On any given day, I usually unwind from a long day at work by logging into Grand Theft Auto (GTA) Online. I use my avatar and beautiful sports cars to drive around the imaginary Los Santos, a city based almost entirely on Los Angeles and the outlying communities. It is ...

As we embark on the start of week eight in quarantine, I wonder how many people out here in Drunk Duck Land have begun learning new facts about our planet (Interesting aside: Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard were the first two explorers to reach the deepest part of the Ocean ...

A key aspect to creating a strong story is having believable characters. They are, after all, a key backbone to your narrative. So here are three tips that can help you put together a well rounded character.

1. Create a backstory
If you’re naming a character then you got ...

It has taken me twenty-five years to watch the entire film of “Bridges of Madison County” starring Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood. It tells the story of an Italian War bride living in rural Iowa who meets the Worldly National Geographic photographer who has come to her small town to ...

As the Orthodox Easter approaches, I set out to make the traditional sweet bread. It's a tricky affair, because the recipes are often unreliable, or something might happen which you realise too late, and the dough won't rise, or won't pull apart as it should. I ended ...

The amazing Emma Clare got to it first and already has shared with us a set of pretty useful and even life-saving tips on how to manage and protect our mental health, especially in times of stress. If you haven't already, I urge you to read it!

In this ...

A breaking point for a character is when they hit their lowest point in the story. It’s purpose is to upset the reader, either making them angry and/or devastated the main character or they’ll be angry/devastated at the main character. Every story, in every genre has ...

Last week, I expanded further on world building basics and what better way to end the trilogy than with a “what not to do!”. So here are some tips on what to avoid when building and writing your comic world.

Avoid the infodump
You’ve spent an age crafting the ...

We begin with Trigger Warning, a story about Nathan Wood, prisoner of the mysterious Institution. This mild mannered man seems prone to horrific acts of violence… But why, and who is keeping him imprisoned?
Then we dive straight into our second tale, They were Wolves. In a small armed village ...

A key aspect to creating a story, be it a modern day slice-of-life, an epic space opera or a high fantasy saga, is the world in which the characters inhabit. Now there are lots of aspects to consider when building your story and, this week, we’ll be going into ...