Category Archives: All About Writing

Laughing Man

Posted on August 13, 2014 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

It’s been said that the best fiction is based on fact. And, no matter how large or small that tidbit of information is, it plants the seed that the writer develops as the story arc. It’s the spark that creates … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Writing, Accuracy in Writing, Airplane Murders, All About Writing, Blog Writers, Blogging, Character Development Techniques, Characteristics of a Fictional Character, Developing a Writing Career, Developing Better Writing Skills, Developing Story Arcs, Developing Story Plots, Developing Storyline Ideas, Fiction Based on Facts, Fiction Based on Real Life, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Interesting Event and Ideas Develop into Short Stories, Mastering Your Craft, Plot Ideas and Where They Come From, Plotting Short Stories, Short Story Development, Sources of Story and Plot Ideas, Story Development, The Art of Storytelling, The Art of Writing, Tools of Fiction Writing, Writing Skills, Writing Techniques | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Narcissus Plant – Pretty But Deadly!

Posted on July 16, 2014 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

I’ve blogged before about some deceptively attractive plants that can be lethal when ingested, and I’ve recently discovered one more to add to the list. Parts of the beautiful, flowering narcissus plant can be quite poisonous and deadly! Narcissus is a popular … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Murder, About Writing, All About Murder, All About Writing, Blog Writers, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Bloodless Death Scenes, Botanical Murder Weapons, Chemicals Used For Murder, Common Varieties of Narcissus Plant Family, Contact Poisons, Daffodil Plant Dangers, Deadly Daffodil Bulbs, Deadly Poison Lycorine, Developing Writing Skills, Drug Poisoning, Drug Poisoning in Children, Drugs For Murder Plots, Drugs Used to Murder, Eating Poisonous Plants, How To Write A BloodLess Murder Scene, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Interesting Murder Weapons, Jonquil Plant Dangers, Killing a Villain in a Novel, Killing Off Characters in Your Novel, Killing With Poisonous Plants, Murder Weapons, Murder With Drugs, Murder With Poisonous Plants, Narcissus Plant Dangers, New Methods To Kill Characters in Your Novel, Plant Poisons, Plants That Kill, Plants Used For Murder, Plotting Murder Scenes, Poisonous Daffodil Bulbs, Poisonous Narcissus Plant, Poisonous Plants, Poisons Used For Murder, Prescription For Murder Blog, The Science of Murder, Top 10 Most Poisonous Plants, Ways to Murder | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Flesh-Eating Crocodile – A New Drug Threat!

Posted on July 9, 2014 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

From the title of this blog, I suspect you may realize that I’m talking about a whole new “animal” here—not the large aquatic reptile, but a totally different (and yet just as deadly) crocodile. While researching new methods to kill … Continue reading →

Posted in A New Drug Abuse Threat, About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, About Murder, About Writing, All About Murder, All About Writing, Blog Writers, Blogging, Characteristics of Killing, Characteristics of Murder, Chemicals Used For Murder, Crocodile Drug, Deadly Drugs in America, Designer Drug Deaths, Desomorphine, Desomorphine Abuse, Desomorphine As A Street Drug, Desomorphine Manufacture, Drug Abuse, Drug Poisoning, Drugs For Murder Plots, Drugs Used For Murder, Drugs Used to Murder, Elements of Murder, Flesh Eating Crocodile, Flesh Eating Krocodil, Flesh-Eating Crocodile Drug, Flesh-Eating Krocodile, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, Interesting Murder Weapons, Killing a Villain in a Novel, Krokodil As a Street Drug, Krokodil Made From Codeine, Krokodil vs Heroin, Krokodil vs Morphine, Misuse of Drugs, Murder Weapons, Murder With Drugs, New Drug Abuse Phenomenon, New Methods To Kill Characters in Your Novel, Plotting Murder Scenes, Prescription For Murder Blog, Russian Street Drug Deals, Street Drug Abuse Substances, The Art of Writing, The Poor Man's Meth, The Science of Murder, Thrill-Seeker Drugs, Tools of Murder, Ways To Kill, Ways to Murder, Writing Death Scenes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Polonium – A New Weapon of Mass Destruction!

