Apr 2016
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Apr 2016
Apr 2016
AnnaLandin
Apr '16

My comic is very much in the slow-and-steady category. I'm on chapter five, and I haven't introduced the main antagonist yet. Stuff has happened, plot-important stuff, and will continue to happen, but most of the time so far has been spent on establishing relationships between main characters, introducing additional important characters, and building mystery and atmosphere.

It starts off with a bit of a bang in the first 10 pages (main character is attacked by a bandit! he kills the bandit, woohoo! but no wait what's this, a small bloodstained child just stepped out from behind a tree - what now? D:), but slows down considerably after that, because the story is anchored in its characters, rather than in the plot. The plot matters - they have things to do! - but it only matters if the readers care about the characters.

As for what I enjoy as a reader... I like both types of story! I'm a pretty patient reader, who cares a lot about characters, so I don't mind plots being slow to build, as long as it feels like the author is using the downtime to actually accomplish something. If it's just empty filler - or just comic relief in a story obviously intended to be dramatic, that doesn't actually build towards something that's going to happen later - it feels a bit frustrating. Use that slow time wisely.

I like getting to know characters, and I like getting hints and clues that, if I put them together right, helps me start unravelling mysteries or secrets those characters are keeping, so that's what I try to do in my own comic. My main character has a whole barrel of secrets that he doesn't like talking about, but I drop hints here and there, and establish that reluctance to talk (it helps that his constant companion is semi-mute and doesn't really ask questions), etc., etc.

Mane
Apr '16

I suppose it really depends on the execution. Throwing some hints here and there are a good way of preparing the audience if done right, though don't just do it through information alone, try to use scenes that changes the mood too, something that evokes a sentiment that will make sense once the heavier part of the plot arrives.

Kamikaze
Apr '16

That's exactly what I meant. You just said it better @keii4ii wink

SamNoir
Apr '16

I honestly TRULY believe that every issue, every page, every panel, every line NEEDS to have a point. If it is not adding to the character or the plot or the story then it's excess fat that needs to be carved.

A writer should be asking throughout every panel and line... What is the NORMAL. What is the thing that changes that NORMAL. What is the UNEXPECTED RESULT?

VICTORIAN FOUR1

ZIP KRAMER SAVIOUR OF THE UNIVERSE

Stinahhh
Apr '16
shazzbaa

Thanks for actually going through a bit of my comic! The thing with mine is I plan for it to be quite long, the whole her going into some type of world is part of the plot but not quite the problem at all. It's tricky for me because nana is a character who is kind of numb emotionally but I don't want the readers to know that just yet, so conversations aren't completely "empty" as they will give in clues and snippets of her listless, non-empathetic side. Meanwhile to her the interactions she has with those around her are meaningless. But I'll work on the comic to show how she grows out of it etc. and finds out the truth of what or where that world is. Also to work towards a smooth buildup that won't take too long!

Stinahhh
Apr '16
AnnaLandin

I'm hoping to keep my main character a barrel of secrets too, so although the comic centers around her, she is actually the most mysterious. I don't intend for my comic to have empty fillers(I already hate fillers in shows enough!) but I'll need to experiment and hope it doesn't come off as that but to give adequate amounts of hints to her true nature. Thanks for your comment!

Stinahhh
Apr '16
SamNoir

Yeah I'll make sure that everything is for the sake of the plot and not to be excess fat. About the 'NEEDING to have a point' though, would you say it's more difficult for longer scroll-type webcomics to have each and every line be of significance vs a comic that publishes one panel filled page?

ConradComics
Apr '16

I've seen three different methods work.

1) The straight to the point.
2) The slow and steady.
3) And the 'Three Weeks Earlier...' where someone starts the story with action and then backs up to the slow and steady parts leading up to it. Attempting to hold interest with good at-the-moment storytelling, but also with the promise of getting back to that 'cool' part.

Now personally, the 'Three Weeks Earlier' shtick is a pet peeve of mine, but it does work, so I can't disregard it. In fact, I honestly can't say any of the three are right or wrong. They certainly have their strengths and weaknesses. If I were to choose just one though, I prefer the slow and steady. So many good stories have started with 'normal life' that's shattered for good by the end of Act I, which fits the structure of a three act story anyhow.

My upload here on Tapastic, Her Shadow2, is in manga format, so follows an intro-boom-resolve approach. It's a foreign writing pacing for me; I'll admit, but I like the challenge. I also find it interesting, because my MC met the titular character in the first chapter, so it's not like I had the characters twiddling their thumbs, but I'm beginning to realize the rest of this intro section will take a really, really long time. It's like a combination of starting fast and taking it slow and steady. In retrospect, that's probably why I like manga in general.

keii4ii
Apr '16

I don't think that's a different type of pacing. You can do a slow story or a fast story with that sort of an introduction. I'm kind of doing that with my own slow and steady story, in fact.

ConradComics
Apr '16

I dunno if I would call HoK a 'Three Weeks Earlier...' story. It seems more time-travel/dimensional-travel based, which keeps the 'present' with the traveler. Whereas with a 'Three Weeks Earlier...' story is more like a series--long flashback, where no one but the audience travels back (and sometimes forth)...

...if that made any sense, lol.

PurpleGround
Apr '16

Alright. About the going in with a bang? That's what I did with my comic. And especially with the first page Blight Page 11. I believe this method is called "page turner" or "the hook"... you know, makes you wanna turn the page, find out more. Here I straight away introduced the ongoing conflict, or.. what the main character is going to deal with, or what started that something. It could be spreaded out to a few more pages but I guess to be a "page turner" style every dialouge and events has to go straight to the point. Any thing else is fillers, or character development time. Your character needs development. At some point, I skipped / jump to the point so many time I got a complaint saying its going too fast. lol. I guess fillers are like breathers. People need to emotionally relax and had fun before diving back in. Have you seen "10 Lane Cloverfield"? That's the "bang" type.

agentfink
Apr '16

I just want to say this is awesome, and exactly how I see comic pages. There was some small talk about it in another thread...

Mane
Apr '16

I mostly agree with that statement, it's true that you have each panel needs to have a purpose, but I'm not so sure about the second part

I use a lot of "mood setters" , panel's or pages that are there to either set a certain tone or indicate a place, etc. I do feel like it hurts the pacing somewhat, but it's how I envision the story. For instance the last page I posted only features a character waking up in a bar. Some might say that does nothing to the plot or character .

Mane
Apr '16

Yup, especially if you can only upload 3 pages a week * sobs * . But some might argue that if it can be resumed in a sentence or a single panel that's how it should be done. I think I remember a discussion regarding a chapter where almost nothing happened and most complained because it hurt the pacing, but it was one of my favorites, I really felt it got the point across in terms of setting a certain mood.

Stinahhh
Apr '16
ConradComics

Haha I know what you mean with the "three weeks earlier" type. It's not a fave of mine but yeah, sometimes it works. I personally love manga snd II find the manga format is a lot more free in terms of paneling and pacing so it's different and yet, still challenging but props to you!

SamNoir
Apr '16
Mane

It says everything about the character though... it shows their occupation, which informs how others might view the character, or how the character identifies with their job (are you showing them accepting of the lot in life, content, or is it a means to an ends etc.)

I'm all for "mood setters" as well... essential to create a tone of your story, and often can be used to be evocative of character.