First Non-School Week of the Summer . . . It Was Aight

Posted on June 27, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

Think I’m going to have to do a day-by-day here.  A lot happened since this was the first week that my son and I didn’t have school.  In fact, Monday was the first day since late February that we had nothing more than having fun.  So, we tried to get a bunch of things in, which oddly enough didn’t include video games. I’ll just do a break down for the father/son time.

Sunday/Father’s Day

I picked my son up in time for lunch since he was at his mom’s.  Figured I would let him be there for the morning for a certain reason that I don’t think I can say here.  Pretty sure one can figure it out.  Once we got back and had lunch, it was into the inflatable pool for the little guy.  Grandpa had bought two pump water gun things that aren’t shaped like guns.  You put one end in, pull back the pump to suck in the water, and then push it back to fire it out.  Needless to say, we all got drenched because my son simply stayed in the pool and blasted away.  Of course, he hit grandpa who was resting, which meant the garden hose came into play.  After that, it was drawing using YouTube videos.  We did a few pictures every day he was with me and I plan on making a Sunday post to show them off in about 2-3 weeks.

Monday

A lot of places are either closed or I’m not comfortable taking my son there.  So, we decided that the afternoon would be cleaning all of the cars.  Then, back to do some drawing and reading.  What did we do in the morning?  It was nice out, so we went to a small park that is on the coast.  Keep in mind that I’m on Long Island, which means the coast isn’t too far away.  It was a nice 1.5 hours where we saw plenty of animals and I realized that I need a point-and-shoot camera.  Cellphone doesn’t cut it when I’m trying to take a picture of these green monk parakeets that live in the area.  They aren’t native, so it’s weird seeing them.  Story is that the original birds escaped from a crate at JFK airport in the 60’s or 70’s.  Anyway, we also saw a bunny, horseshoe crabs, green heron, large heron, and a bunch of other birds.  It was a lot of fun.

Tuesday

With the weather being iffy on Wednesday, we agreed that the afternoon would be time to enjoy the pool.  We were going to have to deflate and clean it soon too.  With no other ideas, we went to another part, which used to be a garbage dump.  It’s much bigger than the previous one and it’s a lot of uphill walking to reach the top.  There are pygmy goats that they walk up to the top to take care of the grass too.  Tried and failed to get pictures of those damn parakeets too.  Not as many animals on this trip as we would have liked and it was very hot.  So, the trudge back to the car was met with a lot of complaining.  Little guy finally cheered up when we were buying ice cream toppings afterwards and I suggested we buy ice cream for lunch.  Very good decision.

Wednesday

I was burnt out and family were swinging by to say hello.  This meant that my son and I weren’t going to go on another adventure.  Instead, we worked on this all day:

We finished it just in time for us to have dinner, make our super sundaes, and watch some cartoons before he went to his mom’s.  This beast is still waiting on the living room table for him to add more characters to the inside.

And that’s really it for the father/son stuff, which is where the fun is.  I mean, we are watching the following cartoons at various times:

  • Cardcaptor Sakura
  • Kip and the Age of Wonderbeasts
  • Yugioh
  • Naruto
  • Fairy Tail
  • My Hero Academia
  • One Piece

He’s loving all of it and I think he’s starting to get the idea of characters not being simply black/white mentalities.  Bakugo in ‘My Hero Academia’ really helps he see how characters, and people, can grow.  Yeah, it isn’t a traditional way to teach a kid about various morality and ethical questions, but it’s working a bit.  I think.  Mostly, my son likes spending time with me watching these.

The rest of the week wasn’t nearly as exciting.  Found out that I’m not going to be working over the summer, so I’ll be focusing more on writing and my son.  The overall schedule has been mucked up due to changes that we knew were coming.  So, my balancing act is going to be shakier than expected.  I’m already 4 chapters into War of Nytefall: Anarchy and am hoping to get through #6 by the time my son comes back.  Then, I’ll try to work a little on Do I Need to Use a Dragon? (Fantasy Writing Tips), which will be the topic of tomorrow.  I’m going to be testing out the chapter titles.  Summer typically doesn’t have a lot of blog traffic, so we’ll see what happens.  If I can’t balance the two projects then I’ll finish the first one and save the other for August.

