Category Archives: Thoughts

Exotic Pets in Fantasy: Raise Your Hand If You Just Imagined a Dragon

Posted on May 18, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

Something that comes up from time to time in fantasy is heroes or villains having unique pets.  These can be real animals or monsters, but it really comes down to it being something you don’t normally see.  For example, Lost’s … Continue reading →

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Let’s Talk about Stress

Posted on April 27, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

Stress is brutal.  In small doses, it can drive us ahead, but how often do we get the proper amount?  The longer I live, the more I meet people who are either unstressed to the point of being unmotivated and … Continue reading →

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When Villains Go Hero

Posted on April 24, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

On-going series will have multiple villains in order to keep things fresh.  You need different enemies with a variety of ambitions to make sure it’s not the same adventure over and over again.  Yet, you run into a problem down … Continue reading →

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Thoughts on Villain Team-Ups: Is It a Limited Tactic?

Posted on April 20, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

Villains teaming up is a classic twist to a series.  You have two established characters who don’t necessarily share a common enemy.  Yet, they work together for the same goal, which causes the heroes to do the same.  It happens … Continue reading →

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The One-Time Use Power

Posted on April 13, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

Back when I wrote my topic list, I had a bunch of examples for what I’m talking about here, but I forgot them.  Sorry about that.  I did remember one that really brings the general idea to the forefront.  Couldn’t … Continue reading →

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Do You Avoid or Tackle Mental Health Issues in Fiction?

Posted on April 6, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

I bring up mental health a lot here.  Usually, it’s in regards to the topic itself and not connecting it to writing.  Well, I’m going to switch that up here.  Wednesday and Friday are going to be some 7 Tip … Continue reading →

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My Book Categories

Posted on April 3, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

So, I got to thinking about how most of my books fall into umbrella categories.  These are groupings that range from massive to small, but it does show I have a weird series of patterns: Core–  Legends of Windemere, Quest … Continue reading →

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When an Idea Twists in Real Time

Posted on March 23, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

War of Nytefall: Eradication had something fairly unique among all of my published stories.  There was a big plan, but a key component of the story was trapped in a bizarre state of uncertainty.  I knew there would be a secret … Continue reading →

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Putting Cliffhangers in a Series

Posted on March 18, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

This came up in conversation and I thought about while coming to the end of War of Nytefall: Eradication.  When writing a series, you tend to have 3 types of books: The opener, which introduces at least some characters, begins … Continue reading →

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7 Tips to Using Cults in Fantasy

Posted on March 16, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

Originally, I was going to talk about cults and religions in fantasy, but I realized that it could paint the wrong picture.  Does Leo Kandrel lead a cult in War of Nytefall: Eradication?  Yes.  Is the cult connected to Durag the … Continue reading →

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