Hiatus

The greatest thing you can do is ask someone about their day. I will elaborate more, but I need to attend some business first.

Yes, today is Wednesday, and yes, today I should post a new comic, but instead I am announcing a hiatus. Just as I was about to divulge in an intricate plotline, I ran out of punchlines. I do not know how long this will be, but I sincerely apologize to the small amount of fans I had. I hope this does not reflect poorly on my performance, and that you continue to read when I am able to come back to the world of webcomics.

As to why I'm taking a break is a personal reason, and in short, life is far too stressful for me to function properly let alone write a few jokes for the world. Laugh at you own jokes, and laugh at yourself, because if you can't do that for yourself, you can't do it for anyone else.

I'm writing this at 1:30pm in OpenOffice because for the last year I've never paid for internet and have relied on parking outside a McDonald's, or using my school's computers to upload content. For 8 months, I was sitting in my windowsill using my neighbor's unsecured wifi to check my facebook and do homework. No, I could not shell out money to pay for internet. As a matter of fact, for most of my schooling, I was without foodstamps surviving on the scraps from the leftover tables at school. Luckily, I qualified for foodstamps and started feeding myself, and everyone who gave me food.

I started doing webcomics as entertainment, a gift to the world. I was in a dark place,and times are drawing darker as the new year begins, school is ending, my loans, bills, and everything stack up, and in 32 work hours I am expected to find a new job and support everything. I do not know how I will pay rent next month, and I do not know what this means for my roommate, who moved in a couple of weeks ago for the first time. To her, I apologize profusely. At least we will be fed from the foodstamps. Now, I cannot give my gift to the world: a little laghter.

Life wasn't easy. I have no parents alive to ask for money, and my sisters are in the same situation I'm in. One helped me a year ago, but her helping me has brought her no good luck. I apologize to her, and say that I cannot afford to help her, as my last paycheck will soon come.

I came to Portland, Oregon (no, I am no longer afraid of anyone coming to “gang bang” me as threatened in some e-mails received a year ago, so my location is no consequence. If you still want me dead, you know who you are, I'm not afraid of you. After all I've been through, you are the amoeba in the ocean of my life.) I drove my ass up here, I paid for my rent, and I made it a year. I couldn't have done it without the help of my friends and family. To all those who helped, I love you all so much I can't even put it in words. To all those who have been hurt along the way, there are no words I can say to apologize enough.

To go back to my thesis, asking someone about their day, it really is the nicest thing you can ever do. Day in and out I've had shitty days, and all I wanted on those days was someone to look me in the eye and ask what was wrong. I had been starving for a week, nothing in my fridge but some barbecue sauce and jam, nothing in my pantry but crumbs, and having to listen to everyone in culinary school talk about how dinner with their parents last night was wonderful, hearing my teachers say “we can all afford to eat healthier, organic food,” and having to hear someone say “Well the cakes at Red Robin were probably frozen last night, but they tasted okay, I guess.” The hardest part was having to hear everyone tell me to “suck it up, they don't know your story.” Well maybe if they asked they would know.

A couple of weeks ago, the advisor pastry chef at my work was having a bad day, so I asked him what was wrong. He needed to vent, and I realized that sometimes all people need to do is talk. This lead to my current predicament. Everyone in the bakery was at risk for losing their job. All of the staff was so close, like a family. Well luckily, people got transferred, some got demoted, but we got a new advisor. My job ends in 32 work hours because of my “lack of experience” despite already working there. It's a long complex situation, I don't expect any of you readers to really comprehend what I'm saying at this point. I do, however, want to thank the few of you who ARE reading this. Just knowing you took a few seconds to read this is about as good as asking how my day was as I'll get from an stranger.

So, reader, I ask you how your day was, how your year was, and raise an imaginary glass to a new year. I apologize for the venting, but now you know why Dr. McPsychoBunny is on hold. Again, I apologize and hope to bring it back as soon as possible. Have a lovely day everyone, and if your day is going terribly, I hope it improves.

Sincerely,

CeramicBullet (Megan)

Post Unrelated

I'm on vacation, and I'm going on an internet spree. Listen to this person's music, because she, and her orchestra, are amazing beyond words:

Comic making tips #2- To plot, or not to plot?

Lesson 2! Do you want a plot or not? Some comics have them, others don't. Either option is okay if done right.

Some comics like Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal have almost no plotline. Any user can jump in about anywhere and understand what's going on, but there is no obligation to stay a continuous reader. You'll need to constantly think of new ideas and punchlines, but if you have ADD, this method may be more your style.

Some comics like Tripp (a comic about a guy on a never-ending acid trip) have a plotline, and to understand what's going on, you'll need to start at the beginning. Some of these take way too long to get through (which is why I gave up on Girl Genius, even if the plotline is great), but you'll always have the readers hooked on what's coming next. It takes longer to get viewers, but the viewers are usually much more dedicated to the comics with plotlines. I guess it boils down to quantity or quality.

