Mynarski Forest Official Mirror Archive

This Week's Strip

#10 "A Generous Offer?" June 30, 1997


I remember reading somewhere that when creating a serialized work like a comic strip or TV show, you should strive to be able to describe the premise in as concise a manner as possible; a short paragraph at the most, ideally with just one sentence.

The opening sequence of Star Trek explains that the show is about the USS Enterprise's five year mission to boldly go where no man has gone before. The theme song to Gilligan's Island describes a tale about a three hour tour gone horribly wrong. Calvin and Hobbes is about the adventures of mischievous boy with an overactive fantasy life, and his imaginary best friend.

It's not a hard, fast rule; there have been many exceptions to it in the media (try describing The Far Side with just one sentence!). But it does provide a decent guideline for aspiring writers.

More than any of the other early comics, I think this strip pretty much sums up the entire premise of Mynarski Forest: A charasmatic, opportunistic red fox vixen takes advantage of her growing relationship with her neurotic rabbit friend. Of course the comic grew much more complex and nuanced than just that, just like there's a lot more to the other examples I mentioned. But having a clear focus does help with the writing and makes your work easier for others to understand.


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