Stopover at NaNoWriMo: Looking over Longingly

Well folks, it's that time of the year again and NaNoWriMo, or November the National Novel Writing month is upon us.

I want to write a novel. In fact, last year, at around this time, I tried to start one but I was in the midst of a depression and upheaval that I'd rather not talk too much about. As you might have expected, the project didn't quite get off the ground.

What I learned however, no matter how good you think you could write at one time, it's hard to write a whole novel off the bat when you have been out of practice.

So I blinked and the next thing I know it's November again, and I want to take a steps toward writing a novel again. But I need to learn to walk again before I can fly. So taking the advice of a very wise friend, I'm starting small, and instead of an actual novel I will just write short stories for practice during the course of the month. Practice for when I feel ready to tackle a whole novel and not neglect my comics at the same time.

The subject matter will vary I suppose, but I guess I might take the opportunity to expand on my miscellaneous comic universes and write about those stories and stuff that never make it into my comic. I don't intend it to be all comic stuff though... we'll see how it goes. I like some variety, which is probably why I found the novel focus tiring.

The downside is I'll probably be inflicting my meagre literary efforts on you lot on my blog. Haha!

Hey, whatever gets me writing more, right? I do not intend on Little Drops of Sunshine being the only piece of writing I've ever done that I felt really proud of.

Hotspot #10: Ping's Theory on How To Write a Romance Story

I think I can almost safely say in my whole life, I have read a staggering total of 3 romance novels. As you can tell, I'm not exactly a big fan of them. Out of those three, I paid zero money for them. Two of them were books left by a previous tenant in a flat I rented, and one was one I borrowed from someone because I had nothing else to read.

On thing I couldn't help noticing was all three of the said books followed almost the exact same formula and plot. Maybe it was a just a fluke that all three novels I read happened to be so similar, but from them I came up with a formula for writing your atypical romance story :

Ping's Recipe for Common Romance Story

Chapter 1:
1. Introduce the characters when they were kids, around 10 or so is the ideal age.
2. Have them know each other through a third party, usually their parents (who most probably had affairs with each other).
3. Being childhood acquaintances also helps.
4. Even an the tender age of innocence, one of the kids will have some daft encounter like "seeing" or "peeking" and the other half of the future romance couple and "feeling there's something special" about them. Sometimes one of them has a crush on the other practically since forever but the other one never notices them.
5. Often, the two kids are from wildly differing social classes. One is rich kid, the other (usually the girl) is from a broken home. A perpetually drunk and abusive parent (especially father) is particularly common.


Chapter 2:
1. Insert tragedy. It usually involves the mysterious disappearance/murder of one of the parents, or a friend/sibling of one of the kids (usually the rich one).
2. The mystery never gets solved, but the blame usually gets put on one of the protagonists' shoulders, or that of her family/parent, thereby staining the protagonists' name too. This often happens to the girl, for some reason.
3. Anyway, regardless of the truth, the whole town ostracizes the protagonist as a result.
4. Protagonist leaves/gets driven out of town.


Chapter 3:
1. Fast forward 10 years or so. Protagonist grows up strong. Often it's the girl who struggles against the odds to make something of herself in some other town and succeeds at a modest level.
2. Sometimes she gets married, but inevitably the relationship will end tragically (divorced or widowed) and she never really loved him that much anyway.
3. One of the protagonists, for some reason, will find a daft reason to seek out the other half without intending it to be a romantic reason. More often it's the girl who for some obscure reason, decides to got back to the hometown to open a business/figure out the truth to the mystery/ face her ghosts/ clear her name so she can be accepted.
4. Protagonist doesn't get a warm reception, and by coincidence runs into the other half of the couple. Of course the other half will have photo-realistic memory of the first half and the childhood memories and will be astonished how attractive the first half has become in the last X number of years.
5. Usually a conflict ensues, where girl and guy get into argument but are attracted to each other anyway although they'd rather die than admit it.


