Tag Archives: fiction writer

Clean Your Windows – Clear Out Your Enemies!

Posted on June 24, 2015 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Earlier this year there was considerable news coverage of an unusual attempted murder case. A South Carolina college student allegedly tried to kill her roommates by spraying their food with a window-cleaning product. The student was caught on videotape and … Continue reading →

Posted in A How To Blog on Murder Plot Ideas, About James J. Murray, About Murder, Acute Poisons, All About Murder, Blog Writers, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Chemical Poisons, Chemicals Used For Murder, Deciding How to Kill Off a Character in a Novel, Household Chemicals Used For Murder, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Interesting Murder Weapons, Lethal Substances Used For Murder, Murder Weapons Discussed, Murder With Chemical Cleaners, New Methods of Murder, New Methods To Kill Characters in Your Novel, Plotting Interesting Murder Scenes, Poisoning With Household Cleaning Products, The Science of Murder, Tools of Murder, Unique Murder Weapons, Ways to Murder, Windex and Murder, Window Cleaner Poisoning, Window Cleaning Murder, Writing Death Scenes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Scorpion Venom – A Lethal Opportunity!

Posted on May 13, 2015 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Scorpions are predatory arthropods—exoskeleton or shell-like creatures. They originated in England in the High Middle Ages (around 1200 AD). Although scorpion venom has a fearsome reputation, there are only about 25 varieties (out of the over 1,700 species) that have … Continue reading →

Posted in About Writing, Acute Poisons, All About Murder, Blog Writers, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Bloodless Death Scenes, Chemical Poisons, Deadly Scorpion Venom, Deathstalker Scorpion Venom, Deathstalker Scorprion, Designer Drug Deaths, Drugs For Murder Plots, Drugs Used For Murder, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, Interesting Murder Weapons, Israeli Yellow Scorpion, Israeli Yellow Scorpion Venom, Killing Off Characters in Writing, Lethal Scorpion Venom, Murder Weapons Discussed, Murder With Drugs, New Drug Discoveries, New Drug Research, Plotting Interesting Murder Scenes, Plotting Murder Scenes, Poisonous Scorpion Venom, Poisons Used For Murder, Scorpion Stings, Scorpion Venom, The Deadliest Scorprion, The Science of Murder, Tools for Murder, Tools of Murder, Types of Deadly Scorpions, Uncategorized, Writing Death Scenes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Foods Can Kill

Posted on April 29, 2015 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

I often write about poisons and toxins that kill. After all, I write about murder and what better way to kill someone than with a substance that’s lethal but not so easy to detect. Such scenes make for good fiction … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, Anaphylaxis, Blog Trends, Blog Writers, Blogging, Children and Food Allergies, Common Food Allergies, Food Allergies on the Rise, Foods and Lethal Allergic Responses, Foods That Kill, Lethal Agents and Murder, Lethal Food Allergies, Lethal Substances Used For Murder, Murder With Food, New Methods of Murder, Peanut Allergies, Peanut Oil as a Poison, Pharmacy/Pharmaceuticals, Plotting Murder Scenes, Severe Allergies Used For Murder, Severe Food Allergies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Dialogue: The Good and The Bad!

Posted on April 1, 2015 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Last week’s blog was all about character development and using the 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 … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Writing, Accuracy in Editing, Accuracy in Writing, All About Writing, Authors' Social Media Support Group, Better Fictional Character Development, Blog Writers, Blogging, Characteristics of a Fictional Character, Creating Interesting Fiction Characters, Developing a Writing Career, Developing Better Writing Skills, Dialogue Techniques, Good and Bad Dialogue Techniques, Good Dialogue Development, Growing As A Writer, How Fictional Characters Should Speak, How to Write Dialogue in Fiction, Learning the Art of Writing, Proper Use of the Written Word, Protagonist Development, The Art and Craft of Dialogue Writing, The Art of Writing, Tools of Fiction Writing, Writing Better Dialogue, Writing Dialogue, Writing Skills, Writing Techniques | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Fictional Character Development Techniques

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

When people learn that I write fiction, they often ask how I develop the concepts for my main characters. The answer is simple: from observing people in their everyday lives. The long answer, however, is much more complex. While it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Writing, Accuracy in Editing, Accuracy in Writing, All About Writing, Better Fictional Character Development, Blog Writers, Blogging, Character development, Character Development Techniques, Characteristics of a Fictional Character, Counterfeit Drugs and the Internet, Creating Interesting Fiction Characters, Developing Better Writing Skills, Developing Effective and Compelling Fictional Heroes, Developing Writing Skills, Fictional Character Development, Growing As A Writer, Learning the Art of Writing, Pharmacists as Protagonists, Protagonist Development, Steps to Developing Great Fictional Characters, The Art of Storytelling, The Art of Writing, Writing Skills | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Makings of a Hero

Posted on March 18, 2015 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

There’s nothing better than a memorable protagonist in any story, and the good guy in a murder mystery saves the day by solving the crime and bringing the perpetrator to justice. So for the next couple of weeks, I’d like … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Writing, Accuracy in Writing, All About Writing, Better Fictional Character Development, Blog Writers, Blogging, Character Development Techniques, Characteristics of a Fictional Character, Creating Unique and Interesting Character Flaws, Developing Better Writing Skills, Developing Effective and Compelling Fictional Heroes, Developing Writing Skills, Fictional Character Development, Growing As A Writer, Learning the Art of Writing, Protagonist Development, Protagonists, Steps to Developing Great Fictional Characters, Story Development, The Art of Storytelling, The Art of Writing, Writing Skills, Writing Techniques | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

CYANIDE – A Classic Murder Weapon!

