L.G. Estrella's Blog, page 51

Author’s Notes: The Ninja Rats

The ninja rats are a clan of cunning and deadly rodents that appear in The Unconventional Heroes Series. In this post, I’d like to share some information about them (note: much of this information can be gleaned from the three books in The Unconventional Heroes Series that have been released so far).

History

The exact history of the ninja rats is clouded in mystery. Not even Katie is sure of their origins, and they rarely speak of their past in detail. However, based on some of their weapons,...

Still Tastes The Same…

When I was younger, there was a certain place where I would sometimes get hot chips (French fries). I remember those hot chips because they were particularly delicious, and I quite liked the way they tasted. I used to look forward to getting them each time, and the smell of them was branded into my memory.

For various reasons, it’s been years since I went back to that same place.

However, today, I happened to be in that neighbourhood again. I didn’t even think about those chips until I was wa...

Humorous Character Dynamics

Character dynamics can play a vital role in creating humour. You can have the most interesting and engaging characters in the world, but they can still fall flat on their faces if they don’t have anyone to interact with. In this post, I’ll be talking about some of the different character dynamics you can use to create humour, as well as giving more specific examples (some of which you may recognise from my original fiction).

Master and Apprentice

In a typical master and apprentice relationshi...

Staring Contest

For some reason, babies always stare at me.

I don’t know why.

I’m not particularly remarkable from a visual perspective. I’m not exceptionally tall or large, and I have the standard number of arms and legs.Nevertheless, whenever I meet someone with a baby, the baby invariably stares at me.

It’s uncanny.

Just the other day, I was on the train, andthere was a woman sitting opposite me with a baby. The baby spent the entire half hour long trip staring right at me. It got to the point where the m...

Happy New Year and Status Update

I hope that all of you had a safe and happy New Year.

I’d like to start off by apologising to anyone who might have sent me an email in the latter half of Decemberor in early January. The usual hectic end of year scramble combined with some family matters (nothing bad or unpleasant but time consuming nonetheless) have led to my being somewhat remiss in answering correspondence. Over the next week, I hope to get on top of everything.

That aside,I want togive you guys a bit of an idea of what I...

Christmas In Australia…

Here in Australia, Christmas is a time for families and friends to come together… because that’s the only way we can fight off the murderous marsupials who will stop at nothing to overthrow humanity and seize control of the country.

Imagine this: you’re sitting in the backyard with a beer in one hand and a shrimp on the barbie… and then BANG! A kangaroo leaps over the back fence and throws a wombat at you. The next thing you know, there’s blood, screaming, and horror.

That’s what we’re up aga...

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas, everyone!

I hope you all have a fun, memorable, and safe Christmas.

What I’ve Been Working On

I’ve mentioned in the past that I’ve been working on a collection of short stories. I hope to be finished with that in the next fortnight to a month, so I thought I’d give you a bit of a preview. This is part of a short story calledPaperwork that belongs to the collection, which I’m currently callingDivine Assistance.

Paperwork

The battlefield was a scene of utter devastation and chaos. Thousands of men fought and died amidst the muck and mud of what had once been a pristine plain watered b...

Line Spacing When Drafting

Today, I’d like to talk about what line spacing to use when you’re drafting. For the sake of this discussion, I’m going to assume that people are using a word processor of some kind (e.g., Word). Of course, there are people who still prefer to handwrite their drafts, but I’m not one of them, mainly because my handwritingmakes chicken scratch look good.

First of all, what is line spacing? Simply put, line spacing refers to how much space there is between each line of text.

Single line spacing...

A Belated Thanksgiving Present…

Although I no longer live in the United States, I did spend a very important part of my life there. I also still speak with something of an American accent, at least if you ask Australians. To Americans, I sound like an Australian. In that spirit, allow me to offer a belated Thanksgiving gift in the formof a snippet about a hungry dragon.

Spot wasn’t entirely sure what all of the fuss was about. People in the castle had been running around for the past week preparing for somekind of celebrat...