Thread: XD Mann: Words and Superheroes

I've started a project a project on grammar and structure in writing. But I don't want it to be an educational Dora The Explorer type of project. I wanted to be cool, gritty and bloody just like editing is.

Here's the gist: It's set in an alternate reality where words are people, just like us, they are divided into small groups: the verbs ( a somewhat violent group when provoked) adjectives (artists) Nouns (self important idiots), etc. They are all governed by a ruling class called The Superheroes; who rules with the strong shall rule and the weak shall serve attitude. There is peace but is heavily enforced.

Enter The Editor, who has done the impossible, killing one of the heavy hitters The Exclamation Point, effectively telling the people that the "gods of mount Olympus can be killed." He promises to build a new world devoid of superheroes as the ruling class.

Enter XD, an emoticon, prejudiced (because they're not even a word until recently) who wants nothing but to carry on his superhero business working alone. But when the two opposing forces discovers his ability to control emotions. he becomes a much wanted asset.

Will The Editor change the world? In a world where the side of good and evil isn't clearly defined which side must XD take?




http://johannelight.blogspot.com/

feel free to critique and comment. suggestions are welcome while the series is still early.

This is a scream, Johanne.
How long have you been doing it?


I see you're using a free blog site instead of your own domain. Since you're obviously taking a pretty heavy graphic approach, do you find blogspot limiting to you?


Would you consider this a webnovel, webcomic, or "who cares?"


One tip, for posting on forums you might consider creating some smaller sizes of your graphics, uploading to your site where you can link to the images. Big ones kind of overwhelm the pages.

Originally Posted by lin

This is a scream, Johanne.
How long have you been doing it?


I see you're using a free blog site instead of your own domain. Since you're obviously taking a pretty heavy graphic approach, do you find blogspot limiting to you?


Would you consider this a webnovel, webcomic, or "who cares?"


One tip, for posting on forums you might consider creating some smaller sizes of your graphics, uploading to your site where you can link to the images. Big ones kind of overwhelm the pages.

I've been doing comic books for a while since high school, for personal gratification, and this is the first time I've done an online one.

Blogspot is kinda limited, but I don't really know a lot about publishing online yet.

I'd consider this a web online graphic novel since I'm planning to make a semi-career out of it. But I've only known this concept for about a month and decided to give it a try. right now, I'm studying all I can.

Okay, sure I'll make a smaller one for the site. lol

Just a thought if you are going to do much posting on forums.

Your whole concept of punctuation and editing as super hero/villains is hilarious. Where'd you come up with that?
Has it suggested any places to try and get placement for your stuff?

Very cool idea, have only glanced at the site so far but looks great to me. Good stuff.

Originally Posted by lin

Just a thought if you are going to do much posting on forums. Your whole concept of punctuation and editing as super hero/villains is hilarious. Where'd you come up with that?

I was a bit struggling with my grammar and punctuation and decided to look over the internet for fun ways to learn, then I found two things, things that are too kiddy and most are too technical. Personally when I'm bored, I find things hard to remember. especially when talking about predicate nominative, present perfect, and so on and so forth. So I guess its for personal reasons primarily. Like when I posted a piece before, Seigfried told me there was too much exclamation points on my work-- that's how I got my first scene.

I then plan to start very basic, like the next scene would involve The Editor targeting a specific Linking Verb, so our heroes would race against time looking for that specific verb, doing a little bit of detective work here and there. Then I would move on to verbs, till I get to the part where I'm dealing with the more complicated parts of speech. By then The Editor would have cleaned the world.

I want to make it a manual of style presented in a cool thrilling graphic novel form.

Originally Posted by lin

Has it suggested any places to try and get placement for your stuff?

Reading this article during my prelim research made me think there is a demand. I've taught korean students before (but that doesn't make me an expert) and they would rather use graphic novels as the format in learning english. But right now, I still have no clue in how i can get it placed? Any suggestion would be appreciated. I'm focused on finishing the first 30 pages comprising the first volume, and see if it will have a good reception.

I'm thinking of kickstarter, but they aren't open for non US citizen yet. What do you think?

Okay, not the graphic's too small.