Aside from hanging out with some friends last night in a safe and distant manner, I got nothing else to report.  I’m tired and still a little anxious about life.  There were some incidents this week that I can’t go into here.  So, the weekend is going to be all about writing and resting.  Started watching an anime called ‘Rising of the Shield Hero’, which is pretty good.  Only two episodes in and it reminds me of similar stories, but I like a few of the characters.  Not the villain though.  Really hate her and she was only in the first episode, but she made an impact.

What are the goals?

  1. Write more War of Nytefall: Anarchy
  2. Prepare the file for Do I Need to Use a Dragon? (Fantasy Writing Tips)
  3. Possibly start writing the above.
  4. Help my son with summer school when he comes back.
  5. Buy a point-and-shoot camera.
  6. Buy more ‘Captain Underpants’ books, but that might wait until next weekend.
  7. July 4th fun with the son
  8. Charge the dust bunnies rent since they aren’t going away
Posted in Goal Posts | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

7 Tips to Writing Underdog Heroes

Posted on June 26, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

Everyone loves an underdog.  At least that’s what people say.  These aren’t as easy to write as one would think.  You have a lot to consider and a delicate balance to maintain for the adventure.  What are some ways to make sure that happens?

  1. Know the definition of an underdog.  That means the hero is considered to have little or no chance of success.  It doesn’t mean that they are the strongest character in the story, but have a long walk ahead of them.  They need to be at a level below whatever they are facing to be a real underdog.
  2. The title doesn’t remain indefinitely.  Yes, I’m using two tips to drive this point home because people don’t get it.  An underdog can become powerful enough to be a real contender.  As soon as he or she wins, he is no longer an underdog as well.  The best example I can think of is Rocky Balboa.  He was the underdog in the first two movies since nobody thought he had a chance and he was lacking.  The rest of the series, he’s the champion or a powerful contender.  Don’t mistake a character being slightly weaker for having not chance either.  Yeah, he lost to Clubber Lang, but I still don’t believe he regained the underdog title.
  3. Characters who are underdogs don’t always realize their position.  Many are able to continue on because they believe in themselves.  They understand they have weaknesses, but think that their positive qualities are enough to counter this.  Now, this could be true.  In fact, most times it is and that’s why underdogs can win.  The label is primarily given and thought of by other characters and the audience.
  4. Training and special gear can help improve the chances of an underdog, but it doesn’t entirely clear them.  It’s still the same character and he can still go into the main fight with a hindrance.  His chances have improved to little in this case.  Maybe the training isn’t enough or the gear is damaged.  You have to be careful about making this change a sure thing.  Otherwise, the hero and villain are on equal footing, which tends to go to the side of good.
  5. An underdog hero can remain as such and still be a danger due to how they think and act.  An unpredictable or cunning nature means that they have a mental aptitude for problem solving.  If not that then at least doing the unexpected, which can take a more powerful character by surprise.  For example, Luke Callindor in Legends of Windemere is an underdog in many of his fights.  When not fighting regular monsters, he tends to be overpowered and less experienced than his enemy.  He wins by doing the unexpected and thinking his way through.  This does get dicey near the end of the series though, so I’d give it to him for around the first 6 books.
  6. There is no shame in a character rising from an underdog status.  Don’t be afraid to have this happen if it works for the story.
  7. Other characters are allowed to be fully aware of a hero being an underdog and react accordingly.  They can have faith in them, but 9 times out of 10 it is obvious that they’re backing the weaker combatant.  This is what can lead them to help the hero instead of sitting on the sidelines.  More powerful people may take it upon themselves to train the underdog up.  On the other side of the battle, a villain could easily underestimate a weaker opponent until it is too late.
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How to Publish with KDP: Part Eleven

Posted on June 26, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

Harmony Kent's avatarStory Empire

Image courtesy of bigstock.com

Hello SErs. Harmony here.  As promised, here is  part eleven in the post series dedicated to taking a step-by-step look at how to get your finished manuscript from your computer and on sale on Amazon in both ebook and paperback.

