Archive for September 6th, 2008

Sep 06 2008

What do Metallica and the theme to Barney the Dinosaur have in common?

Published by under I'm not making this up,National service

I provide advice about how to write novels, comic books and graphic novels. Most of my content applies to fiction-writing in general, but I also provide articles specifically about superhero stories.

Hint: the Iraqi connection.

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Sep 06 2008

Check out Dr. McNinja

Published by under Comedy,Webcomic

Dr. McNinja is a doctor that is also a ninja.  More importantly, he’s the protagonist of an absolutely hilarious webcomic.  This is what Real Ultimate Power would be if Robert Hamburger were a real comedian.

If you’re new to DMN, I recommend starting with series 2. For example, on page 21 a conniving pirate attempts to convince the Doctor that he can win his family’s respect by proving his medical skills are not worthless to a ninja.

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Sep 06 2008

Don’t Let Your Characters Walk Away from the Quest

Published by under Character Development,Plotting,Writing Articles

Let’s say you’re writing a book about a candidate trying to join the Navy SEALs.  Unless there’s something holding him there, he can always walk away if it gets too hard.  That’s a lousy plot.  There’s no consequence for failure!  If failure is an acceptable option, we probably won’t care whether the character succeeds.  You can make this story more dramatic by adding personal urgency.  For example, perhaps the SEAL candidate had a brother or father that died as a SEAL and he sees it as his life’s mission to finish the job.

Here are some other suggestions to keep your characters in the story.

  1. There is nothing to return to. The Empire killed Luke’s family.  (Careful, this is a bit cliche).
  2. Too much is at stake to walk away. In The Day After Tomorrow, the protagonist doesn’t have to trek from Philadelphia to Manhattan, but it’s the only way to save his son.  Alternately, the characters in LOTR have no choice but to fight their genocidal enemies.
  3. The character physically cannot walk away. If your character is in prison, he can’t avoid the local thugs.  His only choices are submission and resistance.  Alternately, she may be trapped on a spaceship with a killer alien.

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