I must apologize for such a long hiatus. To say life has been in upheaval is an understatement. The good news is that with transition comes growth.

Recently, I finished reading the first book in a series and I had a lot of trouble with it. It was a sci-fi with a lot of promise. Unfortunately, the author decided it would be a good idea to throw magic into space. Everything seemed to be fueled by magic. Everyone had some level of magic. It was just a little much when it overshadowed and explained away all things tech. Even ship busting missiles don’t blow up, they release magic discs that can cut a ship in half. Shields, yeah they are controlled by the captain’s magic ability.

Remember, if everyone is special, nobody is special.

My biggest issue with the book was the guns. I know it probably seems nit-picky to some people, but when a gun is ambiguous in design and operation it is hard to picture. The author called all things that go boom, from guns to ship cannons — slingers.

I got the sense that the author was trying to be unique, like Star Trek has phasers and Star Wars has blasters. Those two franchises have the advantage of being able to show their audiences what the weapons look like.

Calling something a slinger and leaving the reader to envision a magical firearm of some sort with magical shells just sets up the reader for confusion.

I mean, is it a magic wand with spell crystals? Is it a revolver with shells that ooze magical vapors? Is it similar to a laser weapon with magical energy?

The author never really paints a picture for the reader, and while it can be good to leave some details up to the reader’s imagination, too much gap slows the story.

All this ranting to say, I’m learning and growing in my own writing style. Sometimes authors need to simplify and allow the reader to expand scenes with their imagination. Remember, an author is sending you a story from one imagination to another.

Thanks for bearing with me. I plan on posting another section of Atom & Go next week.

In the meantime, keep on reading and keep on flying the black.