The original quote from which the title is derived is attributed to Joseph Stalin. And while it can sound cynical and harsh, it is unfortunately true: the human mind boggles beyond a cut off point when it comes to grasping numbers tangibly, not theoretically. When the numbers become too high ...

What made a character be who he/she is? What is it that drives them, and why?

That's the allure of any origin story: we get to see how characters we look up to or love or love to hate came to be who they are.

Most, if not ...

Prospector and babysitter, Isaac Alden, know all about the great tragedy that happened in Grand Lake, Colorado, on July 4, 1883. On that day, Bob Plummer was shot to death by Wilson Waldren, who was also a county commissioner. This shooting shows the lack of impulse control of some of ...

So, full disclosure: I am spoiler immune.

I don't really care if I know how a story ends, or where the twist is. I might even enjoy it more as I anticipate it. I will watch the movie without issue and still enjoy it just as much.

Granted, when ...

Stuck in the Middle - Midpoints

I've often found the Midpoint of a story difficult to find and difficult to write.
It's one of the big three pillars in story structure, and it's the
most subtle.

The Midpoint doesn't have the “dragged into a new world” of ...

Trauma is such a delicious thing in writing- it gives characters their backstories, their motivation, their special slant in a narrative wrok, from novels to webcomics.

However, it's usually considered in the context of how it has made a character ‘damaged goods’. Why they are grim, why they're ...

Throughout literature and modern media, many faults and drives for leads, damsels and villians have often been motivated by a tragic backstory so much so, that to employ one for your story may appear trite or cliche. There is, however, a way to use a tragic backstory effectively and can ...

Rio, a high school student is having a very vivid dream of his friend, Elloise. His dream takes a violent turn that almost ended in tragedy if it were not for his friend, Lance, waking him up from his dream. The only problem is that Rio is now over half ...

For of all sad words of tongue and pen,
The saddest are these: “It might have been!”



Whether it's a webcomic, graphic novel, book, TV Show or movie, there is generally a “promise” made to the audience on some level. Maybe it starts with a thumbnail image and a ...

Ursula Nolan was a thoroughly corrupt businesswoman, a wanton destroyer of the natural world and an all ‘round unpleasant human being. Driven by childhood tragedy to betray the ideals her parents held dear, she rose to power over their once noted environmentally responsible company and turned it to far darker ...