When building tension, it's imperative to have high stakes within your story. It doesn't matter what kind of story it is. It could be a story about huge risks, like the end of the world or even the universe, or it could be a story about a girl ...

Halloween, aka Eve of All Saints, is a Day of the Dead.

Days of the Dead exist in nearly every culture. There's the famous Dia de Muertos from Mexico, but there are also less known ones.

For example, in Greece we got “Soul Saturdays” which are basically two Saturdays ...

Whether it be planned from the beginning, or a sudden decision, some characters just have to go. As a creator, one should endeavour to do it for the right reasons. Shuffling off this mortal coil may be a catalysing event for the plot, a much needed kick for the protagonist ...

Who doesn't love pirates?

Kids love to dress up as them in Halloween or during carnival season. There was whole a whole era of Hollywood where pirate movies were the blockbuster vein of gold. Pirates in fiction are charming, fun, dastardly, and the epitome of adventure.

Pirates in real ...

While scouting in enemy territory young Haldeina ears a strange sound in the woods and rushes to investigate. What she sees astounds her! She beholds a huge and wonderous beast, part lion, part wolf… obviously mage created. It's badly wounded and near death. Although she fears it she's ...

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What is the worth of human life in your stories?
This isn't something people often consider, we just tend to have a fairly accurate guess based ...

Who doesn't love a happy ending?

Eh, there are a good few people I've met that just turn their noses up at happy endings, because apparently according to their opinion, happy endings are for the weak.

But for all other normal people, a happy ending is a good ...

Now that's a little TOO scary!

Horror is perfect for metaphor and allegory. In fact, a horror story is often allegorical by default, what with its bizarre landscapes and freaky beasties.

Here are some categories of horror and some thoughts on what they symbolize:

Reality Bites


psycho killer! Qu ...

Imagine a superhero team that combats negative forces, now imagine that same group of superheroes all being part of the same family tree: the Impossible Family. Surprisingly, the Impossibles have formed some enemies, including DeathQuake, whose main goal is to destroy their whole family. The Impossibles are about to go ...

I grabbed the Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey 2-pack and rewatched then after many years. I knew those movies well when I was a youngster, especially the first one. Many, many repeat viewings. Both movies held up REALLY well, and feature “Fool ...