Advice please: keep the glossary or not?

[rinari]

Hi there! I was wondering if anyone could give me their honest feedback on a question I have.

My story, Haven + Hael, is a fantasy manga set in another world. I wanted to include a glossary of terms for readers to refer back to if they were reading in the future and forgot what a word meant or got confused or just wanted to read more about the world - but I'm worried that having it at the beginning of my story (the easiest place to refer back to) will turn new readers off or give the wrong impression that the story will be overwhelming or complex. Should I nix the glossary altogether, move it to the end of the first chapter, or do something else? Would you mind taking a look at it and saying whether it piques your interest or turns you off? Thank you so much for your feedback!

[60Six]

Not gonna lie... When I looked at your comic just now in your other thread, I completely skipped over that.
Something a LOT of people will preach is "show, don't tell." I've also heard a lot of people say in other threads that big walls of text at the beginning of a comic turn them off, but that usually is followed by them saying how they wish people would show, not tell.
I'm on that boat too, personally. I don't think it's necessarily bad and it could be something to include like in a bonus or extras, as something to remind people what these are if they get confused, but overall I'd MUCH rather you SHOW us what an Autrarch or a Child of the Light is, rather than just automatically know because I read a paragraph before starting the story. It gives us more to discover about your world and also helps draw out the story and give us stuff to learn over a period of time rather than all at once.
...Plus honestly, I don't think I could remember all of this. :'D It's much easier to remember if we, say, MET the Autarch.. A character is a lot more memorable than a description comparable to something you'd write on a note card to study for a quiz.

As said, I think it could still be a handy thing to keep as a bonus or extra! I mean, I've been meaning to make a species info sheet for my own comic, but everything on it is going to be stuff that's already been explained or going to be explained in the story. But as the very, very first thing in your comic, I did honestly just kind of scroll past it to try and get to the actual comic pages (Which I've book marked so I can see when they come out). ;v;

[rinari]

@Riko Thanks so much for your comment! Yeah, I'm definitely planning on showing and explaining all of those terms within the story organically, so I definitely agree with you that that's a much more effective way of story-telling!

I just wanted the glossary to be there for people to use several months down the road, in case they forgot who the Autarch is or something (since I'm planning on updating about once a week). The glossary is meant to be skipped until you need it! But my fear was that having it at the beginning like that might make people think they have to read it in its entirety before getting to the story So I'll have to figure out where that bonus/extra section will go! Thank you again for your feedback :3

EDIT: And I just saw your response in the other thread, so I'm going to check out your comic now~ Thanks for bookmarking!! <3

[60Six]

Ah, in that case, a lot of people have a bonus features basically set up as a separate comic (I have one for my own comic)!
I definitely think it could belong there, or like you said, at the end of a chapter. Sorry if I sort of misinterpreted or sounded kind of lecture-y!
So to sort of change my answer now that I get what you're asking better now, yes, I would definitely move it. :'D Mostly because I thought this was the only place this stuff was going to be explained (which could be a big turn off) and I wouldn't be surprised if others do too.
I'm definitely far more interested knowing that's not the case now!

And oh, thank you! : D Hope you enjoy!

[shazzbaa]

If I'm completely honest, seeing this page of terms would immediately make me close the comic and never come back. So. My advice would be to drop it!!

If you really want it to be available in case someone forgot what something means, I'd honestly like.... make a blog post somewhere with that information and just link it in the description as often as you like. So like:

And here's page 12!! What on earth does she think she's doing.
[Glossary -- myblog.tumblr.com/post/146455465017/ ]

But ultimately I agree with Riko. The BEST way to handle this will be to make sure that these terms come up often enough in the story that we can organically understand what they mean.

For me, seeing this huge list of terms before the comic even begins wouldn't just be a turn-off because I don't wanna read it -- it would be a turn-off because it's a giant red flag that this is a story that thinks I will need a glossary of terms, because these things won't be clear within the context of the storytelling as we go. It makes me think the story is not going to make the terms into things I can learn and understand as I learn about the world -- they're terms I'll need to look up in order to know what's going on. A story so in love with its jargon that it might become opaque if you forget a term, rather than reinforcing that meaning throughout the story.

That's the impression it gives, so if it were me, I'd see if you can get away with dropping the glossary altogether. Maybe let people know that if they end up needing one you'll happily post it, and just see if anyone ever actually wants it before you put that whole long list out there before the story has even started. Or, maybe add terms one-by-one to the blog post as they come up, so it can be an interesting reveal of information! I've seen that done successfully before, and that feels less like a huge dump of info you have to look up and more like charting out the things you've learned so far. : )

[Michelle]

For the beginning of a comic, it's a good idea to make your comic as accessible as possible. Most people are going to come to your comic to be entertained, and few are gonna want to be smacked in the face with a vocab lesson.

If your writing is good and follows the "show don't tell" rule, people should be able to pick up on these fancy words themselves. If they can't, you may want to trim down just how many foreign words you're using. A handful of world-specific lingo is ok, but there gets to be a point where it's too complex and your readers can get confused and lose interest. Being honest, I felt overwhelmed after reading just 3 entries into that glossary :x

[rinari]

@Riko Oh, you didn't sound lecturey or anything at all, that was very helpful! :') I'm definitely going to move it, thanks for your honesty!

@shazzbaa I definitely see what you mean! :laugh: Yeah, I don't want to give the impression that the story is so complex and nonsensical that it NEEDS a glossary; I want to worldbuild organically so people can process the information as the story goes along. So you're right, I definitely want to get rid of it for now! I love your ideas with the blog posts and the slow add-ons, I think I'll try that! Thanks for your feedback!