If you’d like to take a look back at the previous posts in this series, please click on the links at the end of this post.

So, here’s Part Eleven: How to Preview Your eBook.

The quickest and easiest way is to use Amazon’s online previewer to view your eBook. However, it is always best–if you can–to check how your finished book looks on as many devices as possible … more on that later.

As we saw in Part Ten, once you’ve uploaded your eBook, you can click on ‘Launch Previewer’ at the bottom of your eBook details page.

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Immortal Wars: The Summoning Part 24 #fiction #throwback

Posted on June 25, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

(Previously on Immortal Wars.)

(Again, we shall revel in my teenage originality.  Everyone groan in unison.)

Disclaimer: Immortal Wars was the book I came up with and wrote in high school.  I hadn’t even hit college by the time I wrote the first two books.  That means I hadn’t developed my style yet, wasn’t good at self-editing, and the story was fairly basic. So, you’ve been warned that this is the ultimate author throwback segment for my blog and will show my author origins.  FYI-  I put the first book (The Summoning) through a Print-on-Demand publisher and the second one (Light, Blood, & Tears) never saw the light of day.  Enjoy!

“I already told you that you have no reason to know any of this!” exclaims Solix from the chair at the head of the table in the Main Hall.  Fate is standing on the other side of the table and is managing to remain calm.

“The way I see it is that you need me to stay.  So, I want to know exactly what is going on or else I will leave you to face your enemies alone.  I want answers, Solix.  And I will even tear this base apart or go to the evil immortals to get my answers.  I might have to beat the hell out of them, but if I have to I will.  Anything is better than dealing with someone like you.  Do you understand what I’m saying here?  Either you tell me what I want to know or I go off on my own and probably cause more trouble for you,” threatens Fate.

“I think you should tell him, Solix.  I have taken away your programs that block me from telling him the information,” replies SEAS from his containment crystal.  Solix stares with his mouth open at the subordinate behavior of the computer and then slumps in the chair.  His face has a look of defeat on it.

“Very well.  I will tell you what you want to know.  First of all, the very villains that you are going to fight killed the original guardians.  The many points in this story are very short because the details would take months that we don’t have.  The original guardians found them on Earth during the time of the Roman Empire.  We took them in and taught them how to fight.  My personal student, Adriana, took over and led them against us.  I managed to escape with the Solstar medallion, but they chased me.  Many of the races of this universe were destroyed in the pursuit.  I finally used the ultimate power of the medallion to send them to another galaxy.  And they have finally returned,” explains Solix.

“How could an immortal get killed?  That goes against what everyone thinks immortality is supposed to mean,” mentions Fate.  He sits cross-legged on the wooden table and calmly stares at the older warrior.

“That question delves into the creation of the original guardians.  We are genetic creations made by an alien race known as the Glebnoks.  They desired galactic peace and created us to help defend all of the nine planets.  An asteroid was the location of the lab and it was abandoned right after all ten of us were created.  Eventually, the lab disintegrated into Earth’s atmosphere and caused it to be the only planet in the solar system that can have natural immortals.  It is a rare and random effect.”

“You didn’t answer my question.  How can an immortal die?  I knew you were old, but your short-term memory can’t be that bad.”  Fate stands up and opens up a secret compartment in the table.  He hits a button and a chalice of water appears on the table.  Solix walks over to the hit another button and a mug of ale appears for him.

