Tropes aren’t bad. In fact, they are a useful and, at times, necessary shorthand that creators, particularly in the webcomic field, can wield to enhance their work. J Hillis Miller posited a trope as, “… the use of figurative language, via word, phrase or an image, for artistic effect.”

Every ...

So last time we had talked about the Javert trope, a category of character that is very compelling and makes for excellent drama, immense suspense and often gets their own following in fandom. (Just check out Saito Hajime's hero's journey as a prime example.)

The Javert character is ...

Inspiration is quite the rush. The mind is set alight with seemingly limitless possibilities and, in that moment, you want to experience them all. For a creator, inspiration is the high that we pursue. But eventually our creative significant other packs up their stuff and quietly disappears into the night ...

A story can be strengthened by coordinating the first and final images in some way.

It's not a hard and fast rule; it's not a rule at all. But it can be worth trying out in your writing!

The movie Halloween (there it is! I had to start ...

strixvanallen writes:

Hi! I just wanted to report a personal milestone. After more or less 400 pages, Bram & Vlad was finished (I don't think that ‘completed’ is the best term, since it was made of episodic comic strips). I just want to thank this great community for all the ...

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Welcome to another Quackcast! in this “blahcast” we talk about a lot of different subjects. This Quackcast also sees the arival of a NEW feature! It's the Princess January Show, by VinoMas! Where all the hot gos about popularity on DD is covered.
Pitface tells us that Fury ...

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We have a very special Quackcast this week. We interview Albino Ginger, AKA Bo Knowles, creator of the hilarious and subversive Holy Bible The Albino Ginger Version! Bo gave a VERY generous donation to our Indigogo fund-raiser to help us pay for the a new comment notification and comment ...

Just like the table scene, the dance scene can be an invaluable story telling tool: a way to showcase where your characters stand without having to force them to speak about it or have someone else infodump about it.

This stance can be on the characters that dance (i.e ...

In my day job, I am occasionally asked to attend events or webinars as part of professional development. Earlier this week I happened to be at one of these activities focussing on the future of artificial intelligence, which you would think would be a riveting topic for discussion. But soon ...

What usually comes to mind when staring at a blank white wall on the outside of a building or on the inside of a nice restaurant? I am no stranger to mural art in all parts of the process: I have studied it, designed for it, and painted many around ...