Five Steps to a Masterful Outline for Your Comic

Nov 12

Writing an outline is an important step in making comics and graphic novels. It ensures you have all the details of the plot arcs and character arcs sorted out. And it ensures you have a compelling story told how you want it to be!

There’s no right or wrong way to get your outline out. Paragraphs, bullet points, a series of sticky notes on your wall - write it down however you want. But what is important is ensuring you have all the elements of good storytelling.

Here are five steps you should follow to make sure your outline is perfectly crafted and ready to go:

Consider the plot structure
There are lots of different ways you can plot out a novel. You might consider your plot like a roller coaster - things start slow and ramp up to the big, central climax. That’s when the loops and fast drops come in! Then, we wind back down to a satisfying conclusion.
Or you could use the famous Save the Cat! plot structure, which is perhaps the most common outline format for Hollywood movies. You can find the beat sheet for this structure on many resources, including this post on Fiction University or, of course, in the original book by Blake Snyder.
The most important thing at this stage is to make sure your plot has a structure and doesn’t just wander aimlessly about or, worse, go nowhere. There should be a planned progression from point A to B to C… all the way to Z. And part of what enables that progression is the next point…
Write a compelling conflict
Conflict is the engine that drives your story forward. If there is no conflict, then the protagonist has no reason to act. They can remain in the status quo forever and never carry the story forward.
Think of all your favourite stories and the conflicts you encounter. For example, one of my favourite comics is Saga by Fiona Staples and Brian K. Vaughan, which I wrote about in this post. The conflict begins with two new parents, who are pursued by both sides of an intergalactic war. If they can’t escape, they’ll be killed. Whoa! You can see right away how that forces action onto our characters. They have immediate choices to make and struggles to overcome. And it doesn’t get any easier from there.
Conflict doesn’t always have to involve violence and physical danger, either. The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang, written about in this blog post, involves conflict around identity, family and social roles. Yet, it is no less dynamic and engaging.
The number one issue I see for new writers is not including a strong conflict. The number two issue is skipping the next point…
Ensure your protagonist has high stakes
A conflict only works if your protagonist, your main character, is motivated to act. They should have some stakes in the conflict. These can be life-altering - in the case of Saga, Alana and Marko will die if they don’t act. But there are many other possible motivations!
What about fitting in (like in Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgel) or discovering their true self (like in The Prince and the Dressmaker)? If you’re stuck about what types of motivations will get your protagonist moving, I recommend you check out the resource on Character Motivation over at the One Stop for Writers. I bet you could develop a whole story idea from reading through the list of potential motivations!
In summary, you want your reader to believe that your protagonist, their vehicle through the story, is exactly the right person at the right moment with the right stakes to take action.
Once you have that sorted, the fun part begins…
Incorporate twists and turns
Different genres will have different relationships to twisty plots. Thrillers and horror often rely on twists and turns to get adrenaline high and readers on the edge of their seats. But even gentler genres, like romance, require twists and turns! If the romantic interests meet, fall in love, get married, and live happily ever after without any stumbles or struggles, it’s not a compelling story.
Besides, twists and turns are fun. This is where you get to drive your readers crazy! Make them want to turn that page, buy the next book, and follow for the next update - surprise them!
But in hindsight, make sure twists and turns make sense for your readers. A random twist might catch them off guard but leave them scratching their heads. The best writers drop hints and clues so readers can look back and go - “Wow! I should have seen that coming!”
Give your protagonist room to grow
When your protagonist faces a serious conflict with high stakes, and goes through many twists and turns along the way, we expect them to end up different. How they change and grow is up to you.
Consider this: at the start of a story, what a character needs is often different from what a character wants, and their struggle between the two provides internal conflict. For example, maybe they want to fit in with the cool kids at school but need to learn self-acceptance. Trying constantly to achieve what they want instead of need is why they stumble through the story, making mistakes and facing new conflicts!
Now, imagine at the end of the story, the protagonist finally gets what they need. They learn self-acceptance. They’ve grown as a person! How does it manifest? Are they kinder to people who are quirky weirdos? Do they decide to pursue their dream of being a professional gamer? Do they stand up for themself against bullies?
Change your protagonist, but don’t just spell the change out for the reader. Make us believe it.
And if you really want to take the protagonist's growth to the next level, at some point during the plot, give them an opportunity to do the right thing, to get what they need, and have them make the wrong choice. Hopefully, they learn from the consequences that ensue.