You know that idea about a frog in a pot of water getting cooked before realising that the water had been gradually increasing in temperature until it was rapidly boiling? Well last week, I was the frog and my room was that pot of water.

September has been the hottest ...

Summary:
What would you do if you were plucked from your life by mysterious aliens, stored by them in zero G till you were needed, and then had your face peeled back, bones inserted, your hand skin pulled off, your finger bones stitched together, your skin turned blue, then you ...

Make sure you've read all the previous issues!

I'm at a nice place in my webcomic right now. Well, it's nice as the writer, at least.
The characters have a nice history now, with some adventures behind them, some established relationships, and a stable of supporting characters ...

image by Banes

Last Thursday I talked a little about writing a scene, in terms of the change that happens, what the character wants, and what obstacle is in the way of achieving that want.

But what about dialogue? Eh?

One way to help define what's going on in ...

LISTEN!

Hello, hello, hello! This is the second part of our hugely long expose on the tricky art of WORLD BUILDING! And it really IS extra loooooooooooog… that's because we take so much time crafting the Quackcast world for you. To recap: world-building is a big part of ALL ...

Summer here is hot and dry, but it's so short that sometimes it feels more like a coffee break in an endless winter than a real season. People who live in the prairies know that each summer day has to be savoured - tucked away as a little memory for ...

Here are some thoughts on writing that smallest unit of a story: the scene.


First off, what is a scene? What defines it?

It's Change.

Something changes between the beginning and end of a scene.

Here's a way to write one if you're stuck. These are the ...

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 ...

LISTEN!


Tantz and Pitface join Banes and Ozone to talk about comic book stores and the experience of going into them… Yes, that's right: webcomicers actually going into REAL bricks and mortar places that sell comics printed on PAPER! o_O It turns out that none of us really do ...

Years ago, when I did my first animation and posted it online, looking for attention like always, there was one comment that made me defensive, annoyed, and eventually, thoughtful.

I had no idea about animation timing or any of the little rules at the time; I just wanted to do ...