Tag Archives: stories

Prison Stories: Tales From The Slammer

Posted on December 22, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

Something dawned on me one day.  A lot of stories either start, take place entirely, or spend some time in a prison.  It could be any genre too.  So, what is it about the prison setting that draws people to … Continue reading →

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Questions 3: Beginning An Adventure

Posted on November 14, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

It doesn’t always have to be a major quest or a wild adventure. Yet, groups have to start somewhere even if it’s prior to the book.  Authors need to consider the beginning when they go with ensemble casts.  After all, … Continue reading →

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Poetry Day: Stories Never Told

Posted on November 13, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

(A short poem about something I’ve wondered about for years.  Given wars, diseases, resource inequality, wealth inequality, education inequality, and a whole list of other barriers, I’m assuming this happens every minute.) How many stories have been lost? Because the … Continue reading →

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A Hero From A Villainous Lineage

Posted on June 2, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

The inspiration for this week’s topic is ‘One Piece’.  Kind of spoilers, but this is something revealed in 2016.  Anyway, the character of Sanji is revealed to have come from an infamously villainous family called the Vinsmokes.  He’s the black … Continue reading →

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Blast from the Past: Types of Closures and Cliffhangers

Posted on May 7, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

(Back on October 1, 2014, I made the following post.  Nearly forgot about it, but I realized it can work better than another 7 tips post.  Enjoy.) Even if you’re nervous about writing the ending of your story, it has … Continue reading →

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Cliffhangers and Transitions

Posted on May 5, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

Now, I know cliffhangers might be seen as a type of transition.  I simply didn’t remember if there was a special name for a smoother flow into a scene.  So, I’m going to use the terms as separate entities. Both … Continue reading →

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Poetry Day- Our Fiction Fascination

Posted on March 13, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

(This is about how humans created and enjoy fiction.  It’s rather unique to our species as far as I know.  We do what we can to explore other words and leave reality behind.  Is it a species-wide form of mental … Continue reading →

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Teaser Tuesday: Passage of Time

Posted on March 11, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

(Check out Do I Need to Use a Dragon? on Amazon.  Please remember that these are teasers and not the full entries.) Let’s be honest. We, as authors, can take the passage of time for granted when it comes to our stories. … Continue reading →

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When Every Character Is A Villain

Posted on March 10, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

I watched ‘The Penguin’ months ago and I liked it.  Not saying I loved the characters in a way that I wanted to be them.  Some of their actions were horrific, but it worked for the story.  In fact, I … Continue reading →

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When To End a Story

Posted on February 21, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

With this talk of character development rolling backwards for tension, another question comes to mind.  That is: When should one end a story? I know people will say when the characters achieve their goals or the author feels like they’ve … Continue reading →

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