Goal Post: Hope Is The First Step Towards Disappointment

Posted on July 25, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

As you can tell, it was a rough week.  Guess more on that later.

I did managed to finish chapter 2 of Darwin & the Deadlands Queen.  Had trouble with one section because it starting going in a loop, so I had to pause for a bit to think it through.  I still have an issue with Darwin not operating like my previous heroes.  It’s in his nature to figure problems out quickly after some chaos and using unconventional means.  He also doesn’t argue much and still believes people fairly easily.  This results in fights going off the rails and then ending with a sudden conclusion.  Conversations have him asking a few questions then going ‘okay’.  Probably another reason I keep having doubts and feeling like I’ve lost my skills.

I tried to work on Coven of the Gray, but I couldn’t carve out the time.  There was a lot of things I had to do in the morning before getting to work.  So, I couldn’t tinker with the idea while waiting for people to show up.  Evenings weren’t any better since I had my son and we do stuff until 9 PM.  Then he goes to his room to do his own thing and I get ready for bed.  Yeah, he stays up later than me since he can sleep in.  Guess this summer isn’t going to be as productive as I had hoped.

My son’s birthday is this week, so he’s doing a hangout today.  That means getting pizzas and drinks for a bunch of teenagers to chill in the backyard.  Definitely not going to try writing while they’re around in case I’m needed.  An old friend is staying too, so it would be rude to leave her to sit by herself.  Anyway, this also means that my son’s actual birthday will be a no for writing.  He does have a few other events though, so I might be able to get the first part of Chapter 3 done.  That can open the door for me to finish it over the weekend.  Depends on if I have my son or not.  He’s also at the age where spending time with his old man isn’t a given.  I could get a whole day of writing or he could grace me with his presence the whole time.  The fun unpredictability of teenagers.  I should enjoy it while it lasts.

Now for the disappointment stemming from hope.  I won’t go into details, so it’s going to be fairly vague.  I try really hard to be a good person and help others, including those who I know hate me.  I’ve known for a while that some of these people blame for me their situations even while asking me for help.  Yet, I didn’t expect the stories to cause so much opinion shifting when they came out.  I only read a little of what was said, but it made me out to be an unhinged monster.  Information was left out to make things worse or hide the fact that I was provoked.  Sometimes, things other people did were attributed to me.  This has actually being going on for years, but this is the first time I ever faced stories that demonized me so much.

The part that hurts the most is that I tried.  I’m not a saint, but I’m not a monster.  I slipped up with my temper and raised my voice when pushed too far.  Yet, I was still trying to help these people before and after the provocation.  I’ve been told to keep helping while they push to have me isolated from anyone who would be willing to hear my side of the story.  It’s agonizing to be in a situation where helping a person gets twisted to say I’m a controlling bastard, but not helping makes me look like an asshole.  Been carrying this conflicting pain for most of the week and it keeps getting worse.  This situation isn’t going to be over any time soon too.  Could take a year for it to clear and even allow me to speak about it plainly.

One thing that I’m coming to realize is that this whole situation has really damaged my ability to trust others.  I’ve noticed that I’ll be fine with people until they reach a certain level of closeness.  Then, I start getting twitchy and certain actions cause me to think they’re going to turn on me like those who demonize me.  It sucks because I still have a sense of loneliness, but also a fear of getting close.  Part of me is coming to terms with the fact that I feel safer at a distance from others, which means I’m never going back into the dating pool.  Perhaps a shallow thought, but there is always that flicker of desire for companionship.  To think, I’m trying to write a happy, positive hero while suffering from this level of emotional agony.

I wish I could go into more details, but I’m sure some people will figure it out.  Either way, I can only talk about my own emotions and generalizations.  To be fair, there’s been people telling stories about me to cause pain in a few areas of my life.  Starting to think hermits are onto something.

Goals of the week:

  1. Celebrate birthday with son.
  2. Try to write chapter 3 of Darwin & the Deadlands Queen.
  3. Rest up.
  4. Try to emotionally recover from this week.
  5. Accept that I probably won’t considering the situation.
  6. Take walks for Pokémon and rest.
  7. Try to work a little more on Coven of the Gray.
  8. Make packing list for father/son trip in August.
  9. Check out parks in Finger Lakes for one of our outings.
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Knowing Your Character And Action Scenes

Posted on July 24, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

(Originally posted on March 4, 2015.)

