Category Archives: Short Story Development

SANTA’S SECRET HELPER – The Conclusion!

Posted on December 23, 2019 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Over this last week plus, I’ve been publishing parts of a holiday short story that I wrote and published several years ago in a Christmas short story collection of  “less than sugar and spice” Christmas tales called “FROST and other stories published … Continue reading →

Posted in A Holiday Gift Idea, A Holiday Wish, A Jon Masters Novel, A Mystery Short Story, A New Short Story Release, A Thriller Novel, A Twisted Christmas Short Story, A Twisted Holiday Short Story, About James J. Murray, About Murder, About Writing, Blog Writers, Blogging, Drug Misadventures, Free Short Story Download, Imperfect Murder The Novel, Imperfect Murder Thriller Novel, James J. Murray Blog, James J. Murray's IMPERFECT MURDER Novel, James J. Murray's LETHAL MEDICINE Novel, Lethal Medicine Thriller Novel, Lethal Medicine-The Novel, Misuse of Drugs, Murder Mayhem and Medicine, New Blog, Prescription For Murder Blog, Santa's Secret Helper, Short Story Development | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Espionage at the Molecular Level

Posted on May 30, 2018 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

In the world of espionage, privacy and security are top priorities to the success and safety of secret agents. Over the centuries, spies have utilized an evolving series of techniques to maintain the privacy of their confidential information. In Roman … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, All About Murder, Blog Writers, Blogging, Chemical Encryption, Chemical Enigma System, Chemical Passwords For Security, Chemical Weapons Discussions, Chemicals Used For Murder, Designing Murder Plots, Developing Story Plots, Developing Storyline Ideas, Elements of Murder, Fiction Based on Facts, Fiction Based on Real Life, Fluorescent Spy Technology, Interesting Event and Ideas Develop into Short Stories, James J. Murray Blog, Modern Espionage, Modern Espionage in Fiction Writing, Murder Mayhem and Medicine, New Blog, New Methods To Kill Characters in Your Novel, Plot Development, Plot Ideas and Where They Come From, Plotting Short Stories, Prescription For Murder Blog, Short Story Development, The Art of Storytelling, The Science of Murder, Unique Murder Plots | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Peyote and My Short Story

Posted on October 18, 2017 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Years ago, I contributed a short story to a Christmas anthology that a friend was publishing. My piece was named “Santa’s Secret Helper” and it was a rather hilarious (and irreverent) take on what can go wrong when a curmudgeon … Continue reading →

Posted in A How To Blog on Murder Plot Ideas, A Mystery Short Story, A Non-Murder Plot, About Ancient Forgotten Cures, About Medications/Pharmacy, Ancient Curing Potions, Blog Writers, Blogging, Chemical Poisons, Chemicals Used For Murder, Christmas Anthology, Christmas Short Stories, Deadly Plant Poisons, Designing Murder Plots, Developing Story Arcs, Developing Story Plots, Developing Storyline Ideas, Dramatic Murder Weapons, Drug Abuse, Drug Misadventures, Drug Poisoning, Drugs and Amnesia, Drugs For Murder Plots, Drugs Used For Murder, Growing As A Writer, Hallucinogenic Drugs, How to Choose a Murder Weapon for a Plot Idea, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Interesting Murder Weapons, James J. Murray Blog, Lethal Botanicals, Medical Research on Psychedelic Drugs, Mescaline, Misuse of Drugs, Murder Mayhem and Medicine, Murder Weapons Discussed, Murder With Drugs, New Blog, New Methods of Murder, New Uses for Old Drugs, Peyote, Peyote and Tribal Rituals, Pharmacy/Pharmaceuticals, Plant Poisons, Plants That Kill, Plants Used For Murder, Plotting Interesting Murder Scenes, Poisonous Plants, Prescription For Murder Blog, Psychedelic Drugs, Psychoactive Designer Drugs, Psychotropic Botanicals, Santa's Secret Helper, Short Stories of Suspense and Mystery, Short Story Development, Unique Murder Plots, Unique Murder Weapons, Writing Dramatic Murder Scenes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Bobbie Cole – A Versatile, Adventurous Author

Posted on November 4, 2015 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

This summer I had the honor of working with a multi-talented and busy author of short stories, novellas and novels. Her name is Bobbie Cole and I met Bobbie through a mutual friend—another author, Diane Kratz, who I blogged about … Continue reading →

Posted in A Bobbie Cole Interview, A Guest Blog, A Mystery Short Story, A New Anthology of Short Stories, A New Short Story Collection, A New Short Story Release, About Bobbie Cole, About James J. Murray, About Murder, All About Writing, Blog Interviews, Blog Writers, Blogging, Bobbie Cole-An Author Interview, Character Driven Writing, Developing Better Writing Skills, Flicker - A Short Story, Flicker by Bobbie Cole and 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, Plotting Short Stories, Prescription For Murder Blog, Short Stories of Suspense and Mystery, Short Story Development, The Art of Storytelling, The Art of Writing, Tools of Fiction Writing, Writing Skills, Writing Techniques | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

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

COMING SOON – New Short Stories!

Posted on September 2, 2015 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

It’s been an exciting summer! In July I published one of my favorite short stories—Cuffed. It’s a true story about a frightening yet entertaining event that happened one night long ago when I worked the graveyard shift in a local … Continue reading →

Posted in "Cuffed" by James J. Murray, A How To Blog on Murder Plot Ideas, A How To Blog on Murder Weapons, A New Short Story Release, A Thriller Novel, About James J. Murray, About Murder, About Writing, Blog Writers, Blogging, Designing Murder Plots, Dramatic Murder Weapons, Drugs Used For Murder, Holiday Anthology, Holiday Short Stories, Lethal Medicine-The Novel, Murder With Drugs, New Blog, New Publication, New Short Story Anthology, New Short Story Collection, Short Story Development, The Art of Storytelling, The Art of Writing, The Science of Murder, Unique Murder Plots | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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