Point Blank: Hardboiled, Noir, & Detective Fiction

Welcome to "Writing Rat Face," a Point Blank Limited Series on one writer's process of writing a 50,000 word novel first draft.

Rat Face is a post-apocalyptic crime novel set in a world ravaged by nuclear war and climate change. The main character, Rat Face, is a noir-ish hitman and delinquent looking to solve his father figure's murder before the Terror Squads find & liquidate him.

In this series of 10 short episodes, Justin Bendell discusses his weekly process as he writes 50,000 words in three months, including the day-to-day ups and downs, the challenges and dead-ends, and the surprises along the way as his novel draft evolves.

In Episode 10, Writing Rat Face concludes.

Welcome to "Writing Rat Face," a Point Blank Limited Series on one writer's process of writing a 50,000 word novel first draft.

Rat Face is a post-apocalyptic crime novel set in a world ravaged by nuclear war and climate change. The main character, Rat Face, is a noir-ish hitman and delinquent looking to solve his father figure's murder before the Terror Squads find & liquidate him.

In this series of 10 short episodes, Justin Bendell discusses his weekly process as he writes 50,000 words in three months, including the day-to-day ups and downs, the challenges and dead-ends, and the surprises along the way as his novel draft evolves.

In Episode 9, the penultimate episode of Writing Rat Face, Justin (and Rat Face) race toward the finish line.

Welcome to "Writing Rat Face," a Point Blank Limited Series on one writer's process of writing a 50,000 word novel first draft.

Rat Face is a post-apocalyptic crime novel set in a world ravaged by nuclear war and climate change. The main character, Rat Face, is a noir-ish hitman and delinquent looking to solve his father figure's murder before the Terror Squads find & liquidate him.

In this series of 10 short episodes, Justin Bendell discusses his weekly process as he writes 50,000 words in three months, including the day-to-day ups and downs, the challenges and dead-ends, and the surprises along the way as his novel draft evolves.

In Episode 8 of Writing Rat Face, Justin emerges from the middlegame slog and finds himself (and Rat Face) moving toward the story climax. He uses chess analogies, examines a potential femme fatale, discusses the problem of individuality, and comtemplates how a characters' dream world might grease the wheels of a stuck narrative.

Welcome to "Writing Rat Face," a Point Blank Limited Series on one writer's process of writing a 50,000 word novel first draft.

Rat Face is a post-apocalyptic crime novel set in a world ravaged by nuclear war and climate change. The main character, Rat Face, is a noir-ish hitman and delinquent looking to solve his father figure's murder before the Terror Squads find & liquidate him.

In this series of 10 short episodes, Justin Bendell discusses his weekly process as he writes 50,000 words in three months, including the day-to-day ups and downs, the challenges and dead-ends, and the surprises along the way as his novel draft evolves.

In Episode 7 of Writing Rat Face, Justin shares a plot building technique that has helped him with story logic & flow.