Spider-Man vs Juggernaut (Marvel Comics)

Spider-Man vs Juggernaut (Marvel Comics)

I’ve talked about writing action scenes before and people still ask for some tips.  Today I’m going to give a few that center on knowing your character.  Some might be repeats from other posts, but it doesn’t hurt to hear it again if you plan on doing a lot of action.

  1. You really need to know the limits of your characters.  The above picture shows that Spider-Man may be strong, but Juggernaut is stronger.  The writer/artist know how to work such a fight without going outside the limits of the characters.  You would lose readers if Juggernaut starts doing nimble backflips or Spider-Man hurls the big guy into the next county.  As powerful as they are, each one has a limit.
  2. Not every weapon can penetrate armor.  I thought of this when I caught part of a movie that had two knights fighting.  They had platemail and it ended with a simple slash across the chest.  There was no mark on the other warrior that you could see since he fell face down, but it got me thinking.  How often do authors focus on the weapons and tend to forget the armor?  You can get so caught up in the offense of an action scene that you ignore the defensive side beyond a few blocks.
  3. Being a warrior doesn’t mean you can use EVERY weapon created.  Check out the heroes of Windemere and you’ll see that each one has signature weapons.  If they grab something else then they tend to wield it like their favored weapon.  The idea of a ‘Weapons Master’ is common in fantasy, but tends to be reserved for ancient characters that take the role of mentor.  A young hero like Luke Callindor shouldn’t be able to use more than his sabers, a range weapon, and a few simple things.  Though his level of skill would vary.  Remember that practice and training is necessary for a character to develop even if they’re a natural.
  4. If you describe a character as having long legs then kicking might be more useful than punching.  I always wonder why some fight scenes exclude any moves from below the waist.  If the character is a skilled fighter then they you can believe they would play to their strengths.  Powerful and long legs shouldn’t be ignored.  I’m not talking only kicks to the head too.  Injuring an opponent’s legs will slow them down, so shots to the knees and ankles should be considered.
  5. Height, weight, girth, etc. is something that I try hard to remember.  Case in point, a halfling or gnome is a shorter target.  A taller warrior would have to stab down, swing low, and alter their fighting styles to handle a ‘below average’ height.  The trade off is that shorter characters need to find ways to reach more vital areas on their enemies, which is where stealth and range come into play.  Yet, there is another side of this and that’s allies remembering this fact.  There’s a fight scene in Prodigy of Rainbow Tower where Nyx and Nimby are back-to-back.  Nyx takes advantage of having a shorter ally and ducks high strikes without worrying about Nimby getting hit.  Same goes for archers being able to shoot over shorter allies.

Those are what came to mind and I’m sure there are more that I forgot.  I’ll probably revisit this if I can think of any others.  As usual, I’m always up for suggestions and questions that can create other posts.

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Poetry Day: The Prismatic Laugh

Posted on July 23, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

(Laughter is essential to living.  So many varieties and uses too.)

Such a simple sound

With a multitude of names

The flirty titter

The polite chuckle

The friendly guffaw

The maniacal cackling

The drunken belly-laugh

More names come to mind

All of them the same

Yet undeniably different

Each one a laugh

As unique as a snowflake

High-pitched crowing

From an uncontrollable friend

Contained chortling

From a snobby observer

Birthed by one event

Over our years

Of hearing many forms

Laughs of nervous fear

And flowing joy

From coughing wheezing

Of old men on their benches

To drooling screeches

Of babies in their cribs

A man begins to wonder

To the purpose

Of such a simple thing

With all its varied forms

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Author Stigmas and Stereotypes

Posted on July 22, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

(Originally posted March 5, 2015.)

Edgar Allan Poe Ale Poem

Edgar Allan Poe Ale Poem

As I lay here resting and nursing whatever this malady is, I have been answering comments and thinking.  (Add-on: I really do get sick a lot.) One thing my mind wandered off to was the various stereotypes about authors.  We drink, we’re eccentric, we’re sensitive, we’re aloof, etc.  Then my mind wandered to humor and that April 1st is a month away.  I’m not a prankster though, so I have to make people laugh differently.

