I was feeling emotional a few nights ago, so I did what I normally do in this situation–I went on YouTube and watched clips from sad children's movies. I picked the intro montage from Disney Pixar's UP as my poison of choice and it did the job ...

Torn Vines doesn't have any vines or tearing in it! Poor Adam has no work and no home. He's on the streets of cold Oslo during winter time, just him and his cat… and to top it all off he gets attacked and beaten up, only to be ...

-conceptual bridge design by kawaiidaigakusei

"Tell me why all the best laid plans fall apart in your hands. And my good intentions never end, the way I meant.“ -James Blunt ”Best Laid Plans“

My desktop computer has a lot of saved files that have accumulated over the years. Every once ...

“Well, are they?”

Gary Numan (and Tubeway Army) posed that question in 1979. These days it has more relevance that ever before.

“It's cold outside, and the paint's peeling offa my walls.”

As winter approaches in the Southern Hemisphere (winter is coming) my thoughts naturally turn a little ...

Rather than write about something I'm good at I thought I write about something I'm struggling with, and my attempts to resolve it. Writing characters with distinct voices.

Comics are usually conversations between characters. Speech bubbles are the preferred way to tell comic stories, as opposed to large ...

Today we'll talk sequel and series character arcs, and focus on the cinematic portrayal of Iron Man

Last Week we talked about character arcs. They're an important element of fiction writing…although a lot of the time, there is no arc! But a strong, unpredictable character arc can ...

I've recently been watching Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries on Netflix. Phryne Fisher is undoubtedly a wish-fulfillment character – almost unapologetically so. She is sexy, bold, and intelligent. Whenever a new challenge is put before her, she reveals a previously-unmentioned skill that saves the day (see the above image where ...

I read that a great ending should be “surprising but inevitable”. That's a tall order! To have the whole story leading to that inevitable conclusion, but not be predictable. Wow!

However, I've seen (and read…ah, let's be honest; mostly it's “seen”) several great endings that ...

Apparently the difference between “terror” and “horror” was first expressed by writer Ann Radcliffe (1764-1823), who said that Terror is the dread and apprehension about something happening, while Horror is the actual encountering the frightening thing.
Maybe this is what they mean when they talk about “suspense” vs. “horror”. Have ...

Autumn has officially arrived. It feels like a different season even though I do not live in an area of the world where the tree leaves are turning vibrant shades of yellow and orange. The scents of cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin spice, and all the warm cozy feelings are back. Yes ...