“The answer to your question is connected more with our physiology.  The reason that we are immortal is because our bodies give off a specific hormone.  They are related to pheromones, but they create a field that keeps us alive forever.  But the hormones negate each other when two immortals engage in to the death combat.  Our regenerative powers still make it difficult to get us killed, but we are simply normal creatures when fighting other immortals.  Not many creatures besides immortals can destroy us.  In fact, the only creatures have been dead for centuries.  Does that answer your question?”  Solix takes a long drink from his mug and wipes the foam off of his face with the back of his hands.

“So we can only be killed in combat with another immortal.  Why did the Glebnoks put that into your design?  The birthright powers are obviously random and from what I can gather, they appear to suit the personality of the immortal.  I take chances so I have good luck.  Infinity is protective of those he cares about so he gets telekinesis.  But why create superior beings to live forever and give them the kind of flaw you just told me about?” asks Fate.

Solix shrugs before saying, “In case one of us decided to turn on the others.  We were able to keep each other in check and all of us thought that all immortals were genetically good-natured.  Every creation needs something that could prevent it from going out of control and destroying everything.  Creating a race of powerful, immortal warriors is no exception to that rule.  This flaw is why we didn’t consider that our new friends would inevitably turn on us and steal our weapons.  The combination of our immortal energy with the free will of humanity caused immortals to have a choice between good and evil.”

“Now, here’s the big question.  Why are my friends and I so important to you that you would lie and trick us into working with you?”  Solix sits back down in one of the wooden chairs and starts to scratch his chin.

“Because you are the only guardians left.  The other five were destroyed before we could discover them.  I need all of the planet guardians that SEAS can find and you are the only four left.  Thankfully your powers were already active and it kept all of you together.  That was how we were able to find all of you.  SEAS found a high energy level and discovered the four immortal energies on Earth.  It was due to luck that you four are still alive and are able to learn about your role in the universe.  Do you understand why I lied to you?  I did not want to scare you off by telling you the truth until you had started to adapt to your surroundings,” explains Solix.

“So, you wait for us to get comfortable and calm.  Then you yank up the curtain and show us the truth.  If you had gone through with that, I still would have tried to leave.  The others are too obsessed with the thought of being heroes and being important.  I’m used to being unimportant, so it doesn’t make any difference to me whether I stay or go.  I do whatever the hell I want.”

“Then we are both in the wrong.”

“How so?  You are wrong for lying to us, but I didn’t do anything wrong.  Disobeying your orders was done because we would have been fighting blind if I had just followed you to the battle.  I’m not wrong.”

“Yes you are.  The fact that you don’t care about the effect your actions have on other people is just as bad as what I do.  The interesting thing is that you are not what you pretend to be, Fate.  In the practice sessions you are a hero and doing whatever it takes to keep the others safe and succeed in the objectives.  Your actions as a planet guardian will have an effect on everything.  Now I want the four of you to continue practicing.  All of you have a lot of work to do before I actually put you in the field.”  Solix goes over to shake Fate’s hand and lead him out the door.  Fate stares at the floor as they walk across the Main Hall.

“First of all, I’ll make sure we don’t trust you as much as we did.  If you lied once there’s no telling if you’re lying again.  But before you said four guardians.  I saw something in the computer that said there was a fifth guardian somewhere.  The Jupiter stone of your necklace is active.  That could only happen if that guardian was alive in this universe.  Where are you hiding that one?” asks Fate before they walk out the door.  The question causes Solix to stop in his tracks and go pale.

“I do not know about a fifth guardian.  We saw the Jupiter energy appear briefly, but it disappeared quickly.  We assumed that he or she was killed by one of the evil immortals.  With the exception of you four, there should not be any other planet guardians in existence.  I will have SEAS take a look into this and hopefully we can get another ally.  Of course, this will happen after your first battle.  So don’t get your hopes up.  I will talk to you tomorrow about tonight’s practice session.  Goodnight, Fate.”  Solix quickly disappears in the usual flash of teleportation light and leaves Fate to wander around by himself.

