Toing and Froing Again, Part 3

This is the final post in this Toing and Froing arc. The genesis of this arc came from my fouling up The Alibi chapter 3 (my current work in progress. Toing and Froing occurs when the writer/author has their characters move around or do things for no real story purpose; there’s no character development, no … Continue reading “Toing and Froing Again, Part 3”

Trigger Warnings – Did you forget to put the gun in Act I?

“If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don’t put it there.” – Anton Checkov I keep running into editors and publishers wanting trigger warnings when submitting manuscripts. The need for trigger warnings confuses me because it raises a question … Continue reading “Trigger Warnings – Did you forget to put the gun in Act I?”

Shaman Story Chapter X – Council of All Beings

Read Shaman Story Chapter X – Mr. Zelli’s Ice Cream. Shaman Story Chapter X – Council of All Beings   Voices dance over me like ants at a harvest. I shake with the deep bellow of whale song, the answering trumpet of elephant, am tickled with the chirping of crickets the size of busses. A … Continue reading “Shaman Story Chapter X – Council of All Beings”

Writing Realistic Hand-to-Hand Combat Scenes

[A previous version of this post appeared on Rennie St. James’ blog] Have you ever been in real hand-to-hand combat? Not a playground pushing contest, a real someone’s-not-getting-up-ever-again situation? Forget about what you’ve seen in movies, TV, and the like. Those are highly staged, choreographed dances, not fights. Everything they do is practiced so nobody … Continue reading “Writing Realistic Hand-to-Hand Combat Scenes”

Shaman Story Chapter X – Mr. Zelli’s Ice Cream

Read Shaman Story Chapter X – Healing. Shaman Story Chapter X – Mr. Zelli’s Ice Cream   Grandma, Buppa and I walk to Mr. Zelli’s ice cream shop, up two streets on the corner. Buppa likes the ice cream there. It’s special, called gelato. Mr. Zelli has ice cream for his L’Inglese and gelato for … Continue reading “Shaman Story Chapter X – Mr. Zelli’s Ice Cream”