The Evil Overlord List After I captures the hero's super-weapon, I will not immediately disband my legions and relax my guard because I believe whoever holds the weapon is unstoppable. After all, the hero held the weapon and I took it from him. All bumbling conjurers, clumsy squires, no-talent bards, and cowardly thieves in the land will be preemptively executed; all annoying and/or humorously clever robots and androids will be destroyed; and it shall be declared a capital crime to be the "town drunk". The hero will certainly give up and abandon his quest if he has no handy source of comic relief. All deathtraps will have only one way in or out, with any way out leading to an even more cunning deathtrap that works faster. All guards (and other workers) will be entitled to three weeks paid vacation a year after one full year's employment, will be covered (after that same period) by comprehensive medical and dental insurance (paid by me, the Evil Overlord) for themselves and spouse/companion and all dependents.
Writing Comics With Emotional Impact Email The world of Juno is a world that is almost the world I live in, except that all of the people there speak in sarcastic banter the way a Shakespearean cast throws around iambic pentameter. Yet in the midst of an incredibly talky script, the most powerful scene in Juno has no words at all. And it needs none. The power comes from the quiet– from the contrast. The shot starts with two sets of feet sticking out at the end of Juno’s hospital bed– striped socks and grassy track shoes. No words are needed because this moment is the cumulation of everything the viewer and Juno have been through together since the film began. No words are needed between us any more than words were needed between the two of them. We all now share a common experience. Avoid Rushing or Lose the Payoff. When writing comics, and especially webcomics, we must avoid a very real temptation to rush into our most powerful scenes. But there is a problem with this strategy. Doing this in comics can feel risky. Enjoy it.
What Makes A Satisfying Story? Email A satisfying story is a subjective concept. …a moving target. However, I believe that a satisfying story reflects the truths of humanity and provides a catharsis for the audience through the characters’ experience. We like stories with characters who face our own fears and weaknesses (especially the ones that we ourselves are afraid of facing) and ultimately prevail. We also like stories where the characters do not prevail, or survive at great cost to themselves, because that reflects the many sad realities of our collective human experience and helps us to process loss, face death, feel comforted and less alone and even heal from our own wounds… …at least a little bit. What do you think? Eddy Crosby’s following question about story & character sparked this series of blogs. The foundation of a satisfying story can be 1.)
How To Satisfy Your Hero Email In my post What Makes A Satisfying Story? I presented the idea that catharsis = satisfaction. To be human is to want something – a person, a validation, a fix, an answer etc… And to want something is to face a series of challenges to that pursuit whether the want is tangible or intangible. This is not news to anyone who has given any real thought to these kinds of questions so I won’t waste any time here. But if you want to learn more, you can read “Story” by Robert McKee. McKee is brilliant and compelling and yet I disagree with him on many, many points. (If you’re just looking for a great book on story structure, Blake Snyder’s Save The Cat series is, in my opinion, the best.) In response to the question: YES. Luke Skywalker wants to be a pilot and join the rebel alliance but Obi Wan (his teacher) has different things in mind. It is important to note that the two paths are not entirely dissimilar. So now we’re back to catharsis. The foundation of a satisfying story can be 1.)
HULK EXPLAINS WHY WE SHOULD STOP IT WITH THE HERO JOURNEY SHIT | FILM CRIT HULK! HULK BLOG! SERIOUSLY, HERE IS EXACTLY HOW BIOWARE WRITER RESPONDED [VIA MESSAGE BOARD AT THAT]: “So I’m supposed to believe someone is smart enough to do a big Excel spreadsheet with color coding and stuff but not smart enough to know about Campbellian archetypes? Yeah, guys, every BioWare game has the same plot! See, things are kind of normal, and then things change and you have to go out and do stuff, and you go to crazy weird places! Aaaaaand so yeah, totally the same story. That’s asinine.” Weekes said the “intro, four planets, finale” structure familiar to BioWare games is picked for a number of good reasons. Firstly, it’s “easy” in the sense of QA, as areas can be culled if they’re not ready in time for launch with minimal impact on the final product. Secondly, “players understand it”. Thirdly, “There’s nothing wrong with it.” “It’s a structure, like any other,” he wrote. “People who create fiction in any form use a structure appropriate to that form.
Make Stuff (or What I’ve Learned By Creating Comics) October 15th, 2010 I was chatting with some fellow artists while painting on my Ustream show, and some interesting points came up. There was a lot of talk about self-publishing and strategies for independent creators. It’s got me thinking about my current work habits and what I’ve accomplished over the past year. At the end of last 2009, I decided to make a comic. It’s not something I’ve done before and it’s still an industry that is very new to me. The most important lesson I’ve learned by creating comics: Make stuff. Comics are driven by independent creators. I’ve never had such a rush of creativity and productivity than what I’ve had over the past year. My experience in the picture book industry was always an attitude of struggle. No marketing trick is going to help you if you have nothing to show people. I’m definitely going to continue with the momentum I’ve got going, make more comics, and take what I’ve learned into my picture book goals as well. 1. 2. The end.