This is going to be simple.  List an author stereotype in the comments and I’ll use it to make a fun, cheeky post on April 1st.  Honestly, the two have very little to do with each other, but that’s the first open day I have on my schedule.

So, what strange things have you heard people say about authors?

Add-On: The first time I made this post, people listed the following:

  • Authors make a lot of money.
  • Authors make no money.
  • Live on coffee.
  • Everyone an author meets is turned into a book character.
  • Authors are wasting their time.
  • Authors are alcoholics.
  • Author brains are wired differently.  (We’re nuts.)
  • Authors are lonely introverts.
  • Authors publish and sit back to do nothing for promotions.
  • Master procrastinators.
  • Can only write when isolated.
  • Messy, gross, and sleep-deprived.
  • Anti-social, rude, zones out, and asks personal questions.

So, I wonder if anything has changed.

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Teaser Tuesday: Allies, But Not Friends

Posted on July 21, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

Cover Art by Alison Hunt

I haven’t shown much of the other villains within War of Nytefall: Ravenous.  Two that I really enjoy showing off are Kenneth Decker and Archillious.  One is very serious while the other is insane.  They’ve kind of become the Nyte version of Bob and Luther Grathan.  I gave them a great scene that I’m going to partially share here.  Although, things seem to be off with them now.

Continue reading →

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A Hero Without Words

Posted on July 20, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

(Originally posted on September 15, 2014.)

Link from Legend of Zelda

Link from Legend of Zelda

Last week I did some poetry about various hero types that connected to Superman and still had a few more heroes that came to mind.  They didn’t fit into his history, so I’m going to discuss them over the course of this week.  Mostly in list form on how you can use them and what to be cautious of.

Today I’m talking about the silent or limited vocabulary hero.  Any character that doesn’t talk for one reason or another will be a challenge.  How do they communicate, especially in a medium where dialogue is the easiest way to show thoughts?  You can have the reader constantly reading their thoughts, but how does that translate to the other characters?  If the character has limited vocabulary then you have a little more leeway, but there is still a challenge.  This might be why you don’t seem characters like Link and Groot in word-only mediums.

So, what can you do to use this kind of hero?

  1. Body language is an important part of this character.  Facial expressions like scowling, smiling, and frowning can denote emotions.  For limited vocabulary, you can denote a tone of voice.  Physical actions shouldn’t be overlooked, so have characters cross their arms, pace, and do whatever you think a person would do under certain emotional states.  A nervous tic can help here too.
  2. Another character can be their voice like Rocket with Groot in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’.  The translator can take one of two paths.  The first is to openly translate and repeat with the silent/limited character says.  This can be annoying and repetitive as well as confusing.  A cleaner, but more difficult, method is to have the translator talk to their friend in response to a statement with occasional repetition.  For example, the silent character gives a look and the translator goes ‘I thought you were supposed to check her for weapons!’  The interactions with other characters can be a wealth of connection to the reader.
  3. Sign language can be used if you have a system or know ASL.  Writing is another communication technique, but it can’t be done in an emergency.  You can also get away with simple gestures and hand signals.
  4. DO NOT think that a character that doesn’t talk isn’t listening.  I’ve read a few stories where a mute character is portrayed as never understanding what is going on even though they’re not deaf or blind.
  5. Give a reason for the silence or limited vocabulary of a character.  Oath of silence, magical curse, injury, etc.  Some characters can get away with this in some mediums like Link in Legend of Zelda.  A hero that needs only be a surrogate for the reader/player and be talked to is acceptable to a point.  An example of a reason can be the following: I played a martial artist in a role-playing game who made an oath of silence until he rescued his fiancee.  He had psychic powers, so he would communicate occasionally with telepathy and most times it was with his best friend.  You know, I should think about reviving this guy, but I don’t remember his name.

So, can anyone think of any other tips for a silent or limited vocabulary character?  Any favorites of yours that falls into this category?

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National Ice Cream Day

Posted on July 19, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

I never miss this one.  Enjoy a scoop or twenty today.

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Goal Post: Heat and Haze

Posted on July 18, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

Last weekend, I was out at the park from 9:30 am until 7:30 PM.  Both days.  This was for Pokemon Go-Fest, which was fun even if my luck was bad.  My son had a blast hanging out with his friend all day.  He had much better luck them me.  Totally worth the exhaustion, tan, and aching feet.  Needless to say, I entered the weekdays powered by fumes, so things were a slog.

That isn’t to say I made absolutely no progress.  I managed to finish the chapter section of Darwin & the Deadland Queen, which I had to stop halfway through.  I’m hoping to finish the whole chapter before Monday.  If I can get into chapter 3, I’ll be happy.  Not sure if I wrote myself into a corner though.  My notes on the next section don’t feel right, so I might wing it.  It’s a chase/recovery scene with Darwin having a competitor and much of his magic being blocked.  Depending on how long family stays, I might even get to write this scene today.  That will ensure I make some extra progress.  Don’t know if I’m going to get to it this week, but there’s a chance I can finish chapter 3 before next weekend.

I wrote more of the Coven of the Gray outline too.  Not much since I didn’t have much time before school started.  I’m going to try to slip more of that in this week since I should be more rested.  Unfortunately, I haven’t figured out if I want to go with chapters or short stories to tell this tale.  Some of the coven members are coming and going within a chapter, which feels like they’re getting robbed.  Others are sticking around for a while since they wander in and out of the action.  Part of the issue is also that my brain keeps thinking I have to do 13 short stories and that isn’t possible, so I’m not leaning heavy into that idea.  Maybe I need to suck it up and do short story to see where the outline goes.  I know there are smaller numbers that are magical like 9, which is a possibility

Another obstacle to regaining my energy was the heat that kicked off on Tuesday.  It was really rough, especially on Wednesday.  Bad enough that my son and I couldn’t bring ourselves to go outside for Pokemon.  Once the heat starting getting more tolerable, the haze and poor air quality from the Canadian fires showed up.  It wasn’t as bad as it was two or so years ago where the entire area went eerie yellow and you couldn’t see very far in front of you.  The air was still smokey and made it difficult to be outside for very long.  It eased up on Friday, but not enough for my son to go out without a mask and his inhaler unless we went to the coast.  Rain today should clear some of it out.

This coming week is going to be messy.  Not only because of the rain, but the life event will be advancing.  So, I have to put some time aside earlier in the week to go through things and send stuff out.  Will this be where it ends?  I doubt it, but it will be nice for some closure to appear.  The biggest reason I can’t do much writing this summer is because of the fallout from this event.  This is more important than writing and it’s draining my mood, which makes it hard to make Darwin a happy, positive character.  Being able to free myself from any level of stress would be nice.  Another reason I need to rest up this weekend, but I’m really only going to have tomorrow.  Family is visiting today and I promised my son I’d take him to a One Piece store opening this morning and then a Pokemon event later.

I’m also trying to think of a new trip to take with my son in the future.  It has to be by car, which limits what we can do.  Moreso if gas prices get any higher.  I swear those things were going down at the start of the month and suddenly they jumped up again in the last week.  Anyway, I might use this as a way to distract myself from stressors when I can’t get to my writing.  Pretty much when I’m so tired that I lie down, but my brain decides I’m not allowed to pass out.  Part of me feels bad that I can’t take my son to places that require plane travel on top of a hotel.  That’s just how it is, I guess.  Simply existing is really expensive these days, so special things are a challenge.

Goals of the week:

  1. Keep affording to exist.
  2. Write more Darwin & the Deadland Queen.
  3. Work more on Coven of the Gray.
  4. Time with son when he’s here.
  5. Might as well go to work.
  6. Prepare for and deal with life event.
  7. Stay dry.
  8. Get a rice bowl for lunch or dinner at some point.  Been a while.
  9. Lego work when I need a screen break.
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The Dangers of Dungeons: Mazes and Traps

Posted on July 17, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

(Originally posted January 15, 2014.)

