Revisiting: Addiction in Fiction

Posted on May 4, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

(Originally posted on September 28, 2020.)

This might be simplifying up above, but it does come off that way at times.  As I said on Friday, War of Nytefall: Ravenous has a very serious subplot that deals with addiction.  You might be wondering how I could add that into a fantasy action adventure series about vampires.  Well, it wasn’t easy, but I tackled PTSD in Legends of Windemere to some extent, so why not plunge into a sensitive topic this time?  My third series will be more light-hearted . . . I think.  Anyway, I’m going to talk about how I went about adding this into the story.

Over my lifetime, I’ve interacted with recovered addicts and those who I would later learn were current addicts.  I’ve read it from a science and personal story perspective as well as watching videos.  Being born in the 1980’s, I was nearly bombarded with the concept of addiction and how destructive it could be.  In college, I wandered through articles about the psychology around it as well.  One thing that always struck me is that many addicts reach a point where they want to stop, but can’t do it.  It’s when you need friends and family the most, which is an on-going concept in Nytefall.  Many characters get their strength from those around them, which is another reason I thought that this could be a perfect opportunity to tackle the subject.

Another thing I’ve learned is that everyone reacts to addiction stories differently.  It can depend on what the person is addicted to.  Notice that I haven’t given a specific here, but I’m sure people have thought only of drugs and alcohol.  Anyway, people do have more sympathy for some addictions than others.  Others immediately look down on the addict and consider them a worthless character even if they recover.  There is a lot of judgement when it comes to addiction in real life and it carries over into fiction.  Sadly, these judgments are rarely nice or sympathetic.  When somebody doesn’t pull out of their spiral even with help, we can get frustrated and think that they truly don’t want to.  This may be true in some cases, but others are simply that they can’t.  People ignore the psychology behind this, which can include anxiety, depression, self-destruction, and a sense that one is defined entirely by their addiction.  I considered all of this when I tackled this subject in my book.  Can’t say it goes off perfectly, but I’d like to think I made one where you can get the sense that there is more to it than ‘needing a hit’.

Addiction can be triggered by many things.  The desire to fit in is one that we tend to forget and it can be overshadowed by a sense of rebellion.  Peer pressure can be really destructive for those who are already psychologically struggling to find their place.  Keep in mind that these people could have been turned to healthier paths, but they weren’t for one reason or another.  It could be that they were targeted by someone with dark intentions or the healthier groups already ostracized them.  You never know.  This also shows that anxiety and depression can lead one to addiction as well.  It’s the whole dulling of pain and distracting yourself mentality.  You can’t cope with the powerful emotions, so you try to kill them off.  You can end up destroying the positive emotions along with the negative and leaving only the numbness.  Again, this depend on the addiction.  I’m definitely leaning more towards drugs and alcohol here, but others have a similar effect.

Adding addiction into War of Nytefall was a difficult decision and it came about during a rewrite of an outline.  I realized that the character was in so much pain that they couldn’t shrug it off.  They were drawing into themselves, but then had moments where they were incredibly manic.  I gave them an addiction to see if it explained things and it created this agonizing, raw subplot.  Not only watching the person go through the addiction, but those around them trying to help.  Never forget that you have to factor in how people react to the problem.  That was probably the hardest part.  It’s easy to have a character do the physical act of addiction.  Emotions and psychology of them and their loved ones are harder because you need to open yourself to some uncomfortable truths.  Not everyone can understand the mentality.  Not everyone will support that person.  There can be times where things are made worse.  People can start to recover and fall again.  It’s simply how it seems to work.

So, what do you think about addiction in fiction?

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International Wild Koala Day

Posted on May 3, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

(I made a post about koalas on July 7th, 2024.  Since it’s their holiday, I thought it would be better to just repost it instead of doing something new.  Call it lazy or call it recycling.  Your choice.)

The koala is a little, leaf-eating marsupial from Australia, which many people recognize as quickly as the kangaroo.  They are also called koala bears even though they are related to wombats more than bears.  Part of this is because their faces are circular with round ears, big eyes, and fluffy ears like a teddy bear.  I will say that I’ve seen the phrase used much less as an adult than I did as a child, so maybe it’s a kid thing.

