As You Like It
Character likability part 2
The great actor Jack Lemmon said about his character in Glengarry Glen Ross that he didn't want the guy to be likable. He thought Shelley Levine “isn't a nice man” and was not someone people should feel sorry for. Lemmon ...

Likability Part 2
Banes at 12:00AM, June 22, 2023Character Upbringing
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, June 17, 2023
In the whole “show don't tell” thing that is the holy grail of ‘good storytelling’ (yes but not always, this is for a newspost of another time) what they usually don't tell you is that behavioral patterns are your friend.
To show rather than tell, you need to ...
Well How Do You Like That?
Banes at 12:00AM, June 15, 2023
The 90's movie “The Firm” is a good thriller. I just rewatched it and it holds up very well. Recently I picked up the book to check it out.
Even though I've watched the movie several times over the years, I got less than a third into the ...
Writing Drunk
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, June 10, 2023
So I have had a very good day today, celebrating a hard-won victory, and I'm currently tipsy. So this is a post I'm writing basically as drunk as I allow my self to get. (i.e. happy, less inhibited, definitely should not drive, but can still be you ...
One Three to Rule Them All
Banes at 12:00AM, June 8, 2023
There are many areas where the “rule of three” comes into play. There are plenty of them in storytelling.
Fairy Tales and Fables are full of threes, of course, with Three Little Pigs, Three Bears, Three Wishes, and on and on - the first unit sets things up, the second reinforces ...
Don't forget to have fun
Emma_Clare at 12:00AM, June 3, 2023
Recently I’ve been struggling with finding the motivation to draw. In part, it’s because I have had to deal with covid once again. However, the drive to work on our comics was diminishing prior to coming down with covid again. As the focus has shifted from having hobbies ...
Panel By Panel: Kingdom of Cats and the Boundary Break
hpkomic at 1:23PM, June 2, 2023
Hello everyone, and welcome to Panel by Panel, a periodic exploration of comic panels around The Duck. We return to our regularly scheduled program this week, where I find interesting panels and wax philosophical about them. Previously we did a scavenger hunt which was a lot of fun, but we ...
these dreams
Banes at 12:00AM, June 1, 2023
I could've saved this one for Halloween -
When I was a kid, my aunt (only a few years older than me) sent me up to the attic to get a boardgame. When I opened the attic door, a plastic doll that was taller than I was fell forward on ...
Poetry Time 34: Overmind
Andreas_Helixfinger at 12:00AM, May 28, 2023
Lights cresting fallen heavens
As I still spin in dead-end meditations
Mind is questing, never resting
Grasping for more unspent levitations
“It is hopeless, a waste of time” I tell mind.
Again and again as I still spin in dead-end meditations
NaaN (Now, always and Never)