A twelve year old boy and his father share a long commute every afternoon. Doesn’t that sound like a recipe for quality time between a father and his gifted and precocious son? Maybe, maybe not. Continue reading
Category Archives: Conflict
A CHILD’S INFLUENCE
Filed under Conflict, Influence, Relationships
MURDER
Life is precious. That’s my best response to the unanswerable question, “What place does murder have in fiction?” A few thoughts— Continue reading
Filed under Conflict, Mystery, Suspense, Writing style
INTELLIGENT SON
How does a father deal with a more-intelligent son?
Say the boy is twelve, going to a gifted school, with an IQ around 180 and just a touch of autism—but precocious. He’s a nice kid and respectful, but one of his missing pieces is that he thinks everybody knows everything he knows and he doesn’t understand when they don’t. He reads Crime and Punishment and studies Calculus. He skims through a light novel in one evening. He knows what his dad is about to say before the words are formed. Continue reading
Filed under Characters, Conflict, Influence, Relationships
SUSPENSE
Let’s talk about action and suspense.
I’m taking it as given that suspense is legitimate fodder for a modern novel. Continue reading
Filed under Conflict, Suspense, Writing style
PARENTAL INFLUENCES
How does a mother influence her husband’s negative message to their son?
This situation is poison for a family. The father may be abusive or alcoholic. On the other hand, he may be well-meaning, wanting to teach his son—but he teaches all the wrong things. The consequences can be devastating to a boy and last his entire life. Continue reading
Filed under Characters, Conflict, Games, Influence, Relationships
The Gamemaker's Father 