Pick the Proper Format

In the past, I've made a point that you should pick a style of writing that suits you. I still stand by this, but need to add an addendum. Within a style of writing, you need to pick the formal that suits your story.

As a writer, I have picked the style of comics. However, the stories I write are very different from each other. My comic strip works best as a webcomic. It is humorous, short, and unending. Every update is satisfying by itself, so any one will make a good first comic to a reader of my strip. There also is no real story to it, just a premise. Although there are occasional story arcs, they are still finite stories in an infinite realm.

Another project I have is about citizens of a city being attacked and how they respond to those attacks. It has a beginning and an end, both set in stone. Although it will be several chapters long, it is a finite story in a finite realm. It would not work well as webcomic, where not every page would make a good first impression, nor could it last indefinitely, which would make the website almost useless once the story finishes.

A third project is a story about a creepy cult and the small group of normal people trying to resist it. Although there is a main story, the setting is potentially infinite, allowing for countless stories to be made (and rendering the graphic novel a useless option). However, since it would be best for each story to be told at once, the page-a-day format of webcomics would not work. Therefore, the proper format would be a comic book (A.K.A. trade paperback).

Much as a writer must pick the style that allows them to best communicate, so must they also pick a format that allows their story to best be told.