Poetry Day: Do We Miss the Point?

Posted on March 16, 2023 by Charles Yallowitz

Alucard from Hellsing (Best I could find)

(I wrote this one way back in 2013.  Kind of messed up that I can’t remember the incident that triggered the poem, but I can connect it to so many since that day.  I still ask this same question at times even though I know the answers is ‘yes’.)

I saw an article
Posted on the web
It spoke of murder
On a horrific scale
A man deranged and dark
Slaughtered
A group of innocents
Whose time should not have come

 

I broke my promise
To avoid the comments
Because they used to make me mad
Idiots behind their screens
Never thinking before typing
Yet I thought it would be different
I wanted to see the compassion
For those that went away

 

I should have kept the promise
For my anger rose quite fast
Political rhetoric
Religious fervor
Atheist victory cheers
Gun demonization
Gun worship
They fill the comments full

 

I stare at my screen
Amazed and disgusted
Having to search hard
To find a polite post
A prayer for those who passed
Good wishes to the families
I seek something positive
So I do not despise my species

 

Do we miss the point?
Ignoring the truth of events
People have died
A human monster’s evil act
Has caused such pain and loss
Yet these fools start fights
Over gods and men
Who are praying for the fallen

Posted in Poems | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

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

Posted on March 15, 2023 by Charles Yallowitz

Morticia Addams

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 stories.  How do I think it’s supposed to work?

I tend to put karma and irony in the same bucket.  Not only because I have a terrible grasp of each one.  It’s because I see both as having a character get their comeuppance in some fashion.  A character receives a reward or punishment, usually the latter, that is connected to their actions.  For example, the villain who is abusive to their pet cat and they end up getting eaten by a tiger.  I guess that’s irony, but it’s also supposed to be how karma has finally caught up to them.

People do seem to enjoy these twists.  Although, I find it hard to call these story events twists.  If something is a twist, I’d like to think it’s a surprise.  A lot of times karma is used, people can see it coming from a mile away.  This is because it tends to be used as the final punishment for a villain and combined with irony.  Audiences will start planning out how they would make a disliked character suffer from karma catching up to them, which tends to be giving them a taste of their own medicine.  So, they’ll be looking for the signs when they realize it’s reaching the conflict resolution stage.

You might think that not doing a karmic twist is the way to go.  It can, but then you’ll have people annoyed that the villains didn’t suffer the right way.  That or the villains get away, which has people saying that the story shows reality where the bad guys win without karma even sneezing in their direction.  It’s kind of funny how karma/irony is barely understood by most people, but so many expect it to be used in every story that they read or watch.

Thinking about it, I can’t remember if I ever used karmic twists in my stories.  I’m going to assume that it was a big thing for villains in Bedlam.  That series really did have the vibe of bad guys practically announcing how they were going to die.  The thing is that I don’t believe I would have planned it with karma in mind.  All I did was write my stories and noted when the villain would be defeated or die.  Same goes for any heroes who might have been struck by karma.  It was all spur of the moment decisions that my brain told me felt right.  Maybe that’s how these kind of story twists should go?  Let them be natural, organic, and a surprise to the author.

On the other hand, I can see how some preparation is needed.  For the irony version of karma to strike, you need to set it up.  That way, people know there’s some kind of cosmic influence over what they’re seeing.  Keep in mind that many karmic/ironic twists in action-focused stories will go the route of bizarre coincidence.  Without some early hint, the twist can be seen as random and closer to a Looney Tune episode.  If that’s not the tone you’re going for then it’s going to have a negative effect.  For example, take the villain mentioned earlier who abuses their cat and gets eaten by a lion.  If that fate is simply unleashed without warning then you get this:

(Yes, I know OJ Simpson is in it.  My love for Leslie Nielsen gets me through watching these movies again.  Comic gold.)

Anyway, karma really does need some kind of foundation.  Otherwise, it’s a random fate for a villain.  Closer to a shock event than a karmic one.  Both have their uses, but they aren’t interchangeable.

So, what do you think about karmic twists in fiction?

Posted in Thoughts | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Writing the End – Part V

Posted on March 15, 2023 by Charles Yallowitz

Greetings Storytellers.  I’m back with my final thoughts on how to end our books. So far, in this series, we’ve covered: Part I – Why Endings are …

Writing the End – Part V
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Teaser Tuesday: Fizzle on a Mission

Posted on March 14, 2023 by Charles Yallowitz

Cover Art by Jason Pedersen

This scene from  Legends of Windemere: The Compass Key has one of, if not THE, most popular character of the series.  Everyone loved Fizzle.  That or those who hated him didn’t tell me.  Anyway, this was one of his big scenes in the entire series.  Check out the rest of the adventure in the 99 cent ebook or the $15 paperback.

Continue reading →

Posted in Legends of Windemere, Teaser Tuesday, The Compass Key | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

The Unlucky Lucky Character

Posted on March 13, 2023 by Charles Yallowitz

Bullet Train

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 and proves to have bad luck.  He also seems to have good luck.  How does this work?

