How storyboarding changed my (story's) life

I was going to write all about story boards---what you need, what pre-work to do, how to get the most out of a brainstorming session, how much I love them, etc, etc. The problem? The "etc, etc" part. Hey, I know my flaws. I'm long-winded enough on a good day. There's no way I can smush everything I want to say about story boards into a single blog post. So, to make sure I wrap this up eventually: What are my top 3 favorite things about seeing the story visually? Funny you should ask. =)

1) CLARIFICATION OF PLOT THREADS

All concerns about which subplot gets which color sticky note aside, the very act of story boarding forces me to decide what my story's really about, and to assign 4-6 broad categories. For example, when I storyboarded Hi-Jinxed, (for the second time...let us not discuss the first attempt,) my plot threads were something like:
* Daisy's IC re: Trevor
* Trevor's IC re: Daisy
* Villain's Shenanigans
* Fight for Tenure
* Wands/Wings/Science

I was able to visually tell where each thread began and ended, and to see whether they were more or less evenly distributed across the acts, and to see which scenes were doing double-duty, which could be combined, and which could be moved earlier or later for better effect.

2) DON'T FORGET THE SMALL STUFF

A story board is also a fabtastic place to leave tiny sticky notes reminding you of stuff you thought was brilliant at the time, but somehow disappeared for the middle 200 pages. A particular character (evil stepfather, pegasus next door, a dog) or a quirk/prop (lists, glasses, a stutter) or anything else that isn't a particular plot point, but yet something you don't want to lose sight of. (I know I'm not the only Maven whose pre-storyboard WIP first drafts had randomly disappearing/reappearing characters or props.)

3) PLAY FAIR WITH THE READER

When I did the storyboard for Touched, (arguably a mystery) I was very conscious about which clues I dropped where, and who knew what when. A story board is killer for tracking stuff like that. What I mean by playing fair with the reader is that I make sure the reader has all the same information the protagonists do and that I don't go into the villain's POV (like I might with a suspense) because, duh, the POV person knows whether they killed a houseguest or not, so there wouldn't be any mystery for the reader to solve.

This past weekend at the Maven retreat, when I was plotting my upcoming YA, I was trying to decide whether to go with single POV or multiple POV. I had only storyboarded a few squares when the answer leaped out at me. No way could I do two POVs. One of the characters walks on-screen already knowing all the information the other character will spend a big portion of the book discovering. It wouldn't be fair of me to do his POV and have him consistently keep vague secrets from the reader, and it would also kill the mystery to have him explain the entire plot in the first scene.

YOUR TURN: Whether you're a pantser or a plotter or a plantser in the middle like me, sound off: 1) How do you weave your plot threads to best effect? 2) How do you keep track of all the small stuff? 3) How do you determine which and how many points of view to use in a story?