Questions for other mangaka...

[Pepper Kittie]

I've been thinking about it for a long time, and I wanted to know what others thought about it. I heard from a manga artist that your manga flows a lot better if you write out the entire story from start to finish, revise and edit it until you've got it almost flawless, then work on the manga art after. I can see the reason for it... that'd probably get rid of plot holes and make the story flow better. I've just never taken the time to write Advocate Voice out completely because I wanted the ability to change things whenever I wanted... which actually might not be the best thing because I might end up wrecking something or creating more plot holes than I already have XD Aaanyway... do any of you manga artists suggest writing out the entire story first? Is that what you've done for your mangas? I'd love to hear people's opinions!! If you can give that to me, thank you so much!

[inkhana]

I've tried it the other way...it didn't work out too well for me at all. Now I'm writing everything out first and I'm much happier with it. :3

[shooraijin]

I'm not a mangaka, but for the complex story lines for some of my projects, it was much much easier to have it computed in advance.

Plus, when doing those kinds of episodic stories on the fly, if you just sort of do it comic by comic, the story scope likewise seems to be limited to single comics in turn, and you don't get the sense of larger story arcs that may span several strips.

[Ashley]

I'm only a beginner mangaka, but it's always worked out well for me to finish the story/script first. In my mind, I have a sense of where I am going, and it's much, much, MUCH easier to make plot changes and what have you. I'd advise after you finish a script (or when you get to a plot hole) leave it alone for a few months (yes, months) and then come back. You will have fresh eyes, and it should be easier to think about; and it will reveal if you truly want to work on it.

Also, completed scripts are easier to come back to--I have about 5 or so on my computer saved that I can refer back to whenever I have the time now without having to think about an ending or whatever. ^^ I never wrote anything for LT, which is probably why I have such a hard time coming back to it >.> (especially since I quit my job there)

Plus, while you're writing, you can do some concept art or pratice sketches of the characters to tackle that artistic itch. XD Like Shoo said, though, if you're going for episodic type comedy (LT, MT) then it's ok to write off the fly like that.

[Psycho Ann]

Depends on the length and complexity of the project for me. I always do outlines no matter what and then usually write it per chapter/part. However, those projects usually suck more XD Now, I script things out pretty extensively to save me a lot of embarrasment XD

So yeah, like the others, I recommend finishing the script first as far as you can, if possible the whole series (if it's not insanely long). Though, from the looks of professional mangaka, many of them don't write the actual script too far in, always providing leeway depending on fan response. Some even seem like they're writing on the go due to never-ending stories (coughInuyashacough).

[uc pseudonym]

The simple answer: yes.

The somewhat longer answer: I think that in nearly every situation planning the storyline ahead of time makes the story far better. In most cases, I strongly dislike episodic stories, and I very much enjoy it when I can see that a story has been well crafted.

That having been said, not everything has to be scripted to incredibly minute detail before you do any drawing. I recommend having a very good idea about where the plot is going to go, but not actually storyboarding until each individual issue. That way you have some room to change based on how things operate.

Strictly speaking, I am not a manga-ka, but I am definitely a writer. I also write manga, and I feel much better about those on which I do more planning earlier.

[Pepper Kittie]

You guys are the best! I wish I could glomp all of you! ^__^ A.V. isn't really that episodic. It's a really long story, which keeps getting bigger and I keep wondering how it'll ever be finished XD I've had the outline done for a while and the basic storyline, but now I'm thinking it'd be good to really work on writing things out in more detail so things will be easier. It's always so much fun to hear how other people do things ^^ Thanks!

[Mave]

Looks like I may be a little late in response to this.

I'm not too sure how to address this question due to my inexperience. It's not like I've ever written long novels or established a long-running manga series. Additionally, for my own stories, I rarely work with scripts. I'm spontaneous and I don't know whether that's a good thing or not.

Anyway, to answer your question, I typically have a general overview of what's going to happen from the beginning up to the end. At each chapter, I would work out subplots that help to lead the whole story towards that ideal ending. It may help to write out a timeline or some flowchart.