Independent passion projects require an incentive for your audience to return and return again. The internet affords people the ability to make their work visible to an entire planet. How can you channel that potential audience into a devoted fanbase though?

Whether you're a YouTuber, an artist on Etsy, a musician on Soundcloud, or a writer self-publishing your first novel, you can maintain a loyal following with samples of your work that they can share and you can be proud of.

Digital meets paper.

Here's how free books work as a downloadable...

No Man's Sky and Pokemon Go's releases this summer really get you thinking: what if a game on such a scale had a game attached to it? Your mind might drift to the MMO genre, matching its scope and size.

Is that truly what you seek?

In reality, a full-sized, HD Monster Hunter game on PS4 or Xbox One is what your mind is imagining.

Let's actually consider what it would take for a PS4 Monster Hunter game to be successful?

This is a recurring segment, with a recently-updated title, "Simple Answers," where I gather the questions I come across on the internet in a given week, and provide a straightforward answer.

This week's question again addresses the summer movie glut. It's all franchises. There are almost no original stories anymore, except maybe the sensational Pacific Rim, which is fast becoming a faded memory.

You may wonder why the movie market has come to rest in this weird, unoriginal landscape. The answer is simple:

The greatest favor a writer can do is deliver the world a memorable character.

The second greatest favor a writer can do is deliver the world a likable character.

The worst favor a world can do is deliver the world another jerk bathed in their writerly projections, neuroses, and anxieties. Writers have daddy issues, man. Mommy issues are less common. Unpack that ball of yarn, why don't you?

Creating a likable, memorable character that is not simply A Jerk / Author Surrogate is a huge challenge. Like email, social media, or blogging, knowing how to write likable characters is honor bound by a simple rule: never skimp on the details...

This is a recurring segment, with a recently-updated title, "Simple Answers," where I gather the questions I come across on the Internet in a given week, and provide a straightforward answer.

This week's question again addresses the summertime. You might remember an earlier piece on why it feels like it's only bad news in the summer.

Today, we talk about the month of August, because August is a churning vortex of confusion that can drive a man insane.

Are you searching for the definitive podcast for a topic? Did you know that statistically, 36% of podcast listeners skim through their episodes? That isn't a joke. There's pressure to get through the episode and on to your next thing, isn't there?

That's the trouble. You're unsure if this is the best podcast for the topic you're listening to. Is this the best podcast for music, for history, for video games, for sports? You skim through each show's episode and don't fully absorb any info.

This segment will set recommendations for The Best Podcast on a given topic.

Today, The Best Podcast For: Determining Who Would Win In A Fight.

If you follow James Gunn on Twitter, you'll learn a lot about the entertainment industries. Gunn directed Guardians of the Galaxy, and recently made a comment about how to gain exposure and promote yourself.

I'm paraphrasing, but it amounts to "Write a GREAT script, move to LA, and give it to everyone. It'll be found."

That principle rings true for any creative medium. You need to promote yourself with a completed SOMETHING to reach people. Otherwise your work will never be seen on the level you desire. You've got the internet: a powerful distribution tool. Post some free books to read online and attract a fanbase.

How do you make this happen?

Somebody with an eye for film production costs had the genius idea to build a shared universe among the series of Marvel films. Each movie took place in the same story-sphere as the rest.

Not only did this create a "feel" loyal to the movies' comic book storytelling roots where any character from another storyline could show up at a given moment, winning hearts and minds of discerning fans, it also lessened genre fatigue.

This is a recurring segment, with a recently-updated title, "Simple Answers," where I gather the questions I come across on the Internet in a given week, and provide a straightforward answer.

This week's question again addresses the controversial DC Extended Universe movies. Previously, we drilled down into the reasons why Zack Snyder is allowed to keep making movies.

Today, we talk about why the Batman V Superman follow-up Suicide Squad is getting so much hate.

At some point in your life, you likely had an English teacher at with strong opinions about structure. Grammatical structure. Sentence structure. They likely slapped a palm on the board at the front of the class to emphasize the point: this is how you do it!

That poor teach was being paid so little money.

You can read up on Ghost Little's two exquisite guides on writing shot sentences. With that debate dead and laid in a tasteful burial, let's examine the next structural piece: paragraph length.