Panel 11: Point A to Point B

Hello hello guys! A frequent question I get is about my process as a writer. So I figured I'd tackle that this week. I'm not terribly sure how long this is going to be so it may end up being super long or super super short. Well, here we go.

INCEPTION

The first step is obviously coming up with an initial idea. This can some from so many places whether it stems from the main character, the type of story you want to tell, a really cool ending you came up with, or something more specific like a nearly formed story. This isn't really something I can help you with. This is the "creative" part that you really need to come up with on your own.


CHARACTERS/WORLD-BUILDING

 Now comes to time to develop your characters and the world they'll exist in. Characters are obviously important because they are the heart of your story. If readers don't care about your characters they're not going to care about your story. And do not assume people are going to like them purely because they're the protagonist. Give your characters a background, likes and dislikes, personality traits, and adhere to them. Seriously. Nothing ruins a character more than inconsistent characterization. For a more in-depth post on this read: Panel 4: So Says The Bible...

Here you'll also want to establish or create your geographical world. You also want to make sure you create rules for your world. What kind of science does or doesn't exist. What about magic? Who inhabits this world? I'm also a big fan of creating a faux history especially if it's a made up universe. I also like to make maps as a visual reference and give me a rough idea of travel time between locations if necessary.

PLOTTING

The next step for me is plotting out the tale. Essentially, I come up with the series of events that will tell the story I want to tell. This is where you need to start thinking about your story arc and your pacing. For a more in-depth post about this part check out Panel 7: The Long and the Short of It. This also where I tend to create issue/chapter breaks for my stories. 

SCRIPTING

Well, the title more or less explains this one. Essentially this is where I script my story. Take all that information that you prepped and get writing!

EDITING

Next comes a pretty important part. I re-read my script at least three times to see what can be/should be cut, what does and doesn't work, what's interesting and what's not. If it it's solid, I send it off to my script editor who then gives me her input and double checks it for typos and grammar. 

I guess that more or less covers it. Sorry that this one was so short, I'll try to make it up to you guys next week. Hope this information helped and I'll see you next week!