STAKES

In a story, a Protagonist wants something, and some kind of obstacle is in the way. When the Protagonist makes a choice, good or bad, to take them to that goal, we're off and running!

But what happens if they don't get what they want? What happens ...

You’ve gone through the arduous process of fleshing out your world, the themes and the lore and you’re standing back looking at your shining new playground; but there is a blight standing right in the centre that you can no longer ignore. You hate your characters. Maybe it ...

Lotos and Cybil, both young women in their early twenties, leave the tavern they both work late one evening when they encounter the May Queen, a dryad that lives in the woods. At first, it was a good idea that the two ladies stayed close together after they left work ...

Last week, we looked at killing off characters. So it seems only fitting to follow it up by talking about introducing new characters into your story! This is your quick cheat sheet to helping ease your readers into getting to know the new players in your world.

Try to introduce ...

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. Woody is apologetic to the movie's audience and says “What can I say; it was my first play ...

In a fantastical fantasy land lives a young little scribe, a purple skinned dark elf by the name of Kitov Sige. He knows nothing of the world outside the big city, he has a good job but he longs for real experience and adventure. He likes what he reads in ...

There comes a time in any webcomic creator’s career where they have to be mean to their characters. And there is nothing meaner than letting the proverbial Sword of Damocles fall on a beloved (or equally unloved) character and watching their head roll to the chorus a shrill cries ...

So there's a lot of talk and discussion on how to approach the creation of your webcomic (or novel, or short story) regarding planning out your plot, the degrees of planning out, and the option of flying by the seat of your pants.

I have done both, both in ...

Quixote Coyote is a plucky little chap. He's almost unstoppable and certainly very likeable! He lives up to his namesake, the famous Don Quixote. He's ready to stand up for the weak and follow causes for his own chaotic reasons, getting into adventures and scrapes for the fun ...

Creating a Cast - in 1-2-3

One of the challenges…and maybe one of the greatest pleasures…of creating a series is populating it with a cast of heroes. I know I spend many weeks or months tinkering with characters and deciding who they're going to be. …And how many ...