Layout/writing

In terms of writing the narrative I had a difficult time getting started to nailing down what would actually occur in the book. I began writing ideas of back stories and intentions but no clear direction for what kind of journey the characters would undertake to present the ideas I wish to explore.
After a couple of days just developing the characters and their roles, I attempted to draw and intro which I had been thinking of for a while, but afterwards I had no idea of where to go to next. I found that tackling the narrative by going from page to page with no clear idea or direction extremely difficult.

It was suggested I layout out a template for all the pages and begin trying to picture the story as a whole. This proved to be super productive as I was able to see the relationship both in the timeline of the book but also repetitive panel structures and other detrimental aspects to the book as a whole I would not have been able to see had i been going page to page. The comic is shaping to be balanced and clearer than I had imagined and the division of the concurrent narratives is as a more exciting new storytelling tool than I had imagined.
I will continue to thumbnail the panels in after I detail the written part of the narrative that will compliment the streamlining of the thumbnails as I will have a script to go from.