Goal Post: Rosh Hashana and Some Progress

Posted on September 27, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

The middle of the week was Rosh Hashana, which is the Jewish new year.  This meant that my son and I had off on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Family came over for the first day and we relaxed a bit.  This was good since we went to an evening showing of ‘Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Part 1’ on Monday.  It was really a hodgepodge week too, so I can’t say anything with solidity.  Exhaustion isn’t helping there since work was crazy for the few days we had.

Last weekend was primarily about starting and finishing my son’s Halloween costume.  I wasn’t sure how October would go, so I spent as much time as I could on it.  There were several times where I had to head out for more supplies like white pom-poms and hot glue sticks.  It was so hard finding some of those things too.  Don’t want to walk into a Michael’s craft store again for a while.  I did finish most of it, but I had to buy a wig on Tuesday and cut parts off to attach to the hat.  Let me just point out here that this required me pressing the wig strands to hot glue . . . barehanded.  My fingertips are still sensitive even today.  In the end, I finished and he liked it:

Costume is a male version of Big Mom from ‘One Piece’:

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A bonus was that I finished with enough time to write a chapter section of Darwin & the Joy Path on Sunday afternoon.  Got another done on Wednesday after my son went with his mom.  The rain was starting and I was too tired to play more Pokemon, so it all worked out.  This means I might be able to finish chapter 3 and 4 by the end of next Sunday.  It’s a good burst of progress even though I’m still twitchy about my writing ability.

The last two scenes are tough because it’s talking and meeting a new, suspicious ally, but Darwin is too trusting.  He’s trying to act mature and serious, but he keeps falling into his true nature.  His other friend isn’t faring much better.  Part of the story was supposed to be them not fully trusting this person, but needing them to succeed.  That is coming across, but the pair are so verbally and socially clumsy about it.  Guess it does work for Darwin, who is still child-like to some extent.  He’s not as naive as when he started his adventures, but I don’t think he’ll ever lose all of his innocence.  I mean, he’s made friends with demonic assassins and revenge-fueled murder hobos without thinking twice.  I can’t break this guy, which I now remember was an issue in the game when our DM tried to make him emotionally suffer.  At least he still gets anxious and has a few meltdowns with magical outbursts.

I tinkered with the ‘Phi Beta Files’ too, so I might do that a big more this weekend when I’m not doing anything with my son.  Trying to get him to hang out with friends and learn to make plans in advance.  A necessary skill, but that also means I get less time with him, which is my issue.  I have a bunch of food shopping to do anyway, so I can do that and notebook tinkering too.  This is being said when I know there’s a high chance of me needing a nap instead.  It was a rough week with insufficient sleeping patterns and far too much disease dodging.

This coming week is going to be wild as well.  At school, we have our first set of field trips, which is always tricky.  Yom Kippur (Day of Fasting) starts Wednesday night and goes through Thursday.  My son has an appointment during this, so I can’t sleep in or play video games until dinner.  Figured I would take him, use my energy for Pokemon, and then we come back for him to eat while we watch a movie.  This is why I’m not sure if I’ll be functional on Friday for work.  Fasting takes a lot out of me and causes my body to attempt a gastrointestinal reset.  I have no description for that because I can never predict what will happen when I eat or drink for 24 hours.  I’ll have to see how I’m doing when I wake up.  This time of year is always a test of patience, endurance, sanity, and intestinal fortitude.

So, what are the goals of the week?

  1. Survive fasting on Thursday.
  2. Help son study for history test.
  3. Finish two chapters of Darwin & the Joy Path.
  4. Work on ‘Phi Beta Files’.
  5. Hydrate!
  6. Handle a few parenting situations.
  7. Do a few December blog posts.
  8. Lego time when I need a screen break.
Posted in Goal Posts | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Revisit: What Do You Look For In Flashbacks?

Posted on September 26, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

Ratatouille

(Originally posted on August 23, 2013.  Being an author of third person present tense, I really can’t use these.  They would be clunky and emersion shattering.  In general, I don’t like using them very often because they require a mental shift for the reader every time they happen.  They should be used sparingly and correctly.)

