Any good one shots/short form comics or stories to recommend?

akitsukino 2017-08-14 21:32:24 UTC #1

I have been slowly gaining more confidence in my art and have been making more comics and writing stories as of late. That being the case, I still think it will be a while before I feel capable of committing to making a 100-chapter, multiyear, serial comic, so I've just been sticking to making one shots. My only problem with this is that I have a bad habit of being very long winded when I write. Small chapters can turn into near novels if I'm not careful. So I was wondering if any of had any one shot comics or even short written stories you could recommend that you think make good use of their short length? I'll even take recommendations for writing books that teach you how to write good/short stories (something like "Bird by bird" ), or even short films if you find one think does it well. Let me know below!

NanettesClouds 2017-08-14 21:59:38 UTC #2

Hey!

GOOD PLAN. One shots/Minicomics are really great for learning how YOU like to make comics, as they let you experiment with techniques and processes and story ideas, without trapping you into a big commitment.

Here's a minicomic that I made:

Here are some of my favorite minicomic's/one-shots on Tapastic:

And here are two of my favorite comic-people who also happen to specialize in minicomics.

http://www.emcarroll.com/

http://www.andsothen.com/

Honorable mention goes to:

Because it's not technically a one-shot or a minicomic, but it is shortform storytelling.

Kura 2017-08-14 22:45:52 UTC #3

I'm not a huge fan of short comics and one shots, so I have not read very many.

This one was nice though.

Kabushi 2017-08-15 03:07:08 UTC #4

I have a short horror comic here:

Personally, I find it much easier to imagine a story and its characters, their history and future, and pick a 'moment' in their life to focus on. The trick is not putting everything you know about this world and its characters into the actual book, as you'll end up with pages upon pages.

For MIAM, I didn't want an 'origin' and I didn't want an ending. I just wanted to focus entirely on Mary's constant struggle, caring for her children, and the lengths she will go to to ensure their survival. It leaves a lot of questions about how she ended up in this situation and where she'll go from there but I think that only adds to the overall feel of the comic.

lil-sea-salt 2017-08-15 14:48:02 UTC #5

I have 2 of those that are 'stubs' I think 7k is a good cap. Try to set that as your limit and start cutting and editing

They aren't my most popular work, but it's good if you want to see compact arcs in writing. Just set a goal to get to 7k with a short and you'll learn as you go.

Chopythes 2017-08-15 14:58:07 UTC #6

Oh boy, do I have a few for you?
I LOVE short stories<3

Sorry if it's too spammy, but I just really enjoy short stories, I've made a few myself!