Well, it’s both simple on paper, but appears to be difficult to pull off.  An unlucky lucky character will routinely wander into bad situations.  They just can’t stay out of trouble, which is why they end up in their adventure.  These are the types who will think they’re in the clear and step into a room to find every enemy and their 9th grade math teacher just hanging around.  It isn’t like the character was walking into a trap, but they are no running and fighting for their lives again.  The lucky part is simply that they always manage to get away and win.  It’s usually not by their own actions, but by a freak accident that goes in their favor.

I’m sure people can think of other heroes who stumble into their adventure.  It’s basically a staple of action movies, especially when there’s a comedic tone.  I keep thinking about Bruce Willis here since ‘Die Hard’ and ‘The Fifth Element’ have a lot of unlucky lucky hero aspects.  It’s this ‘curse’ that manages to keep the action and story moving since they can’t get out of the situation.  As long as the plot has yet to be resolved, these heroes are trapped in the tight grip of fate.  It’s like a story about destiny, but without the nobility or the hero’s full consent.  Many times the hero complains about their plight even though they repeatedly come out on top.

That odd negativity is a common staple of these characters too.  They aren’t necessarily pessimistic, but they have a sense of their bad luck.  One may hope for the best or to finish the adventure, but they aren’t that surprised when things go wrong.  Of course, they will hit a level of pessimism once too much has gone wrong.  At that point, they can’t really deny that they were born under a black cloud.  This is where some dark humor can come into play or the character starts testing the extent of their bad luck.  Maybe they’ll walk out into the middle of a gunfight to see if they’ll get shot.  Up to the author if they do or another bizarre accident saves them.

After watching ‘Bullet Train’, I still can’t seem to figure out what the appeal of the unlucky lucky character is.  I enjoy watching these characters, but I can’t put my finger on why they entertain me so much.  Is it the comedic aspect since I like humor?  That could be it.  Is it that I personally think it’s realistic for a person to wandering into a bad situation and flail their way to victory?  Possibly, but that isn’t very common.  It could really just be that this type of character and story keeps me guessing.  I know something will go wrong, but I don’t know what or how.  I know the hero will survive, but I don’t know how or in what condition.  I mean, these types of heroes tend to get a beating and finish with quite a few injuries.

From the writing perspective, these can’t be as easy to write as one thinks.  I would say Darwin Slepsnor falls into this category since he stumbles into his adventures.  He does have some luck too.  Going by that, I always have a challenge in finding a balance between him controlling his path and bad/good luck directing him.  You want these characters to have some control, but you also need them to be at the whim of the universe enough that they have bad luck.  Luck is all about chance, so you can’t have the character in the driver’s seat for every event.  If you go too far to one side, you make a mess.  Either the character is manipulating everything to the point where luck isn’t a factor or they have no influence of their own lives.  People may prefer the former, but that removes the unlucky lucky hero title entirely.  As usual, we’re all down to balance.

So, what do you think of characters who are both lucky and unlucky?

Posted in Thoughts | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments

BIRTH ORDER and CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: the middle child

Posted on March 13, 2023 by Charles Yallowitz

Hello, Story Empire friends, Gwen with you today to focus on birth order and character development. Last month we considered the traits of the …

BIRTH ORDER and CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: the middle child
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Unhappy Daylight Savings Time

Posted on March 12, 2023 by Charles Yallowitz

It’s that time of year again . . . Let’s just get to the funnies while we try to get our acts together.

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Goal Post: Been a Long Time

Posted on March 11, 2023 by Charles Yallowitz

Well, it certainly feels like it’s been a long time since I made a goal post.  So much happened this past week that my head is still spinning.  My son had several tests, homework, and appointments.  Work was crazy busy, but not so much that I couldn’t muster the energy to bike a few nights. Had to be a good and stalwart friend several times because I know those people would be there for me.  It was all a ton of little things that built up . . . I ordered the Lego Rivendell set, which arrives today.  Summer project for sure!

I’ve still got 3.5 weeks before Spring Break, which is going to be messy.  Hard to divide it this year because Passover, Easter, and my birthday are all grouped together.  Those last two are on the same day.  This means planning is a pain because my son is going to be bouncing around a bit.  That might be the time that I finish writing Darwin & the Demon Game though.  After that . . . What do I do next?

As people may have remembered, I got the cover and interior art for Do I Need To Use a Dragon? (Fantasy Writing Tips).  That means, I can publish it, but I really haven’t prepared anything.  It’s probably better to do it at the end of the school year around July 4th since I don’t have time to prepare it.  My blog posts have been prepped through May too, so this means I can set up June to have excerpts on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  That might help ease into things.  Need to work on the blurb and maybe post it in a few weekends along with a full cover reveal.  We’ll see what I can muster because there are a lot of hurdles.

The biggest hurdle is my confidence since this isn’t a fantasy book.  It was a challenge to get me to write this book since it’s my opinions.  I have no characters to hide behind and doubt makes me wonder why anyone would listen to me.  Not like I’m rolling in royalties here.  This makes editing a challenge because I rethink everything to the point where I feel like a fraud.  It might not be necessary though since I edited it once before, used beta readers who gave me great advice, and currently have a trusted editor (my mom who has the experience) going over it now.  That is probably enough since I’ve been told my ideas and explanations were solid.  I’ve shored up the areas that weren’t clear.  Just means I have to sit on the cover and interior art for 3 months since I won’t be able to show all of them until June.  Man, that sucks.

