I've done a bunch of oneshots over the years, and am working on one right now. They're a nice way to tell a story, experiment a bit with new characters and try out new settings and stuff. I've done scifi oneshots, romance oneshots, adventure oneshots, etc., etc.

As a creator, though, I tend towards longer storyarcs, though. My brain is just wired for picking an idea and expanding on it wildly. I actually find it difficult to contain myself and do shorter stories, because there's a part of my brain always excitedly jumping up and down and going "Look at all this stuff you could tell stories about!"

I always make sure to figure out my ending-point first. I don't necessarily need to end up exactly at that point, but it's nice to know what I'm aiming for.

navyzerimar 2016-09-10 12:02:29 UTC #5

I am telling a story myself...
My personal advice to anybody who is attempting to do this is that is better for you to think about the entirety of your story before trying to jump in blindly into drawing and publishing, considering I am not big or have a huge sub base, it´s a very valuable advise I read before publishing, it helps greatly to have your ideas organized and you them only have to focus on your dead lines and technicalities.

Attempting to tell a huge story without correct planning is a sure way of getting yourself under unnecessary stress and pressure specially if you have a big audience.

Wolfenrahd 2016-09-11 06:37:14 UTC #6

Well to be honest, I daydream a lot. A lot of the time I do it, I think of ideas. So I usually think of long story arcs.

Wolfenrahd 2016-09-11 06:40:38 UTC #7

If you try to do story arcs, just generate a lot of ideas first. Gather them together, find out which you want to use, and the order events will be played out. Generally, think of a beginning, some middle plot, and the end. Then, think of more ideas and other arcs to fill it out in between. If you ever have a lot of plots and characters, some can intertwine to form new ones. You could even think of some type of joke character, who might end up a key plot point. I once thought of a kid who as a small joke; someone who was supposed to be a part of the next gen of heroes, while in reality the heroes already established prove the kid has no talent and the world shouldn't be in their hands. But then, I ended up giving the kid a scythe, then made him the son of a powerful being who resembled the grim reaper, but only good. Now, "Jr." is apart of the main team of heroes. I also made a joke character called Glitch. He was just a glitchy guy with a bunch of memes, but then I made him serious. A reality altering being cabaple of destroying the world. It also gave me the opportunity to turn the main character, who's only powers was slime, into a chosen one type of guy who was destined to stop Glitch, and the only one who could do so. If you ever need ideas, just let me know, I'm overflowing with them.