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Unlock your writing with the abstraction phase jump

Have you ever faced the dreaded blank page? Have you felt that paralyzing sensation when your creative mind simply stops, as if it had crashed into an invisible wall? You’re not alone. Creative block is the ghost that haunts every artist, illustrator, or comic book writer at some point in their career. But what many don’t know is that there exists a powerful, almost magical tool to overcome it: the abstraction phase jump. I invite you to discover how this technique can transform your creative process and unlock worlds of narrative possibilities that you didn’t even know existed in your imagination.

The mysterious world of creative abstraction

Every story, before materializing in colorful panels or striking illustrations, lives in an ethereal state of abstraction. It’s like a seed that contains all the potential of a magnificent tree, but has not yet unfurled its branches. This concept is fundamental to understanding how our creative processes work.

When a comic has already been published, we see it as a complete entity: scripted, drawn, inked, edited, and distributed, whether in physical or digital format. But before reaching that final state, it goes through multiple phases of abstraction. At first, it’s barely a nebulous idea floating in your mind. A spark, a “what if…?” that awakens your curiosity and ignites the engine of your imagination.

These initial questions can be fascinating and diverse: what if God decided to end all life on Earth except for crickets? What if your entire family was convinced that you were a robot? Or if the President of the United States was secretly the most important fan fiction author about your favorite franchise?

When you begin to develop these ideas, the abstraction starts to take a more concrete form, but still remains in a fluid state. It might manifest as a two-sentence note where you capture the “hook” of the idea, three pages of dialogue between characters you hope to incorporate somehow, a detailed synopsis, or even a complete script. But even a script, with all its indications for pages, panels, and dialogues, continues to be an abstraction of what the final work will be.

The crucial point here is to understand that not all abstractions are equal. They exist at different levels or phases, each with its own degree of detail and concreteness. And it’s precisely in the transition between these phases where the key to unlocking your creativity lies when it seems to have been exhausted. Discover inspiring visual resources that will awaken your creativity when you feel blocked.

Navigating through different phases of abstraction

Stories are living organisms that grow, expand, and evolve. With each word you write, each sketch you trace, your original idea occupies more space, acquires more details, transforming from a seed into a complete garden of narrative possibilities.

We write precisely to allow these stories to grow outside our minds. The human brain, as wonderful as it may be, has limits for storing and processing information. By putting our ideas on paper or screen, we give them space to breathe and develop, preventing valuable details, fascinating characters, or surprising plot twists from being lost.

We can compare this process to the work of a patient and dedicated gardener. Just as a plant needs to change pots as it grows to avoid suffocating its roots, our stories require different containers as they become more complex. We start with a small note, then we need a notebook, later perhaps an extensive digital file, and finally, the vast space of a graphic novel or a comic series.

In this fascinating journey of creative growth, stories go through different phases of abstraction, each with its own characteristics:

  • Seminal idea: It’s the initial spark, often expressed in a sentence or hypothetical question.
  • Developed concept: The idea begins to have context and general direction.
  • Synopsis: A condensed version that captures the essential elements of the plot.
  • Plot: The complete skeleton of the story, with its turning points.
  • Treatment: A more detailed version that includes key scenes and narrative arcs.
  • Dialogue script: Incorporates conversations between characters, revealing their voices and personalities.
  • Technical script: Adds indications of images, shots, panel divisions, and other visual aspects.
  • Final script: The complete version that will serve as a blueprint for the construction of the final work.

The fascinating thing about this process is that, regardless of where you are in the creation of your story, you’ll always be in one of these phases of abstraction. And this reality, far from being a limitation, is precisely what gives you the flexibility needed to overcome creative blocks. Click here to explore practical tools that will help you visualize your ideas in each phase.

The transformative power of the abstraction phase jump

Here we arrive at the heart of our proposal: how to keep writing when it seems impossible to continue? The answer is not “just keep writing” —advice that, although well-intentioned, is frustrating for someone who is truly blocked. The real solution is much more subtle and effective: change the phase of abstraction.

Imagine that creating your story is like besieging a medieval castle. If every time you try to enter through the north tower you fall into the crocodile moat, strategic wisdom suggests trying the east tower, or perhaps using a catapult. The same applies to your creative process: if you’re blocked in a certain phase of abstraction, the key is to move temporarily to another.

