There was a recent article in the Guardian about how playing Dungeons and Dragons had helped siblings bond and cope with the death of their father. It got me thinking about the role that role-playing has played (now there's a phrase) in my own life.

For me role-playing began ...

Photo: “More Than A Psychological Test”. Ink on White Paper, found objects, rubber roller, ink blotter. Created by kawaiidaigakusei. Westwood, Los Angeles, California. (February 2025)

Last Saturday afternoon was spent at an Art Lab in a museum in Los Angeles, California, that was open to participants of all ages.

The ...

A tried and true story trope is the “forced together”.

I think it was the director Sidney Lumet who said that he really enjoyed the tension that came from
this kind of situation. Taking two people who would never choose to be together are stuck in
a bad situation. It ...

Hello, everyone, and welcome to Panel by Panel, a periodic exploration of comic panels around The Duck.

I had initially intended to discuss some free resources available to webcomic creators. Still, it seemed more prudent this week to discuss the news of the passing of the legendary manga-ka Akira Toriyama ...

It's Valentine's Day as I write this, and the day after (or many days after) when you're reading this.

Anyway, I thought I'd run down (or run up) my top five science fiction romantic couples. I don't think I've done this topic before, but ...

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How do you describe your work to sell it to people? Writing blurbs is a real skill! You generally have to avoid doing these four things: Underselling ...

Well, look! It’s Sunday again! And for this here Sunday, Sunday, Sunday article I thought I’d start this new little series of articles that the awesome Quackcast 575 inspired me to do. I shall call it the Fantastic Bestiary series, which will be a series of articles where ...

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What happens to characters after the big action scene or climactic moment? This could be anywhere in the story but it's usually close to the end ...

Given that it was Valentine's Day yesterday, and that is associated with a lot of special moments between couples, I thought we could talk about the Day After! What do you do on the Day After? Do you run to buy a pill or do you roll over and ...

I am half way complete with my journey across the United States and I have spent the last week in the small town of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. This is an area of the world that many great creative artists, musicians, and writers that I greatly admire have lived and found ...