Manga Script Template
A free panel-by-panel manga script template: page headers, panel sizes, descriptions, dialogue, captions, and SFX, with a filled two-page example. Copy and paste the format, or download it as PDF, Word, or Excel.
Start a storyboard — no sign-upA manga script describes a chapter page by page and panel by panel: what each panel shows, who speaks, what the captions and sound effects say, and where the page turns fall. Writers use it to hand a story to an artist; artists use it to settle pacing and dialogue before drawing a name or thumbnails. This template uses a plain format that works in Word, Google Docs, or any text editor: a PAGE header with the page side and panel count, a PANEL line with the panel's size, a present-tense description, then the lines to be lettered with each speaker's name in caps. Below: the format line by line, a two-page example from an invented series, the same pages drawn as panel thumbnails, and downloads.
Or fill it in online, right in LitMemo.
Start a storyboard — no sign-upTemplate preview
Manga script fields, filled in for one panel
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| Page | PAGE 18 (right-hand page · first page after the turn · 3 panels) |
| Panel and size | PANEL 1 (half page, full width · the reveal) |
| Description | Low angle from the bank. The black kite slices across Tomoe’s line. Her kite snaps free and spins away into the sun. |
| Dialogue | TOMOE (SMALL): …Not now. |
| Caption | CAPTION: Tuesday, 4:10 p.m. |
| SFX | SFX (BIG, ACROSS THE PANEL): SHNK |
| Note to the artist | First time we see Shun’s face. Keep his reel in frame; it pays off in chapter 6. |
Printable blank version
The PDF has two pages: a one-page format reference with the example script, and a blank script page with six panel blocks to print once per manga page. The Word file has three blank pages already formatted (copy a PAGE block for each new page) and the example at the end. The Excel file has one row per line of text, with Page, Side, Panel, Size, Description, Speaker, Line, and Notes columns, a blank sheet, and the example; it also opens in Google Sheets and Numbers. The transparent page frames are B4 manuscript size (257 × 364 mm) at 600 dpi, with the bleed, trim, and safe-area lines in light blue and the binding side marked: open a 257 × 364 mm, 600 dpi canvas in Clip Studio Paint, Procreate, or ibisPaint, import the PNG as its own layer, and hide that layer before you export.
Or fill it in online, right in LitMemo.
Start a storyboard — no sign-upField guide
Every line in a manga script is one of the fields below. They're grouped the way you write them: the page, then each panel, then the words that get lettered. The examples come from the two-page sample above.
Page
| Field | What to write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| PAGE number | One header per manga page, in caps, numbered within the chapter. The artist and letterer navigate by it. | PAGE 18 |
| Side | Whether it's a left-hand or right-hand page. In right-to-left manga the reader turns after the left-hand page, so the side decides where reveals can go. | right-hand page · first page after the turn |
| Panel count | How many panels the page has. Writing it in the header makes you notice a page that's grown to nine panels. | 3 panels |
Panel
| Field | What to write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| PANEL number | Numbered within the page, in reading order. For right-to-left manga, panel 1 is at the top right. | PANEL 1 |
| Size or shot | How big the panel is (full page, half page, wide, small inset) and the shot if it matters: close-up, wide, low angle. Size is how a script controls pacing. | half page, full width · the reveal |
| Description | Present tense, one moment, only what can be drawn. Name who's in the panel, where they are, what they're doing, and anything the artist must not leave out. Put a character's name in caps the first time they appear. | Low angle from the bank. The black kite slices across Tomoe’s line. Her kite snaps free and spins away into the sun. |
Lettered text
| Field | What to write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Dialogue | Speaker's name in caps, a colon, then the line. One balloon per line. If a line won't fit a balloon at the panel's size, cut it or split the panel. | TOMOE: Wind’s turning. |
| Modifier | In parentheses after the name: (THOUGHT) for a thought balloon, (SMALL) for a whisper, (OFF) when the speaker is outside the panel, (BURST) for a shout. | KOHARU (THOUGHT): It’s heading straight for hers. |
| Caption | Text in a box: time, place, or narration. Keep captions short; the art carries the scene. | CAPTION: Tuesday, 4:10 p.m. |
| SFX | The sound effect as it should be lettered, with size or placement if it matters. Many manga letter the sound into the art, so say where it goes. | SFX (BIG, ACROSS THE PANEL): SHNK |
Notes
| Field | What to write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Note to the artist | Anything that isn't lettered: continuity, a prop that matters later, a reference image. Mark it NOTE so it doesn't end up in a balloon. | NOTE: First time we see Shun’s face. Keep his reel in frame; it pays off in chapter 6. |
Plain-text version (copy & paste)
The blank format as plain text, ready to paste into Google Docs, Word, Scrivener, Notion, or a text file. Copy the PAGE block once for every page of the chapter. The two-page example follows the blank version.
TITLE:
CHAPTER:
DRAFT:
PAGE 1 (right-hand page · __ panels)
PANEL 1 (size / shot)
Description: present tense, one moment.
CAPTION:
CHARACTER:
SFX:
PANEL 2 (size / shot)
Description.
CHARACTER:
CHARACTER (THOUGHT):
PANEL 3 (size / shot)
Description.
CHARACTER:
PAGE 2 (left-hand page · __ panels)
PANEL 1 (size / shot)
Description.
CHARACTER:
PANEL 2 (size / shot · page-turn panel)
Description.
CHARACTER:
NOTE: (for the artist, not lettered)
──────── EXAMPLE (invented series) ────────
CROSSWIND CLUB · Chapter 1 “Dead Air” · script, draft 2
PAGE 17 (left-hand page · last page before the turn · 4 panels)
PANEL 1 (wide, top third)
Establishing. The riverbank seen from the top of the levee. TOMOE stands alone at the water’s edge, line taut, her kite a small red-and-white diamond high above the bridge. KOHARU is halfway down the levee steps, map in hand.
