Book reviews have been around since the first caveman painted a picture of the big hunt on the cave walls. I guarantee that there was someone just a little further down painting a review describing how they thought the plot was too thin and the characters a little stale.

As an invaluable asset for the literary community, book reviews provide today’s bibliophile an easy way to find great books in an era where both time and money are scarce. Book reviews also supply writers the feedback they need to help them improve their craft which makes them a simultaneous bane and blessing for wordsmiths everywhere.

So this news article is talking about getting breathalyser devices installed into cars that will lock the ignition if the driver of the vehicle if the blood alcohol level is over a certain limit. I’ve noticed that I have a habit of denigrating noble causes so in the interest of keeping up the tradition, I’m going to frown a little bit at this initiative.

Drunk driving is an issue that needs to be dealt with. It is a one hundred percent preventable crime which only takes a little bit of common sense and responsibility on the part of the driver to keep from becoming a statistic. Last year about 40 percent of all traffic fatalities were alcohol related.

I think installing breathalysers in cars is a fantastic idea except for a couple of problems:

Where your story takes place is just an important component as the story’s plot or the characters themselves. The story’s setting is apart of its architecture. It frames the plot in meaning and frees some of your characters strengths, brings out some of their weaknesses and draws the reader further into your story world.

A setting can encompass anything from a time period to a physical place to an event. This week’s writing prompts will provide you with a series of backgrounds into which you can set an existing story against or draw new characters out of.

1. The cabin of a high speed rail.

2. Paleolithic Japan

3. A high school classroom

This week’ writing prompts delve once again into character traits. This time we are going to explore some otherworldly gifts you can bestow onto your characters to make their lives a little more interesting.

As before, I want you to take a character that you have not thought about in a long while or even a new character that you may be toying around with and mix up the story they are in by giving them one of these mystical powers.

1. Oracle

And Oracle is someone or something that people go to for prophetic counsel. Each culture has their own definition of what an Oracle is but for this exercise an Oracle is defined as a person through whom all knowledge flows to and from. They have access to all knowledge and are able to communicate that across all language and cultural barriers.

2. Element Manipulation

This is the ability to create and manipulate the elements of water, fire, air, earth and metals. Your character can specialize in one or all or even a subcategory of one such as wood (which would be part of the earth).

3. Weather Manipulation

Just as it sounds, this is the ability to manipulate the weather. There are a couple of ways you can go with this. Your character can control the weather though direct thought or action or the weather could respond to something out of their control such as their emotions.

I am fascinated by aberrant human behavior. I believe that abnormal, dysfunctional, strange and even curious behavior tells the truth about us as human beings. We have this terrible habit of whitewashing our negative traits, as individuals and as a collective, that it is almost necessary for us to be continuously reminded of our imperfections and what we could become if we are not careful.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder is a psychological disposition characterized by extreme self love. Now we are all narcissists to a degree. It is actually healthy to be concerned with ourselves and our well being because this is what inspires us to do things that ensure our survival. However in mentally stable people, this natural narcissism is balanced out by concern over the welfare of others. A person diagnosed with NPD, on the other hand, value their self above all others including those they claim to love. If they show concern for another person, it is only a ploy to try to fool the observer into thinking that they are “good people’.