Albert Camus isn't afraid to ask the tough questions.

Franz Kafka

"A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us."
Franz Kafka
drawing via

Pixar's 22 Rules of Storytelling

#1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.

#2: You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. They can be v. different.

#3: Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about til you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite.

#4: Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.

#5: Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.

#6: What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?

#7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.

#8: Finish your story, let go even if it’s not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time.

#9: When you’re stuck, make a list of what WOULDN’T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up.

#10: Pull apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you’ve got to recognize it before you can use it.

#11: Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you’ll never share it with anyone.

#12: Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.

#13: Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it’s poison to the audience.

#14: Why must you tell THIS story? What’s the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That’s the heart of it.

#15: If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.

#16: What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against.

#17: No work is ever wasted. If it’s not working, let go and move on - it’ll come back around to be useful later.

#18: You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining.

#19: Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.

#20: Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How d’you rearrange them into what you DO like?

#21: You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can’t just write ‘cool’. What would make YOU act that way?

#22: What’s the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.

via dumblr

Rocky Balboa

I drew this for the Heroes and Villains chart in Everything Explained Through Flowcharts, but ended up not using it.

Alan Moore portrait

I'm drawing my favorite authors. Here's the terrifying visage of Alan Moore.
"The city is afraid of me, I have seen its true face."
—Rorschach, Watchmen #1

Krispy Kreme Kommercial #2

A commercial set. DOOGIE sits facing the camera. A huge crate of doughnuts with a trapdoor in the bottom is suspended above his head.
The camera ZOOMS IN so the crate isn’t visible.

CAMERA OPERATOR [o.s.]
Okay, it’s raining doughnuts, take 1.

DOOGIE
April showers may bring May flowers, but my favorite time of year is—

The trapdoor opens too soon and all the doughnuts fall out of the crate on Doogie’s head while he’s in mid-sentence.

CUT TO
The same set. DOOGIE sits facing the camera. An ASSISTANT is wiping the jelly and doughnut sprinkles off his shirt and face.

DOOGIE
Are you going to fix that stupid trapdoor?

CAMERA OPERATOR [o.s.]
Yeah don’t worry, they’re fixing it now.

Suddenly the trapdoor opens and the doughnuts fall all over Doogie and the Assistant again.

CUT TO

The same set. DOOGIE sits facing the camera. An ASSISTANT wipes the jelly and doughnut sprinkles off his shirt and face again. Doogie is angry.

CAMERA OPERATOR [o.s.]
Okay, it’s raining doughnuts, take 3.

DOOGIE
[deep breath]
April showers may bring May flowers, but my—

A single doughnut falls from the ceiling and lands directly on Doogie’s head.

DOOGIE [cont.]
—it’s a piece of wood on a hinge, WHY CAN’T YOU FIX THAT?
[looks up at trapdoor]

CAMERA OPERATOR [o.s]
Maybe it would work better if we put coffee in it?

DOOGIE
[turns to camera, alarmed]
No.

CUT TO
The same set. DOOGIE sits facing the camera.

CAMERA OPERATOR [o.s.]
It’s raining doughnuts, take 4.

DOOGIE
April showers may bring May flowers, but my favorite time of year is Autumn, because that’s when the doughnuts fall.

Nothing happens.

DOOGIE
[looks up]
Oh, now it doesn’t want to open?

The trapdoor suddenly opens, spilling hot coffee all over Doogie, who screams in pain.

ASSISTANT [o.s.]
Sorry, that was my fault!

First Person Present

Some people say first person present is the most powerful, immediate form of fiction, but I can't write that way without feeling like I'm penning a detective novel.

"I pull the first drawer open and take out a bottle. Pull the second drawer open and take out my gun. I belt the whisky down fast and it kicks hard. But I know the snubnose kicks even harder, and I need to fortify myself for the work ahead. Just thinking about it makes my hands shake, so I take another shot. It won't be the last tonight."

Krispy Kreme Kommercial

A commercial set. We see camera tracks, sound man with boom, scaffolding, a painted backdrop of clouds.
DOOGIE stands in a suit, gingerly holding a doughnut.
The camera ZOOMS IN so all the extra stuff is hidden.
An ASSISTANT leans in with a clapboard.

ASSISTANT
Okay, Krispy Kreme tastes like a dream, take 1. ACTION!

Zippy music plays in the background.
The camera starts to TRACK BACKWARDS.
Doogie starts walking towards the camera, with a happy spring in his step.

DOOGIE
[sings]
Boy, it certainly is a dream, to nom nom delicious Krispy Kr—

Doogie suddenly trips and falls.

DOOGIE
Ah! Gah!

The camera continues to TRACK BACK

DOOGIE
Stop! Cut!

ASSISTANT [o.s.]
I don’t know how to stop it!

The camera tracks so far back we can see all the scaffolding, extras—it’s clearly tracked too far.

ASSISTANT [o.s.]
Look out! Run away camera!

The camera tracks back and reveals a bunch of STAGE HANDS standing around, eating a box of KRISPY KREME DOUGHNUTS.

STAGE HAND #1
These are delicious.

STAGE HAND #2
If I could marry this doughnut, I would.

STAGE HAND #3
Mmmmmm.

Self-portrait c. 2009

I'm on my way, I'm making it.

Best Spider-man cover ever? Perhaps. I'm sure there's some Ditko cover that tops it. Anyhow, this is one of my favorites. Drawn by the legendary John Romita.

Dog Books

Some dog books, via Spine Out