In today’s Journal * A Great Point * The Two Types of Fiction Writers * Of Interest * The Numbers A Great Point In a comment on yesterday’s post, Bob B wrote, quoting me, “Don’t make stuff up.” Then he wrote, “So, when into-the-dark writers say they sit in a room and make stuff up, what they really mean is they sit in a room and write down what their characters do? More writers, including DWS, should be more clear and say that, in my humble opinion.” I thought that was a great point. Here’s my response, much expanded for … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Welcome * When the Story Slows Down * I Talk to My Characters * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Any real commitment to doing things different, whether adding new behaviors and subtracting old habits, requires a transformation of inner vision.” Matt Perryman in Meaningful Particularshttps://mattpmn.substack.com/ “Have no fear of perfection—you’ll never reach it.” Salvador Dalí Welcome Welcome to Max C and any other new readers or subscribers of the Journal. I hope you will find it useful. Get the Archives and other free downloads at the Journal … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Critical Mind Emails * Update on Blackwell Ops * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Have no fear of perfection—you’ll never reach it.” Salvador Dalí Critical Mind Emails First, read that quote of the day again. And again. Sear it into your brain pan. Now take a deep, calming breath and read this: From time to time, I receive emails asking questions about critical mind. The underlying question is ALWAYS how to stop it, or break it, or break away from it, or run it off. Also, in … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Welcome * Flash Sale * The Value of Letting the Characters Tell the Story * The Writing * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Censorship reflects a society’s lack of confidence in itself.” Potter Stewart “No matter where you turn, the myths are there. Whether in professional circles or in hobbyist ones.” Matthew Gordon Pettipas, talking about the prevalence of the myths even among fanfic writers My response: Yep. That’s the frustration I bear. You can talk ’til you’re blue in the face and offer a chain-breaking technique … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Even If You Are Not an American Football Fan * Inside No. 9 * The Bradbury Challenge Writers Reporting * About First Readers * Flash Sale * The Writing * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” Anaïs Nin “I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I have lived just the length of it. I want to … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Thought of the Day * Reminder * Why I Don’t Follow or Advance the Myths * Around Three Decades Ago * Along Came A Spider * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “As long as a book would write itself, I was a faithful and interested amanuensis, and my industry did not flag; but the minute that the book tried to shift to my head… I put it away and dropped it out of my mind.” Mark Twain “Failure is not a sign of weakness. It is a … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * One More Quick Note on Slowing Down * Characters, and Differentiating Them * A New Story * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.” Dolly Parton “Pacing is a complex issue with a lot of levels. I will stop reading at paragraphs that have five different thoughts in them and are huge just because the author can’t hit the return key.” Dean Wesley Smith (see Of Interest) One More Quick Note on … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * What I Learned from the King * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Reading fiction not only develops our imagination and creativity, it gives us the skills to be alone. It gives us the ability to feel empathy for people we’ve never met, living lives we couldn’t possibly experience for ourselves, because the book puts us inside the character’s skin.” Ann Patchett “The intellect has many wonderful uses—categorizing and sorting (and revising, oh so much revising.)—but it’s a terrible writer.” Sarah Chauncey If the “intellect” is such a … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Welcome * Switching PsOV Inside Chapters, Redux * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “I did not want to leave her in the sea. In Acapulco, that might have been all right. Even the mightly Pacific Ocean would take a very long time to whisper an atrocity all the way from Acalpuco to my little part of the sea at Mazatlán.” The POV character considering a harsh thing she will soon have to do in Blackwell Ops 18: Soleada Garcia: Settled “He who is not courageous enough to … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Welcome * Thought of the Day * Topics? * Support the Journal * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “How could she not understand? But we each live our own life. We wear blinders of our own choosing, and we make our decisions based on that limited view. There is nothing more I can do for her.” Soleada’s thoughts about an acquaintance who has just made a serious error in judgement (Blackwell Ops 18: Soleada Garcia: Settled) “Aspiring authors, get this through your head. Cover art serves one … Read more