To apply this technique, you must first make a diagnosis: in which phase of abstraction were you when you got blocked? Once this point is identified, deliberately select another phase —preferably very different— and start working from there.

Let’s say you have the idea of the president who writes fan fiction, but you’re blocked because you can’t visualize how to structure the complete story. Instead of continuing to bang your head against that wall, take a radical phase jump: write a specific scene directly. Don’t worry about how it will connect with the rest, just let yourself go. Perhaps you could write one of the fan fiction scenes that the president is creating, or the moment when an assistant discovers his secret hobby.

This tangential approach, focused on concrete details, will often unlock ideas for the general framework. It’s as if by focusing on a specific detail, your mind could finally see the complete forest from a different perspective.

If this isn’t enough, try a phase jump in the opposite direction. If you were working on specific scenes, go back to a more abstract phase. Develop a synopsis where you add contextual details: name the president, define his political party, decide since when he’s been writing fan fiction and why he keeps it secret.

Technically, you’ll still be without solving the original problem that blocked you, but you’ll be enriching the narrative universe of your story, adding layers of depth that will eventually lead you to new solutions. And most importantly: you’ll be writing again, keeping that creative energy in motion that is vital for any artist. Looking to improve your narrative transitions? Find specialized visual resources here.

The dance between details and concepts: nurturing your creativity

The abstraction phase jump is not just a technique for overcoming blocks; it’s a creative philosophy that recognizes the organic and non-linear nature of visual storytelling. One of its great advantages is that it establishes a virtuous cycle between the specific and the general, between the minute detail and the encompassing concept.

In sequential art, particularly in comics, this interrelationship is crucial. A seemingly insignificant detail in a panel can become the central element of the entire narrative. Similarly, the general concept provides the framework that gives meaning and resonance to each individual detail.

This phenomenon resembles the symbiotic relationship between the roots and branches of a tree. The roots (the fundamental concepts of your story) nourish the branches and leaves (the specific details), while the latter, through photosynthesis, send nutrients back to the roots, strengthening the entire system.

To illustrate how this dynamic works in practice, let’s consider some concrete examples:

From abstract to concrete: Imagine you have the general concept of “a world where dreams materialize physically.” It’s a fascinating idea, but too broad to work directly with it. By making a jump to a more concrete phase, you could develop a specific scene: a teenager wakes up and finds his room flooded with seawater because he dreamed of drowning. This detail not only brings the concept to life but raises interesting questions: Do all dreams materialize or just some? How long do these manifestations persist? These questions, in turn, take you back to the conceptual framework, enriching it.

From concrete to abstract: Conversely, perhaps you started by drawing a specific scene: an elderly woman contemplating an old photograph with an enigmatic expression. You’re satisfied with the illustration, but you don’t know how to integrate it into a broader narrative. By jumping to a more abstract phase, you could ask yourself: “What does memory really mean in our lives?” or “How does our perception of the past change over time?” These conceptual reflections can inspire you to develop an entire story about the fluid nature of memories, giving context and depth to your initial illustration.

The abstraction phase jumps allow you to navigate between these levels, using each to feed the other. Details give texture and authenticity to your concepts, while concepts provide coherence and meaning to your details. It’s a constant dance between the micro and the macro, between the individual tree and the complete forest. Enhance your ability to create memorable characters with these advanced techniques.

Practical applications: transforming theory into action

The theory of the abstraction phase jump really comes to life when we apply it to concrete situations of creative block. Let’s look at some practical applications that you can implement immediately in your creative process:

1. The narrative zoom technique

When you feel stuck in the general plot of your comic, perform an extreme “zoom” toward a minimal element. For example, if you’re creating a science fiction story about space colonization and can’t resolve how to structure the main conflict, dedicate time to designing in detail an everyday object from that future world: what would toothbrushes be like on a colonial ship? What characteristics would clothing have in a reduced gravity environment?

This exercise will not only keep you creative but will frequently reveal aspects of the culture, technology, or psychology of that world that you hadn’t considered, providing clues to solve larger narrative problems.

2. The inverted character map

If you have difficulties developing a main character, start with the secondary characters that surround them. Define how these characters perceive the protagonist, what they expect from them, what memories they share. Often, a character is defined by their relationships and the impact they have on others.

