Monsters!

Making monsters, one of the best past times ever!

I sit down with a drawing pad, and I just start sketching. I don't know what the monster is supposed to look like, or what it is I'm drawing. Sometimes I don't even know how many eyes it should have. My hand just goes, like when I'm writing without thinking, and something appears. Kind of scary when I think about it, like I'm actually conjuring something.

After the monster is out, I look at it's natural weapons, like if it has claws, teeth, a weapon in its hand, and from there, I begin mapping out its strengths and weaknesses. A monster must have a weakness, or it ends up like a one-dimensional character who does everything perfect. I make it a little overpowered, because what's a too weak monster? It won't give the protagonist something to worry about, and the threat is gone out of the story.

After I make the rules for the monster, I stick to them. Every incident with the monster must make sense to the monster's rules. This is how the story becomes unique. The main character can act and move as their personality prescribes, but it absolutely can't overrule the monster's actions according to its rules, and that's where the dynamics begin. This is what makes it real.

And on a personal note, my book of monsters "Pariahs" has just been released. Come pick up a paperback copy here, or a kindle copy here.