Blair MacGregor's Blog, page 7

Set A Choke, Break A Choke — Part Two

This article originally appeared for patrons at Patreon . Due to its length, I’ve broken it into two parts. PartOne can be found here, and includesdiscussion ofthechokes in general and defensive considerations of air chokes in particular. This section discusses defense against blood chokes, and offense of both blood and air chokes.

Being choked from behind—when the attacker uses biceps and forearm as a vice on the sides of the neck for that blood choke—is a very different experience. It can be...

Set A Choke, Break A Choke — Part One

This article originally appeared for patrons at Patreon . Due to its length, I’ve broken it into two parts. PartOne includesdiscussion ofthechokes in general and defensive considerations of air chokes in particular. Part Two discusses defense against blood chokes, and offense of both blood and air chokes.

Some time ago, I shared my frustration with a fight scene I saw on television. (Yeah, go figure, right?) The scene showed our hero valiantly fighting a bad guy with direct and aggressive blo...

Set A Choke, Break A Choke

This article originally appeared for patrons at Patreon . Due to its length, I’ve broken it into two parts.

Some time ago, I shared my frustration with a fight scene I saw on television. (Yeah, go figure, right?) The scene showed our hero valiantly fighting a bad guy with direct and aggressive blocks and strikes… until the bad buy got his hands around her throat. Then that supposedly well-trained and aggressive fighter seemed to lose all training and sense, and battled the person choking her...

Train the Brain to Write at Night Again

The marvelous Tam MacNeil (Go check out her books! She’s awesome!) brought up on Twitter the advantages of freelancing—namely, making your own schedule to make best use of one’s most creative hours. (She brought up the downsides, too, but let’s not speak of those right now…)

(My, I’m feeling parenthetical today.)

My own most creative hours have almost always been in the evenings. Truly, I blame twenty years of theater for training my brain from childhood to work in the make-believe worldof re...

Once More, Years Later

Originally posted at These Certain Musings, where I tend to put the more personal stuff. But I think grief and grieving is too little discussed, so I’m doing some extra sharing.

It’s that time of year again, though it seems to have arrived earlier than past years. Usually, by my recollection, I don’t end up feeling quite so sensitive until March, or especially May. Then again, that might be simply my impression.

I’ve been… overly sensitive for the past week or so, even as my writerly self–the...

Fight Breakdown: Connecting Mindset with Character and Action

This article originally appeared at Patreon.

There are a ton of “How To Write Fights” books and articles and blog posts and whatevers out there. Most of them repeat the same advice that—while mostly valid and accurate to varying degrees—remains rudimentary for beginning writers and horribly redundant for experienced writers looking to improve their craft.

*shelves temptation to discuss the search for resources readily available to experienced writers looked to be even better*

I want these art...

Resolutions for a Balanced New Year

I will choose and understand my life priorities before I entertain, let alone commit to, “measureable” goals. For example, “My son and I will have conversation today” is a much higher priority than “I will write 1000 words every day.” What I produce will not be deemed of greater value and importance than who I am and the connections I want to preserve with family and friends.

I will give more weight to my mental and physical health, and the needs of the actual human beings in my life, than I...

The Mindset That Matters

(The following article originally appeared exclusively for backers for Patreon.)

This is an odd article to write, and not at all what I expected to be writing. After all, I’ve a fight scene break-down in the works, a post on chokeholds in the wings, and an interview set for after the first of the year.

But right now… Well.

On the morning of November 21, I sent messages of encouragement and excitement to a past student of mine preparing to test for her Sandan rank (3rd degree black belt), and...

The Fabulous Night That Wasn’t Supposed To Happen

After taking care of my nephews all day, I intended to spend last Thursday night doing two things: finishing an article on worldbuilding and revising three more chapters of Breath of Stone.

Sometimes life goes sideways. And sometimes the unexpected sideways is the best damn thing you couldn’t have planned.

My son Dev had bought tickets for himself, his friend, and his friend’s fiancé to a night with Kevin Smith in Boulder, Colorado. He has been looking forward to this so much. But when I got...

Breath of Stone — Rolling Along

My Darlings Most Patient and Understanding,

I awoke one morning last week with a solution to the writing logjam I’ve been hammering at for a couple, three weeks now. So I spent some hours playing with it–sketching dialog (that’s always my Step One), writing bridges, checking timelines–and determined that, yes indeed, it would work.

And there was much rejoicing throughout the land! Well, my home, at least. It included nachos and bacon.

This solution includes five new chapters, and I’m excited...