One of the biggest tools for an author is the flashback.  These can help reveal information about a character, place, or situation.  For the few that don’t know what this is, you move the attention of the book from the current situation to an event of the past.  For example, a character is being approached by something he or she is terrified of.  They have an exposition of thought that explains the origin of this phobia.  A flashback easier to do in past tense writing because it’s awkward and jarring in past tense.

Flashbacks are easy to abuse because, as the author, you know everything about the characters.  An event might trigger a funny story from your protagonist’s childhood that you ‘NEED’ to include.  The truth is that you don’t always need to include a flashback if it’s not entirely relevant to the plot.  It helps with bringing more depth to a character, but you need a believable connection to current events.  A character fighting a dragon shouldn’t suddenly flashback to a time when they burned their mouth of fresh pizza.  Make flashbacks count and use them sparingly.

I can handle flashbacks if they are used with PTSD, dreaming, prologues, and don’t tear me out of the book.  If a character is in the midst of a perilous battle, I don’t want to see a write up of their childhood in the middle.  By the time I’m brought back to the action, I need to read the beginning of the fight to get back into it.  I think a flashback should be a tool for explanation, but not at the cost of story flow.  The phrase ‘location, location, location’ comes to mind here.  Let me give you an example of horrific flashback use:

I was in college and a fellow freshman wanted to write a martial arts book.  I agreed out of boredom and being too nice for my own damn good.  He came to me with a list of actors and actresses to play the movie version.  Bad sign, but I started writing the book with him and got to the end of Page 1.  Suddenly, he yells ‘Flashback!’ and demands we put in a flashback to the character’s tragic motivational moment.  Keep in mind that this was called for in mid-conversation with another character.  Terrible and I stopped right there.

I like a flashback to seem natural in appearance as if one could believe a real person would think back to such things.  So as an author, I don’t like to plan flashbacks and let them appear as I write.

What do you think of flashbacks?

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Poetry Day: Son

Posted on September 25, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

Donkey Kong and Son

(Funny how this and last week’s poem are right next to each other in my folder.  Guess there could be some hope, but we have to work on it.  Clearly, I wrote this a long time ago when he was only 2 years old.)

He is the smiling face
That greets me
Every morning

 

He is the laughter
I hear down the hall
Before he comes in view

 

He is the gentle growling
As he wrestles
With his favorite toy

 

He is the stomping feet
Pounding kitchen floor
Being denied a snack

 

He is the helpful hands
That put clean clothes away
By hurling them to floor

 

He is the patter of feet
Upon the dirt and grass
As he tries to throw a ball

 

He is the open mouth
Waiting patiently
To be fed from my plate

 

He is the sleeping form
That I check on every night
Before I fall asleep

 

He is the curious sidekick
Who has crawled upon my lap
As I write these words

 

He is my son
Who arrived two years ago
And has become my life

Posted in Poems | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Expansion Pack: The Swamp

Posted on September 25, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

Hi, gang. ✋ Craig here today. Years ago I came up with the idea for some extra posts that take a deeper dive into some of my topics. I stole these …

Expansion Pack: The Swamp
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Revisit: What Do You Look For In Fictional Pets?

Posted on September 24, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

I’m With Snoopy

(Originally posted on September 9, 2013.  We really don’t pay much attention to the pets of heroes unless they overshadow the other characters.  It’s not enough for them to be present and kind of active anymore.  They almost have to carry a bulk of the plot in order to garner proper attention.  I would kind of like a return to more subtlety with the hero pet concept.)

I watch a few Harry Potter movies this weekend while editing since I’ve seen them enough that they’re background noise.  Something caught my attention this time.  The familiars are there, but rarely come into play outside of a few events.  I had the same problem with Stiletto in Beginning of a Hero because it was so difficult to include him in a lot of the action.  As much as Luke Callindor said Stiletto wasn’t a pet, he was an animal that followed a ‘master’ around.  I’m starting to wonder what the true purpose of a pet or animal companion is in a story.

I think many times pets are in there for flavor and a mascot type of thing.  Maybe even marketing various merchandise to animal lovers.  It’s that I see most pets get left behind halfway through stories and forgotten until they are suddenly involved in a grand event.  I see this is typically their death or a brave rescue of their master.  Pets might be more of a ‘out of nowhere’ character because readers tend to forget about them unless they are involved in several scenes or brought up a lot.  Once forgotten, the pet can fade away or make a miraculous return to the reader’s mind.

Personally, I never pay attention to pets without personality.  I use them at times in my stories, but I truly don’t think of them when I’m a reader.  The exception I can think of is Tug the horse from Ranger’s Apprentice.  A reason he stands out is that he has personality, attitude, and is involved in a lot of the events.  He is treated like a main cast character instead of a secondary, which is not common among pet characters.  Still, it’s rather difficult to make a pet a main character.  This is something I’m going to think about and write up for Wednesday’s thought post.  Maybe a fun list of ‘how to use and misuse pet characters’ and throw some humor into it.

So, what do you look for in the pets of characters?  Do you even think of them?

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

Guest Post – D.L.Finn – Miracles & Ghosts Past – A Christmas Collection Two #newbook

Posted on September 24, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

I am very happy to have as a guest, Denise Finn. As most of you know Denise is a prolific writer of children’s books, adult fiction, and poetry. She …

Guest Post – D.L.Finn – Miracles & Ghosts Past – A Christmas Collection Two #newbook
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Teaser Tuesday: Standing Alone

Posted on September 23, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

Cover Art by Jason Pedersen

(A favorite scene from The Mercenary Prince, which is available for 99 cents as an eBook.)

Screams erupt from the direction of the celebration and the half-elves see people rush by the mouth of the alley. They hurry to the street in time to see Timoran sail through the tavern’s wall, the house across the street, and a distant barn. An excited whooping brings their attention to a heavyset man in robes who is cowering behind a well. Next to him is Trinity, but the cobalt-skinned woman is drooling and barely conscious. As the champions hurry to join their friends, Nyx’s eyes turn gold and she sees a throbbing cord of aura running from her rival to a blinding figure inside the building. With every crash and shout, a pulse of energy ripples along the thread and causes the chaos elf to spasm. The champion cancels her spell as she follows Luke through the broken doorway and witnesses a scene that is out of her nightmares.

“There you are, my channeler,” Stephen coos before casually snapping Dariana’s arm. He hurls his sister through the ceiling and patiently waits for the sound of her slamming into the solid roof. “I meant to attack Dariana first, but the wild oaf smelled me coming. Guess I’ve been on the road for too long. He took a very powerful blow, so he might be dead. My sister . . . I still hear the heart fluttering. Excuse me for a second.”

With a roll of his wrist, Stephen summons the silver-haired woman to his hand. He is about to touch her forehead when Fizzle rams into his face. The impact sends the madman back a few steps and into an iron maiden made of frozen ale. Blood pooling on the floor beneath her mouth and bone sticking out of her arm, Sari makes a fist to close the spike-covered doors. They shut with enough force to sever Stephen’s outstretched arm, allowing Dariana to fall into the remains of a table. Feeling the immortal fight against her creation, the gypsy tries to get onto all fours and pump more of her magic into the iron maiden. Cracks form along the device’s surface and it explodes with a backlash that sends Sari sailing through the shuttered window. Her leg is snagged on the broken wood and she dangles an inch off the ground until Nyx hurries to haul her back into the building. The channeler tears a sleeve from her shirt to bind the seeping wound, her hands shaking from being so close to the man of her nightmares.

“I’ve never been attacked by beer before,” Stephen says with a laugh. The man takes the blow from Fizzle to his face and lunges forward to catch the drite’s neck in his teeth. He turns to his side and puts his head, along with the squirming dragon, through the bar to knock the creature out. “Tastes sweet and tangy. I might have to take him along and cook him when I find the time. Who do I have left?”

“Just me,” Luke replies as he steps in front of his fallen friends.

Posted in Legends of Windemere, Teaser Tuesday, The Mercenary Prince | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Why do people skip to the end of the book?

Posted on September 23, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

Posted by Joy York This isn’t a very scientific subject, but one I have found myself pondering. I personally read a lot of books. Although I read and…

Why do people skip to the end of the book?
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Revisit: What Do You Look For In A Funny Villain?

Posted on September 22, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

Zim!

(Originally posted on August 16, 2013.  This is different than a standard villain question and I guess this gears more towards stories aimed at children.  Kind of a shame because I think adults deserve more comical bad guys.)

Now, we’ve seen villains with a sense of humor in comics (Joker), cartoons (Hades), and comedies (Dark Helmet).  You can obviously have a villain with a sense of humor that is goofy, sarcastic, or twisted.  They can still be effective too depending on the genre.  Not all comedic villains are bumbling idiots that would fail even if the heroes hadn’t gotten involved.  I always got that sense that He-Man didn’t really have to work hard to thwart Skeletor at times.  Don’t even get me started on Cobra Commander in the cartoon.

Effectiveness is a major challenge if you’re writing a villain that is funny.  Looking that three examples, you can see what some of the choices are:

  1. Dark Helmet–  From Spaceballs, Dark Helmet is powerful, but he’s rather accident prone and a goof.  You lose a lot of effectiveness with him because funny stuff happens to him without his intent.  This works in a comedy, but outside of a comedy, it makes for a weak main villain.  A secondary villain could get away with it, but the main villain does need have some semblance of control.
  2. Hades–  Cunning and in control of the situation, this type of villain is like an evil Grouch Marx.  Many times this is the egotistical planner that is manipulating everyone around him or her.  The humor comes from his wit and sarcasm, which is difficult to write.  Not everyone has this ability, so you really need to get feedback on this kind of villain or watch sarcastic comments.  This type of humor can improve the character’s effectiveness because it is a sign of intelligence.
  3. Joker– While Joker can be a catch-all at times, he is a twisted humor character.  Victims with his smile, crazy traps, wild laugh, and murderous plots that you laugh at for some bizarre reason.  It’s a delicate balance between crazy and effective here.  Go too far and you have a raving psychotic that is merely disturbing.  Don’t go far enough and you have a mildly humorous villain that seems to be phoning it in.

Personally, I like humorous villains that are effective.  The goofy villain is great in comedies, but only comedies for me.  A series story should have a seriously dangerous villain, but you can give them a sense of humor.  Most people have that in some form and villains are people too.  Unless they’re robots, aliens, animals, ghosts, zombies, possessed farm equipment, haunted house, lawyers, shparkly vampires, politicians, or a bio-engineered disease.

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Sea Otter Awareness Week

Posted on September 21, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

We’re heading into sea otter awareness week!  So, what are some things about these guys?

  • There are three subspecies: Northern Sea, Southern Sea, and Asian.
    • Asian sea otter is the largest with a wider skull and short nasal bones.
    • Northern sea otter has the longest mandibles.
    • Southern sea otter have smallest teeth and longest snout.
  • From the mustelid family (weasels), it is the only member without anal glands, no den, and spends its entire life in the water.
  • They can hold their breath for up to 5 minutes, but their dives for food tend to be between 1-4 minutes.
  • Unlike other marine mammals, it catches fish with its paws instead of its teeth.
  • Sea otters live within and around kelp forests of the Pacific Ocean.
  • They eat the animals, like sea urchins, that destroy kelp forests, so they are considered keystone species.
  • They have the densest fur in the animal kingdom with two layers that have one million hairs per square inch.
  • Another way to stay warm is they have a high metabolism, which requires a lot of food.
  • 90% of the sea otter population live around Alaska.
  • Southern sea otters can breed at any time while Northern sea otters are born in the spring.
  • Otter pup fur is too dense for it to dive.  So, it floats on the surface until its adult fur comes in, which takes about 6 months.
  • They use tools to break open shelled prey.  Usually a rock, which they keep in a loose patch of skin under their arm.
  • A group of otters floating on the surface is called a raft.

Pictures and videos!

Posted in Animal Posts | Tagged , , , , , , | 19 Comments