This indirect approach can reveal facets of the protagonist that you hadn’t considered, helping you build them from the outside in, instead of the traditional approach.

3. The out-of-continuity scene

When the chronological sequence of your story has you blocked, allow yourself the freedom to write or draw a scene that you know won’t be part of the final version. It could be a radical “what if” (what if my protagonist made the opposite decision at the crucial moment?) or even a dream or fantasy sequence.

These no-commitment explorations often illuminate aspects of the characters or themes that you can incorporate in less literal ways into your main story.

4. The medium change technique

If you’re blocked in the script, try expressing the same idea through a quick sketch. If the problem is in the illustration, write a detailed description of what you’re trying to convey visually.

This change of expressive language can help your brain process information differently, revealing solutions that weren’t evident in the original medium.

5. The extreme temporal jump

If you can’t decide how to continue your story from the current point, make a dramatic temporal jump: what would this world/character be like 20 years later? Or 100 years before? Briefly develop that distant scenario.

This “bird’s eye view” perspective on the timeline can help you clarify which elements are really important for your narrative and which direction has more long-term potential.

The fascinating thing about these applications is that they not only work as temporary solutions to overcome blocks, but often generate valuable material that significantly enriches the final work. As Alan Moore, the legendary comic book writer, once noted: “There is no wasted work. Everything you explore, even if it seems like a tangent, will eventually feed your work in ways you cannot predict.”

The abstraction phase jump is not simply a rescue technique for moments of creative crisis; it’s an integral approach that can fundamentally transform your relationship with the creative process, making it more fluid, exploratory, and rewarding. Enter here and master the art of creating impactful backgrounds for your visual stories.

The masters of the phase jump: learning from the greats

Throughout the history of comics and illustration, numerous artists have used —consciously or unconsciously— variations of the abstraction phase jump to create enduring masterpieces. Examining their methods provides us with valuable lessons on how to implement this technique in our own creative practice.

Will Eisner, pioneer of the modern comic, was known for beginning his stories with quick sketches of key scenes, without initially worrying about narrative continuity. Only after having these “visual islands” clearly defined, would he begin to build the narrative “bridges” between them. This approach allowed him to ensure that the moments of greatest emotional impact were solidly anchored before worrying about transitions.

Neil Gaiman, for his part, has commented in numerous interviews that he frequently begins writing his stories from the end or from intermediate scenes that are particularly vivid to him. Once these “narrative anchors” are established, the process of connecting them becomes an exercise in discovery rather than forced construction.

In the realm of manga, Hayao Miyazaki has revealed that he often begins his stories by drawing isolated images that capture a particular emotion or atmosphere, without being clear on how they will fit into a narrative. These images function as “visual seeds” that eventually germinate into complete stories, allowing him to work from the specific toward the general.

The great Lynda Barry, innovator in autobiographical comics, uses a technique she calls “composting,” where she accumulates seemingly unconnected fragments —overheard dialogues, fleeting memories, everyday observations— and allows them to “decompose” together until organic narrative patterns emerge. This approach demonstrates how specific elements can combine to generate broader concepts.

Alan Moore, known for his complex narrative structures, has described how he frequently alternates between the meticulous development of detailed synopses and the deep exploration of specific moments, allowing each approach to inform and enrich the other. This deliberate oscillation between the macro and the micro perfectly exemplifies the principle of the phase jump.

What all these masters share is a willingness to work in a non-linear and multidimensional way, recognizing that creativity rarely flows in an orderly progression from concept to detail. Instead, they navigate freely between different levels of abstraction, allowing each level to enrich the others in an organic process of creative discovery.

This methodological flexibility has not only allowed them to overcome creative blocks, but has significantly contributed to the originality and depth of their works. By studying their processes, we learn that the abstraction phase jump is not merely an emergency technique, but a vital component of a sophisticated and sustainable creative practice. Take the leap to a new creative level: explore practical resources designed by professionals.

Integrating the phase jump into your creative routine

For the abstraction phase jump to become a truly effective tool, it’s important to integrate it systematically into your daily creative practice, not just as an emergency resource when you feel blocked. Here are some strategies to make this technique a natural component of your workflow:

1. Planned work cycles: Establish work sessions where you intentionally alternate between different phases of abstraction. For example, you could dedicate mornings to working on the general outline of the story (abstract phase) and afternoons to developing dialogues or specific visual details (concrete phase). This rhythmic alternation keeps your mind fresh and flexible.