Chapter 4-Nth:
1. Fast forward an indeterminate amount of time which can vary from a month to a few more years. Protagonist recovers from conflict and sets about trying to solve the old ancient mystery with renewed determination, much to the chagrin of the evil people who have things to hide.
2. There will always be several stereotypical characters to watch out for:
a) The sardonic, prejudiced parent. (Usually the aging mother bitter at the loss of her child/partner and blames the protagonist for it)
b) The irresponsible sibling. (Often it's a sister of the guy, who hates the heroine for absolutely fabricated reasons.)
c) The kind pleasant family friend. It's usually an uncle or childhood friend of the other protagonist.
3. Hero and heroine are attracted to each other, but the near-sex/kiss scene is usually interrupted. If they do get it one, one of them usually regrets it afterwards and ceases to talk to the other for a bit.
4. Protagonist uncovers lots of little mysteries. Most of them will be seemingly pointless love triangles. Here is an example:

hero's sibling = > family friend => protagonist's parent => dead partner => family friend's secretary => hero => heroine

5. Danger threatens one of the protagonists (death threats, dead cats and break-ins very common) and for some reason, instead of turning to the protagonist's backup network, the protagonist turns to love interest for help even though L.I. may be almost a complete stranger that heroine "for some mysterious reason instinctively trusts".
6. Hero gets all protective over heroine and usually stays with her to 'protect her'.
7. Luuuurve city. Couple finally give in to their desires and page after page after page of their painful and explicit details of lovemaking ensure. Often with descriptions of how perfect the heroine's breasts are, how tender the heroine's skin is, how much body hair hero has and how abnormally big the hero's shaft is.
8. They spend the whole hour/day/week making luurrrrvve. Remember to comment how great it makes both of them feel. Often there will be confessions and plot details coming out in afterplay.
9. In the meantime, we also learn more mind-boggling relationship info from the point of view of one of the other characters, more often than not that belonging to the sibling.
10. Evil bad guy tries to murder heroine, usually going after her after luring hero away with some devious plot as she is about to uncover the secret of the mystery.


N+1th Chapter:
1. Evil bad guy turns out to be... *gasps* unsuspected trusted family friend, who monologues about all the reasons why protagonist's sibling/parent was murdered and how evil bad guy got away with it. Basically he explains everything and fills in anything gaping plot-holes.
2. Hero arrives in time to rescue heroine after she does a valiant struggle.
3. Hero's sibling shows up, intending to interfere but ends up finding out evil bad guy betrayed them and usually sibling, hero or heroine ends up shooting/killing-by-accident the evil bad guy.
4. Hero decides to marry heroine. All problems turn into mist in the sun and they all live happily ever after. THE END.

And that's Ping's rough formula on how to write a romance story. I have no idea how accurate it is for larger sample sets, but I reckon it will have some application in comics as well.

I'm having a bit of an upheaval in my life right (moving, planning etc) now, so updates will be a bit irregular. I still have a half-finished review sitting somewhere.

The other thing is that I'm still more in the mood to draw comics than write, and it's summer so I'm drawn irresistibly outside. While it's easy to draw when you're sitting under a tree in the park, it's not as easy to do that with a laptop without asking to be mugged.

Anyways, will update when I can. Wish me luck!

Hotspot #4: How to Completely Spoil Suspense Using Webcomic Extras

Through Waffle, I've just stumbled accross a fantasy goldmine. Or more accurately, a fantasy writing goldmine: Limyaael's Rants. It's educational stuff, all about fantasy writing and avoiding the cliches (Boy did I have fun combing through it to see how many rules my old comic The Longest Sojourn violated!). A lot of it could also apply for non-fantasy stuff.

Anyway, there's an interesting article on Suspense (and how not to kill it), which is a great read, and also inspired today's hotspot topic: How to Completely Spoil Suspense Using Webcomic Extras.

We know that webcomics come with a lot of extras print comics don't. Cast pages, Art Galleries, Forums, Blogs. Those are pretty much the standard features of a webcomic. Unfortunately, if a creator is indiscreet, they're also the standard way creators spoil their own comics. Let's look at them:

1. Cast Pages
   Cast pages can be a handy reference to a new reader when they're new and can't quite get the names and faces right yet. On the other hand, overzealous creators often end up inadvertantly spoiling the story for the readers by putting far too much information in the cast pages. Some examples include:
   
   
   • Introducing characters that haven't appeared yet. To pick a comic that does this off the top of my head: Take Tauhid Bondia's Spells and Whistles.
     "Now what harm could introducing characters early could possibly do?" You ask?
     SPOILER WARNING
     Well... as a smart forum poster once said elsewhere, if you take the current storyline, where Rakne (One of the main characters) falls off a cliff, you're not really going to be remotely worried or scared for her, because you can tell from the cast page not all members of the 'party' haven't been introduced yet, it's not likely they'll be offing any of the characters any time soon. Which really takes away any suspense you're trying to drum up from something like this page.
     
