Category: Paranormal Thriller Editor

Movie Review by Lazlo Ferran: Oblivion, 2013

What more can be said of Tom Cruise in sci-fi roles? He always seems to deliver, so I was expecting something a bit special when I sat down to watch Oblivion last week.

Things were looking good after half an hour; great sets, great scenery and great special effects. Cruise was, as usual, dry in his delivery of Jack’s lines and held my attention.

But then I noticed something odd; Andrea Risborough, as Jack’s girlfriend and teammate Victoria, was acting badly. I thought, ‘Oh yeah, she must be an android and this will all be explained properly later,’ but no, the further into the movie I got, the more it became apparent that Victoria was human, and therefore badly portrayed. I am not saying Risborough can’t act, but she must have been at least badly cast here. It makes all the scenes with Cruise wooden and the love-making scene was just embarrassing. Continue reading “Movie Review by Lazlo Ferran: Oblivion, 2013” →

Lazlo Ferran: How to Write a Good Book – Post 5. Varying the Pace

pen5 So you have your plot of Rudolph’s adventures all worked out and you know where the climax and twist will be. Now you are considering writing the climax and want to know how to show tension when Rudolph can’t get the tractor down a narrow alleyway, or gets stuck in a snowdrift. So how do you show the tension?

It’s not as easy as you might think!

Action Words and Expletives

The first rule is to use more action words when you are writing action sequences. These are words like ‘ripped,’ ‘spun,’ ‘yelled,’ ‘wrenched,’ and ‘panted.’ Continue reading “Lazlo Ferran: How to Write a Good Book – Post 5. Varying the Pace” →

Lazlo Ferran: How to Write a Good Book – Post 4. Structure

pen4 So Rudolph is desperate to guide the tractor on Christmas eve, but his nose won’t glow properly. Erma makes him an enormous apple pie to make him happy and promises him a good night in bed afterwards. She wants that new TV!

How do you you get the structure of your story right?

First Draft

For your first draft, don’t worry about structure. Just get the story down. It will come out chronologically, that is, with the events in the order in which they happen. They may not stay this way, but that’s fine for now. Too many writers worry about writing a blockbuster with their first draft. You won’t. All writers have to write a second draft, so don’t try and avoid it. Continue reading “Lazlo Ferran: How to Write a Good Book – Post 4. Structure” →

Lazlo Ferran: How to Write a Good Book – Post 3. Characterisation

Basic Rules of Characterisation

So, in our story about Santa’s sleigh problems, we have Santa, Rudolph, and Rudolph’s wife, Erma!

Now how do you create characters for them? There are no hard and fast rules, but be wary of simply writing the story as it comes into your head without setting the characters. If you do this, the most likely outcome is that all the characters will sound like the same person, or sub-personalities of the same person. For instance:

“Wow! I got an egg for my birthday. Thanks Erma. I really love you. It’s exactly what a male reindeer wants!”
“It’s okay Rudolph. Wow! I really love you too. I’m glad it’s what you wanted.” Continue reading “Lazlo Ferran: How to Write a Good Book – Post 3. Characterisation” →

अमेज़न भारत पर 24 घंटे के लिए नि: शुल्क मनोगत थ्रिलर!

#‎Free‬ Ordo एक प्रकार का वृक्ष और मंदिर द्वार http://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B00I9IEUPQ
उसने कहा कि वह मुसीबत में वेयरवोल्फ स्मार्ट, सेक्सी डायन है
“” रोमांचक पढ़ें ‘दा विंची कोड के प्रशंसक मजा आएगा ”
आसानी से दस फीट ऊंची है, नाग के तराजू iridescently झिलमिलाता है, और अपनी आंखों बेचैन आग के गड्ढे जल रहा है, कई रंग के थे।
इस राक्षस के तराजू भी पुरुषों और महिलाओं के रूपों थे, पीड़ा में कर्ल करवाने, और कभी कभी एक प्रार्थना में अपने हथियार फेंक देना होगा।
“तुम मेरी आँखों में देखा जब आप विशालकाय सांप से पूछा, क्या महसूस किया?”
“दर्द। चरम दर्द। ”
“अगर के रूप में जला दिया जा रहा है? उबला हुआ जा रहा है, तो के रूप में?”