2. Multi-phase idea journal: Maintain a notebook or digital file divided into sections corresponding to different levels of abstraction: general concepts, character profiles, specific scenes, loose dialogues, visual details, etc. When you have an idea, don’t force yourself to develop it completely at a specific level; allow yourself to freely skip between sections, nurturing different aspects of your project.

3. “Creative provocation” sessions: Regularly schedule exercises designed to stimulate phase jumps. For example, take a character from your story and write a scene from their childhood that will never appear in the final work, or draw the same moment of the story from three radically different visual perspectives. These exercises keep your creativity agile.

4. Strategic collaboration: If you work with collaborators (co-writers, illustrators, etc.), consciously distribute tasks to take advantage of phase jumps. While one works on the general narrative arc, another can develop specific details, allowing both perspectives to inform each other when they share the work.

5. Multi-phase revisions: When reviewing your work, do so from different levels of abstraction. In a first reading, evaluate the coherence of the general concept; in another, focus on specific scenes; in another, examine details such as the rhythm of dialogues or visual composition. Each level of reading will reveal different aspects that require attention.

6. Visual abstraction maps: Create visual representations of your project that simultaneously show different levels of abstraction. This could be a mural, a digital board, or a mind map where conceptual elements (themes, messages) coexist with specific details (character sketches, dialogue fragments). This integrated visualization facilitates mental jumps between levels.

The most powerful aspect of integrating the phase jump as a regular practice is that it eventually becomes an intuitive process. Your creative mind learns to move fluidly between different levels of abstraction without conscious effort, organically responding to the needs of each moment in the creative process.

Over time, you’ll notice that creative blocks become less frequent and less intimidating. When they arise, you’ll have at your disposal a repertoire of movements between phases that will allow you to go around the obstacle instead of repeatedly hitting against it. Frustration gives way to curiosity: “What would happen if I approach this from another level of abstraction?”

This mental fluidity not only improves your ability to solve creative problems, but fundamentally enriches the texture of your work, creating pieces that operate simultaneously on multiple levels of meaning and experience.

Conclusion: Creative freedom through phase jumps

We have explored in depth how the abstraction phase jump can transform our relationship with the creative process, converting it from a linear path plagued with possible blocks into a multidimensional landscape where there are always alternative routes to advance. This technique is not simply a trick to overcome momentary obstacles, but an integral philosophy that recognizes the organic and non-linear nature of artistic creation.

By incorporating phase jumps into our regular practice, we discover a creative freedom that transcends the limitations of conventional methods. We are no longer confined to building our stories and illustrations stone by stone in a rigid sequence; instead, we can move freely between the panoramic vision and the minute detail, between the abstract concept and the concrete manifestation, between the narrative structure and the specific moment.

This freedom of mental movement not only helps us overcome blocks, but fundamentally enriches our work, endowing it with a depth and complexity that is difficult to achieve with more linear approaches. The great works we admire —those that seem to contain entire worlds within their pages— are often the result of this fluid dance between different levels of abstraction.

Are you ready to free yourself from the chains of linear thinking and explore the full potential of your creativity? The next time you find yourself facing the intimidating blank page or empty canvas, remember that you have at your disposal not just one path, but multiple dimensions through which to navigate. Ask yourself: “In which phase of abstraction am I blocked?” and then, with courage and curiosity, jump to another completely different phase.

What you’ll discover is that creative block is not an impenetrable wall, but simply an invitation to change perspective. And in that change of perspective, in that jump between creative dimensions, you’ll often find not only the solution to the immediate problem, but unexpected treasures that will enrich your entire work.

The most fascinating stories, the most impactful illustrations, the most engaging narrative universes are waiting to be discovered not in a linear and predictable advance, but in the bold jumps between different phases of abstraction. True creativity flourishes in these intermediate spaces, in these dynamic transitions between the macro and the micro, between vision and detail.

So go ahead: jump, explore, discover. Your next great creation might be waiting for you not at the end of the path you’re currently traveling, but in a completely different creative dimension, accessible only through the abstraction phase jump.

