Goal Post: I Think This Is Saturday

Posted on May 3, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

Now, I’m not 100% certain it’s Saturday.  I don’t have work today and my phone said it was Saturday, but part of me is still unsure.  Could be some new day of the week that was invented when my back was turned.  Stranger things have happened to this country over the last few weeks.  Let’s go with the assumption that it’s Saturday.

I’m . . . exhausted.  There wasn’t a single day where I didn’t have a lot going on.  I considered calling out yesterday since I woke up at 1 AM feeling the wrath of Taco Bell, but I pushed myself to get extra sleep and recover.  The main reason is that next Friday could result in me being in worse condition, so I’d rather save my sick day for when I have a higher chance of collapse.  This is because I’m helping with a basketball game on Thursday then rushing to my son’s chorus concert and then finally getting dinner around 9:30/10 PM.  That’s going to be brutal.  Still, this week got a lot of shots in.

The week started with my school doing its first special education field day, which I didn’t know much about going into it.  I failed to prepare very well, so I got badly burned on the face and neck.  Never had any time to properly rest either.  The other days of the week were wild with schedule changes, a basketball game, a day without a break, struggling to do food shopping, drama at home, and enough stress to put me back on Zzzquil to get any type of sleep.  I ended up finishing off two nearly done bottles of wine last night, which probably didn’t help.

Sadly, I wasn’t able to touch Darwin & the Beast Collector even last night because my brain needed to cool down.  I’m aiming to get 2 chapters done this weekend since I’m alone and only have to worry about cooking dinner.  The rain is going to limit my Pokemon Go outings, but there’s one event this afternoon.  Beyond that, I might only venture out for 30-40 minutes in the morning to do the daily stuff after editing a chapter section.  I think I only have 7 chapters to go, so I can really finish it before the end of May, especially if I use Mother’s Day and Memorial Day weekend.  One can dream . . . I’m still scared about what to do when editing is done.  Can I get back on the actual writing horse with the way I can only write every other weekend?  Summer might help a bit.

Looking at last goal post’s list, I see I failed in remembering how I was going to fix some of Rayne’s background.  Right now, she’s an elf who was abandoned in Lacarsis the City of Monsters by her parents.  She was raised by the monsters as a servant until she was convinced to escape.  Down the road, Rayne is going to become a hero and she’s with Darwin in the current editing project.  No real skills yet, so she’s going to be learning a bunch.  The issue is that I wanted to implement a secret to her origins, but I don’t know how to pull it off anymore.  Can’t go further into that without spoilers, but a future event doesn’t make a lot of sense without me changing some things.  This could explain her monster attraction ability too if such a thing was needed.  Guess I’ll tinker when I have the time.

Aside from the jam-packed day of Thursday, I don’t have much else going on besides the usual.  Actually, I’m responsible for dinners for the next two weeks, which is going to cut into my evening time.  Not a bad thing, but some of the requested dishes are work intensive.  I’m going to attempt a new recipe tomorrow with Pepperoni Pizza Lasagna Rolls.  Everything else is an established recipe like sweet and sour meatballs and penne with vodka sauce.  All of this sounds fairly boring though.

I’m still thinking of permanently making all of my eBooks 99 cents.  Nothing sold in March or April.  I know people said I can’t do that without promoting the price change, but I can’t afford to do that.  It’s not like I’m declaring a special sale.  Nobody is buying eBooks or paperbacks of my stuff.  I’ve had a few ask for me to buy them copies of the paperbacks in return for a review or promo, but I’ve been burned on that a lot.  Can’t really afford to buy a bunch of my own books for stuff like signings.  People don’t understand that such an event requires thousands of dollars and a location willing to let you do it.  I doubt anyone would show up anyway.  So, I’m just wondering if a 99 cent price tag is enough to get wanderers curious.

On that note, what are the goals of the week?

  1. Edit some of Darwin & the Beast Collector.
  2. Finish the June posts and start on July.
  3. Cook dinners.
  4. Help son with school.
  5. Use bike if raining or walk 10,000 steps if good weather.
  6. Hydrate.
  7. Catch Pokemon at event this afternoon.
  8. Sleep at least 7 hours a night.
  9. Not eat Taco Bell after sundown.
  10. Enjoy a lollipop.
Posted in Goal Posts | Tagged , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

People Who Transform Into Weapons

Posted on May 2, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

Soul Eater

While it isn’t common, I have found a few stories that have people who transform into weapons.  Most times, it’s a curse that the character wishes to break.  They are wielded by a friend and cannot change back and forth.  Yet, there are a few, such as above, that can shift from human to weapon at will.  So, how can this work?

