Also known as the
James Fenimore Cooper guide to
writing.
Consider The Last of the Mohicans:
"Happily, the aim was bad, and the bullets cut the air in a direction a little different from that taken by the fugitives; though still so nigh them, that to the unpractised ears of David and the two females, it appeared as if they whistled within a few inches of the organs."
"Chingachgook very quietly resumed his seat; nor did he make any reply, until after he had examined the firebrand which had been struck by the bullet that had nearly proved fatal to himself."
and people wonder why Cliffs Notes are so popular....