Lately I've been watching the original Twilight Zone series. I'm still early in the series. I watched it as a kid, but there are a LOT of episodes I've never seen. Of course, the Twilight Zone is in my bones just because it's so much a ...

image by Ben Burgraff

When writing a historical fiction, it's very likely that you will need to include some actual historical personalities along with your historically-adept yet fictional cast.

Depicting a historical character is hard enough when there's a general consensus among historians and popular belief about who ...

I watched a great series of interview clips with a writer/producer/teacher named Dr. Ken Atchity on the Film Courage channel. He talks about screenwriting, and productive creativity in general. Great interviews from a guy who I find quite inspiring, and in a down-to-earth kind of way.

Here's ...

I had a meeting the other day with a director, who asked me “how do you approach a historical era to keep true to it?” and “how do you keep from being biased?”

I fear that I eclipsed the poor guy with my soap box lectures, but that aside, I ...

“Don't worry, Bart. It seems like every week something odd happens to the Simpsons. My advice is to ride it out, make an occasional smart-aleck quip, and by next week, we'll be back to where we started from, ready for another wacky adventure. ”

-Lisa Simpson


In most series ...

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 ...

Shinji Desmedi is a shy, introverted student unlike his very social sister and loving father. He has a difficult time looking up once he lets his gaze down at school. One day he is approached by a girl who misreads his inability to engage in a conversation as a rejection ...

There's a reason why any literature professor worth their salt will urge you to reach a novel or enjoy any piece of literature in the language it was originally written, if you are lucky enough to speak that language: because the author intended every word that you read to ...

Dialogue is a vital part of a comic, book or movie.

Well - usually it is. There are surely some comics out there who have none. There's prose, such as many children's stories or fables that are all or mostly action and description - and since the rise of sound ...

Giving Mythic Scale to your Stories



Dexter and the Trinity Killer - this may not look like an epic confrontation…but it sure as heck was!


The classic Star Wars trilogy was a phenomenon and a triumph on multiple levels. One of the things it's famous for is it's ...