Dialogue…More or Less

There are some Sundays that call for less dialogue.  Take a recent one, for example. Dawn has gotten her life in balance again, spreading her energy among time with Harlan, her school work, her father, and her friends.

Here’s another example from the Olive Taylor story a few years ago.  Mary rescues Olive from drowning.  Sundays can be a great showcase for an artist’s sequential work.

When I write a Sunday strip, I keep in mind that some readers only see the Sundays and not the dailies because some print newspapers only carry “Mary Worth” on Sundays.  That’s true also for the dailies.  Some print newspapers only carry “Mary Worth” Monday through Saturday.  With the different types of readers in mind, I pace stories in a way that allows for CLARITY.  While I try to write a Sunday strip that appears fresh and appealing for the readers who see the Sundays AND the dailies, I have to keep in mind that some readers follow either ONLY the Sundays, or ONLY the dailies.

Sometimes that means writing less dialogue and more descriptive scenes, which satisfy readers of dailies and Sundays with something new, and yet also inform the Sunday-only readers with what’s going on.