Join us

Unlock your writing with the abstraction phase jump

Have you ever faced the dreaded blank page? Have you felt that paralyzing sensation when your creative mind simply stops, as if it had crashed into an invisible wall? You’re not alone. Creative block is the ghost that haunts every artist, illustrator, or comic book writer at some point in their career. But what many don’t know is that there exists a powerful, almost magical tool to overcome it: the abstraction phase jump. I invite you to discover how this technique can transform your creative process and unlock worlds of narrative possibilities that you didn’t even know existed in your imagination.

The mysterious world of creative abstraction

Every story, before materializing in colorful panels or striking illustrations, lives in an ethereal state of abstraction. It’s like a seed that contains all the potential of a magnificent tree, but has not yet unfurled its branches. This concept is fundamental to understanding how our creative processes work.

When a comic has already been published, we see it as a complete entity: scripted, drawn, inked, edited, and distributed, whether in physical or digital format. But before reaching that final state, it goes through multiple phases of abstraction. At first, it’s barely a nebulous idea floating in your mind. A spark, a “what if…?” that awakens your curiosity and ignites the engine of your imagination.

These initial questions can be fascinating and diverse: what if God decided to end all life on Earth except for crickets? What if your entire family was convinced that you were a robot? Or if the President of the United States was secretly the most important fan fiction author about your favorite franchise?

When you begin to develop these ideas, the abstraction starts to take a more concrete form, but still remains in a fluid state. It might manifest as a two-sentence note where you capture the “hook” of the idea, three pages of dialogue between characters you hope to incorporate somehow, a detailed synopsis, or even a complete script. But even a script, with all its indications for pages, panels, and dialogues, continues to be an abstraction of what the final work will be.

The crucial point here is to understand that not all abstractions are equal. They exist at different levels or phases, each with its own degree of detail and concreteness. And it’s precisely in the transition between these phases where the key to unlocking your creativity lies when it seems to have been exhausted. Discover inspiring visual resources that will awaken your creativity when you feel blocked.

Navigating through different phases of abstraction

Stories are living organisms that grow, expand, and evolve. With each word you write, each sketch you trace, your original idea occupies more space, acquires more details, transforming from a seed into a complete garden of narrative possibilities.

We write precisely to allow these stories to grow outside our minds. The human brain, as wonderful as it may be, has limits for storing and processing information. By putting our ideas on paper or screen, we give them space to breathe and develop, preventing valuable details, fascinating characters, or surprising plot twists from being lost.

We can compare this process to the work of a patient and dedicated gardener. Just as a plant needs to change pots as it grows to avoid suffocating its roots, our stories require different containers as they become more complex. We start with a small note, then we need a notebook, later perhaps an extensive digital file, and finally, the vast space of a graphic novel or a comic series.

In this fascinating journey of creative growth, stories go through different phases of abstraction, each with its own characteristics:

  • Seminal idea: It’s the initial spark, often expressed in a sentence or hypothetical question.
  • Developed concept: The idea begins to have context and general direction.
  • Synopsis: A condensed version that captures the essential elements of the plot.
  • Plot: The complete skeleton of the story, with its turning points.
  • Treatment: A more detailed version that includes key scenes and narrative arcs.
  • Dialogue script: Incorporates conversations between characters, revealing their voices and personalities.
  • Technical script: Adds indications of images, shots, panel divisions, and other visual aspects.
  • Final script: The complete version that will serve as a blueprint for the construction of the final work.

The fascinating thing about this process is that, regardless of where you are in the creation of your story, you’ll always be in one of these phases of abstraction. And this reality, far from being a limitation, is precisely what gives you the flexibility needed to overcome creative blocks. Click here to explore practical tools that will help you visualize your ideas in each phase.

The transformative power of the abstraction phase jump

Here we arrive at the heart of our proposal: how to keep writing when it seems impossible to continue? The answer is not “just keep writing” —advice that, although well-intentioned, is frustrating for someone who is truly blocked. The real solution is much more subtle and effective: change the phase of abstraction.

Imagine that creating your story is like besieging a medieval castle. If every time you try to enter through the north tower you fall into the crocodile moat, strategic wisdom suggests trying the east tower, or perhaps using a catapult. The same applies to your creative process: if you’re blocked in a certain phase of abstraction, the key is to move temporarily to another.

