I don't know, maybe the part about me carrying an unsheathed knife around campus can reflect the same lack of confidence.

P.S. Is it odd for a college freshman who has to walk home after dark (female) to carry a butterfly knife at the ready?

1) Write the event as you saw it, with a beginning, a middle and an end.

2) Write the event as someone else in the room with you would have seen it.

3) Write the event through the eyes of the mother-in-law.

Can you start a story with an event? By all means.

Is it a story worth telling? You'll only know if you try if from every possible angle.

As for carrying open knives about campus, I have to say Nix. Get a taser. <grin> A person could use the open blade against you in an attack and that would be bad.

Very, very bad.

I don't think it is too odd. I have known several women carry weapons for protection. ESPECIALLY on campuses. Although I think the Utah College campuses are pretty safe at least compared to what happens down in Florida and Lousianna.

As far as weapons of choice go a simple lock-back like a Gerber or Case are much safer and will take much more abuse than a butterfly knife (bali-song) and the police are much more likely to accept a lockback as a defense weapon rather than a balisong or a switchblade.

But if I felt I had to carry a weapon I would obtain my conceal and carry permit. The court systems have a much better understanding and acceptance of firearms vs any other type of weapon for defense. If you stab someone in self defense you can look towards a $10,000 to $20,000 legal bill in most states because most jurisdictions do not view knives (clubs, nunchaukas, swords, etc) as self defense weapons as they do firearms.

A more realistic solution would be to use the buddy system, and not go anywhere alone if your that nervous.

I think the thing that she liked about it was that you can brandish a butterfly knife in a way that makes it clear to everyone whether or not you actually know how to use it. Also, she liked brandishing it.

I prefer weapons that can be almost completely concealed until a disabling blow has already been delivered, myself. I'm not interested in scaring off potential prey, after all. Threat displays are a way of avoiding a fight where you don't have clear superiority. Still, it is a bit atypical for female college students to become proficient in the use of a melee weapon. Especially those that don't have notable hand to hand training.

But after teaching martial arts for 20 years I am saddened at the fact that if you don't know the self defense laws you may lose your life figuratively speaking in the courts. Most states have this idiotic law that states:

Once you have neutralized the threat (ie blocked the blow, broken the choke, or ran twelve feet from a knife, etc) that anything else can be considered assault or even murder or attempted murder. Here in Arkansas there is no justified self defense save for Pepper Spray (some cities here pepper spray is illegal) or a firearm. Anything else is considered becoming the aggressor. But here you can KILL a home intruder no questions asked, but on the street there in not much legal defense for a victim who fights back.

As for answering the thread's question, try Alynia's approach at writing for different perspectives to get the surprise written well. But ya, I don't think most people carry around knives (I may be to naive, but what the hey).

I try not to advertise the fact that I'm feeling insecure. The keys aren't easily noticed and I try to walk with confidence.

Brandishing a weapon won't necessarily stop you from being attacked, if the attacker knows you are scared. And if you don't know how to use the weapon, you are just as likely to be hurt by it.

Something else to consider: would you actually use the weapon if provoked? If you don't really want to use it, don't carry it. I was watching a movie or T.V. show that said something to that effect and it struck me as being a good piece of advice. If you don't use it and don't stop your attacker, what's going to stop them from getting hold of it and using it on you.

******

I've actually altered the start quite a bit from what is in my livejournal. I decided the mother in law story had to go, because explaining her living with us got too complicated, when my older brother and so forth moved a couple months later.

I've decided to go with a more measured build up, me suffering night terrors and moving into the living room to sleep, resulting in discussing the fear of ghosts etc. to Evan, who will be the one to suggest counseling. Then the professor's suicide.

My next question is whether I need to include the tale of my Nephew being born, or if I can just talk about him while he's a baby. I describe my own giving of birth later in the book, and I think that may be too much placenta for all but the most dedicated hen-lit readers.

I lived in oregon for a while and every Asian and Part Asian family I knew had in laws living with them. I understood not the specifics but the norm of the situation.
I had a great friend named Mr. Lee. He was 86 and every day he would come to my store and talk with me. He knew no english and I knew no chinese. But we would have coffee and just hang out together. He began bringing his family around to meet me and I met his family. The reason I mention this was that his nickname was the Troll. he liked to hide in closets or under stairs and startle his grandkids and kids. He moved to LA to china town and I do miss him.

Anyway, A really great movie was made about Chinese inlaws trying to live with their American kids homes and the resulting chaos. It's one of my all time favorite movies. It is called "Pushing Hands"

But I don't know if you realize that for many of us, the social dynamics of cultural complications and family stresses is what makes the story interesting.

I said in ealier thread I found child birth to have great potential for drama, tension, and interest. All depending on how you present it. Done right it can be nail biting drama- even a normal delivery.

Jb Skaggs