CAPTION: Tuesday, 4:10 p.m.
TOMOE: Wind’s turning.
PANEL 2 (medium shot, Tomoe)
Tomoe glances upriver, frowning.
TOMOE (SMALL): …Not now.
PANEL 3 (small inset)
Close on a second kite rising beyond the bridge: black, one white stripe.
SFX: fwap fwap
PANEL 4 (wide, bottom · page-turn panel)
Koharu in profile, eyes widening as she tracks the black kite. Keep the sky above her empty; the reader sees the threat only after the turn.
KOHARU (THOUGHT): It’s heading straight for hers.
PAGE 18 (right-hand page · first page after the turn · 3 panels)
PANEL 1 (half page, full width · the reveal)
Low angle from the bank. The black kite slices across Tomoe’s line. Her kite snaps free and spins away into the sun.
SFX (BIG, ACROSS THE PANEL): SHNK
PANEL 2 (medium)
Tomoe, the cut line slack in her hands, staring up.
TOMOE: …
PANEL 3 (small, bottom)
On the bridge railing, a boy in another school’s uniform winds in his reel, half smiling. SHUN.
SHUN: Still flying the old design, Ishiwata?
NOTE: First time we see Shun’s face. Keep his reel in frame; it pays off in chapter 6.
The same two pages, drawn as panel thumbnails
A script is only half the job; the panels still have to fit the page. Sketching each scripted page as rough boxes (thumbnails) shows whether the sizes in the script work. Below are pages 17 and 18 from the example, laid out right to left.
Page 17 ends on a wide panel of Koharu watching the sky, with the threat kept out of frame. Page 18 is the first page after the turn, so it opens on the half-page reveal. If the reveal were on page 17, the reader would see it from the corner of their eye before finishing the page.
Manga script format vs. Western comic scripts
Western comic scripts (the full-script style many US publishers use) look almost the same: PAGE and PANEL headers, descriptions, and numbered lines of dialogue. A manga script adds three habits:
- Mark each page left or right, because page turns decide where reveals land.
- Expect the artist to change panel layouts. In manga, the artist's name (the rough page sketch) is where the layout gets settled; the script gives sizes and priorities.
- Leave room for silent panels. Write them as description only, with no lettered lines.
If you're writing for an artist who reads right to left, say so at the top of the script and number panels in that order.
Script, name, or storyboard: which do you need?
- Manga script: words only, page by page and panel by panel. Best when a writer works with an artist, when you think in words first, or when you want to fix pacing and dialogue before you draw.
- Name (ネーム): a rough sketch of every page with the dialogue written in. Japanese manga artists who write their own stories often go straight to the name.
- Storyboard: a general term for planning panels visually; for manga it usually means the name.
Many artists use both: a quick script to settle what happens and what's said, then a name to settle how it looks. The how-to for each is in the manga script writing guide and the manga storyboard guide.
Tips for writing a manga script an artist can draw
- One moment per panel. "She stands up and walks to the door" is two panels.
- Describe what can be seen: write the frown, not the worry.
- Watch the word count per panel. A small panel holds one or two short balloons.
- Give every page one panel that matters most, and say so with its size.
- Put reveals on the first page after a turn, and give the last panel before a turn a reason to turn the page.
- Attach a character sheet for every recurring character, so nobody draws from memory.
Writing the script in LitMemo
In LitMemo, a manga book is organized into chapters and storyboard pages. Each panel has its own fields for the scene description, dialogue (with the speaker and whether it's speech, thought, or narration), sound effects, effect lines, and notes, and you can lay the panels out on the page as you go. Panel descriptions can @mention your characters and settings, so the reference sheets and notes are one click away. You can try the storyboard editor without signing up.
You can also start from the plot: describe what happens on a page and AI drafts the panels, shots, and dialogue. Every panel stays editable, so refine the draft using this format, then generate the art panel by panel.
How to fill in this template
Start from your chapter plan: know the core event, the page count, and which pages the big reveals should land on. If you don't have that yet, plan the chapter first with the one-page manga outline in the manga story planning guide.
Write the PAGE headers first, all the way through the chapter, with a one-line summary under each. That's the fastest way to see whether the chapter fits its page count before you write any panels.
Then fill each page: panel lines with sizes, descriptions in present tense, and the lettered lines. Read each page's dialogue aloud; if it takes longer to say than the panel would take to read, cut it.
Finally, check the turns. For each left-hand page (in right-to-left manga), the last panel should make the reader want to turn, and the right-hand page after it should open on something worth turning for.
Fill the template in four steps
Plan the pages
Write a PAGE header for every page of the chapter with a one-line summary, and mark which side each page falls on.
Break pages into panels
Add PANEL lines with a size for each. Give every page one panel that matters most.
Describe each panel
Present tense, one moment per panel, only what can be drawn.
Add the lettered text
Dialogue with speakers in caps, captions, and SFX, then read it aloud and cut what won't fit.
Better together
Work it straight into your story
This template maps to these LitMemo features — fill it in online and everything auto-links:
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Frequently asked questions
What is the format of a manga script?
Is a manga script the same as a name (ネーム)?
How many panels should a manga page have?
Where should a reveal go in a manga script?
How do I write sound effects and thoughts in a manga script?
Can I download this manga script template?
Should I write the script or draw thumbnails first?
Or fill it in online — start the storyboard right here
Start without signing up, then manage the panels alongside your characters and settings