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

If you’ve been paying attention to my blogs over the last three weeks, you’ll notice that I’ve been writing about some classic poisons that have been used throughout history as murder weapons and which have been the lethal elements of … Continue reading →

Posted in A How To Blog on Murder Weapons, About James J. Murray, About Murder, Acute Poisons, All About Murder, Blog Writers, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Chemical Poisons, Chronic Poisons, Cyanide and House Fires, Cyanide As A Poison, Cyanide in Household Foods, Cyanide in Household Items, Cyanide Is A Dramatic Killer, Cyanide Poisoning Symptoms, Cyanide Poisoning Telltale Signs, Dramatic Murder Weapons, Drug Poisoning, Drugs For Murder Plots, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, Interesting Murder Weapons, Lethal Chemical Poisons, Lethal Substances Used For Murder, Murder Weapons, Murder With Cyanide, Plotting Interesting Murder Scenes, Poisons and Murder, The Science of Murder, Tools for Murder, Top Ten Most Famous Poisons, Uncategorized, Ways To Kill, Ways to Murder | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

BELLADONNA – It’s More Than A Beautiful Woman

Posted on February 18, 2015 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Often some of the most deadly substances were once used for cosmetic purposes—that is, before their lethal qualities became obvious. An example of such commercial carelessness was thallium being marketed as a depilatory agent. It effectively removed unwanted hair, but … Continue reading →

Posted in A How To Blog on Murder Plot Ideas, A How To Blog on Murder Weapons, About James J. Murray, About Murder, Belladonna and Hyoscyamine Toxins, Belladonna and Scopolamine Toxins, Belladonna As A Murder Weapon, Belladonna Drugs, Blog Writers, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Botanical Murder Weapons, Botanicals That Kill, Chemicals Used For Murder, Deadly Cosmetics, Deadly Plant Poisons, Dramatic Murder Weapons, Drug Poisoning, Drugs For Murder Plots, Drugs Made From Deadly Nightshade, Drugs Used For Murder, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, Interesting Murder Weapons, Killing With Poisonous Plants, Lethal Agents and Murder, Lethal Botanicals, Murder Weapons, Murder With Poisonous Plants, Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning, Plant Poisons, Plants Used For Murder, Plotting Interesting Murder Scenes, Poisonous Plants, Poisons and Murder, Scopolamine Adverse Effects, Scopolamine and Amnesia, The Science of Murder, The Toxicity of Deadly Nightshade, The Toxicity of the Belladonna Plant, Tools for Murder, Uses of Tincture of Belladonna, Using Deadly Nightshade as a Murder Weapon, Ways To Kill | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

PRIONS and the Zombie Disease!

Posted on January 21, 2015 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Imagine designing a murder mystery plot using a substance that transformed ordinary people into zombies and then writing a convincing story based on the science of it all. The victims in your story would have difficulty walking because of loss … Continue reading →

Posted in A How To Blog on Murder Plot Ideas, A How To Blog on Murder Weapons, Abnormal Protein Invasion of the Brain, About James J. Murray, About Murder, All About Murder, Blog Writers, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Characteristics of Murder, Chemicals Used For Murder, Deciding How to Kill Off a Character in a Novel, Designer Poisons Used For Murder, Designing Murder Plots, Dramatic Murder Weapons, How to Choose a Murder Weapon for a Plot Idea, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Interesting Murder Weapons, Kuru, Microbes Used To Murder, Murder With Drugs, Neuroscience and Murder, New Methods of Murder, New Methods To Kill Characters in Your Novel, Plotting Interesting Murder Scenes, Plotting Murder Scenes, Prion Linked Diseases, Prions and Murder, Prions and Neurological Degeneration, Prions and The Science of Murder, Prions and the Zombie Disease, Science-Based Zombies, The Science of Murder, The Zombie Disease, Unique Lethal Compounds, Unique Murder Plots, Ways To Kill, Ways to Murder, Writing Death Scenes, Zombie Drugs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Create An Action-Packed New Year!

Posted on December 31, 2014 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Before you roll your eyes at yet another lesson about New Year’s Resolutions, here are some practical suggestions to help you 1) make realistic goals, 2) plan them logically, and 3) keep yourself on track to meet those goals. First … Continue reading →

Posted in A Holiday Wish, A New Year's Greeting, A New Year's Wish, About James J. Murray, About Running, About Writing, Achieving Perfection, Blog Writers, Blogging, Changing Your Life in The New Year, Creating Change in the New Year, Developing Better Life Skills, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, Holiday Cheer, How to Create a Better Life, How to Create a More Enjoyable Life, How to Create a More Productive Life, How to Create a More Satisfying Life, How to Implement New Year's Resolutions, How to Make New Year's Resolutions, Life-Altering Goals, Modern Approach to New Year's Resolutions, New Life Goals, New Year's Resolutions, NEW YEAR'S WISH | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments