Plot Important Bonus/Extra Chapters. Bad Idea?

ButterflyEmpress 2018-12-29 23:30:44 UTC #1

I know this sounds like a silly thing to ask, but how do readers view bonus/extra chapters? By that, I mean the small group of pages that come after or before a full length chapter. Kinda similar to end credits scenes in movies and anime.

The reason I ask is that I have small moments in my story that are essential to the plot, but are too short to be their own chapter and too disconnected to be stitched to a regular chapter. For example, a side character who sneaks off at night to meet someone mysterious, which builds up to a plot twist.

I don't want to label it as bonus or extra 'cause it might come across as pointless filler and don't want the readers to feel like they're punished to going back and reading the pages they skipped over, but I also don't want to create a pacing whiplash by tacking them on to normal chapters.

violin 2018-12-29 23:44:56 UTC #2

I like bonus chapters, as long as they aren't happening so often and scheduled such that a LOT of bonus chapters are taking the place of regular chapters.

There's been cases when the author isn't feeling well or didn't have time to finish a full chapter for their regular update, and instead of just a note stating the status and that they'll update next week, they insert a small bonus chapter. I tend to love those because then there's still something for you to read

shazzbaa 2018-12-30 05:00:46 UTC #3

A lot of my "chapters" end up with a small scene at the beginning or end -- like, at the end of chapter one, after the main characters' scene is wrapped up, there's a quick 5 page interlude of a couple of the main villains meeting elsewhere up to discuss what they've learned. I do a lot of little scenes like that; open with a short interlude, and then transition to a different scene for the main chapter, or after the main "story" of the chapter, cut away to a short interlude that gives you some clues for things to come.

I call it an "interlude," but I consider it part of the chapter! In order to avoid pacing whiplash, you don't necessarily need to say ITS THE END OF THE CHAPTER! NOW, BONUS SCENE! -- you just have to think about how you can use the pacing of your comic to show that the main scene, the main "story" of the chapter is wrapping up, and we're about to go into something a little different. I think it can be really effective to set everything up to look like the end of a chapter, have the end-of-chapter splash page or the camera pulls out like it would at the end of a scene -- and then transition or cut away or linger or zoom in on something else -- wait.... who's that sneaking off there? What's he up to?

nathanKmcwilliams 2018-12-30 05:10:57 UTC #4

I do little bonus panels once a week that add expositional type information in a little two sentence blurb. I do this so I don't waste time in my comic with long dialogue. The comic can be read without them, but they add extra info about things like: The world, how powers work, and character info.

Maps 2018-12-30 07:34:29 UTC #5

It depends on the type of extra chapters. If I'm really involved in the story, sometimes I don't go to extra chapters because they pull away from the feeling of the moment I am in with the story. But there are some extra chapters I do like, especially if they assist the plot and don't ruin the mood of the actual story!

OttoGruenwald 2018-12-30 18:29:23 UTC #6

I've started trying something like that in my comic.

The idea is to make simple sketches that tie into lore files about the setting.

Will it work? I guess time will have to tell!

Zaboem 2018-12-30 23:36:15 UTC #7

Let's just say that I abuse the privilege. No reader has given me any complaint feedback about that aspect, so I cannot say that has been bothered by it.