To apply this technique, you must first make a diagnosis: in which phase of abstraction were you when you got blocked? Once this point is identified, deliberately select another phase —preferably very different— and start working from there.

Let’s say you have the idea of the president who writes fan fiction, but you’re blocked because you can’t visualize how to structure the complete story. Instead of continuing to bang your head against that wall, take a radical phase jump: write a specific scene directly. Don’t worry about how it will connect with the rest, just let yourself go. Perhaps you could write one of the fan fiction scenes that the president is creating, or the moment when an assistant discovers his secret hobby.

This tangential approach, focused on concrete details, will often unlock ideas for the general framework. It’s as if by focusing on a specific detail, your mind could finally see the complete forest from a different perspective.

If this isn’t enough, try a phase jump in the opposite direction. If you were working on specific scenes, go back to a more abstract phase. Develop a synopsis where you add contextual details: name the president, define his political party, decide since when he’s been writing fan fiction and why he keeps it secret.

Technically, you’ll still be without solving the original problem that blocked you, but you’ll be enriching the narrative universe of your story, adding layers of depth that will eventually lead you to new solutions. And most importantly: you’ll be writing again, keeping that creative energy in motion that is vital for any artist. Looking to improve your narrative transitions? Find specialized visual resources here.

The dance between details and concepts: nurturing your creativity

The abstraction phase jump is not just a technique for overcoming blocks; it’s a creative philosophy that recognizes the organic and non-linear nature of visual storytelling. One of its great advantages is that it establishes a virtuous cycle between the specific and the general, between the minute detail and the encompassing concept.

In sequential art, particularly in comics, this interrelationship is crucial. A seemingly insignificant detail in a panel can become the central element of the entire narrative. Similarly, the general concept provides the framework that gives meaning and resonance to each individual detail.

This phenomenon resembles the symbiotic relationship between the roots and branches of a tree. The roots (the fundamental concepts of your story) nourish the branches and leaves (the specific details), while the latter, through photosynthesis, send nutrients back to the roots, strengthening the entire system.

To illustrate how this dynamic works in practice, let’s consider some concrete examples:

From abstract to concrete: Imagine you have the general concept of “a world where dreams materialize physically.” It’s a fascinating idea, but too broad to work directly with it. By making a jump to a more concrete phase, you could develop a specific scene: a teenager wakes up and finds his room flooded with seawater because he dreamed of drowning. This detail not only brings the concept to life but raises interesting questions: Do all dreams materialize or just some? How long do these manifestations persist? These questions, in turn, take you back to the conceptual framework, enriching it.

From concrete to abstract: Conversely, perhaps you started by drawing a specific scene: an elderly woman contemplating an old photograph with an enigmatic expression. You’re satisfied with the illustration, but you don’t know how to integrate it into a broader narrative. By jumping to a more abstract phase, you could ask yourself: “What does memory really mean in our lives?” or “How does our perception of the past change over time?” These conceptual reflections can inspire you to develop an entire story about the fluid nature of memories, giving context and depth to your initial illustration.

The abstraction phase jumps allow you to navigate between these levels, using each to feed the other. Details give texture and authenticity to your concepts, while concepts provide coherence and meaning to your details. It’s a constant dance between the micro and the macro, between the individual tree and the complete forest. Enhance your ability to create memorable characters with these advanced techniques.

Practical applications: transforming theory into action

The theory of the abstraction phase jump really comes to life when we apply it to concrete situations of creative block. Let’s look at some practical applications that you can implement immediately in your creative process:

1. The narrative zoom technique

When you feel stuck in the general plot of your comic, perform an extreme “zoom” toward a minimal element. For example, if you’re creating a science fiction story about space colonization and can’t resolve how to structure the main conflict, dedicate time to designing in detail an everyday object from that future world: what would toothbrushes be like on a colonial ship? What characteristics would clothing have in a reduced gravity environment?

This exercise will not only keep you creative but will frequently reveal aspects of the culture, technology, or psychology of that world that you hadn’t considered, providing clues to solve larger narrative problems.

2. The inverted character map

If you have difficulties developing a main character, start with the secondary characters that surround them. Define how these characters perceive the protagonist, what they expect from them, what memories they share. Often, a character is defined by their relationships and the impact they have on others.

