Does anyone else do side-stories?

[sarahrebecca58]

I'm eventually going to work full time on my main graphic novel, and separating them into two volumes.

On Voreth's Promise Saga, there is a chance I may need to rework the pages of the coming chapters. In revising the novella, I started including some side stories into it: Samantha's Gambit, Father Out Of Time, My Hands Raised Up, Indigo Spacers, Namorift Persona, and Otis The Dreamer. I haven't decided totally if Jonah NumeroHex is more of a side story or not.

Because graphic novels don't have quite the same word count requirements, I may make Uploaded Fairy a sequel. But have also created a side story for this volume. The original short stories, in going back to reread them, turn out to fit better as side stories rather than individual stories.

How common are side stories for graphic novels?

Work can sometimes surprise you how they turn out. *shrugs

[FromFinn]

You should try it, I don't think there's enough side stories for graphic novels.

[sarahrebecca58]

I'll do it then!:D

More one that incorporate side short stories here and there, then one long subplot.

[purrlpankras]

I'm doing one right now, called Likho. It's based from my main webcomic Two Faced.
Side stories help to understand the characters in different situations and get to know them better. Also its fun!

[sarahrebecca58]

Do they need to be within the same caste? I have one main caste, then a caste of four or so within each side-story not related to the original cast but in the same district.

[purrlpankras]

...You mean taking different characters from your different comics right?

[Kura]

All the time, though when I do I keep wanting to make them into comics (which I can't physically do and I already have enough of right now)

[sarahrebecca58]

Sort of, instead of a single recurring subplot with a different caste, it would be several short story arcs with a different caste, and each short story has it's own caste.

Chronology it explores different groups in the birth of an alternative to cyberspace.

[purrlpankras]

Hm well, I sort of do that with my other one, Zenith's Stress Relieving where theres 1 page comics with different characters in it from Two Faced and Zenith. Well thats what I do anyway

[alcruid]

I'm not really making a side-story for my comic, but I am sort of making a Novel Style of the History of Thaeria. Like how it was created and the different Eras. Making it different short stories of important events. It helps me organizing my thoughts and it's nice to put some lore in and tie it to the main storyline. I don't have a name for it yet, but for now it's called Sidus Sin Nom

My sis is also making a Novel about a different character. Side stories are just fun to do

Generally it doesn;t have to be about the same characters, the Protagonists of Sidus Sin Nom don't appear in the main story at all. I think it just has to be clear that it happens in the same universe or has some ties to the main story.

[Jrej]

I never thought about it as side stories but I am considering writing "crossover" stories. They would be following a different character at the same time as the main story, sharing some important event.

I think that could give more depth to the project
and I wouldn't feel that I am missing some interesting yet not crucial stories in the main arch.

[sarahrebecca58]

I think I had trouble, cause the graphic novel in its bare bones novella state started out as a merging of two novelettes into a complete character arc.

Now Uploaded Fairy (volume II) is starting to feel ... well like a second volume. It's set roughly a year after the original novelette, approaching the alternative to cyberspace already invented and trickled down with the potato district with its own uses for things.

I might see if I can write more side-stories in How The Cyborg Got A Job As A Mini-Mart Sweep.

Edit: Yes, intentionally stated more boring than the plot is.:D

[TAMAnnoying]

Side stories are good, but always remember when you do side stories your explaining something that was before never explained such as a side characters story or a side story that was for the most part left to interpretation in the first story. This can sometimes make that side character or side story loose its original mystery that might have made people so interested in it to begin with.

Not saying side stories are bad, but sometimes the subject matter is best left not explained. But really only if the entire reason it was so good and interesting to begin with was because people knew so little about it.

[jjfresh]

Side stories are good for fans if they want more background or maybe just for fun. I was thinking of doing a few of them for background for the Support program. I see side stories a most often in romance mangas. For the romance, they are usually for giving a side character a love interest. In other stories, they have often existed to explain a side character's past.

For me, if I was to do that for Beautiful Lies, I plan on giving a little background on my main character's past as well as side characters. But only a little.

[MylCreates]

I actually have plans to do side stories for big comics like Hacheeachkee. There are so many characters and special events that not all of it will be mentioned in the main comic. Since one often sells smaller books at conventions I was thinking I could sell these side stories in smaller pamphlets. They can stand on their own yet still allude to the main comic.

Atleast that's my plan

[Raven_C]

I'm currently working on a side-story of my comic, which will be presented as a game where my subscribers are led to four or five different endings depending on their choices. It's a supplementary "chapter" that I want to include right after I finish chapter 2. It's not a requirement to play it, but it's all in good fun before moving on to chapter 3! I'll be creating it in a program called Ren'Py.

[sarahrebecca58]

The cyberspace is what's primarily being explained, as otherwise it's placement within the plot wouldn't be properly foreshadowed.:P

Edit: Side story one is finished. It sets the context for the dystopia that follows.

[AnnaLandin]

I'm not doing one right now, but I will be doing a few later on - one that's a self-contained little short-story style thing taking place at a undisclosed point of the timeline, and one short backstory-chapter for one of the secondary characters.

I like sidestories - they allow the author to reveal bits of backstory or show the reader what characters do when they aren't right in the middle of the main storyline, so you can do stories that have a different tone/atmosphere than the main comic. It's nice!

[Ayumi]

Actually most of my stories have some connections. It can be a character, a world, or both. I started to think at it after I've read Stephen King's Dark Tower series. I think it can be very exciting to meet related things from your "main" story in an other story of yours. Plus if you couldn't explain something in your previous story, you can add new informations in your side-story.

[getsuart]

I've done two sidestories about my webcomic Echo. One is a cute story that doesn't involve anything on the story (it was for a challenge of 12 hours for 12 pages), and the other one explains the relationship of the parents' heroin explained like a fairytale for a recollection.
Those sidestories are things that I will not tell a lot on the main story, and I wanted to show more of it. It doesn't have a really big impact on the main story, though. I'm trying to keep it spoiler-free. It's just a nice bonus !