The idea of “sin” is a prevalent one in horror stories. In terrifying tales, the monstrous against the human also explores good vs. evil.

There is often a “sin” perpetrated by horror Protagonists. The classic Psycho begins with Marion Crane stealing money from her job. Her intentions are understandable, maybe ...

In the early 80's, thanks to the success of Halloween and Friday the 13th, a slew of slasher movies was released. There was even a documentary about the glut of imitators that flooded the theaters/video stores for a few years.

There was a smaller trend (smaller in several ...

Malcolm Gladwell was in an interview, and expressed a theory, or mini-theory. He talked about the show Law and Order and how it works, with almost every episode a comforting victory of the system.

From there, he theorized four types of fictional approaches, calling them the Western, the Eastern, the ...

The beauty of writing a one-shot or short story is that it is self contained. It is a stand alone creative piece that gives you license to play with a new writing style, drawing aesthetic or explore a level of detail you may not be able to sustain over a ...

That's right it's reached 200 pages as of this week!

Belle is a B-Movie actress. See where it all started with friends and family and watch a sampling of her sometimes awful but interesting exploitation movies full of gratuitous exploitation of everything. Drama, humor, adventure across different genres ...

You're watching the main character do their thing, and it's all smooth sailing, when another character comes in the room and sparks fly. You expect them to, and if written well, you look forward to each scene that has them both.

That other character is the foil.

The ...

See what I did there? It’s an image of a Beholder… which normally has one giant eye right in the center of their face/body and the article is titled HORROR (the Beholder is scary looking) is in the EYE of the BEHOLDER? Yeah? No? Ok…

Seriously tho,

CONTENT ...

It’s not surprising that drama and romance are two popular genres when it comes to media. From TV to novels to comics, they draw the audience in with the simple question: “Who is going to end up with who?” Ships set sail, twists get turns and hearts get broken ...

Many of the conversations online that concern “genre fiction” generally mean sci/fi, fantasy and horror. This stuff is distinguished from “mainstream” genres like contemporary dramas and comedies, and period pieces that are…well, dramas and comedies. it also doesn't include big genres like romance and psychological thrillers.

The ...

Plenty has been said about giving characters flaws - we've talked about it around the site, on the Quackcast and out loud, to ourselves, on the bus and in the park.

Characters gotta have flaws!

But something I've thought about more lately, in the years well after starting my ...