The Million Word Year

One man. One blog. One year. One million words.

Archive for category Open Letters

Open Letter : Dear Webcomic Creators

Apr 27

Posted by MegaWordMan in Journal, Open Letters | 3 Comments

Dear Webcomic Creators,

First off, I love webcomics. I’ve loved comic strips since I was a child reading my brother’s B.C. and Broom Hilda books and enjoying Garfield back when they was possible.

So when the Internet came along and gave me comic strips for free, I could not believe my good luck. And ever since those early days of trolling the Dilbert archives at 2400 baud, I’ve have the webcomic habit big time.

And I’ve gotten a great deal of pleasure from webcomics over the years. They’ve repaid my loyalty mant times over. Some come and go, others run out of steam, but as a whole, I love them as much today as when I first discovered them so long ago.

But over the years, I’ve noticed a certain very specific problem that some of them develop over time, and I’d like to describe it to you and see what you think. I’m also going to suggest a few possible solutions.

The problem is, in a nutshell, runaway plot complexity. A webcomic will begin with a relatively simple, straight-ahead plotline that is easy to devour and digest in the bite-sized chunks inherent to the medium, but then over time the creator(s) begin to stretch their wings and develop plotline(s) of increasing complexity until their comic becomes nearly incomprensible to all but the most hardcore of fans who read absolutely no other webcomics and keep their own personal Wiki in order to keep things straight.

I can understand how this happens. When you start out, you’re exploring the medium, learning the basics, still not entirely sure of yourself. So you keep things simple, concentrating more on building an audience and fleshing out your characters and seeing what works and what doesn’t than in plotting out intricate story arcs that take dozens of comics to unfold.

But after a while, you master the basic business of making a webcomic and you start to think bigger. You’re completely familiar with the characters and setting now, production is now a fairly uniform and predictable process, and you find yourself starting to think ahead to the future of your strip and all the cool things you want to do with it in the future.

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Journal : Dear Sun Chips

Apr 15

Posted by MegaWordMan in Open Letters | 1 Comment

Dear Sun Chips :

I am really quite impressed by your recent innovation of packing your product in the world’s first one hundred percent compostable chip bag. Really, I am. You’re obviously on the cutting edge of modern trends toward home farming, eco-friendly products, recycling, and so forth. I’m sure that there’s a sizable demographic out there whose beliefs on environmental issues might preclude them from buying so crass and consumerist product as a bag of Doritos, but secretly crave the pleasure of something a little naughty like Sun Chips. But what to do with the bag afterward? is the question, and it’s one you’ve amply answered.

But here’s the thing. The new one hundred percent compostable packaging might well be the world’s first compostable chip bag, but it is also the world’s LOUDEST chip bag. The slightest touch unleashes a cacophony of loud crinkling and crackling sounds that jar the ear and rattle the nerves of even a relatively calm person like myself. Should you take your life into your hands and do something as rash as actually open the bag and reach in for some of your excellent Sun Chips, the resulting sonic assault reaches Pandemonium levels, sounding like rabid, angry wolverine trying to claw its way out of a tinfoil bag that been frozen solid for a year.

And it’s not just the volume, but the harshness, the grating edge, of the sound that makes attempting to enjoy your product so trying. I’m sure some small change in the formula could fix that.

Now I love your product. I’m a long time fan. Tried it the first time in college for health/curiosity reasons then forgot those entirely because it tastes good. Your Harvest Cheddar flavour in particular is the best cheese-flavoured chip around, and I do love my cheese-flavoured chips.

So I’m not about to say something like “I’ll never eat Sun Chips again until you fix this!”. That would be silly. It’s just a bag, after all.

But at that crucial moment when I am deciding where to invest my snacking dollar as I gaze at the snack food aisle of the grocery store, I might well be tempted by some Sun Chips and then stop and think “No, then I’d have to deal with that insanely loud bag” and choose something else.

Just thought you might like to know.