Posted in Immortal Wars | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Growing Old and Growing Up

Posted on June 24, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

Playing as a child
Toiling as an adult
One looks at the other
With a hint of jealousy
*
The child wants to grow
While the adult wants to play
Youth admires the freedom of old
Old wishes for the freedom of youth
*
Is there a way to have both?
To work all day
And play at night
Without crashing to the ground
*
It requires balance
Built over years
To retain the dreams of a child
And act the part of an adult

Posted in Poems | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

Teaser Tuesday: Not on Your Best Day #fantasy #adventure

Posted on June 23, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

Cover Art by Sean Harrington

I have to touch on the spin-off with an excerpt from Quest of the Brokenhearted.  I decided to show a little of what Kira Grasdon has been up to since the battle with Baron Kernaghan.  I’m hoping I took enough to show the proper context.  The full section was too massive to put here, so I’m working a lot on faith and hope.  All I will say is that the setting is a brothel/tavern and that doesn’t explain nearly as much as you might think.  I mean . . . Well, you can read and see what’s really going on here.

Continue reading →

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

Battling a Shortened Attention Span

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

Going to try hard not to jump on a high horse because I’m aware that I fall into this category too.  In fact, I think most people have lost part of their attention span and that makes selling books a lot harder.  With the Internet and streaming services, you get instant gratification when it comes to entertainment.  Add video games and all the apps on smartphones to the list as well.  You want a laugh?  A funny clip is at your fingertips.  Need to relax?  Apple has an app for that.  So, why do books have a problem with an impatient and easily distracted population?

Well, it takes a lot more effort to enjoy a book.  You only have to sit back and watch shows and movies.  Many people toss them on for background while doing something else, so they don’t even pay full attention.  There’s also a pause button that you can hit and it’s a smoother transition to get back into a show than a book.  Video games require effort, but you’re heavily involved and influence the actions of those on the screen.  Music requires listening and art can be admired with no strain.  Books need you to read the words, turn the pages, and imagine what is going on instead of them being clearly shown or heard by your senses.  A lot of mental processes are working here to make that book act as a source of entertainment.

And there you have the problem.  In a world where people are easily distracted by external and internal stimuli, books have an uphill battle.  Audiobooks have an edge, but that’s not possible for every author because those aren’t done cheap.  Even those tend to be designated for exercise or driving, so they lose out to the higher octane forms of entertainment.  In general, books are seen as a chore to read by many people, which I think comes from how we’re taught.  When I was in school, I had so many reading assignments that I felt like I could never read for fun.  I rebelled in 11th grade and read what I wanted while ignoring the school stuff.  This isn’t what most people do though.  I have run into so many people who don’t like books because it was a chore and they don’t have time for it.  So, the impatience with reading is inadvertently begun as we grow up thanks to a system that forces the issue.  With a bigger focus on non-fiction or realistic fiction, those of us in more fantastical genres have a greater challenge if we want to get attention.

My cynical side is starting to get stronger because of this attention span issue.  I’m starting to believe that a new fantasy or science fiction author can only make it if they get a movie or TV show first.  People need to get the instant gratification of the series from an electronic medium before they even think of putting more effort in.  It’s like a new version of the caveat ‘you need to have an audience to get published, but you need to be published to get an audience’.  It’s all very frustrating.

How do you combat against a growing disinterest in books?  Is this even a real thing or am I looking at the wrong numbers?  I remember posting about how it felt like people weren’t reading as much as they used to, but many disagreed.  I noticed that they spoke of their own circles though.  We do attract those with similar interests, so readers would be surrounded by readers.  So, it’s hard to tell what is reality and what is only something within my circle.  On the other hand, there is a long list of movies and shows that exploded in popularity then brought the books along.  Honestly, ‘Game of Thrones’ was relatively unknown outside of fantasy enthusiasts until it got a series.  ‘The Witcher’ is getting new editions released thanks to its Netflix show.  I mean, it isn’t that far-fetched to think that books are falling to low attention spans unless they find a way to get into the other mediums.  Where do indie authors go with that path?

Posted in Thoughts | Tagged , , , , , , , | 45 Comments

Happy Father’s Day

Posted on June 21, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

This was actually harder to do than I realized.  I think I realize this every year.  I have to specifically put in ‘funny mothers day memes’ to get anything that isn’t serious and even the funny ones are still rather respectful at most points.  All I typed here was ‘Fathers day memes’ and it took me a lot of scrolling to find one that wasn’t cursing, about lame gifts, mocking fathers, or a reminder to pay child support.  So, I did the best I could to find funny and not full on insulting.

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Goal Post: I Really Need to Buy a Calendar

Posted on June 20, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

I’m not kidding.  Once Thursday afternoon hit, I suddenly forgot . . . Wait . . . I’m writing this on Friday and that was yesterday?  Is that right? For the love of the dust bunnies that keep appearing under my bed, I’m so gone when it comes to the passage of time.  Be nice if this creates some type of pseudo-immortality, but I don’t think I want that.  Who wants to really live forever?  I mean, it’s a good idea at first, but then a couple centuries pass and you tire of reinventing yourself once again. What was I talking about?

Part of the sudden forgetting of time is that school is done for now.  I still haven’t heard if I’m working over the summer because there might be some remote learning.  That’s besides the point.  With no classes for me or my son, I don’t really have events to mark time with.  Having my son makes things easier because he keeps me busy and the days go somewhat quickly.  Once he’s with his mom, time goes slow and I get muddled with things feeling like they should be moving faster.  The heat hasn’t helped with making my drowsy and I think I’ve fallen asleep at my desk every now and again.  This is going to be a long summer/year/life.

I guess one thing that really doesn’t help is that I almost exclusively watch streaming shows now.  I used to have at least one show every night, which acted as a strange schedule for me to go by.  Those ended, were cancelled, or I gave up on them with nothing rising up to take their place.  I can watch ‘Mr. Iglesias’ and ‘Dr. Stone’ every night of the week, so it doesn’t change.  Yeah, I gave up on the anime I was watching because the perversion went from rather standard fan-service to ‘main character legitimately powered by the desire to grope breasts’.  I know I made posts long ago about how a perverted character can work and a big part of that was there being a punishment for their actions.  This didn’t have that and the character quadruple-downed on it with the other characters being embarrassed or disgusted, but still accepting it.  So, I’m out. ‘Dr. Stone’ is a lot more interesting if not a slower pace than I expected.  Nothing like what I expected, but I’m enjoying it so far.

There was something else.  Park with my son and we played Yugioh since I bought him a deck, but that wasn’t it.  Did I do any writing?  Oh yeah!  (Wow. Deja vu on this exact exchange and transition.)  I began writing War of Nytefall: Anarchy and I’m hoping to finish 3 chapters by the end of the weekend.  It’ll probably be 2.5 though because Father’s Day has to be father/son time.  I’d have gotten further by writing more on Friday, but I had a late dinner and just collapsed.  Most of chapter 1 was good enough.  The following week will give me more time since we’ll be splitting the ‘off time’ with my son.  I can possibly get through chapter 6 if I don’t have anything else going on.  After that, I’m going to have to figure out how to do the balancing act of writing two books.  The plan is as such:

  • Write War of Nytefall: Anarchy when my son is with his mother.
  • Write Do I Need to Use a Dragon? (Fantasy Writing Tips) during the 2-3 hours he is in school.  Since these will be blog post style and I’ve already made a lot of notes on each topic, I should be able to do this.  Promised I’d work on my laptop in the background while he did classes, so we’ll see how this goes.  By the way, the titles are going to be tested a week from this Sunday.  Hope people swing by to give it a look.

That’s really all I’ve got to say.  Keep looking over at my bed, which is rather inviting even though it’s only 8 PM.  This coming week is going to be playing with my son for the first half and then writing for the second.  I hope we have a clear night because it’s always too cloudy to use his new telescope.  Might be rainy for two of the days we’re together, which means we can tackle the Millennium Falcon Lego set.  My son has also begun drawing with the help of YouTube videos, so we might do more of those.  Thinking of asking him to let me post them for a Sunday thing once he finishes the rest of the Teen Titans group.  We did Starfire and Raven this week, so Cyborg might be the next one.  I’ll definitely put it on Facebook though.

