Feb 13 2009
These are some of the best and worst Marvel panels I’ve noticed over the past week.
Feb 12 2009
If you find it tricky to code tables in HTML, I highly recommend Tablemaker. You give it the data you’d like in the table and it gives you the appropriate HTML. Neat. Your table might look something like this break-down of our user statistics for the past year.
Feb 12 2009
The second page of Twilight wasn’t as bad as the first, but it still had many problems. This is how I would have edited it.
Feb 11 2009
This is how I would have edited the first two pages of Twilight. In particular, I found that the main character has a bland personality and needs better motivations.
If I had been the publisher’s assistant considering this work, I would probably have stopped reading at this point.
*Across the board, the author could have done more “showing” rather than “telling.” For example, I would have tried to show how terrified the narrator was by using syntax, her word-choice, body-language and actions. Terror is a strong emotion that should be more visible than it was. Although she’s purportedly terrified, she actually comes off as implausibly calm for someone facing death at an early age. It didn’t feel believable to me.
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If you enjoyed this review of Twilight, please also see my list of editing errors in the Twilight series.
Feb 11 2009
It will probably be a few days until I get around to doing regular updates.
Feb 10 2009
One of the many things that annoys me about X-Men is that mutants are sometimes referred to as a separate species (which is sometimes called “homo superior”).
Feb 05 2009
I am flabbergasted that the Bears hired Rod Marinelli as assistant head coach. He coached the Detroit Lions to the NFL’s first 0-16 record. He was nothing but a trainwreck for his team, or perhaps an Ebola outbreak if you want to get technical. It could be credibly argued that his 2008 Lions were the worst team in NFL history. Why would we inflict ourselves with this football leper?
Feb 03 2009
If you’d like to suggest any, I’d appreciate that. Here are some of the questions we’ve previously answered.
Feb 02 2009
Feb 01 2009
Jan 30 2009
The Evil Overlord List recommends that evil overlords fake a vulnerability to confuse their enemies.
For example, I will order all mirrors removed from the palace, and scream and flinch whenever someone accidentally holds up a mirror, etc. In the climax, when the hero whips out a mirror and thrusts it at my face, my reaction will be “Hmm…I think I need a shave.”
Superman is obviously faking his vulnerability to kryptonite. It’s highly suspicious that so many people have attempted to use kryptonite against him but none have managed to kill or maim him. Also, doesn’t it seem implausible that someone would be fatally vulnerable to the radiation given off by his own planet?
Although some nay-sayers might argue that Superman is too honest to lie about this sort of thing, I think it’s just like a better version of his Clark Kent ruse.
Jan 29 2009
I’ve noticed some uncanny similarities between Kurt Warner (Arizona’s quarterback) and Sylar from Heroes.
How does Larry Fitzgerald make all those crazy catches? Because he knows that if he drops a pass, his head is gone.
Jan 27 2009
Thanks, I’d really appreciate it. Right now, the main thing I’m working on is character-design, specifically a mutant alligator that’s pretty much the Hobbes in a Calvin & Hobbes comic duo.
Jan 26 2009
CNN just did a piece on how cops break the news that someone’s loved one has been murdered. I think the article is an especially useful resource for the authors of superhero stories because a lot of superheroes get so caught up in their superhero identities that regular people are essentially cut from the story. For example, on Heroes normal people are sometimes used as props or plot devices, but they never get any important lines. (Also, the characters haven’t had real jobs since season 1, and all of the recurring characters have superpowers now. Even Suresh and Ando!)
Although breaking tragic news to a spouse might get too angsty, I suspect that an author could play it quietly to add emotional depth to the superhero. One of the things that annoyed me about Bruce Wayne/Batman is that he’s so socially retarded that it seems like he doesn’t care about anyone else. Beating the hell out of bad guys is fine, but that’s just revenge for Batman. If your hero is supposed to be likable, you might want to show that he’s at least trying to empathize with regular people. I’d recommend having him stumble awkwardly in the conversation, though. I think the scene depends on the awkwardness of the hero being thrust into a new role that’s hard even for professional chaplains.
What do you think?
Jan 24 2009
Jan 24 2009
Cadet Davis reviews and revises the titles of 30 manuscripts submitted to a writing workshop. This will help you evaluate and improve your titles.
Jan 24 2009
“Then she remembered…” is usually an awkward way to remind readers of backstory. Additionally, it creates sentences that depend on a boring verb (remembered). For example, let’s say John is investigating a murder that may have been committed by his friend Cathy.
Cathy said that she had been on a safari when the victim was murdered. Then John remembered that she was actually deathly afraid of large animals.
Jan 22 2009
We’ve already done a general article on the dangers of using children as side-characters, but this article will discuss only the most dangerous kind of child character: The Scrappy.
Generally, a Scrappy is a character that is hated by readers, usually because he’s exaggeratedly inept in a way that is meant to be funny. For example, instead of having a slight speech impediment, he’ll be Jar-Jar Binks. Instead of being a bit younger than the other characters, he’ll be Scrappy Doo. This character usually distracts from the more competent characters, often so much that he becomes a hate figure.
Here are some common misconceptions that lead authors to use Scrappies…
Jan 22 2009
Be careful when it comes to giving characters unearned reputations.
It’s insufferable when we hear something about a character and see something else entirely. For example, everyone in Heroes tells the audience that Mohinder is a brilliant scientist, but his most notable act of science has been to inject himself with an entirely untested formula that accidentally turns him into a monster. That makes both the character and the writers come off poorly. (Mohinder’s a moron, the plot hinges on total stupidity and the writers clearly don’t know anything about scientific testing, etc). If you need your cast to act very uncharacteristically, at least give us a reason why. For example, if Mohinder’s life had been in immediate jeopardy, it’d be more plausible that he would have taken the formula without testing it first.
Jan 21 2009
Champions Online (the latest superhero-meets-World of Warcraft game) has a quiz I found kind of amusing.
You are pure evil, and hate personified. You don’t care anything about your fellow man, and are guided only by your desire to rule over your inferiors, i.e. everybody but you. ‘Mercy,’ you ask, prior to grinding an enemy beneath your mighty heel, ‘What is mercy?’
Jan 20 2009
Hi, I’m looking to get published. My prospective publishers want me to provide information about my audience. Specifically, are you interested in my book about how to write superhero stories? Would you prefer information tailored to novelists, comic book writers or both?
I would really appreciate 5 minutes of your help. Thanks!
Jan 20 2009
Atomic Robo is OK. The writing is occasionally stylish but mostly forgettable. Artistically, the main character is done pretty well and everyone else looks kind of awful.
Jan 16 2009
This comic book artist gives writers a few suggestions about how to lay out the story. I found it very useful.
Jan 15 2009
Let’s see. Right now I’m working on the cover of our first issue and a series logo.
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