Step 4: Writing Your Comic.

Now that you've got your characters fleshed out, it's time to actually start writing the comic. Many different artists have different approaches to writing their strips, and perhaps one technique that works for you may not work for somebody else. Let's take a look at two of the most popular gaming Internet comic strips and contrast how their authors approach writing:

"Penny Arcade" - Gabe and Tycho think of something humorous in the gaming industry and proceed to write something which pokes fun at it.

"User Friendly" - After putting on a blindfold and drinking heavily, Illiad begins to receive the alien psychic gamma rays being broadcast into his head, which he promptly begins to fill in the little word balloons with. Scientists believe that these mind control signals are actually just composed of one message looped infinitely, which explains why Illiad has essentially been writing the same joke over and over ever since he first started the comic. Fortunately, most of his readers don't notice this because they're too busy using Linux or destroying copies of Windows whatever the hell they spend all day doing.

You'll want to keep your comic topical and modern, dealing with issues and situations that are somewhat current. People like reading things which they can relate to, so be sure to throw in a bunch of pop culture references to remind them that your comic is indeed very trendy and up to date. Here's a quick example:


GOOD: Very modern and topical.


BAD: Too many 1920's references.

Another rule of thumb is to make extensive use of the "Comic Sans MS" font. All text should be in this type, as it lets people know that they're reading a comic. If you try something crazy like using a different font, you run the risk of confusing your readers and causing them to think perhaps they're reading a dinner menu or The Bible (neither of which use the Comic Sans MS font).

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