Why are Martial Arts Stories the Best?

Why are martial arts stories the best? Because of the conflict! A story needs conflict. That's one of the first lessons an author will learn. You have to have conflict to make a story interesting. Otherwise it will have no impact. Meaning it will be boring. Would Star Wars have been so successful if there was no conflict? Of course not. And one of the reasons it was so interesting was the conflict. You know. The Jedi Knights vs. the agents of the evil Galactic Empire.

And every great story will have its version of conflict. But with martial arts stories, that conflict is up close and personal. It's deadly, it's exciting, it's hands down incredibly in your face. And the book Killer of Killers has more of it than any story I know. Trent Smith, the world's greatest martial artist, honed his skills in the underground fighting circuits of Asia. But that was only after he had perfected his fighting skills in the Academy of Budo Ju Jitsu where he trained for over twenty years.

He's not just any guy who trained at a martial arts studio. He's particularly suited for martial arts. Take Kareem Abdul Jabbar for example. Kareem was a seven foot two inch basketball star. And being seven foot two inches tall, he was particularly suited for basketball. But he loved the Bruce Lee martial arts movies, and even got to know Bruce Lee. He took lessons from Bruce Lee, and even got to be in a Bruce Lee movie. But watching a man that tall performing martial arts was comical.

Trent Smith is five foot nine inches tall and 195 pounds of solid muscle. And that is the perfect size for a martial artist. He's incredibly fast, too. Not meaning he's an Olympic sprinter, but his reflexes, his reaction time is off the charts. And that's one of the reasons he's the best. He can react much faster than his opponents. Like a mongoose fighting a cobra.

Actually, the cobra/mongoose comparison is an apt one. As fast as cobras are, the mongoose is much faster. When the two animals are squared off against each other, the mongoose wins every time. Because the cobra will strike, but the mongoose dodges the strike, and then strikes back with such lighting fast reflexes, it scores a deadly bite, killing the cobra. It's why people in India often have a pet mongoose around. Ever heard of the Rikki-Tikki-Tavi story? Check it out.

So yeah, Trent Smith is a lot like a mongoose when it fights a cobra. As good as his opponents are, he is even better. But of course being a tenth degree black belt helps. But it's his speed, training, and experience that wins the day for him in all of his fights. And those fights are up close and personal. They're deadly, exciting, and they're incredibly in your face.

Yes, the conflict in Killer of Killers and the upcoming sequel Killer Eyes is all of that. Conflict on almost every page. But I leave enough room in there for mystery, suspense, and yes, even romance. There should always be some degree of romance. Why? Because that's the real world. Men and women coexist, and they fall in love. That's not just Hollywood. Hey, it happened to me. And I'd bet it happened to you. So why wouldn't it happen to Trent Smith, too? It does. Trent is a serious guy, and he's very sincere. He's not like James Bond, who fools around with any pretty woman he comes across. No. Trent Smith is not superficial like that. He doesn't use women. Never. Not like Bond.

Hey, nothing against James Bond, btw. Just saying Trent's interactions with women are not like that. But since women do exist, and Trent is a good looking man, then romance happens. It's life in the real world, and in the Killer Series. Check out Killer of Killers today. Then you'll be ready for Killer Eyes when it comes out. And that is going to be soon.

Taxes Due and Conflict

It's tax time here in the U.S. and finally got it done. Funny thing is, I used to get a lot of money back from taxes, and now I have to pay...a lot. I thought the new administration was going to tax the rich, and let us middle classers have some relief. Well, being a teacher I don't count myself among the rich. I'm a solid middle classer, so how that all worked out is beyond me.

Nevertheless, I'm still rolling along with the revisions to Killer Eyes, and I'm still trying to make it so that hole in the plot gets filled. What I've come up with is actually going to make the story more interesting, and that's a real good thing. A little more conflict, a little more controversy, and another plot twist that will give the story more bite.

Not that it really needed more conflict, as the story to both Killer of Killers and Killer Eyes is filled with conflict. Still, there's nothing wrong with more. The funny thing is that the path Trent Smith chooses to travel is just that--a path of conflict. So that's what makes the books entertaining! Buy a copy today and find out for yourself! Let me know what you thought!

Middle East Turmoil

Since my book, THE VASE, takes place in the Middle East, I have been keeping an eye on the happenings over there. I see that Gadhaffi has been killed now. This follows the killing last May of Osama Bin Laden, and before that, Saddam Hussein, and a few other high profile Middle East leaders. It is an example, among other things, of the turmoil that embroils the region.

THE VASE takes place in a calmer Israel, but even Israel has known its share of turmoil, and the story revolves around that turmoil. The advice given by experts for a novel to be interesting is to have tension and conflict on every page. Well, the Middle East is a setting that provides it. In abundance.

Conflict: The Key to Success

As Donald Maass says in his book, How to Write the Breakout Novel, conflict and tension is key to keeping a book engaging. Maass says to have tension on every single page of your book. Now I'm not even sure that's possible, but according to him, if you manage to do it, then that will virtually guarantee the reader will keep turning the pages, and you'll have a successful story.

With my first two completed novels, KILLER OF KILLERS and THE VASE, there surely is a lot of conflict and a lot of tension, and almost on every single page. I suppose the pages that don't are pages where the conflict and tension is building up. So maybe I did succeed in that regard.

And in my WIP, John Dunn, Heart of a Zulu, I think I've succeeded even more. Because of the circumstances. There's tension in every facet of the story. Tension between the races, black and white, tension regarding how other whites view John Dunn, a white man married to a colored woman, and to fifty plus black women. Tension in the national relations between white controlled Natal, and the independent and militaristic Zulu nation.

And then there's the tension between Catherine Pierce, Dunn's first wife, who relates to her white half, and the Zulu wives of Dunn who know only their Zulu world. And there is the tension of the culture clash in every aspect.

Not to mention a full out war that breaks out. The story is set during the height of England's Imperial Empire, and there's tension brewing with the various natives, the Boers, and even among themselves in the way they proceed with colonization.

I've said before, if I included every character and every event that happened in real history, I'd have a very long book. Too long. But I don't want to write a thousand page book here. I will deliberately abridge the events and the people involved. I want to keep this thing underr 100,000 words, and under 400 pages.

That's all.

Conflict in a Novel

A novel needs conflict to make it interesting. Most if not all 'How to Write Novels' books say you need a bunch of it. Even on every single page. Well, THE VASE has plenty of it. It takes place in the Middle East, after all. And there seems to always be conflict over there. It's a great setting for a novel.

But there are different kinds of conflict. Internal, external, and THE VASE has it all. Even conflict within a family, and THE VASE has that, too. It's about a family with a fourteen year old son. And I happen to know about having a fourteen year old son. Because my oldest son is fourteen right now. So I know what comes with having one. A lot of conflict, that's what.

Yes, not only am I an expert in ceramics, but I am an expert in fourteen year old sons. So THE VASE is a book that deals with both. Yeah, it's a great book. Hopefully it will be published soon.