I wasn’t going to keep you waiting long before starting the violence. Not in this chapter. 🙂
No reason to wait before polling, either! I want to ask my readers some questions during this chapter, both about the publication of book 1 and so that I can improve the comic when it relaunches for book 2. Let’s start with an easy one. Please tell me what you think, and if you don’t have an opinion, don’t worry about it — they’re just friendly polls. Thanks!
[yop_poll id=”3″]
↓ Transcript
Joey: And I have to take you down...if I ever want to beat your body count.
Jacob: I haven't killed half as many people as you.
Joey: It's cute you believe that.
Jacob: I haven't killed half as many people as you.
Joey: It's cute you believe that.
Given, that “comic” part of story exist only to Joey wannabes, I do think you do not have any reason to worry about rigor of adherence to the CCA and such.
Strict limitation to chapter length, however, tends to be rather pro-creative, inducing evolution of one’s style and granting insight on storytelling pace. After all, if you can’t tell a tale in given number of pages, you are unable to tell tales at all.
Or so I heard.
Chapters are important, even in the freedom of a webcomic format. They help organize the story not only from a storytelling perspective, but also from an archive-search perspective. They help the reader remember each story segment. Since this is being presented on the web, you don’t have to stick to a 24-page format if you don’t want to, but please feel free to continue to post chapter sections.
I too agree that chapters are important, but I would never recommend adhering to it as a strict rule on the number of pages. If you can keep to the 24 page format then good for you, but I’ve seen many good stories go bad because the author had to keep it within a set page limit.
I voted the first option, but to be honest, I would not complain if the chapters were longer or up to 4 pages shorter
I voted other — I am pretty ambivalent about the chapters/no chapters divide. They seem to be working, but I’m reading each page as it’s published so I probably don’t get the full chapter impact.
I greatly enjoy most of the chapter-breaks so far, for the foreboding text at the end of your chapters has a very nice atmosphere and I like the graphic elements you use. But I do not need them to be in regular segments. There can be long chapters and short chapters; as a matter of personal taste, sticking with the 80’s Sci-Fi-Action-cliché, I’d not have put a chapter break before the big fight, for example, as the talk in the trees did not reveal overly much new information, and thus didn’t feel like a chapter-finale to me. Consequently, the chapter break from 7 to 8 didn’t feel as if it would separate two internally consistent pieces of the story but rather as if it would cut off a bit of the fight, which, as it is presented now, seems like something (a chase, a relationship, the past) coming to a close and hence is a rather novel start for a new chapter to me. Thus, if your story is actually planned out by you in blocks of 24, then stick with it, but otherwise I’d prefer the breaks to be either before a change of location or after a big boom.
i dont care what the chapter lengths are, or whatnot. i’m here for the story your telling and watching it unfold. format the comic however you want. :3
Using chapters or not, and their length if you use them, should serve the story. If you’re using chapters it’s probably good to have a rough idea up front (that is, before doing a specific chapter) of how long the chapter should be – but if you can improve the story by changing that length, whether by giving more detail where needed or by removing stuff that doesn’t contribute, you SHOULD do so.
I voted Other – I share the opinion of Bibliophile.
I voted other but it really is more like I cant choose between the first and second choice. If you ever print the book chapters would be nice, but I always feel that the chapter intro pages always break up the “action” so to speak. I really hate cliffhangers.
Other: Sure, but it’s a webcomic, so we don’t need chapters.
I’m fine with whatever, so I couldn’t really say “no” to the question if I “like it this way”.
Nice job with that pitchfork! I thought it was a bit strange that he threw it so deliberately and yet it seemed to sail off in the wrong direction.
I voted “yes”, since I’ve found that a fixed framework tends to direct all that creativity towards more worthwhile exercises. (An infite canvas is good tool for playing with an infinite canvas, but it is poor for anything else, like telling a story.)
But I’ll add that if you, the creator, find the fixed chapter length a burden, it’s probably a no more worthwhile exercise. 😛
The pacing you’ve been using suits the chapter lengths you’ve been using, and vice versa. I wouldn’t care either way if chapters were longer or shorter, just as long as the change didn’t damage the storytelling. As donedwardswandering (What a username!) said, chapter length should serve the story.
And as always, thanks for putting this out for us, keep up the great work. 😀
Well, I like chapters. But I’m confused about the body count. Joey will probably elaborate though.
Assuming you intend to make your exceptionally wonderful story in a hard copy format at some point, adhering to industry standards may make that process a shade easier.