Category: The Writer’s Craft
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What Makes A Story Dark?
‘Dark’ is an oft-seen descriptor for books, comics, movies, games and television shows these days. These media are usually packed with violence, swearing, sex scenes and the like. But does that really make a story dark? As I made my way through old runs of the Punisher — specifically the MAX runs, the runs filled…
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How to Create Believable Character Flaws
Conventional wisdom states that characters should be flawed. Nobody can relate to perfect people. Flawed characters are more believable, more likely to gain the reader’s sympathies. But the conventional wisdom doesn’t teach how. In the hands of lesser writers, this usually manifests as a grab bag of random negative traits. Alcoholism, smoking, minor but not…
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A Believer in Babylon
How do you write a Christian in a world without Christ? In the world of Babylon Blues, the New Gods systematically destroyed or subverted all competing institutions that could oppose them, including the old religions. They stole the mantles of the old faiths and undermined them, through a combination of cultural warfare and public demonstrations of…
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The Romance of the Sword
In the age of the gun, the romance of the sword lingers in pop culture. From wuxia novels to martial arts flicks, heroic fantasy tales and stories of sword and sorcery, people enjoy stories of blademasters cleaving their way through hordes of enemies. On first glance, this seems strange. These stories hardly have any bearing on modern…
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How to Level Up Your Bad Guys
Everybody loves main characters who grow into heroes. Over the length of a series, tested in fire and steel, they overcome their weaknesses, become even stronger and more capable, and become more than they are. Indeed, character growth is the foundation of shounen manga — readers want to see the hero grow from a zero to a…
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Writing the Prepared Professional
One of the reasons I love thrillers is the genre’s dedication to authenticity. Cops talk and act like cops, spec ops guys see the world much differently from ordinary people, and so on. The genre provides a dramatised window into the lifestyles and activities of these professionals, and how they see the world. Key to…