Posted on June 25, 2014 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Last week I posted a blog on thallium, a classic drug used as a murder weapon both in novels and in real life. And this week I have another interesting chemical that can be used in the same fashion. That … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, About Murder, About Writing, Accuracy in Writing, All About Murder, All About Writing, Biological Warfare, Biological Warfare Treatments, Biological Weapons, Bioterrorism, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Bloodless Death Scenes, Botanical Murder Weapons, Chemicals Used For Murder, Contact Poisons, Dimercaprol Chelation of Polonium, Dimercaprol Use, Drug Poisoning, Drugs For Murder Plots, Drugs Used For Murder, Elements of Murder, How To Write A BloodLess Murder Scene, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, Interesting Murder Weapons, Murder Weapons, Murder With Drugs, Poisons Used For Murder, Poisons Used to Murder, Polonium, Polonium and Murder, Polonium Discovery by Marie and Pierre Curie, Polonium Poisoning, Radioactive Polonium Poisoning, Radioactive Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), Radioactive Weapons of Murder, The Science of Murder, Tools for Murder, Ways to Murder, Writing Death Scenes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Saxitoxin and Ciguatera – More Killers From The Sea

Posted on June 4, 2014 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Last week I blogged about pufferfish and the lethal tetradotoxin that they contain, and we discussed their use as possible murder weapons. Today I want to talk about a couple of other interesting sea toxins that could be incorporated into … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Writing, Acute Poisons, All About Murder, All About Writing, Bio-Defense, Biological Warfare, Bioterrorism, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Bloodless Death Scenes, Characteristics of Killing, Characteristics of Murder, Ciguatera, Ciguatera and Folklore Medicine, Ciguatera and Marine Microalgae, Ciguatera and Murder, Ciguatera Poisoning, Contact Poisons, Developing Better Writing Skills, Developing Writing Skills, Drugs and Terrorism, Drugs Used to Murder, Flaccid Paralysis, Heat Resistant Poisonings, How To Write A BloodLess Murder Scene, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Murder Weapons, Murder With Drugs, Neurological Poisons, Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning, Paralytic Shellfish Toxins, Plotting Murder Scenes, Poisons That Mimic Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Pufferfish and Murder, Pufferfish Poisoning, Sarin Gas, Saxitoxin, Saxitoxin and Biological Terrorist Weapons, Saxitoxin and Murder, Saxitoxin and Suicide, Saxitoxin as Bioweapons, Saxitoxin Poisoning, Severe Food Allergies, STX, Tetradotoxin, The Science of Murder, Toxins From Shellfish, Ways To Kill, Ways to Murder, Writing Death Scenes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Most Lethal Toxin From the Sea!

Posted on May 28, 2014 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Sea toxins have become very popular as tools of murder, both on television as well as in murder mysteries over the last few years. One of the most popular, and one of the best known, is Fugu, the Japanese name … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Writing, Acute Poisons, All About Murder, All About Writing, Blog Writers, Blogging, Characteristics of Killing, Characteristics of Murder, Contact Poisons, Drugs For Murder Plots, Drugs Used For Murder, Fugu, Fugu and Murder, Fugu Poisoning, How To Write A BloodLess Murder Scene, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Murder Weapons, Murder With Drugs, Plotting Murder Scenes, Poisons Used to Murder, Pufferfish and Murder, Pufferfish Poisoning, Tetrodotoxin, Tetrodotoxin and Murder, The Science of Murder, Tools of Murder, TTX and Murder, Ways To Kill, Ways to Murder | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Apostrophes And Their Use With Proper Nouns

