Thank you, Odo. As I just wrote to Ryan, these “talking scenes” are important to “get right” in an action/adventure series. Otherwise things can really grind to a halt. I wrote to him about some of the things I try to do to make such a scene work. And another crucial aspect of it– the central one, of course– is to have characters that the reader connects with and cares about in one way or another. And that means making them as “real” as I can. Alex doesn’t get a lot of screen time in the series, but I have a pretty clear idea in my head of who he is, what he’s about, and what role he plays in the story and in Mercy’s life. And you’re right– he’s a smart, insightful character. After all, he’s a police Lieutenant and also Mercy’s uncle. Don’t think you can be either of those things if you’re a dummy!
Thanks, Ryan. If I achieve that, it’s due to knowing where I want the series, the story and the scene to be going. Ideally, there should be a reason for every panel, every bit of dialog in a story. Something that adds to the telling of the tale. A “talking” scene like this one can create challenges– it can slow or obstruct the forward momentum of a story. So to counter that, I try to keep the dialog tight and vital, and to charge the scene with purpose: if it doesn’t feel like something being said here will impact the way the story unfolds and affect the characters in some meaningful way, then I’m not being much of a storyteller 🙂 So– glad it’s working for you!
Thank you! It’s very important to me to keep the new pages coming out reliably. A couple of times, I’ve made mistakes in scheduling the post and had to scramble on Monday morning to post a page manually, so they’ve come out a few hours later than intended. But those are simple “operator errors”. Other than that, I’m happy I’ve been able to be there each Monday, with no sign of that stopping!
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I love it when background characters like Uncle Alex are written as having some basic intelligence and curiosity.
Thank you, Odo. As I just wrote to Ryan, these “talking scenes” are important to “get right” in an action/adventure series. Otherwise things can really grind to a halt. I wrote to him about some of the things I try to do to make such a scene work. And another crucial aspect of it– the central one, of course– is to have characters that the reader connects with and cares about in one way or another. And that means making them as “real” as I can. Alex doesn’t get a lot of screen time in the series, but I have a pretty clear idea in my head of who he is, what he’s about, and what role he plays in the story and in Mercy’s life. And you’re right– he’s a smart, insightful character. After all, he’s a police Lieutenant and also Mercy’s uncle. Don’t think you can be either of those things if you’re a dummy!
Man, I love how this series goes to new places but BUILDS.
Thanks, Ryan. If I achieve that, it’s due to knowing where I want the series, the story and the scene to be going. Ideally, there should be a reason for every panel, every bit of dialog in a story. Something that adds to the telling of the tale. A “talking” scene like this one can create challenges– it can slow or obstruct the forward momentum of a story. So to counter that, I try to keep the dialog tight and vital, and to charge the scene with purpose: if it doesn’t feel like something being said here will impact the way the story unfolds and affect the characters in some meaningful way, then I’m not being much of a storyteller 🙂 So– glad it’s working for you!
Thanks for the reply. 😀 It’s always invigorating to read about the storytelling process. 🙂
Just want to thank the author for never missing updates. You are on of the most reliable web comics out there, I think. So thanks.
Thank you! It’s very important to me to keep the new pages coming out reliably. A couple of times, I’ve made mistakes in scheduling the post and had to scramble on Monday morning to post a page manually, so they’ve come out a few hours later than intended. But those are simple “operator errors”. Other than that, I’m happy I’ve been able to be there each Monday, with no sign of that stopping!