A Short Post Today

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Welcome * No Joy on “The Hell Minder” * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill, they want a quarter-inch hole.” Theodore Levitt Welcome Welcome to Irene M, Bella G, and any other new subscribers or readers of the Journal. I hope you will find it useful. Get the Archives and other free downloads at the Journal website. And I don’t do the ambush thing requiring an email address. Just click the links and a PDF will download in a new … Read more

Finished the Novel, Writing in Public, and Much More

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Welcome * Finished the Novel * In Case You Missed It * A Bit of Self-Promotion * Suspending Guest Posts * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “It’s a rare and wonderful thing to watch a successful writer build something right in front of you. Lean into this opportunity, it’s a good one!” J. Kevin Tumlinson (repeating this to fit with the info below) Welcome Welcome to Alexander N and any other new subscribers or readers of the Journal. I hope you will find it useful. Get the … Read more

Critical Voice vs. Creative Voice: How Can You Tell?

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * The Streak Continues * Critical Voice vs. Creative Voice: How Can You Tell? * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “It’s a rare and wonderful thing to watch a successful writer build something right in front of you. Lean into this opportunity, it’s a good one!” J. Kevin Tumlinson, on Johnny B. Truant’s post asking whether anyone wants to watch him write a novel “live” on Substack. (I guess Kevin didn’t hear about mine yet [sigh]) And the grin of the day…. “New From PerkyDan Products: A I … Read more

Two Glitches, an Epiphany, and NaNoWriMo

In today’s Journal * Two Glitches * Welcome * A New Epiphany * NaNoWriMo Is Coming! Duck! * Of Interest * The Numbers Two Glitches 1. I learned that at least one subscriber did not recieve Chapters 1 – 10 of Nick Soldata. (it’s titled only Blackwell Ops: 12 Nick Soldata.) If you didn’t receive it, you can view it at https://stanbroughwritinginpublic.substack.com/p/blackwell-ops-12-nick-soldata. If you didn’t received 11 – 20, you can view that at https://stanbroughwritinginpublic.substack.com/p/blackwell-ops-12-chapters-11-through. 2. Also, subscribers will receive 21 – 26 TODAY at around 10 a.m. AZ time, 27 – 30 TODAY around 1 p.m., then whatever I … Read more

Commitment, Me Writing in Public, and More

In today’s Journal * Welcome * Blackwell Ops 12: Nick Soldata is LIVE! (Me writing in public) * On Commitment * Bradbury Challenge Writers Reporting * Of Interest * The Numbers Welcome Welcome to Sylvia A, Jason C, Bob B, Jennifer Z, Mary F, and any other new subscribers or readers of the Journal. I hope you will find it useful. Be sure to check out the Archives and other free downloads at the Journal website. And I don’t do the ambush thing requiring an email address. Just click the links and a PDF will download in a new page. … Read more

Stanbrough Writing in Public

In today’s Journal * Welcome * A New Stanbrough Writing in Public Substack * Reminder * Of Interest * The Numbers Welcome Welcome to Drew E and any other new subscribers or readers of the Journal. I hope you will find it useful. Be sure to check out the Archives and other free downloads at the Journal website. And I don’t do the ambush thing requiring an email address. Just click the links and a PDF will download in a new page. And here’s a video where Vin Zandri and I are chatting about writing and a bunch of other … Read more

Reverse Outlines, and Quiet the Critical Voice

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Welcome * A Tip for Reverse Outlines * Writing Like a Maniac * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Do something you really like, and hopefully it pays the rent. As far as I’m concerned, that’s success.” Tom Petty “That question of identity always confused me. Who are you? Why, that’s simple. I’m Matt. But that’s just a name. There are millions of people with that name and they aren’t me.” Matt Perryman (see Of Interest) Think of your characters. They’re more than just a name, and they … Read more

It’s Never Too Late

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Johnny B. Truant * It’s Never Too Late (guest post) * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “I am dismayed each morning to realize that another day has ticked off the calendar. But that inexorable passing also makes me more determined than ever to do what I can as well as I can before I must sleep again.” Anonymous “If the reader can tell there’s a message, you have failed your job as writer.” Alicia Butcher Ehrhardt Welcome Welcome to Johnny T. and any other new subscribers or … Read more

Quiet the Critical Voice

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Welcome * The Writing * Quiet the Critical Voice * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “You will lose someone you can’t live without, and your heart will be badly broken, and the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of your beloved. But this is also the good news. They live forever in your broken heart that doesn’t seal back up. And you come through. It’s like having a broken leg that never heals perfectly—that still hurts when the weather gets cold, but … Read more

Tension, Suspense, and Craft-of-Writing Books

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * A Bit More on Tension and Suspense * On Craft-of-Writing Books * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “creativity is always a surprise. Nobody can just learn it and stop like nobody can learn fun and stop having fun.” Rikki Mongoose (pseudonym) “Spielberg had trouble with the mechanical shark, and it forced him to limit its time onscreen. Rather than being a detriment to the film, the absence of the shark made everything more ominous and terrifying. What you don’t see can sometimes influence the story more than … Read more