Last week marked the loss of two actors who brought my favorite fantasy villains from childhood films to life.

I was only a baby when Jim Henson's musical fantasy film, Labyrinth, was released in theaters. The fact that there were once home videos of me singing along to “(Dance ...

If you want to decent job of it, creating and using weapons in fiction can be quite tricky. There are a lot of pitfalls that newbies and even long time veterans of creating fiction fall into.

1. Number one is simply copying what others have done without understanding it yourself ...

In the movie Annie Hall, the main character writes a play and uses it to give his failed relationship a happy ending.
There are countless stories where awkward, nervous protagonists…perhaps courtesy of awkward, nervous writers…win the battle, defeat the villains and get the gorgeous girl.

An unknown number ...

this picture is only somewhat related to tone…but it has a costumed baby!

In my early days doing the Quackcast with Ozoneocean, we spent some time talking about story genres. I remember how we ignored whether something was a comedy, drama, or horror, because those aren't stories, but ...

The Giving Tree, Story and Illustration by Shel Silverstein

I remember reading along with certain children's books that became very near and dear to me as a young kid. Over the years, I revisit the story and it begins to take on a whole new meaning as my perspective ...

image by Banes, influenced by lots of things

When I came up with the characters and stories that became my webcomic here on The Duck, I knew it didn't come from a vacuum. But for the most part, it was only after writing and posting stories for several years ...

Here's a little Drunk Duck Halloween roundup!

Okay, this isn't really Halloween related, but your vote for the DD Awards' best presenter is due October 31st! Also check out the awards for ongoing extras.

There's still time to submit your character in their awesome Halloween costume for ...

Horror…and the baddies and creepies and long-legged beasties of horror…come in many flavours.
These divisions might be incomplete or somewhat meaningless in a way, but hey, I have to approach it somehow…

Reality Bites: Human Creeps, Scary Animals and Nature
-Serial Killers, Jason, Michael Myers, The Strangers, And ...

Why, hello there, old chap. I say, I was just about to put the kettle on. Would you care for a spot of tea? How about a beautifully crafted Talbert Pipe?

In a world set up like the murder mystery board game, Clue, a pair of fine gentlemen dressed to ...

I remember the first time the idea of deadlines made any kind of impression on me. I was maybe fifteen and a substitute teacher told me a bit about higher education and that a professor had told her to take all the time she needed to finish some project or ...