This indirect approach can reveal facets of the protagonist that you hadn’t considered, helping you build them from the outside in, instead of the traditional approach.

3. The out-of-continuity scene

When the chronological sequence of your story has you blocked, allow yourself the freedom to write or draw a scene that you know won’t be part of the final version. It could be a radical “what if” (what if my protagonist made the opposite decision at the crucial moment?) or even a dream or fantasy sequence.

These no-commitment explorations often illuminate aspects of the characters or themes that you can incorporate in less literal ways into your main story.

4. The medium change technique

If you’re blocked in the script, try expressing the same idea through a quick sketch. If the problem is in the illustration, write a detailed description of what you’re trying to convey visually.

This change of expressive language can help your brain process information differently, revealing solutions that weren’t evident in the original medium.

5. The extreme temporal jump

If you can’t decide how to continue your story from the current point, make a dramatic temporal jump: what would this world/character be like 20 years later? Or 100 years before? Briefly develop that distant scenario.

This “bird’s eye view” perspective on the timeline can help you clarify which elements are really important for your narrative and which direction has more long-term potential.

The fascinating thing about these applications is that they not only work as temporary solutions to overcome blocks, but often generate valuable material that significantly enriches the final work. As Alan Moore, the legendary comic book writer, once noted: “There is no wasted work. Everything you explore, even if it seems like a tangent, will eventually feed your work in ways you cannot predict.”

The abstraction phase jump is not simply a rescue technique for moments of creative crisis; it’s an integral approach that can fundamentally transform your relationship with the creative process, making it more fluid, exploratory, and rewarding. Enter here and master the art of creating impactful backgrounds for your visual stories.

The masters of the phase jump: learning from the greats

Throughout the history of comics and illustration, numerous artists have used —consciously or unconsciously— variations of the abstraction phase jump to create enduring masterpieces. Examining their methods provides us with valuable lessons on how to implement this technique in our own creative practice.

Will Eisner, pioneer of the modern comic, was known for beginning his stories with quick sketches of key scenes, without initially worrying about narrative continuity. Only after having these “visual islands” clearly defined, would he begin to build the narrative “bridges” between them. This approach allowed him to ensure that the moments of greatest emotional impact were solidly anchored before worrying about transitions.

Neil Gaiman, for his part, has commented in numerous interviews that he frequently begins writing his stories from the end or from intermediate scenes that are particularly vivid to him. Once these “narrative anchors” are established, the process of connecting them becomes an exercise in discovery rather than forced construction.

In the realm of manga, Hayao Miyazaki has revealed that he often begins his stories by drawing isolated images that capture a particular emotion or atmosphere, without being clear on how they will fit into a narrative. These images function as “visual seeds” that eventually germinate into complete stories, allowing him to work from the specific toward the general.

The great Lynda Barry, innovator in autobiographical comics, uses a technique she calls “composting,” where she accumulates seemingly unconnected fragments —overheard dialogues, fleeting memories, everyday observations— and allows them to “decompose” together until organic narrative patterns emerge. This approach demonstrates how specific elements can combine to generate broader concepts.

Alan Moore, known for his complex narrative structures, has described how he frequently alternates between the meticulous development of detailed synopses and the deep exploration of specific moments, allowing each approach to inform and enrich the other. This deliberate oscillation between the macro and the micro perfectly exemplifies the principle of the phase jump.

What all these masters share is a willingness to work in a non-linear and multidimensional way, recognizing that creativity rarely flows in an orderly progression from concept to detail. Instead, they navigate freely between different levels of abstraction, allowing each level to enrich the others in an organic process of creative discovery.

This methodological flexibility has not only allowed them to overcome creative blocks, but has significantly contributed to the originality and depth of their works. By studying their processes, we learn that the abstraction phase jump is not merely an emergency technique, but a vital component of a sophisticated and sustainable creative practice. Take the leap to a new creative level: explore practical resources designed by professionals.

Integrating the phase jump into your creative routine

For the abstraction phase jump to become a truly effective tool, it’s important to integrate it systematically into your daily creative practice, not just as an emergency resource when you feel blocked. Here are some strategies to make this technique a natural component of your workflow:

1. Planned work cycles: Establish work sessions where you intentionally alternate between different phases of abstraction. For example, you could dedicate mornings to working on the general outline of the story (abstract phase) and afternoons to developing dialogues or specific visual details (concrete phase). This rhythmic alternation keeps your mind fresh and flexible.

