I grew up in Raleigh. Not quite a big city, not quite a village, kind of a suburban area with some big buildings in the middle and a downtown nobody ever visits. Not a lot of crime, but not a lot of abandoned wooded areas either so there's not much reason to own a gun.
Stepdad had a BB gun. He was an angry man - sometimes he'd shoot our chained up Labrador as target practice. When neighborhood cats would pester our little Sally the tabby he would shoot at them and yell. Don't worry, the man couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with a bazooka.
I shot a BB gun at camp a couple of times but I wasn't very good at it, and I took an archery class that I also was not overly good at. I don't even shoot well in video games.
The point here is, guns aren't really for me.
And yet every story I write includes some kind of gun-centric stand-off so really, I should know how to shoot a gun. You know, in the interests of accuracy.
So Friday I have a date to shoot a gun. Date (I will call him that because he actually reads this blog and given that he can crush me with his pinkie finger I will wait for his approval before giving him a permanent nickname) thinks I will pee my pants. I do not think I will pee my pants, but I do think I will shriek like the little girl that I am.
I hope this will improve my writing. When I started taking kickboxing, my fight scenes got exponentially better and more realistic. I think shooting a real gun will probably do the same for my shootouts. Now I just need to find someone who works with demolitions to show me how to blow things up properly and I'll be all set.
Emily: Action Princess.
I think it will actually depend on the gun...
ReplyDeleteUnk
Six Forks Road. My goodness.
ReplyDeleteI was already an adult...when I spent some very memorable time in Asheville/Arden/Cary...then Raleigh.
Never shot a gun either. Did go to a "how to shoot a gun" place once...ran out of there with pee spilling down my legs.
I'm sure the men laugh today when they remember that scene.
I'm taking a fencing class under the guise of "good for writing," though really I just thought it looked like grand fun (and it is). Having grown up in suburbia, I also never needed to learn to shoot a gun but have wanted to learn for several years. I think maybe that'll be my next undertaking, followed by archery. All in the name of writing, of course. Good luck with it; you'll have to update with how it goes.
ReplyDeleteYou'll be nervous at first, but then come to love it. Mark my words.
ReplyDelete--Curtze
Wow. Eyes on the straight and narrow, Action Princess. Otherwise this blog will soooo not help your defense come jurisprudence. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd you're gonna have a great time. Just DON'T turn around with the gun- put it down first.
ReplyDeleteoh, and I stole your LOLcat.
ReplyDeleteIf you can, try a variety of weapons. It also depends on what ammunition is being fired in said weapon. Not to mention black powder weapons which make a helluva racket. If you get a chance, try a .45 ACP weapon.
ReplyDelete