Hard to tell. My tip: Be creative!
Now that's not very helpful. But when it comes to building a comp it differs a lot from one show to another.
It's like communications design (my earning

). Every client/project has a need for individual rules
and decisions to be set up (and a good deal more). To me it's not a rock–solid layout in the first place.
It's an evolving process with a lot of research and "brainstorming!" involved.
Maybe the only thing I rely on right from the start is what I have learned so far. Whatever that might be

Oh and of course my tools are set up in the beginning. Hardware, software, … I think that's crucial. It makes "freestyle" much more convenient.