Author: Peggy Bechko

Peggy Bechko has Some Serious Tips for Action Writers

by Peggy Bechko

Love to write action sequences? I know I do. But, since we like to write these things we need to do our research ahead of time so we don’t write something really dumb into our scripts or novels. I’m not going to go into every possible scenario, but let’s thinks about a few things to get our brains in gear and pondering the realities of what we write. Plainly we can take some license in our creations, but it’s best to know what’s real before we go off on our own paths.

Like what, you say? Well, for one thing, those fisticuffs? Those mano on mano, hand-to-hand fights we sometimes cook up are a lot of work. In ‘real life’ they usually last only a few seconds for regular folks. Might last longer for someone really well trained in martial arts or some form of hand-to-hand combat.

The combatants are going to tire out really fast because it’s really hard work, not to mention painful when somebody gets slugged. That character you just put in a fist fight for the first time will react differently than the character who’s been brawling all his life. Definitely something to keep in mind when you write those slug-fest scenes. read article

Peggy Bechko: Writers, Let’s Get to the Subtext!

 by Peggy Bechko

If you’re a writer of any stripe at all, then you’ve heard about and/or considered subtext. For the rest of you the beginners, those in need of review, let’s talk.

For starters remember, characters you create are always doing something. They’re not just sets of talking heads. They do things. They do a log of things and they go through all sorts of drama common to the human condition. And, as live people, they don’t actually SAY most of what they mean, they express it in some way, thus the subtext. read article

Peggy Bechko: Getting Under Your Characters’ Skin

by Peggy Bechko

Characters!

They’re pretty darn important to story whether novel or script. I mean, let’s face it, we’re not telling stories about a tree that just stands there. Heck, even the Ents in Lord of the Rings were developed characters.

But there are a lot of problems with characters in stories and how they’re developed. read article

Peggy Bechko: A Writer’s New Year’s Musings

by Peggy Bechko

It’s the beginning of calendar year 2018 but the end of my 2017 writing year, and I’m tired.

Got a lot done, but so much left to do. And I’ll bet they’re all on a collision course.

What’s my meaning here? read article

Peggy Bechko: Writers vs. The Demon Named Negativity

by Peggy Bechko

There’s a whole lot of psychological stuff associated with being a writer. Fear of failure, fear of success, fear of not being good enough and a host of other self-defeating head games we might play with ourselves. But of them all, probably the worst is some kind of self-sabotage. And self-sabotage can be hiding in a lot of places. It’s kinda tricky to pin down.

One time where it gets drawn out of hiding is when the intrepid writer decides to offer his or her work to the world. First of all, that’s a big step. There are many writers who hide their work away. Some never let it see the light of day. But, for those who do, they’re frequently confronted with the “I’m not good enough” syndrome. read article