Walker Buckalew
“How Is a Person Supposed to Read Fiction?”
When my first novel was completed – when it was still just a manuscript – it moved from the managing editor’s desk to the desk of a young...
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Walker Buckalew
Apr 5, 20213 min read
Violence?
Near the end of my second adult-level novel – the second in the Rebecca Series – we read this passage: The gunman, kicking wildly at her...
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Walker Buckalew
Mar 22, 20212 min read
Romance?
I mentioned in an earlier entry that I am always appreciative if an author chooses to work a background romance into a mystery or action...
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Walker Buckalew
Feb 22, 20212 min read
Good Endings
If a novel doesn’t end in a way I like, I probably won’t read another story by that same author. I’ve already noted, in my comments about...
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Walker Buckalew
Feb 8, 20212 min read
Good Beginnings
Most of us don’t read very far in a novel, whether it’s a young-adult novel or an adult novel, unless we like the opening. We want to...
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Walker Buckalew
Jan 26, 20212 min read
Rebecca and the National Intelligence Agencies
As the Rebecca Series has developed over the years, my central character has gradually come to be regarded as an unofficial member...
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Walker Buckalew
Jan 5, 20213 min read
Writing “Crisis Thinking”
When I begin writing an action scene – and there are usually a lot of them in my novels – I tend to get so caught up in what is happening...
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Walker Buckalew
Nov 29, 20202 min read
Your Bench Players
In team sports, “bench players” can have immense importance in helping a team get through its season successfully. These are players who...
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Walker Buckalew
Nov 16, 20202 min read
Those Tricky Background Romances
All my novels have at least one background romance that develops along with the main themes. Since my stories comprise of action/mystery...
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Walker Buckalew
Oct 18, 20202 min read
Your In-Family Readers: Part Three
In my last post, some weeks ago, I noted that my wife, Linda, had reviewed manuscript pages 140 - 210 (approximately) of my in-progress...
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Walker Buckalew
Sep 8, 20202 min read
Your In-Family Readers: Part Two
In my most recent post, I wrote this: I’m passing 55,000 words on the fifth novel in my Rebecca Series. That means I am getting close to...
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Walker Buckalew
Aug 3, 20203 min read
Your In-Family Readers
I’m passing 55,000 words on the fifth novel in my Rebecca Series. That means I am getting close to the point at which I will ask my wife...
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Walker Buckalew
Jul 20, 20202 min read
C. S. Lewis: On Writing Well
In a personal letter dated June 26, 1956, and published in The Collected Letters of C. S. Lewis, Mr. Lewis responded to a Ms. Joan...
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Walker Buckalew
Jul 13, 20202 min read
Christian Adversaries
There is a passage In C. S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity where he writes the following: I have often thought to myself how it would have...
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Walker Buckalew
May 11, 20202 min read
The Talent Array of a Novel’s “Good Guys”
Television dramas like NCIS often feature ensemble casts. That is, a half dozen or so individuals “star” in the series, rather than just...
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Walker Buckalew
Apr 27, 20202 min read
Decisions, Decisions
I am about one-third of the way through the fifth novel in my Rebecca Series. How do I know? Two ways. One, of course, the word count on...
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Walker Buckalew
Apr 13, 20202 min read
Who Done It? When Do We Find Out?
Books, movies, television… the creators of suspenseful stories take widely differing approaches to letting us, the readers and viewers,...
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Walker Buckalew
Mar 23, 20203 min read
School or War: Which is Worse?
I know that question sounds ridiculous. But hear me out. I’m reading a new book titled Becoming C. S. Lewis, by Dr. Harry Lee Poe...
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Walker Buckalew
Mar 2, 20203 min read
C. S. Lewis and Science Fiction
By most people in the world, C. S. Lewis is best known for his Narnia stories for children. But he wrote many kinds of books. His Ransom...
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Walker Buckalew
Feb 11, 20203 min read
Juggling Time
Time gets “juggled” in two ways in my novels. First, the action usually takes place on more than one continent, separated by the Atlantic...
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