Yahoo Image Search

Yahoo Image Search

One of the big standards of fantasy adventure books are traps and mazes.  The latter isn’t as common as the former and I can already hear some people groaning about the topic because they think these are terrible concepts.  Dungeon crawling in a book can be tedious and is more action than anything else.  You can have part of a book involve a trap-filled ruin, but you need to try to have it be big, essential, and put some character development in there.  Most importantly, the heroes need a real reason to be in there.  Rescuing a kidnapped ally, cure for a disease of one of the main characters, returning an artifact that could destroy the world, and things that are larger in scale than ‘find the random, possibly shiny treasure’.

First, mazes are relatively simple in and of themselves.  Characters wander and talk while dealing with wrong turns and traps.  This can be used for character relationship development, especially if you’ve built up a plot between them that has to be discussed.  It helps to draw a crude map of the maze to give yourself a feel for it.  Though, you can also get away without giving exact directions.  ‘Time passes’ and chapter breaks can be your friend here.

Second, when working with ancient ruins or dungeons or any trap-filled place, you need to consider a few questions:

  • Is this a place that can be easily accessed?
  • Is this a place that has been lost to the ages and recently found?
  • How fresh are the bodies of failed adventurers?  Are there any?

The reason these questions are important revolves around the entrance.  If it’s well-known and wide open then anyone can go in there and you need to make it look that way.  If it’s difficult to get to and you want it to feel abandoned then you need a hidden door or entrance puzzle.  These questions also help you figure out the trap types because some people wonder how a trap resets if several people have sprung it over the years.  Easy way to solve this is to put a living threat in the ruins that has the ability and instructions to reset the traps.  Gelatinous Cubes are not acceptable.

Yahoo Image Search

Yahoo Image Search

This brings us to traps, which are one of the standards of fantasy adventures.  Any adventures really.  From Indiana Jones running away from a boulder to James Bond in a booby-trapped elevator, traps are nasty surprises that an author can have fun with.  In fantasy, you have magic to work with and that opens a few interesting doors.  Fictional poisons, spells, and monsters can play into this.  You have pitfalls, arrow traps, swinging blades, fire traps, water traps, ejection traps, poison gas, boulders, illusions hiding spikes, setting off ghosts, falling into monster-infested pits, electricity traps, eternal sleep traps, explosions, Gelatinous Cubes (the bastards!), force fields, and overly complicated death machines. Just to name a fraction of them.  Here are a few general tips if you plan on using traps:

  1. Create the way out before writing.  One of the biggest threats to a trap is that the way out is random and ridiculous.  It doesn’t have to be clear to you, but have the general idea that a character needs to do a specific action.
  2. Make it believable that the heroes can find and avoid the traps.  Ignore if you plan on killing them off with the trap, but then people might realize that when they see they’re on the last page.
  3. Overly complicated traps can have simple answers and probably should.  After all, if it’s a terrifying death machine then people will think big.  They might not immediately consider a simple, obvious method like looking for a button.
  4. Make sure the heroes can escape without outside influences and remember why that has to happen.  People ask what the point of a trap is if there’s a way out and here is my answer.  A person who makes a trap would design it with an escape in case they fell into it or it was used against them.  All you need is one gnome reverse engineering your electric fire pit trap and you’ll find it everywhere.
  5. Please make most of your traps lethal.  Spitting darts the size of a fingernail without poison on them isn’t going to scare anyone.
  6. You don’t have to sacrifice a character to demonstrate the danger of a trap.  Standing within a room of death or dangling over a shark pit can do wonders for suspense.  It also keeps readers on their toes for if you’ll really kill a character.

Now, a lot of people don’t like these things in literature because they fall into the ‘cliche’ category.  My suggestion is to do it if it fits the story and ignore the complaints.  The important part is that the traps, mazes, and dungeons make sense within the story.  So don’t use them as filler and make sure to give them a purpose.

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Poetry Day: The Point Is?

Posted on July 16, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

(The point of life?  Damned if I know.)

Is there any point?
To most of what we do.
Toiling time away.
Ignoring fallen dreams.

 

We earn our own survival.
But give up a life well-lived.
No stories will be told.
That involve our daily grind.

 

Too many traps upon the road.
To suck away your chances.
Greed of those around you.
Forging guilt if you try to soar.

 

Who thought that this was good?
That most will waste their lives.
Many corpses buried.
Among their shattered aspirations.

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