Everyone loves a genius! The character that has the answers, or makes the deductions, or solves the puzzles for the team. The guy (or gal) that will have a gift for noticing what nobody else does, sees the connections that elude everyone else. Even in stories that aren't of ...

The Challenge of Writing Genius
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, March 7, 2020Breaking points
Emma_Clare at 12:00AM, March 6, 2020
A breaking point for a character is when they hit their lowest point in the story. It’s purpose is to upset the reader, either making them angry and/or devastated the main character or they’ll be angry/devastated at the main character. Every story, in every genre has ...
Religion in Fantasy
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Feb. 29, 2020
When we talk about religion in real life, assuming it's not taboo, there are a lot of different approaches. Technically, in real life there is no conclusive proof on the existence of God or non-existence of God. There can be a range of indications, evidence and anecdotal testimonials but ...
Placing the wrong building blocks | World building part 3
Emma_Clare at 12:00AM, Feb. 28, 2020
Last week, I expanded further on world building basics and what better way to end the trilogy than with a “what not to do!”. So here are some tips on what to avoid when building and writing your comic world.
Avoid the infodump
You’ve spent an age crafting the ...
When the Plot is Too Busy
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Feb. 22, 2020
The plot is the spine of your story, the scaffolding upon which everything will be placed in order to create a full experience for the audience to immerse themselves in- be it a movie or a comic or a novel.
Just like the spine, however, there is a limit to ...
World building basics (Part 2 - Society and culture)
Emma_Clare at 12:00AM, Feb. 21, 2020
Last week, I went into the basics of building your fictional worlds. We’re continuing on with our second instalment where we’ll dive a bit deeper into the nitty gritty of world building. Without further ado…
What’s your world’s system of government?
Politics plays a large role ...
The Day After
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Feb. 15, 2020
Given that it was Valentine's Day yesterday, and that is associated with a lot of special moments between couples, I thought we could talk about the Day After! What do you do on the Day After? Do you run to buy a pill or do you roll over and ...
Building basics (Part 1)
Emma_Clare at 12:00AM, Feb. 14, 2020
A key aspect to creating a story, be it a modern day slice-of-life, an epic space opera or a high fantasy saga, is the world in which the characters inhabit. Now there are lots of aspects to consider when building your story and, this week, we’ll be going into ...
QUACKCAST 465 - Planning Vs pantsing!
Ozoneocean at 12:00AM, Feb. 11, 2020 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/
There are a couple of approaches when it comes to making a big creative project: planing it all out or working things out as you go ie ...
The Challenge of Obeying The Rules
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Feb. 8, 2020
Rules are meant to be bent, or broken.
Of course they are- if it's a one time thing. If it happens all the time, the stakes collapse, the story comes apart, and the experience is ruined. I'm talking about stories, of course…
As we've talked about time ...