Planning: an Introduction to the Model

The model that I use for planning plots is roughly based on the Snowflake Method.

I start by distilling my idea of the story into a single sentence, which I call my 1S. Then, I expand it into a paragraph (1p, lowercase), a summary of the plot. Next, I expand it to one page (1P, capital) adding in more detail, then finally, to ten (10P.) For a novel, I might stop there (of course, I would also have notes on characters and setting), but a graphic novel requires more detail. I like to write one to four sentence summaries of all of the scenes (3Lsc) before I start on the script.

You may break this model a bit, especially if you're publishing as you go, in serials or online, in which case I would highly recommend having at least fifteen pages of plot summary and very good notes on your characters and setting before you start writing/drawing, and making sure that you script and storyboard your scenes before you draw them. 

I'll be elaborating on the individual steps of the model in the next few posts. Until then, so long.

How to Plan a Graphic Novel

(Or, at least half of the content of this blog) 

As we discussed earlier, good writing is essential for a good graphic novel. However, because the graphic novel is primarily visual, most of the writing you'll be doing will be planning (dialogue is also important, but we'll discuss that later). Planning is vital, because it helps you to better develop your plot and characters, maintain continuity, communicate effectively, manage your time, prevent writers block, and stay motivated. Also, because the pace of creating a graphic novel is so much slower than plain old writing, it's easy to forget what you're trying to say. In other words, planning is even more important when writing a graphic novel than it is when writing a novel. It's also a lot more work, because the plan needs to be more detailed. Gaps that would just fill themselves in when you're writing a novel have to be deliberately closed when writing a graphic novel, because the things are just so damn slow and labour-intensive that you can't afford to go off on tangents and edit them out later. You WON'T want to pages and pages of finished product. You have to do the bulk of your editing before you actually start drawing your pages.

Now that we've got that out of the way, we can talk about the actual planning. We all have our preferred methods, but the way I see it, the key is to start general, and get increasingly specific. Plan the plan for your plan, you know what I mean? Start by writing out your idea as concisely as you can, then elaborate. Fill in the blanks. I'll post more on the specifics of this process soon.

Introduction

Dear Reader,
Hello. My name is Remy, and I'm a writer. I'm not an expert. I've written one novel, and haven't published it. Now, I'm writing a graphic novel. Presumably, if you're reading this, so are you. Congratulations.

Perhaps you're asking yourself why I've started this blog. Remy, you think to yourself, writer of one novel and 21 pages of glorified comic book, is hardly an authority on art or writing. To that, I say, "Agreed." I'm starting this blog to help myself as much as anyone else. I want to write down all of the little things I've learned, the goals that I've set, what's worked and what hasn't, because I'm sure that someone out there, if only myself, might benefit from seeing them.
Enjoy.