I’ll have to attempt a paperback version too.  No idea how that will work considering there’s interior art here.  I’m sure that’s going to make it expensive and wonder if it’s worth the effort.  Would a book like this work as an 8 x 11 or should it be 6 x 9 too?  None of the other paperbacks sold, so I don’t know what the point would be.  Not sure how to get reviews or how to price it either.  Maybe 99 cents for a month and then jump it to $2.99?  Does that work if I’m not going to do promos?

As you can see, I don’t know what to really do here.  Part of me just wants to publish it and get it into the market.  Then, I’ll just go back to my comfort zone where no royalties are coming in.  It’s been so long since I last published something.  War of Nytefall: Eulogy was the last one on December 1st, 2021.  There was barely any movement there and I didn’t have much of a platform.  Now, I have even less and I’m going to attempt a ‘how to’ book.  I need to publish it since I have all of the parts, except for a paperback version and a blurb.

This is taking up the entire post, but nothing else happened this week.  I’m still watching ‘Sword Art Online’.  I didn’t get to do any writing because of my schedule.  Next week isn’t looking too good either.  I’m aiming to finish chapters 9 and 10 of Darwin & the Demon Game this weekend.  Doable since I’m feeling much better than I have in months.  No lethargy or brain fog.  The real test is going to be seeing how I handle writing fiction because that seemed to take a lot out of me.  Fingers crossed that it all works out. Maybe toes because I can’t type with crossed fingers.

The rest of the week is going to be rather busy.  I’m going to a school event on Monday and there are other appointments throughout the week.  I have my son next weekend, which means we’re going to relax.  Maybe see ‘Shazam 2’ if I can get tickets.  Already got tickets for ‘Super Mario’ on April 9th, which is my birthday.  Fun!

Goals of the week:

  1. Finish 2 chapters of Darwin & the Demon Game this weekend.
  2. Time with son that isn’t homework.
  3. Meetings and appointments.
  4. Write a blurb for Do I Need to Use a Dragon? that will be posted on a Sunday at some point.
  5. Finish watching ‘Sword Art Online’.
  6. Biking when possible.
  7. Relax when possible.
  8. Eat more vegetables.
  9. Prepare the kielbasa to marinate for 3 days.
  10. Set up some Spring Break plans.
Posted in Goal Posts, Guest Blogging | Tagged , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

The Bludgeoning Blunt Weapon Store

Posted on March 10, 2023 by Charles Yallowitz

LOTR

Welcome to our shop where we hope to meet all of your bashing, smashing, smooshing, bludgeoning, and banging needs.  Take this list of most of our weapons.  Each one has a special ability that we semi-guarantee will be helpful.  We don’t provide any improvised weapons like chairs, bicycles, stone coasters, and mother-in-laws.  You have to get those on your own and find an enchanter.  So, what would you like?

  • Wooden Club– The most basic of weapons that provides enhanced strength.
  • Metal Club–  An upgrade to the previous model, which provides metal armor form.
  • Spiked Club– The basic option with spikes, which can deliver one of our many poisons.
  • Staff–  Spinning this weapon creates a tornado that goes outwards.  Speed of the spin determines the strength.
  • Two-Section Staff– The smaller end can deliver a stamp that saps enemy strength, but must hit flesh.
  • Three-Section Staff– Summon a dragon if the correct motions are completed without interruption. No promises that dragon will be friendly or controllable since it won’t always be the same one.
  • Nunchuks– Delivers an explosion on impact.  Not recommended for amateurs who enjoy having a face.
  • Flanged Mace– Strike the ground to create a fissure that goes for ten feet.
  • Studded Mace– Increased the attractiveness of the wielder and causes those around them to become enamored.
  • Morning Star/Spiked Mace– Emit a bright light when held over the head.  Power turns on if weapon is placed on a wall.
  • Tonfa– Comes in pairs and can create a force field if crossed in front of you.
  • Flail– Chain stretches to six feet, but will snap back with force.
  • Double-Flail– Spin overhead to use as a helicopter and fly.  Only goes in direction weapon is facing.
  • Whip– Unleashes a sonic blast.  You will be eternally hunted by vampires.
  • Maul– Choose from a variety of elements that will cover the head of this hammer.  Lightning is triple the price due to popularity.
  • Throwing Hammer– Always returns, but at the same speed you threw it.
  • Horseman’s Pick– Can turn the wielder into a centaur.  Change lasts for an hour and needs a day to recharge.
  • Brass Knuckles– Enlarge hands to three times their normal size and weight.
Posted in Olde Shoppe Stories | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Celebrate the Day of Awesomeness

Posted on March 10, 2023 by Charles Yallowitz

Photo by Tudor Baciu on Unsplash Hi SEers. John with you on this TGIF Fri-Yay. This is the second time in a row I had planned to do more on humor but…

Celebrate the Day of Awesomeness
Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments