In this post from last year, I wrote about my month of writing a graphic novel script and what it taught me. I decided this year to work on the scripts for a webcomic that I had every intention of seeing published in the future. Already I’m running into some new lessons:
–Each strip has to stand on its own. Although the comic has plot arcs and character development, I can’t force readers to click through a week or more of strips just to get the joke. this is somewhat different from a graphic novel, where readers expect to flip through pages of content for a story. The change in format demands a change in how I approach each page of the script.
–Formatting should be more consistent. Of course there are exceptions to this rule, and have seen them before in comics I read regularly. But for the most part, webcomics follow their own pattern that resembles a print comic strip or page. I’m making a strong effort to stick to this rule, forcing myself to wrap up every mini-story in four panels ending in a punchline. The story in Lily’s Odyssey stretched out over several pages that didn’t and shouldn’t look the same.
The comic in progress can be seen here. I’m writing with a twice-a-week update schedule for one whole year in mind. Whether it’ll be illustrated, and who will do that, is a question for the end of April.
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