In today’s Journal
* Quote of the Day
* Topic: Further Elucidation on Firearms
* Today
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
Quote of the Day
“Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people.” William Butler Yeats
Topic: Further Elucidation on Firearms
In my topic yesterday on authenticity I wrote that a clip is used to feed a magazine, the cartridge-feeding mechanism used to deliver cartridges to the chamber of a semi-automatic weapon.
My intention was to explain that the device a shooter would manually insert into the underside of a semiautomatic rifle or the butt of a semiautomatic pistol (but never a revolver) was called a “magazine,” not a “clip.”
One astute reader pointed out that “Many firearms are designed to use clips, the most well known one being M1 Garand. The clip goes into the rifle and is ejected when the last bullet is fired.”
That is accurate, except that the “en bloc (‘in block’) clip” actually drops away (it is not actually “ejected”) when the last cartridge from it is fed into the internal magazine of the M1 Garand and any other rifle or carbine with an internal magazine.
The takeaway is this: No matter its method of operation, any “clip” is used to feed ammunition into a magazine, whether automatically (en bloc clip to internal magazine) or manually (stripper clip to external magazine, which the shooter then inserts into the weapon).
But in every case, the magazine injects the individual cartridge into the chamber in preparation for firing, and the magazine is the device that most shooters insert into most rifles and carbines and into all semiautomatic pistols.
So if you’re writing a period story in which a combatant in the heat of battle is hurriedly inserting an en bloc clip into his M1 Garand or Chinese (or Soviet, etc.) SKS, you would be accurate. Otherwise, “the bullet-loading thingy” isn’t a clip. It’s a magazine.
The only weapons that do not have a magazine are single-shot firearms (including, usually, .22 caliber rifles and single- and double-barrel shotguns) that must be manually loaded after every shot, and fully automatic weapons (machine guns) which are fed with a belt of ammunition.
Before you ask, yes, revolvers have a magazine too, but it’s typically called a “cylinder.” And point of interest, most revolvers also have a kind of “clip,” though it’s most often called a “speedloader” or “quick loader.”
And while we’re on the topic, a complete piece of ammunition is a “cartridge” or a “round” (not a “bullet,” which is the actual projectile that is sent downrange from the “casing” through the barrel of the weapon after the “firing pin” contacts the “primer” and ignites the “gunpowder” which, in modern weapons, does not contain “cordite.”) (grin)
Hope this clears up any questions.
Today, the novel’s still racing. So much so that I haven’t even created the chapter-by-chapter part of my reverse outline yet. And this one could easily turn into a series (a thought that just struck home this morning), so a reverse outline is even more important than usual. (grin)
I’m already through six chapters, and whereas my chapters are usually 1000 – 1200 words long, each of these are closer to 2000 words. So I have some catching up to do. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow or the next day. Or maybe the first time I have to scroll back to find necessary information. (grin)
I wrote over 3000 words this morning before 7 a.m., then took a longer breatk up at the house. I’ll come back to the novel a time or two through the day, depending on how the rest of the day goes.
Well, my wife is busy with business things, so after I ate breakfast and changed clothes, I got to come back to the Hovel and the WIP by 8:30. Woohoo!
Well, I got one more session. Some other things to do, so I’ll leave it there for today. Going great, though.
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
See “Anthology Workshop” at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/anthology-workshop-2/.
See “What Indie Authors Need To Know Before Translating Books” (or more accurately, having their books translated) at https://www.thebookdesigner.com/2020/02/what-indie-authors-need-to-know-before-translating-books/.
See “Where Am I? — First Page Critique” at https://killzoneblog.com/2020/02/where-am-i-first-page-critique.html.
See “Paint Yourself Into A Corner” at https://prowriterswriting.com/paint-yourself-into-a-corner/.
If you’re a poet, see “85 Poetry Manuscript Publishers…” at https://www.authorspublish.com/86-poetry-manuscript-publishers-who-do-not-charge-reading-fees/.
The Numbers
Fiction words today…………………… 4251
Nonfiction words today…………… 710 (Journal)
Writing of The Three-Year Turn (novel)
Day 1…… 3570 words. Total words to date…… 3570
Day 2…… 4026 words. Total words to date…… 7596
Day 3…… 4251 words. Total words to date…… 11847
Total fiction words for the month……… 21436
Total fiction words for the year………… 86980
Total nonfiction words for the month… 6390
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 37650
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 124630
Calendar Year 2020 Novels to Date…………………… 2
Calendar Year 2020 Novellas to Date……………… X
Calendar Year 2020 Short Stories to Date… 5
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 47
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)………………………………… 8
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)………………… 201
Short story collections……………………………………………… 31