Koalas was least as vulnerable until Australia listed them as endangered in 2022.  Their population is between 100,000 and 500,000.  Threats to the koala are the usual suspects due to humans living nearby.  Many get hit by cars or killed by dogs.  Habitat destruction is an issue since they can be very picky eaters even with eucalyptus species.  Climate change is damaging the eucalyptus trees as well, so their only food source is not as plentiful.  Finally, they have a major problem with chlamydia, which causes blindness and infertility.  Populations being pushed into smaller territories makes this disease more likely to spread.

So, what are some fun koala facts?

  1. They have 5 digits on each hand with the front ones have 2 digits opposed to help with climbing.
  2. The hind paws have the 2nd and 3rd digits fused together to act as a grooming claw.
  3. Koalas are nocturnal, but usually sleep 18-20 hours a day.
  4. They sleep a lot because it takes a lot of energy for them to safely digest the toxic eucalyptus leaves, which give them very little nutrition in the first place.
  5. Each koala has a collection of home trees to create their territory.  They are the only ones to visit these trees for food and rest.
  6. Females are fully mature by age 2 and males by age 3 or 4.
  7. Koalas get all of their water from the leaves they eat, but they will drink during droughts or fires.
  8. They have keen senses of smell, which allows them to pick out the best, most nutritious leaves on a tree.
  9. Males have scent glands in the middle of their chests to mark their territory.
  10. Males can live up to 12 years while females live up to 15.
  11. Babies are called joeys and are born blind and without ears, so they find the pouch by touch and smell.
  12. Babies stay in the pouch for 6 months before coming out to ride on their mother’s back.
  13. Koalas can eat 0.5 to 1 kilogram of eucalyptus leaves per night.
  14. Koala brains are very smooth and only make up 0.2% of their body weight.  This is one of the lowest ratios of all mammals.
  15. Their brain is adapted for low-energy living, which is why it doesn’t have as many wrinkles.  Basically, they don’t do complex thinking because they don’t need to.

Now for the pictures and videos everyone enjoys.

Posted in Animal Posts | Tagged , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Goal Post: I Got Nothing Left In The Tank

Posted on May 2, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

The title might be an exaggeration, but I’m beat.  It was chaos and stress from Monday through Friday evening.  Maybe it was the full moon last night, but many people were highly agitated and wild.  Needless to say, I didn’t get any writing done because I always came home and tried not to collapse.

I did get some general thinking on Coven of the Gray done.  No real decision on if I’m going with ‘Gray’ or ‘Grey’, but I’m leaning toward the first because the second makes me think of vodka.  Anyway, I’m doing something psychologically risky with this one, which requires that I delve into some psychology theories.  Nothing too complicated, but it makes me feel like I need to really plan the connections.  I took a full weekend to come up with the general plot and the Coven’s purpose/downfall.  So, I think I should do the same with the main character.

While I already have a general traumatic background and physical appearance set, I need to really think about how the powers work.  What can he do with absorbed light?  What about absorbed darkness?  I also want to have a list of returning memories (good and bad) that will be triggered by his victories.  Thought of having these be a scene at the start of every chapter/short story, but I worry that would be repetitive.  It would be like he has to repeatedly come out of a trance before moving on.  So, I might have some be full scenes and others be things he talks about coming back.  I’m also unsure if I should have them be evenly split between good and bad memories or have it skew towards more trauma returning to his mind.  A central concept here is how a person who is drowning in negativity will gravitate towards negative thoughts and perceptions.  I worry doing this would drive readers away because it can get dark.

In other news, my allergies and the weather were beating me up too.  Wish I knew of a way to help with the first issue because my meds aren’t getting me through the entire day.  I’m trying to hydrate a lot to keep my throat and lungs moist, but that’s not easy when I’m busy at work.  Mostly because I can’t keep rushing to the bathroom whenever I need and dancing in front my students would be silly.  Anybody do something that helps with the pollen attacks?

Only other big thing was that I decided to work summer school again.  Wasn’t a big decision since I was planning on it anyway, but I submitted a letter now.  It means I’m going to be busy and unable to do full days of writing, but that’s fine.  Spending the summer with my students helps them and makes sure that I’m aware of any changes.  I also won’t say no to the money since my son has one more school year before he’s off to college.  Though, that’s extra because I do have fun during the summer.  I get stressed too, but I have fun on the trips.  My son might be working as well, so this keeps me busy and out of the house.

