I remember when I was younger and looking to improve my skills, I was often met with “Just practice,”. Although the intentions behind the adage were well meaning, that did not help me improve. As I’ve gotten older, I found myself at times, usually when I was tired myself ...

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Character trajectories are really interesting- in terms of character alignment, like a good guy that slowly turns into a bad guy through a whole bunch of bad ...

Unless they are an old-timey Disney villain or similarly classic cartoon villain, nobody wants to be evil or bad starting off. Nobody's ambition is to be the villain in their own story. (note I say ‘villain’ and not ‘antagonist’)

Everyone is out to be the hero.

So why aren ...

I’ve been revisiting a fantasy novel that I had fallen in love with as a teenager, The Axis Trilogy. As I was reading it I remembered what the author had said about the character Faraday and her intentions for her fate. She commented in an interview, “She was never ...

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For our Patreon video I decided to dress as the WW2 Captain America (from the movie, Captain American the First Avenger). That and the very de-compressed nature ...

When building tension, it's imperative to have high stakes within your story. It doesn't matter what kind of story it is. It could be a story about huge risks, like the end of the world or even the universe, or it could be a story about a girl ...

World building is a cornerstone of any story. From your neighbourhood slice-of-life to an out-of-this world space opera the world in which the characters inhabit draws the reader and keeps them invested in the character’s struggles. Here are some questions to consider when constructing your new universe.

What is ...

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An old man tries to explain modern culture to an even older man…

Attitudes change! Things don't stay the same, culture moves on and when we ...

Halloween, aka Eve of All Saints, is a Day of the Dead.

Days of the Dead exist in nearly every culture. There's the famous Dia de Muertos from Mexico, but there are also less known ones.

For example, in Greece we got “Soul Saturdays” which are basically two Saturdays ...

Whether it be planned from the beginning, or a sudden decision, some characters just have to go. As a creator, one should endeavour to do it for the right reasons. Shuffling off this mortal coil may be a catalysing event for the plot, a much needed kick for the protagonist ...