I took this past week off, in part to celebrate reaching the goal age of 30, but mostly to take some time to address an encroaching feeling, burnout. Creativity is a muscle, and like any muscle in your body, if overused it can become strained or even tear. I am ...

We've had some interesting discussions on various Newsposts, in the Forum and elsewhere on theduckwebcomics about knowing your ending, knowing your genre, planning ahead and outlining vs. ‘pantsing’ or ‘Discovery writing’, which is writing without knowing where you're going.

Though up to now I've mostly been a ...

Last week we talked about “writing what you know” … but how about ‘knowing what you write’? I knew I wanted to do this one as soon as I posted the previous article…just for the title.

In a TV show, series of books, movie, printed comic series, or newspaper strip ...

Miriam and Karim make a pretty hot team. Miriam is a cyborg built for battle with the latest in military tech, Karim is a powerfully built man and a clever scientist to boot. The year is 2073 and the world isn't a safe place (is it ever?), high tech ...

There are generally two kinds of webcomic artists. Those that update irregularly and those that operate like clockwork. Maintaining an update schedule has many benefits both for you and your readers. Here are some of the positive reasons for putting in place a realistic update schedule.

Readers like reliability
Having ...

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Today we're having a chat about fantasy fiction! Mainly books and the fantasy writing that inspired us and that we love! Faves like Tolkien, Fritz Leiber ...

It goes without saying that these are very stressful and mentally draining times. With the information overload, worries about health and finances and the overwhelming, ever present anxiety about what the next day has in store, looking after your mental health is more important than ever. So here are some ...

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 ...

I haven't had a chance to get into the Locke and Key comic series, although I've meant to for a long time - It's been recommended to me a few times, and shows up on lists of “top horror comics”.

Like almost every other “genre comic” that has ...

I like mentor characters.

This is not just me of course; the mentor and protagonist relationship is powerful. Some of the best moments in many stories are the first encounter with the mentor, the training and sense of discovery for the protagonist, and the eventual loss of the mentor character ...