Last Friday, I accepted an invitation to attend a lecture/open mic/live guitar/spoken word performance presented by an artist who made the occasion more interactive and allowed for audience participation and the creation of new forms of expression.

The speaker instructed everyone to bring a piece of paper ...

When it comes to characters and their arcs, their relationships, or more specifically, their chemistry, has a large role to play in how they develop. From day to day we absorb and reflect the behaviours, views and values of those we interact with, be that at work or school or ...

Retconning has a bad reputation.

Usually because it's done in big IPs and franchises when writers change and decide to drastically alter the development of a plotline, and do it by changing established canon about the characters or the history of the setting. Usually it's sloppily done, dealt ...

When constructing your world, be it in fantasy or within a realistic/historical/existing place, the names you pick are very important.

They are important for suspension of disbelief and immersion: how consistent the names are, how congruent with what reality the audience reasonably comes to expect within the framework ...

What is real, really?

Can we trust our senses that what information they are giving us is objective? There are many thinkers and philosophers that posit we cannot. That as long as the messages get to our brains, it feels real even if it isn't.

If we can't ...

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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 ...

stretchin' out them stories!

I think I first heard the phrase “uncompressed storytelling” via the great John Byrne, comic artist and writer, and man of very strong opinions. He was criticizing some other writer or comic series (I don't remember which one) about hinting at stories that wouldn't ...

On our last Quackcast I had a realization about one of the recurring elements that shows up in a lot of horror I like.

It's the hidden nature of horror. When someone, or something, appears normal or even extra sweet or appealing, but hides nasty stuff beneath.

It's ...

James and his younger sister, Penny, live in a timeline where a deadly virus has taken its toll on the world. The two are living through an uncertain time where hand washing and hiding an electrical signature is still more important than flying cars. Penny connects to her virtual world ...

Now that's a little TOO scary!

Horror is perfect for metaphor and allegory. In fact, a horror story is often allegorical by default, what with its bizarre landscapes and freaky beasties.

Here are some categories of horror and some thoughts on what they symbolize:

Reality Bites


psycho killer! Qu ...