Die Hard was a surprise smash hit back in the day, and became famous in some circles as a template for screenwriters to pitch their stories (“It's Die Hard on a bus”…or a boat, or a jet, or in a house).
It's also talked about as a ...

The Modern Classics: Die Hard
Banes at 12:00AM, Feb. 16, 2023Quackcast 622 - Whaddaya take me for?
Ozoneocean at 12:00AM, Feb. 14, 2023 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/
This is when the writer leads you to think something big has happened in the story, like a character dying or falling in love or winning a ...
Shmuck Bait
Banes at 12:00AM, Feb. 9, 2023
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 ...
Quackcast 620 - losers are human too
Ozoneocean at 12:00AM, Jan. 31, 2023 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/
My idea was to talk about social pariah characters, people who it's socially acceptable to laugh at, despise, or even hate. They can be the uncool ...
Altarland, 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 ...
Four Endings
Banes at 12:00AM, Dec. 29, 2022
As we approach the end of another year, I had a few ideas about topics related to endings.
If you've read my articles for awhile, you may remember discussions about wants and needs - the plot objective that is more ‘physical’ is the want, and the emotional or thematic pursuit ...
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 ...