Wish I had more to share, but the push from Spring Break to end of the year is always chaotic.  I will get some character creation done this weekend, but I also want to get out of the house.  Yes, there’s pollen out there, but I was cooped up in a school, car, or house for most of the week.  I need freedom and socializing at a Pokemon event.  If can finish off the protagonist and start thinking about the female character who will be traveling with him then it’s a win.  Not sure of the psychological aspects to relate to her or if I simply want another character to allow for dialogue.  She’s not going to like the guy, but she isn’t going to know why . . . Eh, I’ll figure it out.

Next week is going to be more of the same.  Think there’s a field trip and my son might have a concert.  The life event has some stuff going on too.  It leads to a busy Saturday as well, which I won’t get into yet.  Then there is Mother’s Day, which I need to figure out for a few reasons.  Got the cards though.

Goals of the week:

  1. Finish creating protagonist of Coven of the Gray
  2. Improve sleeping habits.
  3. Help son with homework if he allows it.
  4. Lego time when I need a screen break.
  5. Hydrate!
  6. Socialize when possible, which usually means Pokemon.
  7. Talk to son about college and future.  He usually starts these talks.
  8. Defeat the constant urge to turn off my alarm and call in sick . . . Unless I really am sick because there’s always something going around at a school.
  9. Make a few September posts if I feel like.

 

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Mental Health And Art

Posted on May 1, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

After talking about A.I. and art, I’ve come to an interesting segue.  May is Mental Health Awareness Month.  This is very important to me because I feel people ignore mental health all the time.  Not only that of other people, but their own.  We come up with excuses on why it’s okay to push ourselves towards panic attacks and depression.  Medications become the only thing that some people bother to use to gain any sense of normalcy, which isn’t how it should be.  There are other things that can be used alongside medications, therapy, and meditation.  One of those is:

Art

You can release so much by creating art.  It can be a book, poem, painting, photography, video, or anything.  By putting your emotions into it, you can come to an understanding of yourself.  One of the biggest dangers of mental illness, in my mind, is keeping the darkness pent up.  You know it’s there and ignore it.  You hide it.  This allows it to fester and wait for your guard to slip.  Maybe it’s when you’re distracted or as you fall asleep, but you will give it an opening.  Then, it will explode out of you.  So, it makes more sense to have period releases of the pain, anxiety, etc. into art.

Keep in mind that this isn’t always art that you share.  Yes, I write books and poems that I share, but that is my choice.  I slip parts of myself into it because I don’t fully reveal what parts are therapeutic to me.  Then again, I don’t hide that I have an anxiety disorder and suffer from constant doubts.  There are some traumas that I don’t openly put out in the open, but I’ve slipped them into my art a bit.  You would never know it though.  All of that is my choice, so a person who uses art to maintain and improve their mental health don’t have to do the same.

I feel like a benefit of using art to help with mental health is that you don’t even have to be trained in it.  Just let the words, paint, motions, or anything flow.  This is art that a person is doing to heal and release any negativity they have.  The only audience one has when doing art for this reason is themselves.  Nobody else should matter, which is why it isn’t a requirement to share.  If it turns into something that you can publish, sell, or hold up to help others then that’s great.  Yet, it isn’t the reason why art can be an essential tool for mental health stability and recovery.

Now, I’m talking about this from my own perspective.  I know there are studies out there about this.  I know there’s art therapy as well, which I’m going to get into next Friday.  In fact, I’m going to make a post about mental health and art every Friday for the entire month of May.  The rest of the month I’ll be reposting stuff on writing about or dealing with mental health because I apparently did a lot of those.  I hope all are informative and can make others both understand the importance of art for mental health and that they aren’t the only ones who may use it as an outlet.

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Poetry Day: The Human Cat

Posted on April 30, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

Thundercats (Close enough)

(So, this poem is part of a duo with the other coming next week.  Pretty sure people can guess what it will be.  The idea stemmed from talking to someone about how there are cat people and dog people.  It’s usually about the animal you like, but we took a few steps further.)

We are wandering souls
That wishes you to come along
Tempting you to adventure
Instead of mindless toiling
But you are free to stay

We are independent beings
Entertaining our own minds
Not needing anyone for much
We will ask if we want attention
Or force it from your time

We call all the shots
If abused we will fight back
Turning quicker than you think
Making sure we win the match
And you will never try again

Enjoy the ride with a feline friend
You never know our moods
Will we give you some affection
Maybe an hour of our day
Or claw you without care

Posted in Poems | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Questions 3: The Future of Art

Posted on April 29, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

I’m worried about the future of art.  If most, or all, forms of art are taken over by A.I. then humanity will lose something.  I mean the publicly shared stuff too.  Many people don’t try to make art as it is because there’s no money in it.  That number will grow because people will grow up not realizing humans can do or be allowed to create such things.  Is this fairly extreme?  Yes, but it isn’t impossible.  Companies and those who care ONLY about money will see A.I. as a way to make art without a pesky artist in the way.  Nobody asking for royalties, fighting over adaptations, or any number of ‘challenges’ a human artist would create for a money-focused being.

The pendulum can always swing back afterwards, but I doubt it would be in my lifetime if it gets this far.  People will have to no longer want A.I. art, but that could be an issue if that’s all there is. Keep in mind that art is what we use to relax.  If we aren’t creating it then we’re absorbing it.  To give up on A.I. art when it is all we are given would mean an entire generation would have to sacrifice multiple forms of relaxation.  That doesn’t seem possible to me, especially since art can be a major tool to handling mental illness.  So, a disaster could feasibly occur.

To be clear, this is if a person has an A.I. do everything with no human influence over the work.  I remember seeing articles about A.I. actors. Why wouldn’t the same be done to authors, painters, directors, clothing designers, cartoonists, and everyone?  We talk a lot about a slippery slope in various situations, but this is one that I find to be much more believable than those.  There are no rules and restrictions on A.I. usage right now.  If the wealthy who can use this to make more money don’t want those things then they aren’t going to be created.  That means those of us who want to do art as a side gig or get into it as a main job will be in trouble.  How does a human compete with an A.I. in terms of speed of production and cost effectiveness?

That’s my opinion.  Here are other questions, which I guess puts it at 6 instead of 3:

  1. What do you think humanity would lose if it only has A.I. art?
  2. What restrictions would you put on A.I. to make sure humans can still make it as artists?
  3. How do you think a generation would be if they grew up being taught that only A.I. can make art?
Posted in Questions 3 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

A New Book By Sally Cronin – Tales from the Irish Garden – The Missing Pieces

Posted on April 29, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

I am pleased to help announce Sally Cronin’s newest book, Tales from the Irish Garden – The Missing Pieces. As you know, Sally is a large supporter …

A New Book By Sally Cronin – Tales from the Irish Garden – The Missing Pieces
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Teaser Tuesday: Preparing For Wights

Posted on April 28, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

Cover art by Jason Pedersen CLICK PICTURE FOR AMAZON SITE

Cover art by Jason Pedersen
CLICK PICTURE FOR AMAZON SITE

Continue reading →

Posted in Legends of Windemere, Teaser Tuesday, The Mercenary Prince | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Thoughts on A.I. Authors

Posted on April 27, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

I’ve been on the fence about openly talking about A.I. at length because I wasn’t really sure where I stood.  I mean, I didn’t like that people were writing books over the course of a weekend with A.I. Came off as a bad sign as the future of art made by actual humans.  Still, I heard people saying using it for editing was helpful.  Well, I think I’ve finally figured a few things out for myself.

First, I do understand how A.I. can be a useful tool in terms of editing.  Seems like it can tell you if something doesn’t feel natural or whatever.  Almost like getting the opinion of another human, but it still lacks the nuance and finesse that comes with having an organic brain.  I’m sure it can make sure you have spelling consistency and won’t repeat words too often.  On the other hand, I can’t be certain it won’t have a hemorrhage with fantasy names like spellchecker does.  You would still have to plug in enough information there for the A.I. to come up with something close to your dreams.  I would hope, but I guess a person can just put in ‘Write a fantasy story about a farmer becoming a great wizard’ and then publish what comes out.

