writing advice – Page 4 – Cynthia D. Griffin

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To Be a Good Writer Means to Be a Good Thinker

Posted on December 15, 2014July 9, 2019 by Cynthia D. Griffin

Writing is 99% thinking, and the rest is typing. — Ray Bradbury

When I first started writing, I did it the hard way. I just wrote the first thing that came to mind. I got an idea, character, setting, or ect. in my head and I wrote it down immediately.

It was fun. I produced a story, or maybe a part of a story, or maybe really just words on a page. But damn if I didn’t feel proud of my accomplishment. A proud Momma with her precious baby.

And then I got some experience under my belt and that happy bubble popped when I realized I was doing it all wrong.

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Fight Scenes Part 5: Psychological Warfare

Posted on November 14, 2014July 9, 2019 by Cynthia D. Griffin

Whew! We made it to number five! If you missed the other four parts of this fight scene series you can catch up Fight Scenes Part 1: An Introduction, Fight Scenes Part 2: Physical Differences, Fight Scenes Part 3: Hand to Hand Combat, and Fight Scenes Part 4: Weapons. Here is the last, but certainly not the least installment of the series. Check out how to get the upper hand with messing with people’s heads, or how a fight can mess with a your (main/other) characters head.

Something to remember... When you fail to do something in a fight, it can be a serious psychological blow.

The arrogance of power assumes they will always be successful and can’t be stopped. They also feel entitled to seize anything they can take.

Some psychological elements are…

Experience
Temperament
Desire/ intent
Mental state
Emotional state

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Fight Scenes Part 4: Weapons

Posted on November 10, 2014July 9, 2019 by Cynthia D. Griffin

Missed the fist three parts? Check out Fight Scenes Part 1: An Introduction, Fight Scenes Part 2: Physical Difference, and Fight Scenes Part 3: Hand to Hand Combat. Now let’s talk a little about weapons. These notes focus mostly on unconventional weapons or what Jonathan Maberry called natural weapons.

Weapons

The more a character knows how to use natural weapons the better he’ll be.

Types of Weapons…

Core Body Techniques
Surrogate Weapons
Actual Weapons

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character development, good writing, great writing, how to write, Johnathan Maberry, learning to write, The Writer's Toolbox, the writing process, workshop, writing, writing advice, writing fight scenes, writing workshop

Fight Scenes Part 3: Hand to Hand Combat

Posted on November 8, 2014July 9, 2019 by Cynthia D. Griffin

So far we have looked at Fight Scenes Part 1: An introduction and Fight Scenes Part 2: Physical Differences now lets get into the really fun stuff… hand to hand combat. My notes are more geared toward getting out of a fight and how touch can be important in a fighting situation. So without further delay…

Ways to Get out of a Fight…

Rule #1: The more injury you make the least able the attacker is able to attack.

A hit to the nose can end a fight to a non-experienced fighter (which even a child can do).

Things a hit to the nose does to a person…

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Fight Scenes Part 2: Physical Differences

Posted on October 27, 2014July 9, 2019 by Cynthia D. Griffin

Here is the second installment of my Fight Scene series based off notes from Jonathan Maberry’s fabulous class. If you haven’t already, check out Fight Scenes Part 1: An Introduction. So lets’ get started. This post will be dedicated to how physical differences in all parties involved can make a big difference in how a fight plays out.

Physical differences are a BIG deal…