Well, I just wandered off for no reason and came back after 5 minutes.  My mind is gone, so I’m going to stop.  Not sure what’s wrong with me.  Let’s get with the goals!

  1. Time with son
  2. Write War of Nytefall: Anarchy
  3. Prepare more of The Ether Thief
  4. Sleep would be nice
  5. Puzzles
  6. LEGO time if the weather is bad
  7. Maybe I should prepare some more August posts, but I’m low on ideas.
  8. Keep playing with my rainbow slinky when my mind wanders.  Not sure why I keep mindlessly going back to this thing to help me focus.  This kind of like one of those fidget spinners?  Weird.
Posted in Goal Posts | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

Psychological Curses: Are They There or Not?

Posted on June 19, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

From Yu-gioh

A way of using a curse that I’ve mentioned previously is having it be more of a legend than something cast in real time.  I wanted to look more into this because it requires a lot more psychological work.  You need to build things up and move then in the right direction to have a curse trick strike home.  So, what is this exactly?

Say your heroes entire an area and find out that there is a local legend.  There’s some kind of curse, but the story isn’t really consistent when you push for more facts.  All you know is that the people are afraid even if they have never seen it in action.  It dictates a major aspect of their lives either by them avoiding something or having a ritual that is supposed to keep it at bay.  The heroes may believe the curse is real or fake, but this is where you begin to build the psychological aspect.  Regardless of how true the legend is, you put it in the story for a reason and need to have at least one moment where the heroes or reader considers it is real.

Now, you may be wondering how to build tension even if there is nothing truly to be tense and worried about.  Here are some tips:

  1. Have strange events happen.  This works best if the curse is vague in some fashion such as bad luck or a demon in a specific spot.  You can have these things happen to the heroes and gradually ramp up in severity.  For example, the first thing could be a missing belonging from the room.  That may be a thief or forgetfulness.  Later on, a companion vanishes without a trace.  Maybe even while in view or from a spot that is, at least at first glance, impossible to disappear from.  That’s a big jump, so I mean to other events between those two.
  2. If the heroes are doubtful or worried then have them act accordingly.  They have to choose an opinion and stick to it until evidence grows.  This confidence increases the psychological crumbling that you can create as they begin to doubt their initial instincts.  If the hero is mentally jumping all over the place then it hurts the suspense and impact of the curse story.
  3. Can’t go wrong with locals retelling the origins of the curse.  It doesn’t even have to be consistent.  Having them argue over the details can help explain why the heroes are doubting its existence.  You also allow yourself to have a bigger variety of events for when the whole thing is either proven or disproven.
  4. Now, say you are going to make the curse a local hoax.  Figure out why and who is behind it from the start.  You need to have a motive as if you’re writing a Scooby Doo episode.  Pulling in a random person who has never been seen before and is doing it for giggles is weak.  There needs to be a payoff for a curse that is aimed at causing psychological turmoil.

I did stick with stationary curses for this, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only way to use this tool.  A character can be afflicted with a curse that alters their mind under certain situations or be made to believe it will happen.  You can pull from psychological disorders and mental illness, but that’s a risk.  Personally, I would say phobias are the furthest you can go with this.  Cursing someone with dissociative identity disorder will rub some readers the wrong way.  Although, I guess possession by another entity works, but that isn’t the type of curse we’re working with here.  Even without going for disorders, you can come up with something.  Bad luck, loss of a sense, etc. can be curses that are created by the mind instead of magic.  You’d be surprised what a person could do if they are tricked well enough.

Not sure I hit where I wanted with this post.  Feel free to add, disagree, or voice your opinion on this one.  Maybe I’m off on the concept entirely.  They can’t all be good blog posts.

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