Just kidding.

I'm thinking the real market here might end up being writers and editing professionals. I could see a hard copy of this being the joke gift of the year in the industry.

As you progress, try to build readership from sites and forums in that sector, and be looking at specialty publishers and distributors for it.

By the way, I know it's down the road, but you also should look into doing your own hard copy version when you finish it up or finish up "volume one". There are some options, but a major one would be Ka-Blam digital prints and store.
http://ka-blam.com/printing/front/

If you can't trust a girl like this, who can you trust?

BTW, this is a new Ka-Blam thing I think is incredibly cool and I wish somebody would do something like this for writers--a no-money-involved banner swap for comics ads on this store.

http://ka-blam.com/printing/front/?p=333

Originally Posted by RoryAnthony

Very cool idea, have only glanced at the site so far but looks great to me. Good stuff.

Thanks! I'm looking forward to finishing the first volume, so I have something more solid to show.

Exactly. That's one of the upsides of online... it's its own thing, but it's also a proving ground for further sallies into publication.

Any solid weblit has a possible destiny as an ebook or POD book, at least.

Originally Posted by lin

I'm thinking the real market here might end up being writers and editing professionals. I could see a hard copy of this being the joke gift of the year in the industry.

As you progress, try to build readership from sites and forums in that sector, and be looking at specialty publishers and distributors for it.

By the way, I know it's down the road, but you also should look into doing your own hard copy version when you finish it up or finish up "volume one". There are some options, but a major one would be Ka-Blam digital prints and store.
http://ka-blam.com/printing/front/

If you can't trust a girl like this, who can you trust?

Ka-blam looks way cool! I love the idea of swapping ads, and I get to choose which ads to run. Writers and editors may prove to be an amazing market, because they might relate, but I'm also thinking of non English language speakers like the Japanese, Chinese, Filipinos and Koreans, and make them think that Verbs are cool and too much adjectives are not. Maybe change the students perception of thinking that the parts of speech and think of them as something like ' hey! I remember The Editor wacking the adjective in a cool way.' basically like what Pokemon did to bugs. (not that I like pokemon in any way)

A hard copy would be a dream come true! (or a movie by disney for that matter, lol!)

Very doable...the modern magic of POD. I think your project would lend itself to it. We'll all see, huh?
Trouble with that banner thing, it's only for comics on that system. But Kablam seems to be the smart setup from what the comic dudes in the LinkedIn groups say.

Originally Posted by lin

Very doable...the modern magic of POD. I think your project would lend itself to it. We'll all see, huh?
Trouble with that banner thing, it's only for comics on that system. But Kablam seems to be the smart setup from what the comic dudes in the LinkedIn groups say.

It can be a part of the long term plan. So now, I'll focus on completing the Graphic Novel then learn the online publishing business, then see if it can get to print.

Very interesting story (graphic novel?) you are developing here, darknite. I would think you'd have a ready market among editors and teachers. I mentioned to a colleague in a college English department that I'd seen a comicbook with superheroes based on punctuation and redaction and she was delighted, said she'd love to see a copy.

The stark, crisp monocolor graphics are a story in themselves. Very exciting. The more I look into this online writing field the more remarkable writing I discover. I would say that it's a genre that is at least as broad as conventional books and certainly has wider range of material, with some very daring approaches.

Originally Posted by Corvus

Very interesting story (graphic novel?) you are developing here, darknite. I would think you'd have a ready market among editors and teachers. I mentioned to a colleague in a college English department that I'd seen a comicbook with superheroes based on punctuation and redaction and she was delighted, said she'd love to see a copy.

The stark, crisp monocolor graphics are a story in themselves. Very exciting. The more I look into this online writing field the more remarkable writing I discover. I would say that it's a genre that is at least as broad as conventional books and certainly has wider range of material, with some very daring approaches.

Yup a graphic novel, I'm planning a loong series cause I have to touch all aspects of english grammar (at least the basic ones) so it's going to be a long novel. Whoa! I'm excited about finishing the first volume already!

I'm new in the genre myself, and just decided to give it a try. I hope we'll help each other in the workshops.