Recently I saw a performance of the Muppets' band “The Electric Mayhem” from 2009. Pretty great!
It occurred to me how many years have passed since the heyday of the Muppet Show in the late 1970's. The fact that this young-ish audience was so excited about this show said ...
Realer Than Real
Banes at 12:00AM, July 18, 2019Handling Controversial Historical Characters
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, April 13, 2019
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 ...
SHAPES and Character
Banes at 12:00AM, Feb. 28, 2019
CHARACTER SHAPES
I remember hearing about this notion some time ago, on the dvd special features for an animated movie or show. I don't remember which one.
Characters derived from basic shapes can give a very strong impression of their basic personality type. This can help the audience feel ...
Exposition - Just the tip
Emma_Clare at 12:00AM, Jan. 11, 2019
In a nutshell, exposition is a big ole mound of information that the author wants the reader to know before they move on in the plot. It often gets a bad rap but that is usually due to it being used incorrectly. There is definitely a place for exposition so ...
Imitation Flavor
Amelius at 10:14AM, Dec. 30, 2018
The first thing you need to know before we get into this discussion is the following: You can't copyright a style. It's true! Copyright protects an artist's expression of an idea, but not the ideas themselves, the technique, or procedure in making that style. Keep that in ...
Shaking the Pillars part 1
Banes at 12:00AM, Oct. 11, 2018
Shaking the Pillars part 1 - Losing the Lead
The Walking Dead is apparently killing off its main character this season - this is the guy who's been the main guy since episode 1 about 8 years ago. This is not a spoiler - it's all over the Internet, the promos ...
Character Arcs Revisited
Banes at 12:00AM, April 12, 2018
A character starts in one state of being, and ends in a very different state of being.
The Character Arc in a nutshell!
Every time the subject of character arcs comes up around the site or on the Quackcast, one of the first examples that comes to my mind is ...
Snow Business
Banes at 12:00AM, Dec. 21, 2017
We had a big snowfall two weeks ago, and I was out driving the city in it (I have a part time delivery job).
My car and I held up pretty well in it, and that was satisfying. As the news warned people to stay off the roads, I was ...
World Building Is Ubiquitous
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, April 8, 2017
image from The Art of Veiling, by yours truly
There have been posts before (I think) about how to go about creating a world, especially when it comes to fantasy settings. You’re supposed, if you want to do it right, to build everything that makes up the world in ...