Tag Archives: fiction writer

The Next Big Thing!

Posted on January 30, 2013 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Two writer friends of mine, Paul Anthony and Clive Eaton, recently “tagged” me for a “chain blog” called The Next Big Thing. It works like this: you answer a specific set of questions about your current work-in-progress and then invite … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Writing, Blog Rolls, Blog Trends, Blog Writers, Blogging, The Next Big Thing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

My First Interview as a Writer

Posted on December 12, 2012 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

About five years ago, I had a wild idea that I could be a writer.  Actually, I had entertained the thought for decades, but other things always came first.  I guess you could say the usual happened—life got in the … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, About Writing, Drugs Used For Murder, Guest Blogging, Mastering Your Craft, The Art of Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Fiction Character Development

Posted on November 21, 2012 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

When people learn that I write fiction, I’m often asked to describe my main characters and, specifically, they ask how I develop the concepts for those characters.  The answer is simple: from observing people in their everyday lives.  The long … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Writing, Character development, Character Development Techniques, Protagonist Development, The Art of Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Killers from the Sea – Part 2

Posted on October 17, 2012 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

In last week’s blog we talked about the pufferfish and it’s lethal tetrodotoxin as a murder weapon.  Today I’d like to discuss a couple of other interesting sea toxins that could be used as instruments of murder to kill off characters in your … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Writing, Ciguatera, Ciguatera Poisoning, Saxitoxin, Saxitoxin Poisoning, Weapons From the Sea | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Killers from the Sea – Part 1

Posted on October 10, 2012 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

In last week’s blog, I discussed Water Poisons, specifically Cyanobacteria and Red Tide.  Today I want to dive deeper (pun intended) into the subject of sea toxins and discuss one of my favorites: Fugu. Specifically, Fugu is the Japanese pufferfish and … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Writing, Fugu Poisoning, Pufferfish Poisoning, Tetrodotoxin | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Water Poisons

Posted on October 3, 2012 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

“Water, water every where, and nor any drop to drink.”  This quote from The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner by English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge came to mind the other day while watching news feeds regarding a spectacular increase in TOXIC … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Writing, Neurological Poisons, Toxic Bloom Poisoning, Water Poisons | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Hyphens and Dashes

Posted on September 26, 2012 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 their proper … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Writing, Hyphens, Hyphens and Dashes, Proper Punctuation in Writing, Punctuation Marks, Use of Dashes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Dialogue: The Good and The Bad!

Posted on September 12, 2012 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Last week’s blog was all about character development and using my 3P model to consider physical, psychological and philosophical qualities to flesh out characters.  Getting to know a character deep down is necessary before you can turn that character loose in … Continue reading →

Posted in All About Writing, Dialogue Techniques, Good Dialogue Development, The Art of Writing, Writing Dialogue | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Character Development Techniques

Posted on September 5, 2012 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Last month, I wrote a blog about the making of a hero in a murder mystery.  That brief exercise on character development generated considerable interest.  So today I’d like to expand those thoughts and discuss character development from a broader viewpoint. Often … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, All About Writing, Character development, Character Development Techniques, Protagonist Development, The Art of Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

THALLIUM – The Poisoner’s Poison!

Posted on August 29, 2012 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Thallium is a bluish-white metal that, in pure form, is odorless and tasteless.  When combined with other substances like chlorine or iodine, it turns colorless-to-white with maybe a slight yellow tinge.  It dissolves easily in water.  In other words, it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Bioterrorism, Drug Poisoning, Drugs and Bioterrorism, Drugs Used For Murder, Thallium Poisoning, The Poisoner's Poison | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments