Whether a side-street skirmish or an all-out war, fight scenes bring action to the pages of every kind of fiction. But a poorly done or unbelievable fight scene can ruin a great book in an instant. In Fight Write you'll learn practical tips, terminology, and the science behind crafting realistic fight scenes for your fiction. Broken up into "Rounds," trained fighter and writer Carla Hoch guides you through the many factors you'll need to consider when developing battles and brawls. • In Round 1, you will consider how the Who, When, Where, and Why questions affect what type of fight scene you want to craft. • Round 2 delves into the human factors of biology (think fight or flight and adrenaline) and psychology (aggression and response to injuring or killing another person). • Round 3 explores different fighting styles that are appropriate for different situations: How would a character fight from a prone position versus being attacked in the street? What is the vocabulary used to describe these styles? • Round 4 considers weaponry and will guide you to select the best weapon for your characters, including nontraditional weapons of opportunity, while also thinking about the nitty-gritty details of using them. • In Round 5, you'll learn how to accurately describe realistic injuries sustained from the fights and certain weapons, and what kind of injuries will kill a character or render them unable to fight further. By taking into account where your character is in the world, when in history the fight is happening, what the character's motivation for fighting is, and much more, you'll be able write fight scenes unique to your plot and characters, all while satisfying your reader's discerning eye.

The third in Robert Greene's bestselling series is now available in a pocket sized concise edition. Following 48 Laws of Power and The Art of Seduction, here is a brilliant distillation of the strategies of war to help you wage triumphant battles everyday. Spanning world civilisations, and synthesising dozens of political, philosophical, and religious texts, The Concise 33 Strategies of War is a guide to the subtle social game of everyday life. Based on profound and timeless lessons, it is abundantly illustrated with examples of the genius and folly of everyone from Napoleon to Margaret Thatcher and Hannibal to Ulysses S. Grant, as well as diplomats, captains of industry and Samurai swordsmen.

From the creator of the popular blog The Monsters Know What They’re Doing comes a compilation of villainous battle plans for Dungeon Masters. In the course of a Dungeons & Dragons game, a Dungeon Master has to make one decision after another in response to player behavior—and the better the players, the more unpredictable their behavior! It’s easy for even an experienced DM to get bogged down in on-the-spot decision-making or to let combat devolve into a boring slugfest, with enemies running directly at the player characters and biting, bashing, and slashing away. In The Monsters Know What They’re Doing, Keith Ammann lightens the DM’s burden by helping you understand your monsters’ abilities and develop battle plans before your fifth edition D&D game session begins. Just as soldiers don’t whip out their field manuals for the first time when they’re already under fire, a DM shouldn’t wait until the PCs have just encountered a dozen bullywugs to figure out how they advance, fight, and retreat. Easy to read and apply, The Monsters Know What They're Doing is essential reading for every DM.

The cell walls seem to close in as he buries his head in his hands. The same thoughts repeat over and over in his fogged mind: It all happened so quick. One second I was getting out of my car, the next he was attacking me. Now I'm being charged with manslaughter! How did this happen? It was self-defense . . . wasn't it? Prison is filled with people who thought they were defending themselves. Just saying, "It was self-defense" isn't enough. When you claim self-defense you are basically confessing to a crime. To keep from being convicted you must provide evidence your actions remained within certain boundaries and you acted with just cause. You're going to have to prove it was self-defense. That's assuming you stayed inside legal boundaries and acted reasonably in the first place. If you didn't . . . Now . . . are you sure you know what constitutes actual self-defense? If the honest answer is no, then this book is an absolute must-read! In the Name of Self-defense is an in-depth exploration of what is and what is not self-defense. It covers real-life problems overlooked by most training. Issues that will arise if you find yourself involved in violence. Most of all it will challenge what you think you know about defending yourself. Using the information contained in this book could mean the difference between legitimate self-defense, you laying in a parking lot, or prison! This book presents information unlike any you've seen before, focusing not only on the aftermath of an incident, but on what commonly leads to violence and how your actions before, during, and after will make or break your claim of self-defense. Learn about the limitations on self-defense, how to accurately assess a situation, scale force and concisely "articulate" the timeline of events to officers and legal professionals in a manner that reduces the chances of a misunderstanding . . . and a subsequent prison sentence. Whether you want to add to the knowledge you acquired as a beginner in a self-defense class or you're an instructor looking to further your own knowledge or a professional whose job requirements place you in potentially violent situations with dissatisfied clients or customers . . . it doesn't matter! In the Name of Self-defense is a must-read for everybody! If you're lucky, you will never need the information contained within these pages, but if you ever require it what you learn from this volume will be vital. Author and self-defense expert Marc MacYoung takes you on an entertaining journey through these lesser known (and some never-before-broached) aspects of self-defense. MacYoung helps readers understand how to avoid violence, how to use the appropriate amount of force if it happens, and how to present the facts in a way that self-defense is clearly understood and judged applicable to that situation. With a witty sense of humor and fifty years experience in a plethora of violent encounters coupled with a montage of experts in his corner, MacYoung delivers a thought-provoking examination of the world of self-defense and protecting yourself legally after being forced to protect yourself physically.

How to Defend Yourself against Armed Assault.