Giving Mythic Scale to your Stories
Dexter and the Trinity Killer - this may not look like an epic confrontation…but it sure as heck was!
The classic Star Wars trilogy was a phenomenon and a triumph on multiple levels. One of the things it's famous for is it's ...

Myth Appropriation
Banes at 12:00AM, Jan. 24, 2019Drawing the Red Line
Amelius at 11:48AM, Jan. 20, 2019
Let's be honest, we don't always appreciate someone pointing out our mistakes. Criticism may be important for artists growing into their craft to find the right areas to focus on improving through a little outside guidance, but not all critique is made equal. Frankly speaking, a lot of ...
Embracing procrastination
Emma_Clare at 12:00AM, Jan. 18, 2019
A few months ago, I was linked to a video about original thinkers by organisational psychologist, Adam Grant. and the habits of people he calls originals. It’s a very interesting video and I highly recommend watching it, but one of the points that he makes is about embracing the ...
Writing Mental Illness (Part 1)
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Jan. 12, 2019
Writing a character with mental illness can be a very tricky thing. Writers usually go for the extremely rare, exotic and spectacular: multiple personality disorders, extreme manifestations of psychopathy or sociopathy, high functioning autism with that ever alluring ‘savant’ magic going for the character, bombastically spectacular schizophrenia… in many ways ...
Exposition - Just the tip
Emma_Clare at 12:00AM, Jan. 11, 2019
In a nutshell, exposition is a big ole mound of information that the author wants the reader to know before they move on in the plot. It often gets a bad rap but that is usually due to it being used incorrectly. There is definitely a place for exposition so ...
15 Years, I Keep On Duckin'
Amelius at 12:13PM, Jan. 6, 2019
Oh what a coincidence, that my newspost day should fall upon the date of my 15th year on this very site! So naturally, on this anniversary, I'd like to open up and reflect on how the Duck has left a major impact on my life and work.
Every year ...
Writing Your Own OC Spinoffs
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Jan. 5, 2019
I'm not sure how many creators do it, but I often place my original characters in different settings, writing out stories about them very much like I'd write fanfiction about some established franchise.
It's even more fun when I do it mixing them up with characters from ...
Following through on your NY goals
Emma_Clare at 12:00AM, Jan. 4, 2019
If you are like 92.4% of people at the beginning of the New Year (not a factual number mind you), you have sat down with a shine in your eye to set about making a list of goals to achieve in 2019. I know I have. So far there ...
Therefore, But and Because
Banes at 12:00AM, Jan. 3, 2019
But and Therefore
I'm a fan of user-friendly, practical advice on things, especially writing. It's why I dig the Banes Method (it's not my method; it's just named after me).
Anyway, I came upon some dandy advice from Trey Parker and Matt Stone of South Park ...