When they happen, nightmares can be anything from a terrible experience to a nuisance that can be settled with a warm cup of tea or chocolate. And while they harp on our peace of mind and our precious time asleep, the general consensus among psychologists is that, if it isn ...

The Use of Nightmares
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, March 30, 2019Hate: Raising the Poison Tree
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Feb. 16, 2019
With Valentine's day just behind us and a lot of talk of love, I thought I'd take a look on the exact opposite of love and affection- how do we write and display hatred in characters? How do characters hate, and what's the difference from rage?
In ...
Writing Mental Illness: A Good Example (Part 3)
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Feb. 9, 2019
Having discussed a general approach to writing characters with mental disorders (with a lot of thoughtful comments by you further enriching what I had to say!) it's only right that we wrap up this very quick analysis with an example of a story that properly portrays them.
I chose ...
The Dread Hiatus
Amelius at 9:57AM, Jan. 27, 2019
Have you ever noticed that among the dead webcomics, a preponderance of them have “Hiatus” on their tombstone? That tombstone being, of course, the final page posted years and years ago with a promise they will be “right back” after a “short break”. There are of course a number of ...
Writing Mental Illness (Part 2)
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Jan. 19, 2019
How to Pick, Research and Implement Mental Disorder in a Character
So last time I talked in general about some basic concepts and principles about what constitutes mental illness, or, more accurately, mental disorder. The important thing to remember and keep from all of that is this set of truths ...
Writing Mental Illness (Part 1)
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Jan. 12, 2019
Writing a character with mental illness can be a very tricky thing. Writers usually go for the extremely rare, exotic and spectacular: multiple personality disorders, extreme manifestations of psychopathy or sociopathy, high functioning autism with that ever alluring ‘savant’ magic going for the character, bombastically spectacular schizophrenia… in many ways ...
Convergent Creation Part 2
Amelius at 12:21PM, Dec. 16, 2018
Last weekend we discussed that strange phenomenon of independent creation, where there's more than a passing resemblance to another work but it's not a case of plagiarism. Interestingly, not long after I posted that I saw not one but two instances of independent creation being brought up (though ...
FEATURED COMIC --> The Muscle Corps
kawaiidaigakusei at 12:00AM, Nov. 21, 2018
There is an unidentified teenager on the loose stealing paint, spraying fresh graffiti on the wall, hurting people, and drinking booze. This behavior needs to be stopped by the best group the city has to fight vigilantes: The Muscle Corps! Watch as this unique group of positive crime fighters- Tightwire ...
Character and subtext in horror
Banes at 12:00AM, Oct. 18, 2018
The Haunting of Hill House is masterfully done horror with humanity
The Drunk Duck Awards, 2018 are underway! Check 'em out here:
https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Drunk_Duck_Awards_2018/
In the movie “The Innkeepers”, two clerks in an allegedly haunted hotel work on the last night before the place closes down. They ...
Earning Your Twists
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Sept. 8, 2018
There's nothing more intense than subverting the audience's expectations: The righteous character that always says the truth says a lie. The character that values all life ends up murdering someone. The bad sort, the punk that's always terrible ends up saving the day or doing something decent ...