Category Archives: Thoughts

The Karmic Twist . . . Or Is It Ironic Twist?

Posted on March 15, 2023 by Charles Yallowitz

In reality, I don’t entirely believe in karma. At the very least, I think it misses most of the time.  That’s not what this post is about, but it is a big reason why I have trouble putting it into … Continue reading →

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The Unlucky Lucky Character

Posted on March 13, 2023 by Charles Yallowitz

A few months back, I watched an action, dark comedy called ‘Bullet Train’.  This post isn’t about the plot, but about the main character played by Brad Pitt.  They call him Ladybug, which is considered lucky.  Yet, he talks about … Continue reading →

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Bludgeoning Time!

Posted on March 6, 2023 by Charles Yallowitz

Typically, there are three styles of melee weapons.  You have slashing where you swing and cut like edged swords and axes.  Then there is piercing/stabbing, which include your non-edged swords and spears. Finally, you have the third one that doesn’t … Continue reading →

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Society Wants You to Hide Your Pain?

Posted on February 27, 2023 by Charles Yallowitz

Yeah, we’re going to have another week of mental health posts.  I know this is an author blog, but I think touching on these topics is a good thing.  People need to speak out about mental health and have discussions … Continue reading →

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The Smartest Hero in the Room

Posted on February 20, 2023 by Charles Yallowitz

One of the hardest characters to write may be the genius hero.  This is the one who knows about everything and supplies answers to all questions.  He might not even be in the main cast, but he’s there to make … Continue reading →

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Origins of Monsters

Posted on February 17, 2023 by Charles Yallowitz

Creating monsters for a fantasy world can be done in a variety of ways.  None of them are better than the others, so the author can use the one that suits them best.  It doesn’t even have to be one … Continue reading →

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Is It Easy to Write Monsters?

Posted on February 13, 2023 by Charles Yallowitz

Fairly certain that I’ve tackled this topic before.  I felt like doing it again because the question still comes up.  Since fantasy authors are known for having strange creatures in their stories, people wonder how they design them.  Is there … Continue reading →

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Dealing with Narrator Bias

Posted on February 6, 2023 by Charles Yallowitz

The terms ‘Narrator Bias’ and ‘Unreliable Narrator’ come up from time to time.  In general, they denote that a story is being told with a skewed point of view.  You get a sense that you aren’t seeing events as they … Continue reading →

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Magic Schools Beyond the Norm

Posted on February 1, 2023 by Charles Yallowitz

Two of the anime my son and I have watched are ‘Fairy Tail’ and ‘Black Clover’.  We finished the former and are halfway through the latter.  He loves these series because they have magic.  I enjoy them too.  It took … Continue reading →

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Need a Monster? Make an Animal Gigantic

Posted on January 25, 2023 by Charles Yallowitz

One of the most common ways to come up with a monster is to simply go large.  These are traditionally called ‘dire’ beasts, which simply means these are animals that are bigger than normal.  They also tend to be more … Continue reading →

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