Hi,
Some time ago I started developing a graphic novel that I intend to produce myself, from the story itself to at least the sketches for the complete novel - I'll see later if I hire an illustrator/ inker. At the moment, I have the story's structure and, little by little, I've started to shape it, but the method I'm using is causing me to get constantly blocked. I explain the method I'm using in case you'd like to comment on it or if it's helpful, keeping its limitations in mind:
- World: I create sketches with notes about the world the characters will inhabit. It's an imagined world, but very much rooted in my personal experience.
- Characters: I have sketches with basic characteristics of them, although I still need to define aspects of their lives and the community they live in (what they do for a living, who's been involved with whom, things like that).
- Synopsis: on one page of the complete novel (8 chapters), with a brief description of the content of each chapter. Each chapter is an illustrated volume that will be produced and published sequentially.
- Chapters: Separately, I use A5-sized sheets (index cards) to create the script for each scene, notes for sketches, and dialogue. Each card corresponds to one page of the novel (for example, each chapter has 24 pages, though this isn't a fixed number).
- Scenes: Each chapter is composed of a number of scenes, which varies depending on the story's development. Before writing a scene, I note on each card the approximate number of pages (index cards) I have available to tell the story, so I can visualize the entire chapter without getting lost in the description of each scene (which could end up being very long).
- Pages - Side A: On one side of the cards, I describe the story, details, what the characters do, and what their environment is like. The descriptions are short, about 10 lines, so I don't get lost in the details.
- Pages - Side B: On the other side of each character sheet, I write the dialogues the characters are having, using the story description on Side A as a reference. Using this method allows me to plan the entire story, zooming in and out on parts that come to mind or that aren't yet ready, while also allowing me to change details and rewrite a character sheet without having to rewrite an entire chapter. However, it causes me blockage because I'm developing details and connections in a story where the complete narrative isn't defined (the story only exists in its "synopsis"), and which I have neither the intention nor the time to write as a preliminary step to writing the novel.
I would appreciate your opinions on the method, any important parts I've left out, and any other advice to avoid getting block due to the lack of having a complete story developed ... Thank you in advance!
