  Action/Adventure
This week: Are you in the mafia? Edited by: Legerdemain  
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Bada Bing
All the time, I mention in newsletters how important it is to do research for your stories. All. The. Time. But then I got this fanciful idea for a story in which a character in the story is in the mafia. "I know this guy..." Actually, I don't. I know some guys who might, but I'm not positive and it's not really something you go up to a person and ask. If I had the cajones to ask, I'm pretty sure I'd get punched. Okay, maybe not actually smacked in the face, but a good verbal left hook isn't out of the question.
So, what do I do? I do know this guy, he's in the FBI. Next time I see him, I'm going to be the quizmaster of quizzers and ask him all kinds of questions about his investigations. I'm pretty sure he's going to pull the top secret card on me and say he can't talk about it. The other thing I'm pretty sure of, is that a lot of people who go to jail for organized crime aren't necessarily violent. They just break the law. Boring.
The only other thing I can do is read what other people write about being in the mafia . Some of it is so cliche, I'm pretty sure they watched something like the Sopranos and made it up. So where does that stick me? I'm going to write a character with those personality characteristics and let my reader assume they know what I'm talking about. In the meantime, I'm going to move on with my story and do my best. Once the work is done, perhaps a few readers can make suggestions to make my character more authentic.
As always, do your best and Write On!
This month's question: Do you ever get stuck describing something you know nothing about?
How do you accomplish it in your writing?
Answer below  Editors love feedback! 
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#2002242 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: “A hunner pieces of gold for anyone who catches the beast!”
Excerpt: “Jimmy, bedtime. What do you wanna read?”
“The Dog Barked Loudly!” they both said in unison.
Barbara smiled; she’d never heard the kid mention another book in months. Pulling her sweatshirt on, she went down the hallway to Jimmy’s room. It was always cold on this end of the house: she’d need it before long.
Excerpt: She covered his mouth and whispered, “Hush, Hatar. They’ll find us if you don’t stay quiet.”
Screams soon filled the air. Ashella closed her eyes and held Hatar closer. She didn’t want to look as the Hoard set to beleaguer their village. She couldn’t watch her people run through with swords and pikes. Some even set on fire. Except the children. The boys would be taken and turned into warriors. No. Murderers, and thieves. The girls . . . Ashella didn’t even want to think about what the Hoard would do to them.
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#2082933 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: Again, Mason felt his heart tighten a bit as soft echoes of pain begin to fill him up with each continuous beat. Dreading the ensuing load of another weight upon his shoulders, he suddenly thought of a peculiar idea. Not sure on how to really bring up the idea, Mason found a nearby coffee shop and took a seat inside. Having a calmer and quiet environment, he was able to fully concentrate on what he was about to ask.
"Kate? I have an idea and I want you to help me test it. It's going to sound weird but I need you to fully cooperate with me, understand?"
Excerpt: He had just arrived for the first week of school in a course advertised as “Creative Writing—A Challenge To Produce Your Best.”
‘I must be crazy,’ he thought to himself. ‘This is no place for an old fogey like me.’
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#1770900 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: Martin Many Tales is of that lot who a fine yarn oft' tells. the bard strides forth with his story, wearing motley and bells. Knights lean close, to hear him, they needn't strain, "Hear me then, oh worthy knights," Martin crys in a voice melodious and plain to the ear as he faces the throne," a story I give to you, my king," Martin bows, "this tale of Gawain and the Ghostly Knight," chants Martin where he stands near fire in the hall's brightest light.
Excerpt: Jake sat in his truck and sighed. His hands were sweaty on the wheel, no sound but the engine idling. He had pulled up to the place because his fence had told him the owner of the house died and left loads of valuable merchandise alone. Not that he could tell by looking at the place; it was a two-story wreck. The paint was peeling in several places, even in the meager light shed by the moon and his headlights he could see patches of the rotting, corpse-gray wood beneath the sun-faded apricot paint.
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Excerpt: Lieutenant Morris sprang to her feet, looking around with glassy eyes as recognition of her situation slowly crept in. She was standing in a clearing of tall grasses, the tops of which waved high above her head. It was the second day of their prison break and she had troops to lead.
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This month's question: Do you ever get stuck describing something you know nothing about?
How do you accomplish it in your writing?
Answer below Editors love feedback!
Last month's question: How do you manage to remember details when you're busy?
Lyn's a sly fox  replied: How do you manage to remember details when you're busy?
Before I got computer savvy, I carried a small notepad in my jeans pocket and would grab a second and write one or two words to help me remember. Now, I use my cell phone , I am always adding notes on it, more than I ever did with my pad. It's only way I can keep on top of things because I am guilty of doing too much.
A*Monaing*Faith  sent: Memory exercises are constant, sometimes muscle memory works. writing it down or just telling someone to remind me helps a lot; even if they don't remind me, I remember it better just for saying it out loud.
Elle - on hiatus  responded: How do I remember details when I'm busy? Write them down. And for 'things to do', I make lists. I know I can't trust my memory, so I write things down. Both the act of writing them down and the act of reading them again later helps to cement them in my brain.
Monty  said: Good question I don't even remember details when I am not busy. Sounds like you had an active trip.
StephBee - House Targaryen  submitted: It's always fun to get out and travel. It inspires the adventurous soul! How exciting to see a launch. Sounds like you've got a lot of good ideas for your writing. I'm on vacation too, and I find I run out of time to just write or read. Sigh... I need more downtime too. Smiles Steph
Quick-Quill  confessed: I have to write EVERYTHING down. I put my passport in a place where I wouldn't lose it. now I don't remember where I put it.
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Action/Adventure: May 11, 2016 Issue [#7641]
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