People will be looking for an explanation of how, which tends to be magic.  Though, another option is the mutant route where you have people who are simply born with this ability.  It feels like you can either go simple with a faint explanation or go detailed, but you can’t linger in the middle.  Readers will want it to be a solid power or system, so trying to be coy can make it feel more like a pointless gimmick.  This is a major setting piece to the world and story too.

Another thing to consider is if the person feels pain or can take damage.  Swords chip and can even break, so what does this do to the human form?  One would assume that a shattered sword means death.  At the very least, massive amounts of broken bones and internal bleeding.  Some stories have done it that the person is stuck in weapon form until they are repaired by a specialist.  This shouldn’t be without repercussions like scars or loss of strength.  Either way, there should always be a risk in regards to the transformation and then use.

You also have the wielder to consider because having just anyone grab this humanoid weapon can be odd.  Typically, there seems to be a connection either through blood, marriage, or friendship.  For example, ‘Soul Eater’ has the weapons and users partnered up in a training academy.  They are connected through lessons and friendship then later by experience.  A key point is that the weapons are also assigned, so there is a bond.  This means nobody else can use them effectively, which creates a tighter system.  Otherwise, everyone is going to be picking up every human weapon, which is confusing and possibly unsanitary.

Personally, I think this ability is more niche than transforming weapons in general.  It fits this week’s topic, but it isn’t something you can use often.  Stuffing it into your fantasy or science fiction story could be fun, but also clunky.  It isn’t like other superpowers or magic because the person has to be wielded by another.  They can’t just transform and then hop around as a sword.  So, there’s a symbiotic relationship required, which comes with its own subplot.  It’s almost required, so you can’t really just use it as a pure gimmick without much thought.  That will just make the concept fall flat.

So, what do other people think of this type of power/concept?

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I am with Esther Chilton today.

Posted on May 2, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

Esther has a guest author feature and she invited me to visit today. If you are not familar with Esther’s blog this is a great time to visit to see …

I am with Esther Chilton today.
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AI Audio Books–Thumbs up or down?

Posted on May 2, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

Jacqui here at Story Empire with my next 2025 post. My theme this year: Trends, Questions, Concerns, More In this monthly post, I’ll discuss topics …

AI Audio Books–Thumbs up or down?
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Poetry Day: Predators Around

Posted on May 1, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

(This is a fun one.  What kind of predator do you think I mean?)

The monsters are out in force
Growing hungry by the minute
Searching for the weak and young
To fill their putrid guts

 

The monsters’ courage bloats
Growing fearless month by month
Searching for more meat and bone
To crunch within their fangs

 

The monsters’ have another goal
Growing greedy for its warmth
Searching for fans to watch their crime
To revel in their evil acts

 

The monsters do not think ahead
Growing worse with every brood
Searching for the wrong type of fame
To become the gods of evil

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7 Tips to Writing Transforming Weapons

Posted on April 30, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

Pyrrha from RWBY

As I said on Monday, this is fairly niche.  Still, there are some guidelines one can follow to make this work.  Transforming weapons are fun, but it still pays to be careful and not let them cause a mess.

  1. The more transformations, the more complicated the weapon.  This goes for how the character will use it, change it, and understand it.  With this type of device, it might be best to keep it to 1-2 extra forms unless it changing is a major plot point.  If the story revolves around figuring the weapon out then it’s fine to be complicated.
  2. Giving the weapon a base form can help with focus.  This is the form that the character prefers to keep it in.  That way, you can figure out the transformations revolving around this one.  You also will never forget which form it is in unless you’re writing an action scene.  Another benefit is the character can hide the fact that this weapon can transform.
  3. Range weapons still need ammunition!
  4. Each form needs a unique function and use.  If everything is a sword then the transformation seems rather useless.  Think of different situations and what kind of weapon would be useful.  There’s range, edged, stabbing, blunt, long, and even defensive stuff.  Consider your categories before you start the story.
  5. Age of the character should be considered as well.  A youngster knowing how to transform the weapon perfectly might not be very believable.  It’s assumed that it takes time to figure out all of the configurations and to use it safely.  A teenager would have had to start really young, which has to fit their background.  Having a character be in their 20’s gives the mastery more believability.
  6. No matter how quickly a weapon can transform, there is a lull between forms.  This means there is always a point where the character is vulnerable.  An experienced villain who has fought them before may be able to take advantage of this.  A benefit of this issue is that it gives them a vulnerability, which they can’t really get rid of.  At the very least, they will have to change their style to counter this issue.
  7. Maintenance has to be difficult.  This isn’t a necessity, but it’s something to consider for realism.  Even magical weapons can get worn down and need to be recharged to keep them balanced.
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How a sampling of international authors approaches marketing: Part 2- Authors Kathleen Harryman and John Dolan weigh in

