Sagas

by Anabyss
(Trinidad)

Question: Hey there I'm a comic/manga writer I would like to know how do I create something like a chart representing each chapter and it's connection to each other. Also how do I write plots for books that have sagas but are on going stories like Dragonballz had, Majinn Buu Saga, Cell saga and even Frieza saga? How do I organize all these to be one complete story because I recognized that in your picture for plot outlines there is a small chart?


Answer: I don't profess to be a comic book writer, but the essentials of story hold true regardless of the medium.

I would suggest you think not of chapters but of events. Events are irreversible changes that result in characters having new purposes. They are the real stepping stones of story. If you want to chart your story, chart the events. In the actual story telling, you may find that some major events need a full chapter to themselves, while some chapters can include two or more small events.

Some events are actions, some events are decisions (these are more character-oriented events). Each subplot or throughline will consist of its own series of events that are interwoven with the main plot.

It's often helpful to work out each plotline separately, putting each event on an index card, You can use
a different colour of card for each plotline. Once you've done this, you can combine all the cards into one overall order of events.

You can also do this with a chart. Create a row of events for each subplot and draw arrows to show the order of events.

When you want an overarching story for an entire series, as well as separate stories for each book, there are two main approaches.

1. You can have an overarching plot that is separate from the individual stories. In this case, you might have some events in each book that are part of the series plot but aren't really connected to the rest of the book. They are just mysteries that will not be addressed until the next book.

2. You can think of each book as one act or one event within the overarching plot. For instance, you might take the inciting event from the series plot and break it down into a series of smaller events that becomes the plot of the first book. Ditto for each book that follows.

Either way, the climax of the series will generally occur in the last book.

Of course, if you want a really long series, you may have some books that are unconnected to the overarching series plot. That's when the series becomes a little more episodic.

Click here to post comments

Join in and submit your own question/topic! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Plot Invite.