The Chronicler's Notes - "Where's the Content?!" - August 18, 2014

Greetings Chroniclers!

I know it's been a bit since we did one of these, but I wanted to let you know what's going on with the site.  Things have been pretty light lately because of some real world changes. As most of you know, Chronicle is a side venture for me. I do have a day job and recently I've been interviewing for a new job. So, my spare time focus has been brushing up on the skills necessary for that new position. Well, it paid off and I got the new position! I start a week from today and am really looking forward to it.

What does this mean for Chronicle? Well, until I get a schedule down, things may continue to be light around here. I'm committed to a weekly strip and will continue to do so. It's priority number one. But, that means if I get behind on the strip then things like the Character Codex may not get a weekly update while I'm finishing the strip. That being said, there WILL be a Character Codex this week and maybe a Fun Art Friday even! *gasp*

The upside to this is that I can cover Chronicle expenses better and maybe get some merch going if there's an interest! 

Hopefully, this is just a temporary change and once things have settled down with the new job, Chronicle will be up and sailing better than before. I love doing this and I love seeing your responses to it! 

As always, check back in, follow us on social media, and spread the word!

Have a great week!

The Chronicler's Notes - Five months in and many more to go! - June 30, 2014

Greetings Chroniclers!

Preview of Chronicle 24

Preview of Chronicle 24

Welcome to another week here at Chronicle as we close out our fifth month! I want to thank everyone who has continued to support Chronicle and help it grow.  As always, I want to let you guys know how things are doing. We leveled off from the huge month of May and seem to be cruising right at 5,000 page views. That is fantastic in my opinion. For such a young comic I am very happy with that number.  We passed our 10,000th unique visitor this month and are averaging about 2.5 page views per visit, which means that people are curious enough to click around before leaving.

So, heading towards the half year mark, what does all of that mean? It means that Chronicle has found its footing and is going to keep going. We will most likely hit the end of Chapter One by the six month mark.  I had written out this first chapter and thought I would see where the comic went. If it got some attention, we would go further. If not, hey we gave it a good shot. But, there is definitely some attention. So we will wrap up Chapter One soon and keep moving forward!

One of the things that I have had trouble with was a good descriptor for Chronicle. I usually say it's a fantasy rpg based webcomic. But boy is that a mouthful. Instead, I have found a term that fits it very well: Swordpunk. What is swordpunk? Well, better that you ask G. Derek Adams, author of Spell/Sword and James D. Cormier the writer who tipped me to the term through the r/fantasy Subreddit. Basically it's fantasy that is aware it's fantasy and has fun being fantasy.

When I read these two blog posts, I had a moment of clarity. I understand my goal for Chronicle a bit more. I still want to build a world and I still want to breathe life into it, but I don't want to get so mired down in the mechanics and details that I forget to write a fun story. I want to take those fantasy tropes that have sat so long they have grown moss and roll them over exposing something fresh rather than toss them away. I think I've already done that some and will continue to push that envelope.

Finally, I've had a lot of people ask me if their kids can read Chronicle. Absolutely! I grew up with fantasy that could be read by everyone and I want to continue that tradition. There is a time and a place for "grimdark fantasy" like Game of Thrones and I love it. But I also love it when my young cousins or my friends' kids say they're enjoying the comic.

So, what is Chronicle? All-Ages Swordpunk, has a nice ring to it.

The Chronicler's Notes - Shop updates and Chronicle 21 Preview Image

Greetings Chroniclers!

strip21wthumb-bw.jpg

Things have been busy for me lately so I haven't been able to find you guys some choice links to click on.  But I do have a preview image of this week's strip. The action is going to be ramping up the next few weeks. So, stick around for some interesting developments.

Last week, I mentioned that there is a new Artist's Shop. This week I want to go over some of the new features with you.

First, I've added more Character Sketch options to the store as well, so make sure you check those out. There are lots of choices for a character drawing personalized just for you!

Don't forget to pick up your Rocket Jayne T-Shirts! More T-Shirts are on the way!

 Finally, I have added the Gnomes Pack of Virtual Tabletop Tokens. The Virtual Tabletop Tokens are a great way to add some variety to your tabletop RPG. They're optimized for virtual tabletop programs, but they will print as tokens for your physical game as well. I will have some new products in that vein shortly as well. Stay tuned for that.

Have a great week, Chroniclers!

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