Reverse-Engineering Conflict in a Story
part one

Conflict is the basic material of a scene, and of a story. I've talked a lot over the years about structure and genre, and how all that stuff can work.

Another way to create a new story, and new characters, is to ...

Conflict in a story is not only necessary, it can be the juiciest part of your comic. Think about it! We often remember and recount the parts of a movie, comic or show where the emotions were the strongest. A solid vitriolic scene can result in one hell of a ...

One of the things I love the most about comics, is the prep work, which may not be obvious by the countless amount of times that I’ve stated that I’m doing absolutely no prep work as of now for Scorned; but when I worked on Scarred Eden, that ...

The moment of change in a character is not always crystal clear in a story. Very often the secret to good storytelling I think, is to understand all the structural elements in a story, and a character arc, and then to HIDE those elements so they feel realistic while they ...

So your comic is coming to end but you still have some small threads to tie up. What better way to bookend the story than with an epilogue? Much like the prologue, the events in the epilogue can take place some time after the concluded events. The main purpose is ...

I was browsing my twitter a few weeks ago and I noticed someone I follow ask if there’s any webcomic hosts out there. Of course I said the duck, wings down. One thing led to another and the conversation turned to when I could read it. They said they ...

Creating believable and engaging dialogue is key when creating a story. It’s not only used to convey important plot information, but also emotions, motivations and rapport amongst the cast.

Dialog can be an effective way to convey information or raise conflict that maintains the momentum of the comic. The ...

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Image from Genghis Khan by Miike Snow.

Sexual tension between characters is a great way to augment the conflict that drives a story. The audience really wants ...

When talking about personality, one must mention Freud.


pictured here with a small cigar.

Yes, even me. (Anyone who knows me knows I'm not a fan)

Despite my personal thoughts about his theory, mad props and respect has to be given to Sigmund Freud for being one of the ...

Exposition is information that the author wants the reader to know before they move on in the plot. It is delivered in one chunk, in the form of a conversation, a diary or an explanation from the view of the narrator. Despite its bad reputation, there is a place for ...