Posted on April 30, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

Posted by Joy York This post is the second half of my effort to share marketing ideas and techniques used by a sampling of authors from around the …

How a sampling of international authors approaches marketing: Part 2- Authors Kathleen Harryman and John Dolan weigh in
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What Do You Know About Autism?

Posted on April 29, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

I’m sure someone will argue with something up above.  Anyway, this is the end of the ‘Autism Awareness Month’ posts.  I’m curious to know if anybody learned anything interesting about autism.  Not only from my posts, but over the years or even recently.  Education is the best way to get people to understand autism and not jump to harmful conclusions when interacting with someone who is autistic.  Below, I’ve added any information that people have shared this month that they found interesting.  Please feel free to do more in the comments.

I will say that any comments made to insult, belittle, or be any way harmful towards people with autism will be deleted.  Thank you.

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Using Transforming Weapons

Posted on April 28, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

Kaoru Koganei from Flame of Recca

This might be a fairly niche topic, but we’ll see how it goes.  Definitely won’t be connecting to stories that don’t have action scenes.  After all, why have a weapon that can be transformed if you aren’t going to have combat?

To explain, I’m talking about a weapon that can be quickly changed into another one.  I know there are some real-world weapons that can be modified using time and special kits, but that’s not what I’m thinking about.  These are fictional weapons that you can change into entirely new ones.  For example, the character above has one that can be turned into a halberd, boomerang, bow and arrow, giant scissors, and a kusari-gama.  All different weapons combined into one.

The practicality situation is the hardest one to get over here.  Most readers will argue that you can’t transform a weapon on the fly without getting hurt, so it isn’t useful.  You will have to pick one version and hope it can get the job done.  If not, you have to hide and change it again, which makes it a terrible weapon.  So, suspending our disbelief is necessary for such a thing to work out.  Thankfully, they occur primarily in fantasy and science-fiction where that’s already happening.

Magic or some kind of energy tends to be the catalyst, which counters the time it takes to transform.  Simply channeling the power source or thinking of the weapon changing causes it to do so.  This means it’s an instant effect, which authors will use to create some wild action scenes.  I think the fluid shifting from one form to another during active combat is what makes this so appealing.  There’s a sense of excitement as a character keeps switching from melee to range while battling for their lives.  You feel that one wrong transformation will get them killed.

There’s an added challenge here too.  The transformations have to make some kind of sense.  If you are allowing the weapon to turn into anything then you need to explain how and put on limits.  A sword can’t be turned into every other type of weapon in an instant without there being some limitation.  Otherwise, it’s overpowered and the audience will hate the concept.  For example, there was a manga long about called ‘Beet the Vandal Buster’ where the main character had 5 weapons he could summon from his soul.  He couldn’t use them naturally, so he had to master each one in order to make use of this power.  This isn’t a transformation, but the limitation can work.  So, if the weapon is incredibly powerful, the weakness should be with the wielder.

My personal preference is to use a transforming weapon sparingly and only if it makes sense for the character.  I’m actually more of a fan of giving these to villains because it’s more interesting to me.  Having my heroes figure out how to counter a weapon that can change shape and use during a battle is a challenge.  They have to be cautious and ready for sudden shifts in combat instead of barreling forward.  Creates a chance at maturity and development for the heroes and possibly the villain who might depend on this tricky weapon too much.

What do other people think of this transforming weapon concept?

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NaNoWriMo Is Closing After 20 Years. What Went Wrong? What Will Replace It?

Posted on April 28, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

After 20 Years, NaNoWriMo Announces Closure. Is AI to Blame?

NaNoWriMo Is Closing After 20 Years. What Went Wrong? What Will Replace It?
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