If you choose to do a plotline, it's okay to take a break every so often by doing a random, unrelated comic.  We call this filler. If you're doing a comic without a plotline, it's okay to do a 2 or 3 part comic with a small plot if the mood strikes you, and if you warn your viewers (usually the comic will be titled with a "Part 1" or whatever part the comic is on... such as Castle Run, Part 6)

On an unrelated note, I started working on a plotline for mine. Anyone who reads should get ready for that beginning next week.

Dr. McPsychoBunny-An Invitation

Scandinavia and the World

Scandinavia and the World


84,000 Facebook fans, almost 7,000 Twitter followers. They don't need help in getting viewers, but Scandinavia and the World is something I feel almost everyone should read.

Basically, all the characters in the comic are personified countries. Some comics portray recent events in the world, some portray history, others are just little bits the author drew.

At the bottom of each strip is the author's comment explaining what the comic represents. Hoorah for modern political comics! No country is left out, no matter where in the world they are.

The creator, known on the internet as Humon, writes 4 comics. She's where the phrase "Do you Humon?" comes from. She is Danish, and produces all (almost all) of her comics in English.

I highly recommend you read it, if you haven't already. On an unrelated note, x-mas is next week! How are you guys celebrating?

Hemlock

Hemlock

Showing some love to another SmackJeeves user, Hemlock is one of my favorite webcomics. It's gorgeous in every sense a comic could be.

Hemlock is a Scandinavian Witch's tale. The comic is black and white, has a constant plotline, and is available for purchase here.

The Plot focuses around Lumi the witch, Richmond her snail/house, and her familliar Tristan the 3-eyed frog. It's hard to say much about the comic without spoiling it, but I recommend it to anyone who loves magical stories. For eff's sake, the girl lives in a gigantic snail!

MildTarantula, or Josceline Fenton, the comic's creator, is currently on a break and will resume writing comics after the Holidays. This should give you time to read through the rest of the chapters, as yoou can't exactly jump in at any point. Hemlock updates Fridays, so save it to your RSS!

Buttersafe

Buttersafe

Only around 2,000 Facebook fans at this point, and I feel like they deserve more. Every year they host their own gathering at a pizza place. These guys make me laugh, and their fan count is sadder than the saddest turtle.

Most of the strips have no relation to one another, so you can jump in at any time and understand most of the content. For those who have read Cyanide and Happiness, the humor and style is similar, but buttersafe is safe for work. I guess it should be called "worksafe" instead? Sometimes the humor can be a tad dry, but more often than not, you'll get a good chuckle. These guys have been updating every Tuesday and Thursday since 2007, and are fairly consistent.

Show them some love and stop by their page!

Wednesday Special 1: Comic Writing Tips

You have ideas in your head that need to get out. You have a pencil, and a paper. At this point, I started writing comics. I didn't pay for a publisher, and I didn't have to sell them.

If you want to get your media out there, it has to be on the internet. As my teacher once said: "If it's free, it's for me," I realized that people don't buy anything if it already comes in digital, downloadable form. If you can host, advertise, and read webcomics for free, why not do it?

We've firmly established that webcomics are fantastic, and efficient. Because of all their amazing and convenient factors, this blog is dedicated to reviewing as many as possible! Every wednesday will be for comic writing tips, and every comic reviewed will be critiqued. If you have something you would like me to review, drop a comment off, or message me at x.ceramic.bullet@gmail.com.

-First tip is CONSISTENCY.

You can lose most of your viewers if you don't update your viewers. Most folk, like myself, update once a week. If the strip isn't updated weekly, most people will state this in their site. 

One that works well is Modest Medusa, updated Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Modest Medusa- Snake Girls Are Cool Too!

This one is about Modest Medusa, and her adventures with her friends in Portland, Oregon. She sleeps in the toilet and loves Chocodiles. It says right on the site homepage the update dates, and if Jake Richmond isn't updating, he lets the readers know what's going on.

One that doesn't work is Chu n' Tost

Chu N' Tost

Chu n' Tost is about the adventures of a train and a piece of toast. I love Chu n' Tost, but the lack of regular updates drive me batty. I keep it in my RSS to remind me that it exists, but not much else is keeping it afloat. Chu n' Tost has a consistent art style, and a continuous plotline, but the updates lack consistency. Yes, the site does say "Updates Thursdays," but I obsessively check my RSS and have been let down on many Thursdays.

For first  time writers, I recommend writing a few strips at a time, and uploading once a week. If you haven't written anything new, you can use the backup strips and upload those periodically until you write more. 

If you're absolutely out of strips, either make one last minute or tell your readers what's going on. If you don't update, they'll likely assume you're dead, or don't care about your site. Show your fans some love!

Speaking of, mine updates tonight and every Wednesday night, if anyone would care to have a look.

The Adventures of Dr.McPsychoBunny