Hybrid Competence: the newest soft skill for your resume

Prior to the global pandemic, the idea of working remotely was reserved either for the eccentric who refused to conform to numerous societal norms, which included the workplace (the mad scientist in his lab upon the hill), or the elite figurehead who wields enough power and influence that they don’t need to conform (Tony Stark from the Marvel Universe). In both cases, we view these characters as different to the rest of us. Their contribution to the bigger picture is great enough that they are afforded the luxury of minimal or no oversight, their methods are not questioned, and they are given the freedom to work on their own terms.

Media that portrays remote workers in such a fashion therefore implies the opposite of everyone else. That the rest of us do not make meaningful contributions and therefore do not deserve the freedom to work remotely. But why not?

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The best 5 stocks of my first year of Investing (and 5 honourable mentions)

“Everyone is a genius in a bull market” claims Mark Cuban. The 2020 stock market crash caused by Covid-19 coincided with my first foray into investing. As a result, it has been a successful year for new investors and those that buy the dip. Looking through my history on the Freetrade app, there are 5 clear winners that stand above the rest.

Get your Kickstarter Comic Reviewed!

Having run several successful Kickstarter campaigns over the past few years, one thing that always took the most time was getting reviews. Many review sites disregard Kickstarter comics for their lack of exposure to the wider community, the lack of big names attached and the varying degrees of quality produced.

I’m here to change that.

The Art of Conversation Part 2, representing dialogue in comics.

One of the greatest limitations of dialogue in comics is the lack of space. The general rule of thumb is as follows; up to nine panels a page, with up to fifty words per panel. What you don’t realize until you start writing comics is that fifty words is not a lot. Especially if you are trying to depict a conversation. But you don’t have to feel like you are constantly butting up against an upper word limit. Read on to see some of the ways dialogue can shoulder more narrative weight than just the words written on the page.

Black holes disguised as white lines; the power of the comic gutter

The comic gutter is quintessentially Lovecraftian in nature: it is the world between worlds, the space between spaces, black holes disguised as white lines that will eventually (like the cosmic horrors that inhabited the world of Yog Sothoth) devour the world of the comic book. But where are it’s worshippers, it’s disciples and followers? Fear not, because as high priest of the church of the gutter, I am here to explore the wonderous and terrifying nature of these enigmatic spaces and convert you all.

Write to the beat of your own drum – How to pace scenes in a comic

It might not be the most interesting title for a lesson on comic writing, but pacing is one of the subtle arts that is incredibly important but very understated. In this lesson, we will be exploring the nature of “beats”, otherwise known as the unheard rhythm of comics. This is going to be one of the lengthier lessons because of its importance. So read on if you are serious enough about writing comics!

Guiding the eye through the comic page

As soon as a comic page deviates from a basic panel layout, it risks the possibility of losing the readers eye mid-page. I’ve seen it at every level, from indie webcomics to pages of the big 2.

An alternate panel structure can help a story as much as hinder it. Mastering it takes harmony between writer and artist (if they are not one in the same like in my case). Read on to learn more about the topic.

Starting out as a freelancer – 7 tips

I’ve been a Freelancer for a few years now and it has been quite the journey! As soon as I got my Literature Degree I began utilising it on the online market. Now I’m no hotshot freelancer, the kind that supports themselves solely through their freelancing work, that’s the dream! But I’ve at least travelled the road and can impart some little nuggets for those considering starting to freelance or wanting to take it seriously.

A Picture is Worth 1000 words – how to write a comic script that your artist can use Part 2

In the previous part, we dissected the comic script to the base components required for each member of the creative team to extract the relevant information to do their part. There were also some panels and script excerpts from a comic I have worked on to exemplify this. But as I stated in the first part, there is no right way to write a comic script. And to prove it, we will delve into the scripts of some of the industry’s biggest names to see what makes them different and why that works for them. So who are we going to be looking at? Read on to find out!