Shmuck Bait is the name, I think coined by one of the Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul writers, where a cliffhanger or shocking ending leads the audience to believe something major has changed. For example, the appearance that a major character has died. But when the next episode/issue/book ...

Shmuck Bait
Banes at 12:00AM, Feb. 9, 2023Altarland, or how I learned to stop tinkering and love the AU
Andreas_Helixfinger at 12:00AM, Jan. 29, 2023
So it is Sunday again and the first month of the new year is nearing its close. I still haven’t finished my work on the short story I’m making for the new DD Anthology, but I am coming back from my updating hiatus next week anyway. During my ...
What Would Happen If...
Banes at 12:00AM, Jan. 5, 2023
what if there was a creepy basement…
Barbarian was one of the new movies I enjoyed last year. As far as I know, it got good reviews, and a mostly-positive reception. Some people criticized it for making no sense. It's a fair point - although like I said, I enjoyed ...
Found Family
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Dec. 17, 2022
There's a weird hermit living at the edge of a street. Rumours fly about him and what he does all day, whether he's a criminal or a psychopath. People don't go near him or his property and any interaction is minimal. Until a young vagrant kid stumbles ...
Your politics vs. Your characters' politics
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Dec. 10, 2022
Okay, this is a semi-rant and train of thought post, because I've had a couple whiskey and I'm Having Thoughts About Things. You have been warned.
There was one thing that always bothered me in villains that monologue in movies (I also see it in how social media ...
NaNoWriMo for comics
Emma_Clare at 12:00AM, Nov. 5, 2022
National Novel Writing Month is here once again. Throughout the month of November writers across multiple disciplines and genres challenge themselves to sit down and write a 50K word novel. Although I am not participating this year, that’s not to say that this month can’t be dedicated to ...
Quackcast 594 - Grow up! Or don't...
Ozoneocean at 12:00AM, Aug. 2, 2022 LISTEN on our new player!
Listen on Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/drunkduck-quackcast
Or TuneinRadio - https://tunein.com/podcasts/Books–Literature/Drunkduck-Quackcast-p1150194/
The Manchild can be a fun character or they can be pathetic. They're a staple of comedies because they're an adult that gets to act ...
Struck Sure
Banes at 12:00AM, June 30, 2022
Changing structure of…structure.
*note to self: come up with better title before upload time. don't look like a FOOL again!
Wait!
First, remember to vote in the Drunk Duck Awards! There's only a week and a bit remaining before the voting booth is closed. Remember, you can ...
The Immortal Challenge
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, June 18, 2022
The idea that an individual (or many) have managed to escape death has always been alluring to creators. being able to live through history, being a constant in an ever-changing world, never having to die, can have its perks: you have innumerable chances to live the ‘good life’, you can ...
MindTricks 1 - Memory
Banes at 12:00AM, May 26, 2022
I don't wanna be remembered; I wanna be forgotten
MEMORY and MEMORY LOSS in FICTION
Playing with memory and memory loss is a handy device for fiction writers, from soap opera-type melodrama to exciting-but-thought-provoking stories like The Matrix, and in all kinds of stories betwixt and beyond.
Like any ...