Posted on May 21, 2014 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

This may seem like a silly subject to write about, but I must admit that I’ve had trouble using the apostrophe appropriately in the past, especially regarding its use with proper nouns that end in “s”. It’s become a personal … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Writing, Accuracy in Editing, Accuracy in Writing, Achieving Perfection, All About Writing, Apostrophe Use, Apostrophe Use with Nouns Ending in S, Apostrophe Use with Plural Nouns Ending in S, Apostrophes and Proper Nouns, Appropriate Apostrophe Use, Blog Writers, Blogging, Chicago Manual of Style and Apostrophes, Developing a Writing Career, Developing Better Writing Skills, Developing Writing Skills, Grammar and Punctuation, Growing As A Writer, New Life Goals, Obsession with Proper Usage of the English Language, Proper Punctuation in Writing, Proper Use of Apostrophes, The AP Style and Apostrophes, The Art of Writing, The Associated Press Rules for Apostrophes, The Misuse of Apostrophes, The Misuse of Apostrophes with Nouns Ending in S, Tools of Fiction Writing, Writing Skills | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

How To Write a Bloodless Death Scene

Posted on May 7, 2014 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

The storyline for the novel I’m currently writing calls for one of the characters to be murdered. Simple enough! Shoot or stab the person, or use a dozen other ways to kill off the character. But that didn’t fit with … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, About Writing, Accuracy in Writing, All About Murder, All About Writing, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Bloodless Death Scenes, Characteristics of Murder, Defining Murder, Developing Better Writing Skills, Drugs For Murder Plots, How To Write A BloodLess Murder Scene, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, Interesting Murder Weapons, Learning the Art of Writing, Murder Weapons, Murder With Drugs, Plot Development, Plotting Murder Scenes, The Psychology of Murder, The Science of Murder, Tools of Murder, Ways To Kill, Ways to Murder, Writing Death Scenes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Commas, Em Dashes, and Ellipses—And Their Proper Use!

Posted on April 30, 2014 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

In last week’s blog, I explained how to properly use the three types of dashes in writing. Today, I’d like to further the discussion on punctuation marks that are used specifically to clarify or to emphasize a point. They are … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Writing, Accuracy in Editing, Accuracy in Writing, Achieving Perfection, All About Writing, AP Style of Ellipsis, Blog Writers, Blogging, Chicago Style of Ellipsis, Comma Use, Developing a Writing Career, Developing Better Writing Skills, Developing Writing Skills, Difference Between Commas, Ellipses Use, Ellipsis Use, Em Dash Use, Em Dashes and Ellipses, En Dashes and Em Dashes, Grammar and Punctuation, Growing As A Writer, How to Use Commas Properly, How To Use Ellipses Properly, How to Use Em Dashes Properly, Hyphens, Hyphens and Dashes, Hyphens and Dashes and Their Misuse, Mastering Your Craft, Obsession with Proper Usage of the English Language, Proper Punctuation in Writing, Proper use of Commas, Proper Use of the Written Word, Styles of Ellypsis, The Art of Writing, The Difference Between Hyphens, The Proper Use of Hyphens and Dashes, Tools of Fiction Writing, Use of Dashes, Use of Hyphens, Writing Skills, Writing Techniques | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Hyphens and Dashes – The Dread of Misuse!

Posted on April 23, 2014 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Hyphens and dashes are two distinctly different punctuation marks and a proper understanding of each will avoid embarrassing mistakes in your writing. Will anyone get MURDERED as a result of using the wrong one in the wrong place? No, but … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Writing, Accuracy in Editing, Accuracy in Writing, Achieving Perfection, All About Writing, Blog Writers, Blogging, Developing a Writing Career, Developing Better Writing Skills, Developing Writing Skills, Dreaded Misuse of Hyphens and Dashes, En Dashes and Em Dashes, Grammar and Punctuation, Hyphens, Hyphens and Dashes, Hyphens and Dashes and Their Misuse, Obsession with Proper Usage of the English Language, Proper Punctuation in Writing, Proper Use of the Written Word, Punctuation Marks, Punctuation Rules, The Art of Writing, The Proper Use of Hyphens and Dashes, Tools of Fiction Writing, Use of Dashes, Use of Hyphens, Writing Skills, Writing Techniques | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments