Category Archives: Developing Writing Skills

Practicing Your Profession

Posted on April 6, 2016 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

For much of my life I was a practicing pharmacist. Each day I would draw on my professional experience and use every tidbit of education to make appropriate clinical decisions. Like so many other professionals, I was doing the work … Continue reading →

Posted in 000 Hour Rule, About James J. Murray, About Writing, Accuracy in Writing, Achieving Perfection, Achieving Writing Perfection, All About Writing, Almost Dead, Better Fiction Writing, Blog Writers, Blogging, Developing Writing Skills, James J. Murray Blog, Lethal Medicine-The Novel, Mastering Your Craft, Practice Makes Perfect, Practicing Your Profession, Prescription For Murder Blog, The Art of Storytelling, The Art of Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

A Book Hangover!

Posted on March 30, 2016 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

 This past weekend I read a great book and I have a book hangover! I’ve experienced such an event many times in the past, but I’ve never attempted to write about it. So . . . I googled the words … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Writing, Achieving Writing Perfection, All About Writing, Almost Dead, Better Fiction Writing, Blog Writers, Blogging, Book Hangover, Character Driven Writing, Connecting With Your Reader, Developing a Writing Career, Developing Better Writing Skills, Developing Writing Skills, Good Books Create Emotions, Growing As A Writer, James J. Murray Blog, New Book Release, Plot Development, Proper Use of the Written Word, The Art of Storytelling, The Art of Writing, The Writings of James J. Murray, Writing Skills, Your Favorite Book, Your Last Book Hangover? | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Mysteries vs Thrillers

Posted on March 23, 2016 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

A few years ago, mysteries were the hot genre. It seemed as if everyone was reading a mystery novel. The thrill of guessing “Who done it!” was the excitement that kept me, and many others, reading book after book. More … Continue reading →

Posted in A Mystery Novel, A Thriller Novel, About James J. Murray, About Writing, Accuracy in Writing, Achieving Writing Perfection, Adrenaline Rush, All About Writing, Better Fiction Writing, Blog Writers, Blogging, Character Driven Writing, Designing Murder Plots, Developing Better Writing Skills, Developing Story Arcs, Developing Story Plots, Developing Storyline Ideas, Developing Writing Skills, Difference Between Mysteries and Thrillers, Growing As A Writer, James J. Murray Blog, Mysteries and Thrillers Compared, Mysteries Vs Thrillers, New Blog, Plotting Murder Scenes, Prescription For Murder Blog, Proper Use of the Written Word, Role of Suspense in Mysteries, Role of Suspense in Thrillers, Story Development, The Art of Storytelling, The Art of Writing, The Writings of James J. Murray, Tools of Fiction Writing, Writing Skills, Writing Techniques | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

PROLOGUES – To Use or Not To Use!

Posted on December 16, 2015 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Fiction writers often use prologues to set up their story—possibly with an actual murder scene or with a scene that gives valuable historical information to help the reader understand the villain or hero. But are these preambles to the real … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Writing, Accuracy in Editing, Accuracy in Writing, Achieving Writing Perfection, All About Writing, Better Fiction Writing, Blog Writers, Blogging, Correct Use of Prologues, Death of The Prologue?, Developing Better Writing Skills, Developing Story Arcs, Developing Story Plots, Developing Storyline Ideas, Developing Writing Skills, Growing As A Writer, How to Use Prologues, James J. Murray, James J. Murray Blog, Learning the Art of Writing, Mastering Your Craft, Misuse of Prologues, New Blog, Obsession with Proper Usage of the English Language, Prescription For Murder Blog, Prologue Use and Misuse, Prologues, Prologues in Modern Fiction Writing, Proper Use of Prologues, Proper Use of the Written Word, Role of The Prologue, Story Development, The Art of Storytelling, The Art of Writing, Tools of Fiction Writing, Use of Prologues, When Not to Use Prologues, Why Use Prologues | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

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

Posted on December 9, 2015 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

In a recent blog I discussed how to properly use the three types of dashes in writing. Today, I’d like to further the discussion on punctuation marks used specifically to clarify or to emphasize a point. They are the comma, … 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, Correct Use of Punctuation in Fiction Writing, Developing Better Writing Skills, Developing Writing Skills, Difference Between Commas, Ellipses Use, Ellipsis Use, Em Dash Use, Em Dashes and Ellipses, Growing As A Writer, Halon Gas and Murder, How to Use Commas Properly, How To Use Ellipses Properly, How to Use Em Dashes Properly, James J. Murray, James J. Murray Blog, Learning the Art of Writing, Mastering Your Craft, New Blog, Obsession with Proper Usage of the English Language, Prescription For Murder Blog, Proper Punctuation in Writing, Proper use of Commas, Proper Use of the Written Word, Punctuation Marks, Punctuation Rules, Rules of Punctuation, The Art of Writing, Tools of Fiction Writing, Writing Skills, Writing Techniques | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Why A Writer Should Be Thankful!

Posted on November 25, 2015 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Here in the United States it’s Thanksgiving time—Thursday, November 26th to be exact—and it’s a day of fantastic food feasts, with the bonus of a long holiday weekend ahead. More importantly, it’s a time to reflect on what makes our … Continue reading →

Posted in A Holiday Wish, A Writer's Thanksgiving Blog, About James J. Murray, About Writing, All About Writing, Being Thankful Every Day, Being Thankful For Your Life, Blog Trends, Blog Writers, Blogging, Developing Writing Skills, Fiction Based on Facts, Fiction Based on Real Life, Growing As A Writer, Happy Thanksgiving Blog, Holiday Cheer, James J. Murray, James J. Murray Blog, Learning the Art of Writing, Murder Mayhem and Medicine, New Blog, Prescription For Murder Blog, Special Perks of Being A Writer, Thankful For Being A Writer, Why A Writer Should Be Thankful!, Writing As A Special and Rewarding Career | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Hyphens and Dashes – The Dread of Misuse!

Posted on November 18, 2015 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, Em Dash Use, En Dashes and Em Dashes, Grammar and Punctuation, Hyphens, Hyphens and Dashes, Hyphens and Dashes and Their Misuse, James J. Murray, James J. Murray Blog, Learning the Art of Writing, Mastering Your Craft, New Blog, 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, The Writings of James J. Murray, Tools of Fiction Writing, Use of Dashes, Use of Hyphens, Writing Skills, Writing Techniques | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

From Fan Fiction to Profiles of Murder

Posted on October 7, 2015 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Several years ago I met an interesting writer online. There seemed to be an instant connection since we both liked cats—particularly black cats. More importantly, we were both struggling to find our niche in the ocean of new writers waiting … Continue reading →

Posted in A Diane Kratz Interview, A Guest Blog, A New Anthology of Short Stories, A New Short Story Collection, A New Short Story Release, About Diane Kratz, About James J. Murray, About Murder, All About Writing, Blog Interviews, Blog Writers, Blogging, Designing Murder Plots, Developing Better Life Skills, Developing Better Writing Skills, Developing Storyline Ideas, Developing Writing Skills, Diane Kratz-An Author Interview, Fiction Based on Facts, Flicker by Diane Kratz, Flicker-A New Short Story, Growing As A Writer, Guest Blogging, James J. Murray Blog, Learning the Art of Writing, Mastering Your Craft, Murder Mayhem and Medicine, New Blog, New Book Is Published, New Book Release, New Short Story Anthology, New Short Story Collection, Plot Ideas and Where They Come From, Plotting Short Stories, Prescription For Murder Blog, Profiles of Murder -Diane Kratz, Profiles of Murder Blog, Short Story Development, The Art of Storytelling, The Art of Writing, Tools of Fiction Writing, Writing is Murder Blog, Writing Skills, Writing Techniques | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Author Extraordinaire — James Osborne

Posted on September 16, 2015 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Today I want to introduce a most interesting gentleman that I met because of this weekly blog I write. A couple of years ago I started getting comments from James Osborne with each and every blog. His comments were always … Continue reading →

Posted in A New Anthology of Short Stories, A New Short Story Collection, A New Short Story Release, A Thriller Novel, About James Osborne, All About Writing, An Author Interview With James Osborne, Blog Interviews, Blog Writers, Blogging, Developing Better Life Skills, Developing Writing Skills, Fiction Based on Facts, Growing As A Writer, Guest Blogging, James J. Murray Blog, James Osborne, Mastering Your Craft, New Blog, New Book Is Published, New Book Release, New Novel Published, New Novel Release, New Publication, New Short Story Anthology, New Short Story Collection, New Thriller To Download, Plotting Short Stories, Short Story Development, The Art of Storytelling, The Art of Writing, The Writings of James Osborne, Unforeseeable Consequences - The Anthology, With Hostile Intent - A Short Story | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Apostrophes And Their Use With Proper Nouns

Posted on July 29, 2015 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”. I’ve written a similar … Continue reading →

Posted in "Cuffed" by James J. Murray, A Free Short Story Offering, A New Short Story Release, About James J. Murray, About Writing, Accuracy in Editing, Accuracy in Writing, 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, Medical Treatments Using LSD, 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 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments