As you go micro, things expand

I know this has turned into a rolling blog about my creative writing process, but that's what's on my mind most often and this is a great outlet.

So I realized that I sort of work from the outside in as I attempt to craft this story. Started with a general concept, which was a mess of brainstorming ideas thrown onto a piece of paper, then created a central character and worked on his bio as if I were him writing a journal entry (the only way I know how to delve into one's mind best), then as I zoomed in closer and closer, I realized that the explanations became more and more complex.

First, it was a matter of coming up with a story arc. I thought of a few that could serve as a start to things, and I worked on those, attempting to break them down into individual 24-page comics.

Then it was time to focus on the first of these arcs, which I realized would be better served as a 2-part intro comic, 24 pages per issue, but altogether a 48-page intro.

Ok, with that out of the way, it's time to actually focus on the pages themselves--more working around, more extrapolation, more processing and organizing.

Ok, that's still way up in the air--lets just get a 2-page introduction to the whole damn thing: where to start? What panels to focus on? How to lay out the first page?

Ok the first page has a vague idea, now to describe it so that my artist knows what he's drawing--oh shit, I've got to describe exactly what I see in a readable enough manner that it will come off as if he knows what I'm looking at. Lets start with the first PICTURE on the page.

It'll be a panoramic 3-panel-sized picture. It'll be of so-and-so doing such-and-such with this guy and that guy there, with this in the background. Oh I should describe main character to him, let me give his entire description so he can form a picture in his head. Let me attach a picture of what I'm going for. Let me restrict him in some ways, but let him draw what he feels in other ways.

Holy shit, an hour of writing and I'm still on the first picture of the first page of the first issue of the first episode of the first arc of this comic and I'm still describing what I want it to look like, and I don't even think I'm halfway there!

I guess having a certain vision comes with a lot of explaining. I hope the artist is up for it, or else there goes another adventure to look for someone to put this into pictures for me.