Death

Would You Kill a Big-Eyed Baby Seal?

September 17, 2011

How about a kitten, or a child?
Unless you’re a psychopath the answer is most likely no.   I salute you for that.  I’d hate to think of any UhW writers as killers.
And yet… and yet… just because you would never take an ax to a living creature, your characters might.
As writers we need to be unafraid–as King [...]

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Mincing Minions

September 16, 2011

Every now and then (ever wonder what that phrase actually means?) I like to turn the telescope around and look through the wrong end.  It gives me a different perspective on live, the Universe, and, well… everything.
Just this morning I found myself wondering (we’re in screenplay-land again) why people would sign up to be minions [...]

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How to Create An Enemy

September 8, 2011

You’re writing a novel about a two warring factions, and you find yourself wondering what the opposite sides of the battle really have in common, or more to the point, what are the areas of their conflict?
One way to set up the fight is to just assume that sides A and B  have always fought, [...]

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12 Important Points: Are You Up for Responsible Reality?

August 19, 2011

Crack a man over the head with a whiskey bottle or 2 by 4, and if you don’t kill him outright, you’ll give him a concussion.
In real life bottles are not made to shatter painlessly, and heavy lumber doesn’t split.
Think of this first “meat and potatoes” post of the day as a kind of writer’s [...]

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Sex, Violence and Kids: Who’s Fooling Who?

August 11, 2011

I spend a good part of every morning (between writing my daily UhW posts) reading the blogs of others.
One of the newer blogs on the scene is The Write Cafe.  I am impressed with this blogger’s wit and insight, and today’s blog really got me thinking (and moved me to add her to my blogroll).
The [...]

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A Writer’s Last Words

May 3, 2011

 
We write because we can.  We write because we have to.
We write because we have something to say… or at least we think we do.
We write to communicate our thoughts, and our thoughts are constant; a sinewy road that takes us places we never before imagined.  We go places that are foreign to ourselves, and [...]

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Real Time and Other Disasters: A Challenge

April 11, 2011

A few years back a person I know received a message on her answering machine from her boyfriend who was calling on a cell phone.  He was in the midst of setting up a date with her when his car was struck by another car and he was killed.  Grisly, but true.
I was reminded of [...]

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The God Patent by Ransom Stephens: A Book Review

September 20, 2010

It is always hard for me to know how much of the plot and setting of a book to reveal in a review, so pardon me if I tiptoe a bit.
Last month, Ransom Stevens, who holds a Ph.D. in Particle Physics, came to speak to us at the Fremont Area Writers Club.  He spoke about his [...]

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World Building: Revisited – Part 30

June 11, 2010

Continued from Part 29
New to this project: Start with Part 1

   Part 30: Warfare and Medicine
    Warfare and Medicine.   Is this an odd combination?  Sadly, no.  In the history of the little blue marble we call the Earth, the fastest and greatest development in medicine has come during times of war.  There is nothing odd or [...]

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While We're On the Subject of Death…

March 13, 2010

And, speaking of dying…
Sometimes a character really does need to be killed off.  It may not be because you have spawned too many, or because one is getting in the way of your story.  Sometimes it is necessary to let a character go to add poignancy to your story… for emotional impact, or to add [...]

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