A boy is abandoned by his father at a tender age. There is no denying that this kind of event leaves a festering wound in a child. As he grows to adulthood, it has a tremendous influence on his world view. When he’s grown, what happens to his relationship with his own child? Continue reading
ABANDONED CHILD
Filed under Conflict, Relationships
A CHILD’S INFLUENCE
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
Filed under Conflict, Influence, Relationships
IS FICTION MORE THAN ENTERTAINMENT?
This response from J KIRSCH strikes me as so profound that I am reproducing it here:
This post brings up an interesting conundrum: why does fiction sometimes equal or transcend the ability of nonfiction to touch someone? People see a headline or a paragraph and are able to distance themselves from a real tragedy. On the other hand have that person read their favorite novel in which they lose a major character and they feel real sadness. Continue reading
Filed under Characters, Mystery, Suspense, Writing style
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
MASTER AND COMMANDER
I recently completed the twenty and a half novels of the Master and Commander series by Patrick O’Brian. (O’Brian died before completing the last.) A pastor’s daughter recommended them and after a few pages, I got hooked. Continue reading
Filed under Characters, Writing style
TOM CLANCY
I enjoy Tom Clancy’s novels. I broke out my old paperbacks and now find myself in the middle of the second book.
In a previous post, I compared plot-driven to character-driven novels. Continue reading
Filed under Characters, Suspense, Writing style
GAMES
How can games connect people on a unique level?
Games are a form of interaction, challenge and mental stimulation. People play games to teach, for relationship, or just for fun.
A board game or a card game has structure, but some games do not. Some have no rules. Think about the verbal manipulation a child uses to get his way.
What if a game becomes the primary communication tool between two people? Is that healthy? Continue reading
Filed under Characters, Games, Influence, Relationships
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
WELCOME!
Here’s what I plan to do on this site: I will raise an array of important life issues of interest to many of you and ask for your opinion. I will not talk about breakfast cereal. To focus my posts, I’ll use characters and situations from my upcoming novel, The Gamemaker’s Father.
Filed under Welcome, Writing style
The Gamemaker's Father 