   
   
   • Telling the reader what actually happens in the comic, or even worse, what WILL happen in the comic in a part they haven't gotten around to telling yet
     I considered tacking on a real-life example of a comic that did this, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Besides, I don't really need an example to tell you why talking about something that happens in the comic is bad without a spoiler warning. Or why introducing a character and what that character has to do with other characters in the comic and what will happen to that character in the future is a bad idea when that character hasn't debuted in the comic yet.
     
     Yes, I know sometimes we're impatient to introduce the cool new characters and awesome concepts we come up with and can't wait, but please... DON'T.
     
   
   
   • Including excessive personal or background information that gives the whole thing away
     Especially if that thing is the central plotline. The simplest example I can think of is say... a new (apparently human) character is introduced to a comic. And in the cast page the character is listed as a "XXX, a blood type AB vampire. Congratulations. You've just let the cat out of the bag. We all pretty much know what's coming up next, don't we?
     
     On the other hand, explaining all of a character's motivations and goals isn't a particularly bright idea if you want to keep the suspense there either.
   
   
   
   
2. Extra Art
   Possibly the biggest killer of romantic suspense in a comic. You have character A and character B. And they've barely met each other at that point the comic. Yet for Valentine's Day you have a special piece of extra art, which turns out to be...
   
   A lushly illustrated picture of both of them in a passionate embrace with rose petals raining down.
   
   What can I say about that, really? It's stupid.
   
   "But it's just a bit of a fun doodling!" Someone protests. "Well, you know they were going to get together anyway!"
   
   Maybe, but maybe you could... I don't know... at least give us a little hope of doubt? If we know character A and character B are going to end up together before they even start dating in the comic, are we really going care to watch the process of them getting together when we know how it's going to end up? Even worse... if you introduce a rival, we already know she/he's going to fail.
   
   Simply put, there's pretty much no point to having that romance anymore.
   
   Oh, and for this same reason, please don't draw and put up pictures of the future children of Character A and Character B either. Thanks.



3. News Posts
   I'm quite sure that HNTRAC did a few spoofs of this somewhere, but this is basically the creator telling the readers what happens in the next installment of the comic, or tell the reader exactly what to look for in the current comic.
   
   Examples:

   Join us for the next episode of my comic, where Hero C defeats Villian D and the hidden power of Princess E is finally revealed!

   and

   Here's the first appearance of Character F, who will the the romantic interest of Character G in the comic. I have a love triangle between her, Character G and Character H coming up. It's going to be great! (And Ping fights urge to kill author)

   
   
   And don't laugh. I've seen these done in real life!



4. Forum Posting
   Yes, I know this is hard and I know that sometimes readers can really know how to ask questions and try and get answers out of the creator before the proper time arises (i.e. It's revealed in the comic.) Speculation is all fun and nice, but in such situations, it's up to the creator whether they want to admit the speculation is on target or smile mystically and say: "Maybe, maybe not..."
   
   Webcomicdom is unique for the level of interaction a creator can have with their readers, but please don't start blabbing about what's going to happen next just because someone asks. Have some restraint, if you please. "No Comment." can be a valid response

And thus concludes my list of spoilers in webcomic extras.

Thank you very much for reading. Ping out.

Stopover at Inverloch: I'm sorry, but my brain just rebelled...

Let me get this straight first. I like Inverloch. I think Inverloch has some of the prettiest art I've ever seen in comics. The artist here pretty much leaves yours truly in the dust here when it comes to colour.

I will admit though, as the story's been going on and on, the writing's been bugging me more and more. It's not that it's bad, it's imbalanced. The characterisation is fantastic, and I love the philosophical issues they try and bring into the comic.

What I've been aware that's been steadily becoming more and more of a problem is the plot. It's just everything is so friggin' coincidental. It's like the whole world and everything that's happened up to then revolves around the main cast and their problems. Which happens a lot in stories, I'll give you... Although they shouldn't, and yes, I know there is such a thing as suspension of disbelief. It's what I've been employing with most of my comic reading so far.

But the latest update just outright caused my brain to rebel.

Just so you know, spoilers ahead.



Now we have the main character, our cuddly cute Acheron, and the jaded bounty-hunter companion, Lei'ella. And then this thief bumps into Acheron on the street and pickpockets all his stuff, but Acheron catches him at it.

Here comes the unbelievable part: The thief simply admits it, and says because Acheron caught him, he has to serve Acheron for how long the item he attempted to steal was worth because of something called 'thieves code'. And because one of the items is 'priceless' it probably means forever... Excuse me?

I could start pondering what use such a rule could possible serve in the first place? Punishment? There are more productive ways of doing so, since this subservant thing is most likely to end up with pickpockets going extinct. (If you ever have been pickpocketed, you should know how mad the victim can get at the moment) While we're at it, if that was the case, why would anyone even want to follow such a code in the first place?

The only thing I can think of that it is indeed what Ms. Lei'ella herself was about to say before she was self-censored: It's either a load total of BS spouted by the thief, or it's just a very very convenient plot device to add another member to the 'party' because they needed a stealthy character.

Ugh. Like someone once jokingly told me over an IM session: "Damn you and your logic!".

I'll still read Inverloch for the art, of course. But Damn me and my logic indeed.

Stopover at Comixpedia: "The Essence of..." debuts

I'm down with food poisoning, so don't really feel like talking much. Just a quick heads-up to check out Comixpedia for my odd little column-comic: The Essence of....

It was never my intention to start yet another project, but Xerexes tracked me down ;) Initially I wasn't keen on doing more reviews, but then I happened to have a brainwave that I wanted to try out... It should be obvious the first 'Essence' is a prototype, and the later ones will be quite different.

Anyways, YES, I am working on Dinosaur comics, just so you know. I'm about halfway through the archives now, but that archive is HUGE and the nature of the writing does not allow me to whizz through them like I'd be able to with a story comic.

Ok, I shall return to cussing cafeteria operators now.

Hotspot #3: There is no Genre.

This is a follow-up to my previous Hotspot, where I argued that Manga wasn't a genre but a style. Kudos to Malakhim who left an insightful comment that really made me rethink this statement. In fact it caused me to rethink what a 'genre' was exactly.

In times of doubt, the best reference is the dictionary:

Webster defines 'genre' as

1 : a category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content
2 : KIND, SORT
3 : painting that depicts scenes or events from everyday life usually realistically

Dictionary.com on the other hand, and describes it as

n.
A type or class: “Emaciated famine victims... on television focused a new genre of attention on the continent” (Helen Kitchen).

A category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, marked by a distinctive style, form, or content: “his six String Quartets... the most important works in the genre since Beethoven's” (Time).

A realistic style of painting that depicts scenes from everyday life.

Pay particular attention to the Dictionary.com definition.

If this is accurate, then it appears I am mistaken. A genre is actually a loose term to refer to either style, form OR content. So if manga is a style, then it is a genre. And if a story is about people in a fantasy land, then it is of the Fantasy genre. So if it's a manga AND in a fantasy, it's Fantasy manga. Sounds about right?

But wait a minute... if we were to follow my earlier analogy, does that mean we can all group crates, fruits and fruit species together and classify them interchangably? (Yes I am being sarcastic here.) Is it just me, or is this a rather poor way of classifying something?

If you had told me a genre was defined by a combination of style/form/content/setting, then it'd make sense. But this really looks to me like genre is simple a loose word substituted for 'story type', 'setting' and 'style'.

...


Which are three separate categories for a reason.

...

Then why is a genre a genre at all?

...

And why are we classifying content with it instead of sticking to the original classifications?

Until I find the answer to what a genre really is, I think I'm going to drop the use of 'genre' from my reviews now on.

So expect to see future Finds being classified by a new system:

Setting and Elements: Fantasy / Sci-fi / Real-life / Surreal ...
Story Type: Adventure / Humour / Parody / Horror / Auto-biographical ...

Art Medium: Digital / Pencils / Inks / Full-Colour / Monochrome / Photo ...
Art Style: Stylised-Cartoony/ Stylised Semi-Realistic/ Realistic ...

Or something like that.

Ow my head.