Category Archives: The Art of Writing

Allergic to Murder!

Posted on September 3, 2014 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

We all know that poisons and toxins can kill. I’ve blogged about those often, and such lethal chemicals create interesting focal points for murder scenes and the basis for enticing murder plots. But an unsettling reality is that normal foods … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, About Murder, All About Murder, Anaphylaxis, Blog Writers, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Bloodless Death Scenes, Characteristics of Murder, Chemicals Used For Murder, Common Food Allergies, Developing Story Plots, Developing Storyline Ideas, Foods and Lethal Allergic Responses, Foods That Kill, Foods Used For Murder, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, Killing a Villain in a Novel, Killing Off Characters in Your Novel, Lethal Food Allergies, Murder With Food, Peanut Allergies, Peanut Oil as a Poison, Plotting Murder Scenes, Severe Allergies Used For Murder, Severe Food Allergies, The Art of Storytelling, The Art of Writing, The Science of Murder, Tools for Murder, Ways To Kill, Ways to Murder, Writing Death Scenes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

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

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

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

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

E-Liquids = The New Murder Weapon!

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

For all the wonders of the technological age of today, there are times when life-enhancing advances can turn sinister. One such example is the evolution of e-cigarettes. Electronic cigarettes were first patented in 1963. The mechanism simulates smoking a real … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, About Writing, All About Murder, All About Writing, Blogging, Concentrated Liquid Nicotine, Cryptococcus Infection Outbreak, Drug Abuse, Drug Poisoning, Drugs For Murder Plots, Drugs Used to Murder, E-Liquids, Electronic Cigarettes, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, Interesting Murder Weapons, Killing a Villain in a Novel, Murder by E-Liquid Overdose, Murder By Nicotine Overdose, Murder Weapons, Murder With Drugs, Nicotine and Murder, Nicotine Used For Murder, Party Drugs, Plotting Murder Scenes, Poisons Used to Murder, Prescription For Murder Blog, The Art of Writing, Tools of Murder, Ways To Kill, Writing Death Scenes, Writing Murder Scenes Using Concentrated Nicotine Liquid | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Do Fictional Characters Evolve or Is It the Writer?

Posted on March 26, 2014 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

When developing a fictional character, there are several methods that writers can use. The first thing that usually happens, however, is that writers picture a person in their minds and that first impression of a character often sticks with them … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Writing, Accuracy in Writing, All About Writing, Antagonist Development, Blog Writers, Blogging, Character Development Techniques, Characteristics of a Fictional Character, Developing a Writing Career, Developing Better Writing Skills, Developing Writing Skills, Fictional Character Development, Protagonist Development, Steps to Developing Great Fictional Characters, Story Development, The Art of Writing, Tools of Fiction Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Am I Possessed or Just Becoming a Better Writer?

Posted on February 19, 2014 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

My guess is that the headline question has you thinking that I might be crazy instead. Well, that’s possible, but I’d like you to reserve judgment until you’ve read further. Something happened a few days ago that has me thinking … Continue reading →

Posted in A Non-Murder Plot, About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, About Writing, Achieving Perfection, All About Murder, All About Writing, Blog Writers, Blogging, Character development, Characteristics of Murder, Defining Murder, Developing a Writing Career, Developing Better Writing Skills, Developing Writing Skills, Drugs For Murder Plots, Growing As A Writer, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, Interesting Murder Weapons, Mastering Your Craft, Murder Weapons, Murder With Drugs, Overcoming Writer's Block, Plot Development, Plotting Murder Scenes, Plotting Novellas, Plotting Short Stories, Protagonist Development, The Art of Writing, Ways To Kill, Writing Critique Groups, Writing Workshops | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

How To Write a Bloodless Death Scene

Posted on March 6, 2013 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, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Bloodless Death Scenes, Drug Poisoning, Drugs Used For Murder, The Art of Writing, The Psychology of Murder | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments