Slice of life

[Owlor]

"Slice of life" is the genre I write in, and one of my favorites. Most western comic strips tend to at least have an element of it. The way I understand the genre is that things like plot and conflict usually take a back-seat. The focus is on characters going about their daily life. I think the most interesting part of this is that you could technically have slice of life in any settting, even fantasy and sci-fi ones. So, what do you think of slice of life as a genre, or as an element of storytelling? Is it interesting or does it seem more like filler to you?

[Mr. Henry]

I'm about 50/50 on it, I've seen slice of life done really well and really badly before, plus it's a genre that I rarely run into. (though it is a genre I would like to tackle someday )

[gevans1961]

These days, all the stories I write, are slice of life.

I'm more fascinated by that genre because I feel real life has more topics to write about.

Slice of life comics inspire me to get ideas from my own experiences, rather than, just recreating something that's been done before.

You can make the most low key and dullest moments seem interesting. It's just a matter of how you present it.

[mitchellbravo]

I wonder if we could get this listed as an SJ genre. /tangent

My comics tend to be slice of life. Most of the comis I read are slice of life. I think I just really like mundane things.

[Lycatel]

i think slice of life is really cool as a genre, if you were to make a good slice of life comic, you could potentially blow up (in a good way i mean) because it's something for people to relate to. And in this current world, everyone wants to relate to something

[Amante]

i vote on getting slice of life as a genre. my webcomic is hardcore slice of life. ^ ^

[Devina]

My webcomic is semi slice-of-life. It is absolutely my favourite genre of all webcomics.

[robybang]

Slice of Life kinds of reminds me of Journal Comics, except the stories are fictional instead of about what happens to the author. Kind of like Journal Comics, it can get really boring if the character's life isn't interesting. But I do appreciate the emphasis on character development and showing how the characters interact with each other, both of which some authors tend to neglect in favor of plot.

[Nohra]

I think they connect with the reader more.
I really don't like over the top fantasy.

[Pochi]

Slice of life isn't as flashy, but it definitely allows for direct connection with readers because they're not preoccupied with understanding an alternate dimension, new rules, world building...etc.

I like reading slice of life manga, I haven't given slice of life SJ webcomics a try to be quite honest. Although I can say that the genre when done right is really calming and charming.

I quite like http://www.ryan-a.com/
his stuff isn't ENTIRELY slice of life but it has this universal punch-to-the-gut-I-can-relate appeal to it.

[LoveDrunkPunky]

Slice of life is my absolute favourite genre as long as the story isn't too stereotypical or annoying which is hard to find in manga.

I love shoujo romance slice of life manga but I've come across the same old storylines hundreds and hundreds of times. But still, when it comes to slice of life, I'm always looking for that gem that completely entralls me. And I much prefer slice of life to other genres with ummm a medieval premise or anything star trekky etc. I like my fantasy story to be based in reality to some point and I think slice of life is under rated.

[JillyFoo]

I think it depends on the person's life. If they have a really weird job or is in a strange country the story can be very fascinating.

I've read a couple American made comics where the author was in another country. One being "French Milk" about a girl's visit to France. I paged through a guy's journal comic about living in Japan. Can't remember the name...

There's a number of interesting comics where the author has a strange job. It's neat to see the behind the scenes look at another person's experiences. An example could be the Silver Spoon/ Gin no Saji manga by Hiromu Arakawa. It's about a guy's life in a high school that teaches farming. (The author grew up in a farming community.)

You can make slice of life stories interesting.

[corruption]

The way I see it, Slice-of-life does not have to do anything with how the creator's life is really like, so you can add things entirely made up, and impossible in real life.

They can have different slants and backgrounds, but they just are people dealing with everyday stuff, and how it is presented. Plot can be background, with the characters making changes. Story arcs can be entered before you realize it.

One main word of warning if you plan on making them. The most well known types of slice-of-life are soapies, and other ongoing shows set around groups of people dealing with everyday stuff. One problem is that people introduce too many subplots. Slice-of-life is the only type of story I can stand which has no main plot to guide it, but it must be properly made. One good example is a nice dark humor one called Something Positive. (although I must admit the subplot with Kharisma is off normal even for this comic)

Many stories start with a general outline, and the story is directed that way. These ones start out with looking at how people deal with situations as part of their every day life. With these ones, the stories often move at a much slower pace. I have found story arcs foreshadowed ten years in advance. You need a hook to keep people interested long enough to want to read more. For me it is humor. Others have different interests. You also have longer to work things into the story, including expositions and arranging things in a way that do not make then seem contrived.

[mendics]

Depends on what you mean by slice of life.
There are the common ones like working or k'on or something similar along those lines. Gag seems to be prevalent here, and the life of the characters is what drives the plot. Pantser kind of planning would make you great with these type. (I'm no good with gag or humour, so i can't really do this)
but what i really like are the rare ones, those that offer mature story telling and have themes such as coming of age or learning to be yourself.
Examples of those are honey and clover, solanin etc.

I really love to be able to write and draw comics/manga that focuses on the slice of life genre, but the thing I notice with them, is that if you're not careful enough with how you present your theme, it might bite back to becoming boring... easily. You need to attract your readers with the intro, if not you might lose them forever. Of course doing comics is not about attracting readers but telling a point but if you don't execute it properly you may never get that point across.
Making it with sci-fi or fantasy elements makes it even more trickier, if you don't it properly, you just might overwhelm your theme with action and the uniqueness of your world.

I'm just rambling of course, these are just my observations of them, and my willingness to try doing one myself.

[eishiya]

I rarely read slice of life works as they tend to concern themselves with places and people I have a hard time caring about, like schoolkids or cooks or whatever. On the flip side, sometimes they hit too close to home and remind me of unpleasant things in my own life - no thanks. I read fiction as an escapism thing, and most slice of life stories are quite simply not escapist enough for me.

That said, the above is not a requirement of slice of life! As the OP mentioned, slice of life can happen in any setting. ARIA is about gondoliers on Mars. Planetes is about trash collectors in space. A third of Scrapped Princess is slice of life in a fantasy world. Kino no Tabi and Mushishi are arguably slice of life stories about people with very unusual lives in fantasy settings. These works are just the sort of escapist thing I need (but I'll admit, I haven't actually seen/read ARIA and most of Planetes yet).

Another "problem" with slice of life works, even in unusual settings, is that although they rely on character development, that development is often slow, as would be expected given the magnitude of the things that happen. It also doesn't help that these stories often meander (i.e. are "pantsed"). It can still make for enjoyable stories (especially of the gag variety), but I get bored. I like stories that are swift and harsh, I guess.


mendics brings up a good point about losing sight of one's theme, and I think that might be the thing that makes me get bored. When things start to happen just because and do not further the exploration of a central theme, the story gets boring, regardless of the setting. This is important in all stories, but with slice of life, I think it's the easiest to get off-track. After all, most real lives don't follow themes.

Somehow, for all my doubt about my enjoyment of the genre, I find myself writing it every now and then. There's something about mixing a fantasy setting and odd characters and seeing what they do to pursue happiness (usually at the expense of others) that's both incredibly relaxing and incredibly challenging to write. The challenge lies in the fact that it's so difficult to explore the fantasy setting adequately without losing track of the theme. Which is exactly why I'm going to do it.