Ordo एक प्रकार का वृक्ष और अमेज़न भारत पर मंदिर गेट: http://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B00I9IEUPQ

Vote now: Hottest, Coolest WWII Gadgets!

It’s time to vote!
To celebrate the release of my new book in January, December Radio, which describes what might have happened had the Nazi’s built a viable nuclear bomb, we are voting on the hottest or coolest gadget in WWII. The nominations, with links so you can read more information, are below the voting box. Make your choice carefully.

You have 6 votes per person. Please give 3 votes to your favourite (click the yellow vote button between each vote), 2 votes to your second favourite (click the yellow vote button between each vote) and 1 vote to your third favourite. Click ‘View Results’ to check you have voted.

Voting closes Sunday 13th December at midnight GMT. Continue reading “Vote now: Hottest, Coolest WWII Gadgets!” →

Keeping up to date with Lazlo Ferran

Hi All
I wanted to let you know that I will only be posting every second Monday from now on. I have to focus very hard on my latest novel and the real world tends to intrude as well so I don’t have to much time.

If you really want exclusive inside information on what I am working on, what is coming up, competitions freebies AND THREE FREE THRILLERS, then you need to sign up for the Lazlo Newsletter.

You will always find a page with the link to the Newsletter in the menu at the top of all my blog pages.

Review: The Blue Max

The Blue Max - 1966 — The Blue Max – 1966

The 1966 movie, The Blue Max, stands out in my mind as the only movie I can think of without a hero.

I watched The Blue Max last week (okay I admit it, I have it on DVD). I am a huge fan of aviation films and this one is all about a German Air Force pilot in World War I. Skip the bits about aircraft if that is not your thing but that’s not really the primary point of this film.

Briefly, Bruno Stachel is an infantry corporal in the trenches. From a working-class background, he nevertheless longs for the noble arena of death in the skies and enlists in the German Air Force. He proves a talented pilot but his new squadron of officers, enlisted from the ruling classes, do not accept his ambitious ruthlessness. They have a strict code of conduct, which he breaks in many ways, including bedding the top-scoring Willi’s aunt and lover, the Countess Kaeti. Willi’s nobility, until now, has extended to taking Stachel under his wing but now the gloves are off and the two duel for supremacy in the skies and in bed. Continue reading “Review: The Blue Max” →

Poll Results: Which is the Best Scifi Vehicle Ever?

The results are in for the poll: Which is the Best Scifi Vehicle Ever?

1. Sulaco spaceship from Aliens (Movie 1986)
2. The USS Enterprise from Star Trek (1966 TV Series)
3. Thunderbird 2 from Thunderbirds (1965 TV series)

Here are some interesting facts about the podium winners!

1. Sulaco spaceship from Aliens (Movie 1986)

The USS Sulaco was a Conestoga-class troop transport ship in service with the United States Colonial Marine Corps, assigned to 2nd Battalion Bravo Team.[3] It was most notably used in the investigation of the Hadley’s Hope colony on Acheron (LV-426) in 2179, when it was manned by Lieutenant William Gorman’s combat unit of Colonial Marines. Continue reading “Poll Results: Which is the Best Scifi Vehicle Ever?” →

Vote: Which is the Best Scfi Vehicle Ever?

Now you can vote! 3 votes each. Vote closes 5pm Monday 29 June. Enjoy!

There were 2 nominations:

The Sulaco from Aliens (1986)
Moya (sentient being) from Farscape

अब आप मतदान कर सकते हैं! 3 वोट प्रत्येक। मतदान सोमवार 29 जून 17:00 बंद कर देता है। आनंद लें!

Jetzt können Sie abstimmen! 3 Stimmen je. Vote schließt 05.00 Montag, 29. Juni statt. Viel Spaß!

Maintenant, vous pouvez voter! 3 voix chacun. Clôture du scrutin 17 heures le lundi 29 Juin. Profitez!

Ahora usted puede votar! 3 votos cada uno. Voto cierra 17:00 Lunes 29 de junio. Disfrute!

اب آپ ووٹ دے سکتے ہیں! 3 ووٹ سے ہر ایک. ووٹ کریں پیر، 29 جون 5pm کے بند کر دیتا ہے. کا لطف اٹھائیں! Continue reading “Vote: Which is the Best Scfi Vehicle Ever?” →