That’s my worry on this whole A.I. thing, especially when I read about companies training their programs on books.  There was a big kerfuffle over one A.I. and I found out that a few of my Windemere books were fed to this thing.  I really don’t like that because it means versions of what I wrote can be puked out into another story, but I wouldn’t have any clue or way to stop it.  An A.I. can’t really make anything original because it can only work with what it’s already been given.  That means, the same stories, characters, twists, and everything will be around.  Readers get on a human author’s back for coming off as something else, so A.I. won’t do any better.

Yet, I have a bad feeling people won’t care.  Having a book written by A.I. is going to be a novelty, which will be used to overshadow repeated plots or lackluster writing.  I haven’t read any A.I. stuff, but I can’t imagine it would have the true emotion that a human can push into their writing.  Something will be lacking unless these programs are designed to emulate emotions to realistic levels.  Feeding them enough information could do that, but I don’t know how truly effective a sad scene will be from something that has never known sorrow.  ‘Write what you know’ would go out the window as far as emotional scenes are concerned.

Another aspect that I think about is how there will still be human authors, but there won’t be many.  I feel like those will be the ones who are already at the top and those who know others.  Indie authors are barely a thing now, but A.I. could wipe them out, which means not many new faces.  That is extreme, but I can see there being less at the very least.  Why would publishers who are in it for money want to bother with a human author when they can grab an A.I. and crank something out?  There is a sense of artistic integrity, but I can’t always be certain that’s a universal interest.

Honestly, I kind of dancing around my biggest fear: The removal of human expression and history.  I think art is one the oldest and most essential aspects of humanity.  Our species were making cave paintings to depict events, but they were still art.  It feels like all artistic mediums began as a way to pass on knowledge and history to new generations.  If A.I. takes art away then we are going to lose something.  Humans need art whether they realize it or not.  If they aren’t creating it, they’re indulging or utilizing it in some way.  The clothes we wear, the homes we live in, and everything else in our lives have some artistic aesthetic.  Why have A.I. take that from our species?

As I said, I know it can be a useful tool, which is fine.  Yet, I can also see how those who are more interested in money would uses it crank out art with no soul.  Remember years ago when you have authors putting out 99 cent books every few days with no editing and hastily made covers?  The ones who saw the indie author boom and decided to make some quick cash then vanish.  I feel A.I. books will be worse because you can’t shame a program into going away.  Those behind it aren’t going to be the types to look at comments or care as long as they get their money and possible series/movie deal.  Am I being pessimistic?  Probably.  I just have trouble thinking it’s a good thing that A.I. is being used more for art, research (critical thinking skills), and everything other than the mundane things you simply have to do to survive.  As the image says, I want A.I. to do my laundry or clean my bathroom instead of writing my books.

Posted in Thoughts | Tagged , , , , , , , | 28 Comments

Unicorn of the Sea: The Narwhal

Posted on April 26, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

The Narwhal is a tusked whale that lives in icy waters.  Due to this long tooth growing out of its head, people compare it to a unicorn.  Surprisingly, it is not endangered, but it was considered threatened up until 2017.  Good to know they’re making a comeback.  Also, that they’re real because many people think they’re fantasy creatures.

What are some narwhal facts?

  • Narwhals live in arctic waters.
  • While the long protrusion from a male’s head looks like a horn, it is actually tooth, which makes it a tusk.
  • Tusks are used to sense their environment, but they are not essential considering only 15% of females have them.
  • Tusks are thought to be used primarily for mating displays and fighting.
  • Tusks have around 10 million nerve endings.
  • Males can occasionally grow two tusks.
  • Narwhals can dive over 1,500 meters down.
  • They can hold their breath for around 25 minutes.
  • To help them swim beneath the ice, they have evolved to lack a dorsal fin.
  • They feed by suction, which means they create a vacuum to inhale fish whole.
  • Narwhals grow 13-18 feet long and can weigh 1,800-4,200 pounds.

Seems they are big mystery.  That’s really all of the interesting facts.  Be amazing to see them in the wild.  Let’s see some pics and videoes:

Posted in Animal Posts | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments