So you've just written a kick-ass, exciting sequence, and you are already looking forward to the next awesome, kick-ass exciting sequence that is coming right up…

…after the dreaded lull: the scenes in a story that have to take place between the exciting sequences. The scenes where technically plot-wise ...

There are a handful of cinematic “group shots” that showcase an ensemble of characters in a memorable way.

The Avengers in their first movie have one where they're finally all together, back to back in a circle to face the invading alien army.

There's the Usual Suspects in ...

I have a script to write for one of our comics. We’re transitioning from one scene to another. It’s written in the outline, I can see the location in my mind, however I couldn’t think of how to put it into words. How would it open? What ...

We've all been told how in story telling, showing is a lot better than telling.

Showing gets hard if your main character is a loner that interacts with nobody. Even harder if he/she is a stoic that emotes very little. The audience will have no way of knowing ...

Maintaining an update schedule is beneficial to your readers and to yourself. Sticking to an update schedule encourages readers to come back. It becomes part of their routine and is often something they look forward to that day. They’ll remain invested in both you and your comic. That is ...

A subplot is a co-current narrative that runs alongside the main plot, often providing context, character development or further world building. They can be used to build further tension, explore other perspectives or themes.

The theme is what the overall story means. A subplot allows you to lend more emotional ...

When building tension, it's imperative to have high stakes within your story. It doesn't matter what kind of story it is. It could be a story about huge risks, like the end of the world or even the universe, or it could be a story about a girl ...

Might as well get it out of the way: if you're a mentor in a story, chances are you're going on a boatride over the river Styx at some point.

When a mentor dies it's often the signal that the main character, the one being mentored, is ...

We live in a world of routine, predictability, and pedestrian problems. (2020 doesn't count. Much.)

Magic doesn't really seem to exist in our world.

Or does it?

Perhaps we live above a very thin surface, like floating on a tranquil lake, and just underneath it there are ghouls ...

The witch is different than a sorceress, though their affinity with magic and their powers often can overlap: the sorceress carries status; the witch carries fear.

It's not that the sorceress is not potentially feared or the witch is not potentially respected- it's that the core of their ...