Author: Duncan

At last, something EVERYONE can relate to … because we all do it, pretty much every day. What you ask? It’s telling someone else’s story. We do it with friends and family to revel in memorable moments from the past, usually sharing an embarrassing tale from your own or someone...

You can look online and find lots of resources for creating fictional characters. Depending on where you go, there might be 5 types, 7 types, even 9 types of characters (protagonist, antagonist, love interest, foil, etc.). Then there are the steps to creating a character – 6, 13, maybe more....

First thing I would do is accept congratulatory calls from both heads of Zaphod Beeblebrox. Then, it would be time to get to work! First decree? No more metric system. Creation is too unique and inconsistent to have everything expressed by a simple base 10 system of measurement. Next, I...

While there are several myths floating around social media these days that are harmfully inaccurate and borderline felonious that certainly warrant being busted and laid to waste, I’ll leave that to others more patient, prepared, and better versed than I to tackle. For me, the top myth I have encountered...

There are lots of different ways to approach “worldbuilding” – the creation of a larger creative construct or immersive universe in which stories and/or experience live within that elicits the notion of there being “more” than what is readily apparent or immediately accessible to the audience. Some might approach it...

Before we contemplate what lies “Beyond Immersive Entertainment”, let’s review what we mean by “Immersive Entertainment.” Immersive – (1) Deep mental involvement. (2) A method of learning by the exclusive use of specific content. (3) To plunge fully into an experience or environment. Entertainment – (1) The action of providing...

So, storytellers as thieves … Seems like there are several ways to address this premise. First, of course all storytellers are thieves! Unless the artist/orator in question developed the story in question entirely by themselves while serving tour of solo duty inside BioSphere X, then any good storyteller will have...

There once was a man from Nantucket… OK, so that’s the start of an infamous limerick. Not quite poetry per se, but there’s the rub. I have not really been exposed to poetry (the art form) enough to know what I’m talking about, let alone form a worthwhile opinion. My...

Last month’s IDEAS On blog topic was “Improvisation,” and I shared how once-upon-a-previous-lifetime I embraced improv while writing and performing in a sketch comedy group. This month’s blog topic, “Learnings from Live Performance,” allows me to share another memorable chapter in my life journey and professional progression toward joining IDEAS…my...

In an early chapter of my life that was several decades ago, I was a writer and performer in a comedy group in Western New York. We had been at it for several years with some modicum of success doing sketch comedy at clubs and colleges across the northeast when...

A good story must have conflict and one way to drive that dramatic tension is having an antagonist play “the villain.” My personal favorites run the gamut from Nurse Ratched to Chernabog to Hannibal Lecter to Brazil’s Information Retrieval. But the true villain in most stories is … time. It...

Once there are medically-proven vaccines readily available and it becomes reasonably safe to mingle and assemble among strangers outside our social “bubbles” we will finally be able to return to the heady days of going to concerts, sporting events, and enjoying a beer at the bar without fear of catching...