2. Multi-phase idea journal: Maintain a notebook or digital file divided into sections corresponding to different levels of abstraction: general concepts, character profiles, specific scenes, loose dialogues, visual details, etc. When you have an idea, don’t force yourself to develop it completely at a specific level; allow yourself to freely skip between sections, nurturing different aspects of your project.

3. “Creative provocation” sessions: Regularly schedule exercises designed to stimulate phase jumps. For example, take a character from your story and write a scene from their childhood that will never appear in the final work, or draw the same moment of the story from three radically different visual perspectives. These exercises keep your creativity agile.

4. Strategic collaboration: If you work with collaborators (co-writers, illustrators, etc.), consciously distribute tasks to take advantage of phase jumps. While one works on the general narrative arc, another can develop specific details, allowing both perspectives to inform each other when they share the work.

5. Multi-phase revisions: When reviewing your work, do so from different levels of abstraction. In a first reading, evaluate the coherence of the general concept; in another, focus on specific scenes; in another, examine details such as the rhythm of dialogues or visual composition. Each level of reading will reveal different aspects that require attention.

6. Visual abstraction maps: Create visual representations of your project that simultaneously show different levels of abstraction. This could be a mural, a digital board, or a mind map where conceptual elements (themes, messages) coexist with specific details (character sketches, dialogue fragments). This integrated visualization facilitates mental jumps between levels.

The most powerful aspect of integrating the phase jump as a regular practice is that it eventually becomes an intuitive process. Your creative mind learns to move fluidly between different levels of abstraction without conscious effort, organically responding to the needs of each moment in the creative process.

Over time, you’ll notice that creative blocks become less frequent and less intimidating. When they arise, you’ll have at your disposal a repertoire of movements between phases that will allow you to go around the obstacle instead of repeatedly hitting against it. Frustration gives way to curiosity: “What would happen if I approach this from another level of abstraction?”

This mental fluidity not only improves your ability to solve creative problems, but fundamentally enriches the texture of your work, creating pieces that operate simultaneously on multiple levels of meaning and experience.

Conclusion: Creative freedom through phase jumps

We have explored in depth how the abstraction phase jump can transform our relationship with the creative process, converting it from a linear path plagued with possible blocks into a multidimensional landscape where there are always alternative routes to advance. This technique is not simply a trick to overcome momentary obstacles, but an integral philosophy that recognizes the organic and non-linear nature of artistic creation.

By incorporating phase jumps into our regular practice, we discover a creative freedom that transcends the limitations of conventional methods. We are no longer confined to building our stories and illustrations stone by stone in a rigid sequence; instead, we can move freely between the panoramic vision and the minute detail, between the abstract concept and the concrete manifestation, between the narrative structure and the specific moment.

This freedom of mental movement not only helps us overcome blocks, but fundamentally enriches our work, endowing it with a depth and complexity that is difficult to achieve with more linear approaches. The great works we admire —those that seem to contain entire worlds within their pages— are often the result of this fluid dance between different levels of abstraction.

Are you ready to free yourself from the chains of linear thinking and explore the full potential of your creativity? The next time you find yourself facing the intimidating blank page or empty canvas, remember that you have at your disposal not just one path, but multiple dimensions through which to navigate. Ask yourself: “In which phase of abstraction am I blocked?” and then, with courage and curiosity, jump to another completely different phase.

What you’ll discover is that creative block is not an impenetrable wall, but simply an invitation to change perspective. And in that change of perspective, in that jump between creative dimensions, you’ll often find not only the solution to the immediate problem, but unexpected treasures that will enrich your entire work.

The most fascinating stories, the most impactful illustrations, the most engaging narrative universes are waiting to be discovered not in a linear and predictable advance, but in the bold jumps between different phases of abstraction. True creativity flourishes in these intermediate spaces, in these dynamic transitions between the macro and the micro, between vision and detail.

So go ahead: jump, explore, discover. Your next great creation might be waiting for you not at the end of the path you’re currently traveling, but in a completely different creative dimension, accessible only through the abstraction phase jump.

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