I like mentor characters.
This is not just me of course; the mentor and protagonist relationship is powerful. Some of the best moments in many stories are the first encounter with the mentor, the training and sense of discovery for the protagonist, and the eventual loss of the mentor character ...
Mentors
Banes at 12:00AM, Jan. 9, 2020Reflection Characters
Banes at 12:00AM, Jan. 2, 2020
Reflection Characters
When I was doing a little reading on the “Mentor” character type, I learned about something called “Reflection Characters”. It was an eye opener; I'd never heard of this before, though I could instantly see how it made sense in storytelling, and dozens of examples came to ...
Sexposition (Do NOT Google That)
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Dec. 21, 2019
The word for ‘porn’ in Greek is unsurprisingly ‘porn’. But its vernacular synonym is a word that in reality means ‘tack-on’ or ‘added scrap’. It signifies the common (or at least until recently common) assumption that scenes with explicit sexual activity were there to pad the runtime for a movie ...
Showing Music in Comics
Banes at 12:00AM, Dec. 19, 2019
Obviously, comics don't have sound. And that includes most webcomics.
But if you want to show music playing, or being performed, how do you indicate it on a comic page?
The first method that comes to mind is just writing the lyrics in a dialogue balloon, and maybe peppering ...
Strangers and Strange Lands
Banes at 12:00AM, Dec. 12, 2019
Peter Quill is an earthling living and working in space
In an interview about SNL creatives, it was said that actors who write prefer Strange characters in a normal world. While writers will write pieces about Regular people in a bizarre world. I have no idea how true that is ...
Motivation, Ideology, Action 4: Your Thoughts
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Dec. 7, 2019
Having completed the (very quick) foray into the workings of motivations, ideologies and behaviors, the time has come for a look-see of all your amazing comments, from all three articles!
I haven't done this before so I'm not entirely sure how to present them. I'll wing it ...
A time for giving and thanks
Emma_Clare at 12:00AM, Nov. 29, 2019
With the Thanksgiving holiday coming to a close and Christmas not being far away, now is a good time to take a step back and consider the past year. For my writing partner and I, we had high hopes for the year coupled with a mountain of plans. However, those ...
Writing your hopes and fears
Banes at 12:00AM, Nov. 28, 2019
Do the things you draw come true?
At the end of Annie Hall, Woody Allen's character writes a play that recreates his breakup with Annie. But in the fictional version, they stay together and the romance continues. Narrating the movie, Woody apologizes to the movie's audience and says ...
The Devil Inside
Banes at 12:00AM, Nov. 21, 2019
Nowhere to Hyde
Last time we talked about characters who are not what they seem. Folks who are introduced one way but are revealed to have a secret nature, or hidden depths, or a hidden agenda.
Another type of “hidden side” I enjoy is a little less universal, but can ...